Tag: Eilidh Whiteford

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Eilidh Whiteford on 2016-09-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of the introduction of personal independence payments on future rates of claims for attendance allowance.

Penny Mordaunt

Individuals in receipt of PIP before the age of 65 will continue to receive PIP as long as they continue to meet the eligibility criteria. This mirrors Disability Living Allowance, the benefit that preceded PIP. Anyone that becomes disabled after the age of 65 will be able to claim Attendance Allowance.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Eilidh Whiteford on 2016-10-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many claimants in each constituency in Scotland have been in receipt of jobseeker’s allowance for (a) one year, (b) two years and (c) five years.

Damian Hinds

The information available for the number of Jobseeker’s Allowance claimants by Parliamentary Constituency and duration is published and can be found at:

https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/default.asp

Guidance for users is available at:

https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/home/newuser.asp

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Eilidh Whiteford on 2016-04-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what guidance his Department provides to health care professionals on applying the power in regulation 35 of the Employment Allowance Regulations 2008 to award employment and support allowance to claimants in the support group in exceptional circumstances.

Priti Patel

Healthcare professionals who carry out the Work Capability Assessment are trained in all aspects of their role including the application of Regulation 35. They are also issued with written guidance on all aspects of the Work Capability Assessment including the application of Regulation 35.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Eilidh Whiteford on 2016-09-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the reasons for the decline in Short Term Benefit Advance applications in (a) Scotland and (b) the UK between February 2015 and March 2016.

Damian Hinds

Short Term Benefit Advances (STBAs) are payments on account of benefit. The majority of STBAs are awarded to people in the period before their benefit is first due to be paid, but STBAs can also be paid where a change of circumstances significantly increases the amount of benefit due. STBAs are predominately paid to people claiming Income Support, Employment and Support Allowance and Jobseeker’s Allowance. They are not available to people claiming Universal Credit.

Between April 2015 and March 2016, there were 218,592 STBA applications in Great Britain as a whole, with monthly variations ranging from 17,188 in September 2015 to 21,529 in February 2016, but with no downward trend at the year end. In Scotland, there were 26,322 applications over the same period, with monthly variations ranging from 1,462 in November 2015 to 3,022 in April 2015, with a clear downward trend at the year end.

As the roll-out of Universal Credit to all new claimants progresses, we anticipate a corresponding decline in the number of STBA applications.

The Department for Work and Pensions continues to advertise the availability of STBAs through the gov.uk website, with information posters and leaflets in Jobcentres nationwide.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Eilidh Whiteford on 2016-04-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many claimants have been awarded employment and support allowance (ESA) under regulation (a) 29 and (b) 35 of the Employment and Support Allowance Regulations 2008; and how many such claimants were originally in the ESA support group.

Priti Patel

Information on the outcomes of initial Employment and Support Allowance claims awarded under regulation 35 of the ESA Regulations 2008 can be found in Table 5 of the published statistics:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/esa-outcomes-of-work-capability-assessments-claims-made-to-jun-2015-and-appeals-to-dec-2015.

The rest of the information requested is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Eilidh Whiteford on 2016-09-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the effect on claimants of having no timescale within which his Department must return a mandatory reconsideration decision to the claimant.

Penny Mordaunt

There has been no statutory requirement to make a benefit decision within a specified time since 1998. This applies equally to a claim for benefit, an application for review and, since it was introduced in April 2013, an application for Mandatory Reconsideration. Decisions are made without delay – whilst giving claimants every opportunity to provide new and additional evidence to support their application.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Eilidh Whiteford on 2016-05-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what account he plans to take of dietary inequality and food insecurity in the planned childhood obesity strategy.

Jane Ellison

Our Childhood Obesity Strategy, which will be launched in the summer, will look at everything that contributes to a child becoming overweight and obese.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Eilidh Whiteford on 2016-09-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average number of days was from the posting of a medical certificate by a claimant in support of an employment and support allowance claim to the day his Department acknowledged receipt of that certificate in the last 12 months.

Penny Mordaunt

The information requested is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Eilidh Whiteford on 2016-05-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps the Government plans to take to reduce the number of occupation illnesses.

Justin Tomlinson

Tackling ill health is one of six strategic themes in the new strategy for the health and safety system, ‘Helping Great Britain work well’. The strategy is available at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/strategy/index.htm

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Eilidh Whiteford on 2016-09-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average time taken was to process hardship payments between the day the application was made and the day the claimant received the payment for sanctioned (a) jobseeker’s allowance and (b) employment and support allowance claimants before reviews, reconsiderations or appeals for the period between 1 July and 31 December 2015.

Damian Hinds

The information requested is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.