Tag: Kate Green

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Green on 2014-06-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department has taken to address the current geographical imbalance in Independent Living Fund (ILF) use by local authorities in the allocation of transitional funding as the ILF comes to an end.

Mike Penning

The funding that will be transferred to local authorities and to the devolved administrations when the Independent living Fund closes will be distributed in a way that reflects the patterns of expenditure at that time.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Green on 2015-02-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many challenges to benefits sanctions have been overturned as a result of tribunal interventions where his Department has not made reasonable adjustments under disability equality law; how his Department takes into account information from social services or health service staff before imposing such sanctions; and what processes ensure that adjustments are made before such sanctions are imposed on disabled claimants.

Esther McVey

The exact information you request on tribunal Interventions is not available.

However, Decision Makers ensure that all relevant claimant circumstances are carefully considered before imposing any sanction. This may include information from social services and health service staff if it was relevant to the case. We do not sanction vulnerable claimants without making every effort to contact them or their carer/healthcare professional first. Clear and detailed guidance is used by Decision Makers to ensure that the necessary processes are followed in a consistent manner.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Green on 2015-02-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much the Government has loaned to the insurance industry to assist with the costs of the Diffuse Mesothelioma Payment Scheme in the first year of its operation.

Mr Mark Harper

The Government has not provided a loan to the insurance industry to assist with the costs of the Diffuse Mesothelioma Payment Scheme.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Green on 2015-02-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the value is of (a) awards under the Diffuse Mesothelioma Payment Scheme and (b) benefits recovered from payments made under that Scheme by the Compensation Recoveries Unit in the period from the commencement of that Scheme to 11 February 2015.

Mr Mark Harper

The information requested is not currently available. However, information from the commencement of the Scheme up to 31 January 2015 is available and is provided below.

a) The gross value of awards under the Diffuse Mesothelioma Payment Scheme between April 2014 and the end of January 2015 is approximately £24,700,000¹.

b) The value of benefits recovered from gross payments made under the Scheme by the Compensation Recovery Unit for the same period is approximately £5,300,000¹.

Notes:

¹ Figures are rounded to the nearest £100,000.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Green on 2015-02-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Written Statement of 10 February 2015, HCWS 269, on Diffuse Mesothelioma Payment Scheme, what the additional administrative safeguards referred to in that statement are.

Mr Mark Harper

The administrative safeguards are related to audit, management information and ongoing support of the Employers’ Liability Tracing Office. They provide additional insight into the live running of the Scheme for the insurance industry, but do not impact in any way upon the Scheme itself.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Green on 2015-02-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Written Statement of 10 February 2015, HCWS 269, on Diffuse Mesothelioma Payment Scheme, what estimate he has made of the (a) additional and (b) total cost of paying awards at 100 per cent of average civil damages in the first year of operation of the Diffuse Mesothelioma Payment Scheme.

Mr Mark Harper

Those diagnosed with diffuse mesothelioma on or after 10 February 2015 will be eligible for a payment at the increased tariff rate of 100% of average civil claims but no payments can be made at that rate until the regulations which will introduce this change come into effect. Given this timing, this means that there will only be a very small number of claims which will be paid at the increased rate within the first year of the Scheme’s operation.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Green on 2015-02-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Written Statement of 10 February 2015, HCWS 269, on Diffuse Mesothelioma Payment Scheme, whether there will be any change in the amount of the levy on the insurance industry which was announced in the Written Statement of 28 November 2014, column 58WS, on Diffuse Mesothelioma Payment Scheme levy.

Mr Mark Harper

On 28 November 2014 the Government announced that the levy for the first year of the Scheme’s operation would be £32m. This was calculated using the estimated costs of the Scheme extrapolated from the first seven months of its operation. There are no plans to change the amount of the levy that was announced on 28 November as we believe it will still be sufficient to cover the costs of the Scheme in its first year.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Green on 2015-02-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many (a) applications and (b) awards he estimates will be made by the Diffuse Mesothelioma Payment Scheme in (i) the first year of the scheme and (ii) each of the next 10 years.

Mr Mark Harper

The information requested is available from the Impact Assessment for the Diffuse Mesothelioma Payment Scheme which was published in March 2014. This sets out the anticipated levels of claims, awards and costs over the first 10 years of the scheme.

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/286525/mesothelioma-payment-scheme-ia-mar-2014.pdf

The scheme has now been running since April 2014 with payments being made from July 2014. We will review the estimates made in the Impact Assessment in light of data on the actual number of claims and payments made in 2014/15 and will publish the outcome of that review in due course.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Green on 2014-06-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the effect on disabled people in work of the closure of the Independent Living Fund.

Mike Penning

The potential implications of closing the Independent Living Fund are set out clearly in the Equality Analysis that was published on 6 March alongside the Written Ministerial Statement announcing the closure.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Green on 2015-02-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what his estimate is of the (a) cost of awards and (b) administration costs of the Diffuse Mesothelioma Payment Scheme in (i) the first year of the scheme and (ii) each of the next 10 years.

Mr Mark Harper

The information requested is available from the Impact Assessment for the Diffuse Mesothelioma Payment Scheme which was published in March 2014. This sets out the anticipated levels of claims, awards and costs over the first 10 years of the scheme.

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/286525/mesothelioma-payment-scheme-ia-mar-2014.pdf

The scheme has now been running since April 2014 with payments being made from July 2014. We will review the estimates made in the Impact Assessment in light of data on the actual number of claims and payments made in 2014/15 and will publish the outcome of that review in due course.

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