Tag: Baroness Thomas of Winchester

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Thomas of Winchester on 2016-07-07.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether local authorities will be able to bid for resources from the Department for Transport’s Access Fund for Sustainable Travel to support or develop Wheels 2 Work schemes within their areas.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

The Department for Transport welcomes applications to the Access Fund from local transport authorities in England (except London) that support or develop Wheels 2 Work schemes in their area which increase cycling and improve access to work, skills, education or training.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Thomas of Winchester on 2016-01-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many times in the last year the Access to Work scheme has contributed to funding (1) the installation of a disabled toilet in a workplace, and (2) the adaptation of an existing workplace toilet into one suitable for disabled people.

Baroness Altmann

This information is not readily available.

In all cases where adaptations to premises are required, advisers will look to see what reasonable adjustment has first been made in accordance with employers obligations under the Equality Act.

Dependent on the size of the business, an employer contribution may also be sought.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Thomas of Winchester on 2016-07-07.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have made an assessment of the amount of benefits to which people are entitled that go unclaimed.

Lord Freud

On 28th June 2016 the Department for Work and Pensions published the report “Income-related benefits: Estimates of take-up in 2014/15”. The full report has been published online.

For Great Britain, the following estimates are available for 2014/15:

• Pension Credit: Up to £3.1 billion of available Pension Credit went unclaimed;
• Housing Benefit: Up to £4.6 billion of available Housing Benefit went unclaimed;
• Jobseeker’s Allowance (Income-based): Up to £2.4 billion of available Jobseeker’s Allowance (Income-based) went unclaimed.
• Income Support and Employment and Support Allowance (Income-related): Up to £2.9 billion of available Income Support and Employment and Support Allowance (Income-related) went unclaimed.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Thomas of Winchester on 2016-05-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to gather evidence on food insecurity in the UK.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble

There is no single definition of food insecurity. The factors that impact on household food security are complex. There are multiple indicators such as quality, variety and desirability of diet as well as total intake, not all of which are measured consistently. It is, therefore, very difficult and potentially misleading to attempt to develop a single classification of food insecurity.

Defra publishes annual statistics to show the proportion of household income spent on food by (a) all households and (b) the lowest income 20% of households. Lower income families spend a greater proportion of household income on food (15.7% compared to 11.4% for the average household). This has remained stable over recent years: 16.5% in 2013, 16.6% in 2012, 16.6% in 2011, 15.8% in 2010 and 16.1% in 2009. The most recent statistics are in the Food Statistics Pocketbook 2015 on the GOV.UK website.

Year on year food prices have continued to fall with an annual rate of inflation of -2.7 per cent in the year to March 2016. General inflation is 0.3 per cent, unchanged from January.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Thomas of Winchester on 2016-10-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government why the consultation on transforming the tribunal system Transforming our Justice System is not cross-referenced to the Department for Work and Pensions consultations website, given its relevance to the appeals process for Personal Independence Payment.

Lord Keen of Elie

The noble Lady will be aware that the Government is investing £1 billion to modernise our world-leading justice system. That means creating a system that is just, proportionate and accessible.

The ‘Transforming our Justice System’ consultation is about the administration of justice across all courts and tribunals and not one specific area. My officials are engaging with appropriate stakeholders, including disability groups, on relevant matters.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Thomas of Winchester on 2016-05-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will publish the number of people with disabilities who are seeking asylum.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

At present the Asylum Transparency Agenda Data set does not report information on asylum claimants with disabilities nor are there plans for this to be included. In addition we do not currently record this information in a readily accessible format.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Thomas of Winchester on 2016-10-13.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the proposal to remove a panel member with direct experience of disability from appeals for Disability Living Allowance, Personal Independence Payment and Attendance Allowance.

Lord Keen of Elie

The Government is investing close to £1 billion to reform and digitise our courts and tribunals to deliver swifter and more certain justice.

Technology will be at the forefront of our reforms but specific support will be provided to ensure tribunals remain accessible to all and physical hearings will continue to be used to resolve many cases.

An impact assessment was published alongside the Transforming our Justice System consultation paper.

The panel composition reforms will ensure that the most appropriate panel is always selected to hear a case. As now, relevant expertise will always be available where needed, regardless of how a case is resolved. The Senior President of Tribunals will continue to determine when panel members are used.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Thomas of Winchester on 2014-06-26.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what arrangements local authorities will have in place, following the abolition of the paper Vehicle Access Duty tax disc from 1 October, to check the status of a vehicle parked in a bay or location authorised only for use by a disabled driver.

Baroness Kramer

It is for individual local authorities to decide how to establish the licensing status of vehicles parked in areas restricted to disabled drivers following the abolition of the vehicle tax disc.

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) has liaised with local authorities about the abolition of the tax disc and provided a broad range of information to help inform their customers. A specific email address has been established to deal with any queries from local authorities and a workshop has been organised for 2 July.

The DVLA has also enhanced its online vehicle enquiry system, which now includes information about the taxation class of a vehicle.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Thomas of Winchester on 2014-06-26.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have for identifying Class 3 Mobility Scooters, which currently have to display a nil value disc, once the paper Vehicle Access Duty tax disc is abolished from 1 October.

Baroness Kramer

The vehicle tax disc is not used to identify Class 3 mobility vehicles. These vehicles are indentified according to their construction, weight and speed and are required to be registered with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency. The abolition of the tax disc in October should not affect the current identification of these vehicles.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Thomas of Winchester on 2014-05-07.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what training is provided on disability awareness to staff in Jobcentre Plus offices as part of the public sector equality duty; and what steps are being taken to ensure that awareness by staff of obligations under the duty is improving.

Lord Freud

DWP, in partnership with Civil Service Learning, provides a wide range of diversity and disability learning opportunities for staff.

The ‘Equality and Diversity Essentials’ package provides an overview of the Equality Act 2010, the Public Sector Equality Duty and covers disability for customers and employees. The learning is targeted at all new employees as part of induction and as a refresher for other staff.

DWP offers a follow up ‘Disability Awareness’ course. This aims to build the confidence of managers to give effective support to disabled employees.

DWP customer facing staff are trained in the skills required to support a range of claimants and to respect their individual needs. This approach ensures they are skilled to deal with a diverse set of circumstances, whilst treating everyone as individuals. Jobcentre Advisers, in particular, have access to a comprehensive training programme which focuses on raising awareness of the individual’s personal circumstances, including disabilities, and also recognises that those circumstances can affect individuals in different ways.

The Department regularly participates in external benchmarking activity to measure and improve performance for disabled staff, customers and service users. 2013 results showed a significant improvement in performance from 2012.