Tag: Phil Boswell

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Phil Boswell on 2016-10-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what qualifications and experience are expected of personal independence payment assessors who handle cases in which an individual suffers from a neurological condition for which symptoms may present sporadically; and what processes are in place for claimants who consider the result of an assessment an unfair representation of their condition.

Penny Mordaunt

All Health Professionals (HPs) undertaking assessments on behalf of DWP must be registered practitioners who have also met requirements around training, experience and competence. Approval to work as an HP must be conferred by the DWP Chief Medical Adviser on behalf of the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions.

For the delivery of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessments, they must be an occupational therapist, level 1 nurse, physiotherapist, paramedic or doctor. They must also be fully registered and have at least two years’ post full-registration experience. In addition to their profession, the Department recognises the importance of ensuring that individuals also have sufficient experience, skills and training to carry out their duties and PIP providers are required to ensure that the HPs carrying out assessments have knowledge of the clinical aspects and likely functional effects of a wide range of health conditions and impairments.

This means that all HPs receive comprehensive training in disability analysis which includes a functional evaluation as to how medical conditions and the long-term medical treatment of those conditions affect an individual’s ability to perform day-to-day activities. Prior to carrying out an assessment the HP routinely refreshes their knowledge of any condition with which they are not fully familiar.

Claimants who consider the result of an assessment to be an inaccurate representation of their condition can ask for a “mandatory reconsideration”, in writing or by telephone, giving their reasons. They may include further information to support their case.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Phil Boswell on 2015-10-30.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to paragraph 5.2 of the Equality and Human Rights Commission report, Is Britain Fairer, published October 2015, what steps he plans to take to address that report’s conclusion that the employment rate for young people has fallen and the unemployment rate has risen, even accounting for increased participation in education.

Priti Patel

The employment rate of young people who have left full-time education is 73.9% – its highest level in more than a decade and above the UK working age average. The rate for young people not in full-time education is the highest for over ten years

Over time participation in education has grown, and the majority of young people in full-time education are outside the labour force. The proportion of all young people who have left full-time education and are unemployed is 6.2% – below where it was before the recession and close to the lowest on record. The UK performs well internationally, with the fourth highest youth employment rate in the European Union.

The employment rate for young people fell during the recession and, as a result, unemployment rose. The EHRC report did not take full account of the recovery in the labour market, including the youth labour market that has since taken place.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Phil Boswell on 2016-01-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what discussions the Government has had with the devolved administrations on increasing social mobility since May 2015.

Nick Boles

The Government is committed to increasing social mobility throughout the UK. We hold regular discussions with the devolved administrations on a wide variety of topics many of which affect social mobility.

It should also be noted however, that many key levers for improving social mobility such as apprenticeships, traineeships and higher education have some degree of devolution across the UK and so policy decisions on these issues should be referred to the relevant devolved administration.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Phil Boswell on 2016-01-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the implication for her policies of the conclusion of the Social Market Foundation report, Educational Inequalities in England and Wales, published in January 2016 that, based upon the performance of 11-year-olds, the geographic area in which a child is born has become a more powerful predictive factor in school performance for those born in 2000 compared to those born in 1970.

Mr Sam Gyimah

We refer the Right Honourable MP to our response to PQ 22192, submitted to Parliament on Tuesday 19 January, which provides information on our policies to deliver educational excellence everywhere so that every child in England reaches their potential, regardless of background.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Phil Boswell on 2016-02-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policy on apprenticeships of the finding of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers in its report, Engineered in Britain, published in December 2015, on the number of manufacturers who would be encouraged to take on more apprentices if the Government provided £3,000 to any person who completed their apprenticeship.

Nick Boles

Apprenticeships are paid jobs. In October 2015 we increased the apprenticeship National Minimum Wage by over 20% to £3.30 per hour for apprentices aged under 19 and those aged 19 and over in the first year of their apprenticeship. Most employers pay more than this. The average gross hourly pay received by apprentices in England is £6.31 an hour for Level 2 and 3 apprentices and £9.69 for higher apprentices.

