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  • Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people with Parkinson’s disease receive personal independence payment at the (a) daily living standard, (b) daily living enhanced, (c) mobility standard and (d) mobility enhanced rate.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The figures below show numbers of people in Great Britain in receipt of Personal Independence Payment as at 31st January 2016 who have either Parkinson’s disease or Parkinson’s syndrome / Parkinsonism as their main disabling condition.

    Parkinson’s disease

    Daily living

    Enhanced

    Standard

    Nil

    Enhanced

    962

    85

    13

    Mobility

    Standard

    489

    307

    44

    Nil

    329

    686

    –

    Source: PIP Computer Systems

    Parkinson’s syndrome / Parkinsonism

    Daily living

    Enhanced

    Standard

    Nil

    Enhanced

    101

    8

    –

    Mobility

    Standard

    56

    34

    7

    Nil

    26

    64

    –

    Source: PIP Computer Systems

  • Damian Green – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Damian Green – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Damian Green on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the adequacy and timeliness of information given to women born in the 1950s of changes to the age at which they become eligible for the state pension; and if he will make a statement.

    Justin Tomlinson

    Following the Pensions Act 1995, which set out the timetable for women’s State Pension age to rise from 60 to 65, changes to State Pension age were communicated in State Pension estimates issued to individuals on request. These estimates provided individuals with their most up-to-date date of reaching State Pension age. Since April 2000, the Department has issued more than 11.5 million personalised State Pension statements to people who requested them.

    Independent evidence submitted to the Work and Pensions Select Committee demonstrates that there were several mentions of State Pension age equalisation in the national broadsheet and tabloid press between 1993 and 2006.

    The Department also ran a pensions education campaign in 2004, which included informing people of the future equalisation of State Pension age. A 2007 DWP report, Attitudes to pensions: The 2006 survey, reported that 86 per cent of women aged 55-64 and 90 per cent aged 45-54 were aware that the State Pension age will increase in future.

    The Government sent letters to women affected by changes in the 1995 Act between April 2009 and March 2011 using the address details held by HMRC at that time.

    The timetable for equalising State Pension age at 65 for women and men and for the increase to 66 was accelerated by the Pensions Act 2011 following sharp increases in life expectancy projections. A concession worth £1.1 billion was made prior to the passing of the 2011 Act which capped the maximum delay that anyone would face in claiming their State Pension to 18 months rather than two years, relative to the previous timetable. The Government sent letters between January 2012 and November 2013 to all those directly affected to inform them of the changes to their State Pension age.

  • Sue Hayman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Sue Hayman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sue Hayman on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to his Department’s consultation on aids and appliances and the daily living component of personal independence payments, Cm 9171, if he will publish the impact assessment prepared for the five options in that consultation.

    Justin Tomlinson

    As confirmed by my right honourable friend the Secretary of State in his statement to the House on 21 March, the proposed changes to PIP will not be going ahead.

    We spend around £50bn every year on benefits alone to support people with disabilities or health conditions, with spending on Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and Disability Living Allowance (DLA) having increased by more than £3 billion since 2010. The government is committed to talking to disabled people, their representatives, healthcare professionals and employers to ensure the welfare system works better with the health and social care systems and provides help and support to those who need it most.

  • Tania Mathias – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Tania Mathias – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tania Mathias on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average value is of a personal independence payment in (a) the UK and (b) Twickenham constituency.

    Justin Tomlinson

    Information on average weekly payments of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is not published but can be calculated from the available claimant data extractable from Stat-Xplore (https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/) and the amount of benefit paid by component combination. At the end of January 2016 the average amount payable to PIP recipients in Great Britain was £88.70 per week and £88.14 per week in the Twickenham parliamentary constituency.

    Personal Independence Payment (PIP) will be introduced in Northern Ireland later this year and will be a matter for the Northern Ireland Office.

    “

  • Sue Hayman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Sue Hayman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sue Hayman on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions his Department has had with Compact Voice about the duration of the formal personal independent payment consultation.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The time period for the consultation was decided in line with the Government’s consultation principles guidance. This advises that consultations should typically run for between 2 and 12 weeks, but that “the timing and length of a consultation should be decided on a case-by-case basis; there is no set formula for establishing the right length”.

    As we were consulting on the specific and discrete issue of how aids and appliances are accounted for when determining eligibility to the daily living component, 6 weeks was felt to be an appropriate length.

