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  • Margaret Ritchie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Margaret Ritchie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ritchie on 2015-12-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, in what ways the proposed life chances measures in the amendments to the Child Poverty Act 2010 will measure child poverty in households with at least one employed adult.

    Priti Patel

    We are clear that the existing low-income measures do not drive the right action to tackle the root causes of child poverty.

    Our proposals in the Welfare Reform and Work Bill introduce new statutory measures of worklessness and educational attainment which the evidence indicates are the biggest factors affecting child poverty now and in the future.

    The Department will also continue to publish low-income statistics as part of the ‘Households Below Average Income’ publication.

  • Kirsten Oswald – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Kirsten Oswald – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kirsten Oswald on 2015-12-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in single occupancy households who qualified for the full winter fuel payment only received a partial payment because they did not apply for the additional payment in each of the last three years.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The information requested is not available.

  • Kirsten Oswald – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Kirsten Oswald – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kirsten Oswald on 2015-12-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many automatic payments of partial winter fuel payment have been made in each of the last three years; and how many of those payments have been converted to full payments following an application by the recipient.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The information requested is not available.

  • Rebecca Long Bailey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Rebecca Long Bailey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Long Bailey on 2015-12-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 10 December 2015 to Question 18554, on housing benefit: social rented housing, what proportion of the estimated 80,000 claimants referred to in that answer are in receipt of (a) disability and (b) in-work benefits.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The estimated 80,000 claimants referred to in Question 18554 are not disabled for the purposes of the shared accommodation rate exemption. Above this figure there are some disabled claimants within this category who were identified as having rents above the relevant Local Housing Allowance rate. However as these are exempted from the policy they were not included in the original response.

    Of the estimated 80,000, around 31% have self-declared disabilities which are not exempt from the shared accommodation rate. Of these around 18% are in receipt of disability benefits (DLA/PIP/AA) and around 13% are in receipt of either Housing Benefit or the housing element of Universal Credit and are in work.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-12-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department has taken to evaluate the performance of the Fit for Work service since its launch.

    Justin Tomlinson

    An evaluation strategy is in place for Fit for Work. As part of this, a formal process evaluation is being undertaken. The formal evaluation will include feedback from employee users of the service, GPs and employers. Return to work will also be covered. Monthly performance group meetings take place between the Department and the providers in both England/Wales and Scotland together with weekly meetings to discuss management information and performance issues.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-12-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many calls have been made to the Fit for Work helpline in each month since its launch.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The number of calls made to the Fit for Work helpline each month since the launch of the service is :

    December 2014 54
    January 2015 198
    February 2015 316
    March 2015 364
    April 2015 331
    May 2015 408
    June 2015 501
    July 2015 602
    August 2015 653
    September 2015 852
    October 2015 965
    November 2015 1084

  • Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-12-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of patients referred to the Fit for Work service since its launch have since returned to work.

    Justin Tomlinson

    An evaluation strategy is in place for Fit for Work. As part of this, a formal process evaluation is being undertaken. The formal evaluation will include feedback from employee users of the service, GPs and employers. Return to work will also be covered. Monthly performance group meetings take place between the Department and the providers in both England/Wales and Scotland together with weekly meetings to discuss management information and performance issues.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-12-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of Return to Work plans produced by the Fit for Work service made recommendations to employers which were accepted in full since the launch of that service.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The number and proportion of Return to Work Plans produced by the Fit for Work service that made recommendations to employers which were accepted in full is not readily available and to provide the information requested would incur disproportionate cost.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-12-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many referrals have been made by (a) GPs and (b) employers to the Fit for Work service since its launch; and how many such referrals have resulted in a Return to Work plan being agreed with the patient.

    Justin Tomlinson

    Latest figures show there have been 2,441 GP referrals and 1,301 employer referrals with 1,451 Return to Work Plans agreed.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-12-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much funding has been allocated to the Fit for Work service for the current financial year; and whether the Government plans to increase that amount.

    Justin Tomlinson

    Fit for Work is now fully rolled out across Great Britain. All employers and GPs are able to refer employees who are on sick leave for four weeks or more, to get a work-related health assessment and help them return to work sooner.

    The Department does not routinely publish funding allocations. However, Fit for Work has been provided with sufficient funding to meet its demands for 2015/16, this financial year. Outturn spending will be detailed in DWP’s published Annual Report and Accounts. Departmental funding for future years has been settled by HMT.