Apprenticeships have excellent wage returns for individuals over their working life. These add up to between £48,000 and £74,000 for level 2 apprenticeships and between £77,000 and £117,000 for level 3 apprentices. Those completing an apprenticeship at level 4 or above could earn £150,000 more on average over their lifetime.

These are the right long-term financial incentives for individuals to support the growth of apprenticeships towards 3 million new starts by 2020.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Phil Boswell on 2016-10-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what standard of medical expertise is expected of personal independence payment assessors; and what (a) experience and (b) training is required to understand the symptoms of medical conditions.

Penny Mordaunt

All Health Professionals (HPs) undertaking assessments on behalf of DWP must be registered practitioners who have also met requirements around training, experience and competence. Approval to work as an HP must be conferred by the DWP Chief Medical Adviser on behalf of the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions.

For the delivery of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessments, they must be an occupational therapist, level 1 nurse, physiotherapist, paramedic or doctor. They must also be fully registered and have at least two years’ post full-registration experience. In addition to their profession, the Department recognises the importance of ensuring that individuals also have sufficient experience, skills and training to carry out their duties and PIP providers are required to ensure that the HPs carrying out assessments have knowledge of the clinical aspects and likely functional effects of a wide range of health conditions and impairments.

This means that all HPs receive comprehensive training in disability analysis which includes a functional evaluation as to how medical conditions and the long-term medical treatment of those conditions affect an individual’s ability to perform day-to-day activities. Prior to carrying out an assessment the HP routinely refreshes their knowledge of any condition with which they are not fully familiar.

Claimants who consider the result of an assessment to be an inaccurate representation of their condition can ask for a “mandatory reconsideration”, in writing or by telephone, giving their reasons. They may include further information to support their case.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Phil Boswell on 2015-10-30.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent steps HM Revenue and Customs has taken to shorten waiting times for customers.

Mr David Gauke

In the summer, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) recruited 3,000 additional staff into customer facing teams. The recruitment process included bringing people in on contracts to work in the evenings and at weekends, thus building capacity to handle calls outside of normal working hours.

HMRC have also implemented their biggest ever training programme, ensuring that customer support teams can move across a wide range of work according to customer demand.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Phil Boswell on 2016-01-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the implications for his polices of the conclusions of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation report, entitled Monitoring Poverty and Social Exclusion 2015, published in November 2015 that (a) the number of people working part-time who wish to work full-time is higher than in 2009 and (b) 600,000 people on temporary contracts want permanent contracts, compared to 400,000 people before the recession.

Nick Boles

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation Report “Monitoring Poverty and Social Exclusion 2015” is one of a number of reports and surveys undertaken on the UK labour Market and Government considers them in the round with regard to Government policy. This report makes use of the Office for National Statistics data and Labour Force Survey which Government uses as a source of information.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Phil Boswell on 2016-01-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the conclusion of the Social Market Foundation report, Educational Inequalities in England and Wales, published in January 2016, that the performance gap between students from the richest and poorest backgrounds has remained persistently large between the mid-1980s and the mid-2000s.

Mr Sam Gyimah

We refer the Right Honourable MP to our response to PQ 22192, submitted to Parliament on Tuesday 19 January, which provides information on our policies to deliver educational excellence everywhere so that every child in England reaches their potential, regardless of background.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Phil Boswell on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to paragraph 2.48 of the National Minimum Wage Low Pay Commission Report Spring 2016, Cm 9207, what assessment he has made of the potential incidence of employers hiring apprentices to avoid paying the new higher minimum wage.

Nick Boles

No assessment has been made of the potential incidence of employers hiring more apprentices to avoid paying the national minimum wage.

The current minimum wage rate for an apprentice is £3.30 per hour. This applies to apprentices who are aged under 19 or those in the first year of their Apprenticeship. Apprentices aged 19 or above and in the second year of their apprenticeship must be paid at least the minimum wage rate that relates to their age. This means an apprentice aged 25 or above in the second year must be paid at least the National Living Wage.