    As the consultation ran over Christmas this period was extended by 8 days, which is why the consultation ran for 7 weeks and one day. The length of the consultation was determined by the Government, as is standard practice. There have been no discussions with Compact Voice on this issue.

  • Simon Hart – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Simon Hart – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Simon Hart on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will raise the threshold for carer’s allowance to take into account increases in the national minimum wage.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The earnings limit for Carer’s Allowance which is not linked to the number of hours worked is currently £110 per week (net of certain expenses). It was increased to £110 in April 2015 – an increase of nearly 8%, which far outstripped the growth in earnings.

    The Government keeps the earnings limit under review and keeps under consideration whether an increase in the threshold is warranted and affordable.

  • Sue Hayman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Sue Hayman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sue Hayman on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will publish (a) the criteria used to select organisations invited to attend and (b) the organisations that attended personal independence payments consultation stakeholder events in January 2016.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The Department held stakeholder events in Birmingham, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Leeds and London. These were public meetings open to anyone who wished to attend; this was publicised on Gov.uk. Representatives of the following organisations requested to do so:

    Aberdeen City Council

    Action for Blind People

    The Action Group

    Carers Support (Bexley)

    Cheshire Centre for Independent Living

    Citizens Advice Bureau

    Coventry Law Centre

    Child Poverty Action Group Scotland

    Community Navigator Services

    Crohn’s and Colitis UK

    Deaf Sector Partnership/Scottish Council on Deafness

    DeafBlind Scotland

    DeafBlind UK

    Deafconnect

    Elcena Jeffers Foundation

    Enable Scotland

    Enfield Disability Action

    Gateway Housing

    Glasgow City Council

    Housing Options Scotland

    Inclusion Scotland

    Lothian Centre for Inclusive Living

    Macmillan Cancer Support

    Maggie’s Centres

    Motor Neurone Disease Association

    Multiple Sclerosis Scotland

    Multiple Sclerosis Society

    National AIDS Trust

    Royal National Institute of Blind People

    Scope

    The Scottish Government

    Sense

    South Lanarkshire Council

    Spinal Injuries Association

    Social Security Advisory Committee

    Swansea Council

    Welfare Benefits Unit

    Welsh Government

    West Lothian Council

    Wolverhampton City Council

    Departmental officials also held one-to-one meetings with Scope, RNIB, Disability Rights UK, the Disability Benefits Consortium (an umbrella group of over 60 organisations), and Scottish and Welsh government officials. A meeting was also held specifically for members of the PIP Implementation Stakeholder Forum Working Group. Meetings were also held with both assessment providers, Atos and Capita, to discuss the impact of any policy change on the delivery of assessments.

  • Sue Hayman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Sue Hayman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sue Hayman on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to paragraph 4.10 of his Department’s response to its consultation on aids and appliances and the daily living component of personal independence payment, published in March 2016, if he will publish the raw data referred to in that paragraph; and whether that data was subject to peer review.

    Justin Tomlinson

    As confirmed by my right honourable friend the Secretary of State in his statement to the House on 21 March, the proposed changes to PIP will not be going ahead.

    We spend around £50bn every year on benefits alone to support people with disabilities or health conditions, with spending on Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and Disability Living Allowance (DLA) having increased by more than £3 billion since 2010. The government is committed to talking to disabled people, their representatives, healthcare professionals and employers to ensure the welfare system works better with the health and social care systems and provides help and support to those who need it most.

  • Sue Hayman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Sue Hayman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sue Hayman on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to paragraph 1.7 of his Department’s response to the consultation on aids and appliances and the daily living component of personal independence payments, published in March 2016, if he will publish the equality analysis referred to in that paragraph.

    Justin Tomlinson

    As confirmed by my right honourable friend the Secretary of State in his statement to the House on 21 March, the proposed changes to PIP will not be going ahead.

    We spend around £50bn every year on benefits alone to support people with disabilities or health conditions, with spending on Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and Disability Living Allowance (DLA) having increased by more than £3 billion since 2010. The government is committed to talking to disabled people, their representatives, healthcare professionals and employers to ensure the welfare system works better with the health and social care systems and provides help and support to those who need it most.

  • Alison Thewliss – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Alison Thewliss – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison Thewliss on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department sets targets related to the closing of benefit claims of people referred to the work programme.

    Priti Patel

    There are no targets set for providers in relation to the closing of benefit claims, though for a job to be eligible for outcome payments, providers must support people into enough work to take them off out-of-work benefits.