Asked by: John Spellar (Labour - Warley)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to remove access to benefits for people sentenced to be held in secure mental health facilities.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The DWP Secretary of State has asked officials to look into the rules around benefits entitlements for offenders who are detained in psychiatric hospitals.
Asked by: Alison McGovern (Labour - Wirral South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Jobcentre sites are temporarily closed.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
As of 30 April 2024, there are 6 Jobcentres that are temporarily closed.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many times Ministers in his Department have met with representatives of the Women Against State Pension Inequality campaign since 2015.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Departmental Ministers met with representatives from the WASPI campaign group on 29 June 2016.
In laying the report before Parliament at the end of March, the Ombudsman has brought matters to the attention of this House, and I will provide a further update to the House once I have considered the report's findings.
Asked by: Imran Hussain (Labour - Bradford East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent estimate he has made of the proportion of disabled people who experience one-off extra costs as a result of their disability.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
No such estimates have been made
As of April 2024, the rate of inflation has slowed, and the Government has also implemented uprating to benefits to reflect increased costs. We also increased extra costs disability benefits by 10.1 per cent from April 2023 and by 6.7% from April 2024 in line with the Consumer Price Index.
For 2023/24 we estimate that nearly 60 per cent of individuals who received an extra costs disability benefit would have received the means-tested benefit Cost of Living Payments, worth up to £900. Over 85 per cent would have received either or both of the means-tested and the £300 Pensioner Cost of Living Payment.
An evaluation of the Cost of Living Payments is underway. This will seek to understand their effectiveness as a means of support for low-income and vulnerable household.
Asked by: Imran Hussain (Labour - Bradford East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how his Department calculates the estimated cost of living for disabled people.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
No such estimates have been made
As of April 2024, the rate of inflation has slowed, and the Government has also implemented uprating to benefits to reflect increased costs. We also increased extra costs disability benefits by 10.1 per cent from April 2023 and by 6.7% from April 2024 in line with the Consumer Price Index.
For 2023/24 we estimate that nearly 60 per cent of individuals who received an extra costs disability benefit would have received the means-tested benefit Cost of Living Payments, worth up to £900. Over 85 per cent would have received either or both of the means-tested and the £300 Pensioner Cost of Living Payment.
An evaluation of the Cost of Living Payments is underway. This will seek to understand their effectiveness as a means of support for low-income and vulnerable household.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent progress his Department has made towards the full rollout of the Universal Support programme.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Universal Support will be delivered through around 50 Local Authority led delivery areas, covering all of England and Wales. We expect areas will go live with Universal Support in a phased way from Autumn 2024. We will shortly publish a Universal Support prospectus, which will provide an overview of the expectations for the programme. We aim to publish the Grant Guidance and associated materials before the summer recess. We will work collaboratively with delivery areas to agree their delivery plans and implementation timetables.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of potential costs of planned changes to the Work Capability Assessment on (a) the NHS and (b) mental health services.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department is considering the effect of these changes on the NHS and mental health services; however, currently no assessment has been made. We are continuing to engage with a range of clinical experts and charities specialising in disability and health conditions as well as representatives from national organisations around the Work Capability Assessment changes and associated support.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the potential impact of planned changes to the Work Capability Assessment on (a) appeal and (b) mandatory reconsideration costs.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department is committed to understanding the impacts of its policies on the justice system, and is carefully considering the impact of any changes on appeals and mandatory reconsiderations.
Asked by: Imran Hussain (Labour - Bradford East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the proposals in the Health and Disability Green Paper on the finances of people with complex disabilities.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We are looking at different options to reshape the current welfare system so that we can provide better targeted support to those who need it most. We are considering some of these options through our 12-week consultation which was published on Monday 29 April and will close on Monday 22 July at 11:59pm. Further analysis of these options will consider any potential financial impacts on claimants.
There will be no immediate changes to PIP, or to health assessments. All scheduled PIP assessments and payments will proceed as normal, and claimants should continue to engage as usual and provide any necessary information or updates regarding their circumstances.
We encourage everyone to respond to the consultation which can be found here, so that we are able to hear from as many disabled people, people with health conditions, their representatives, and local stakeholders as possible on these important issues
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to Q9 of the oral evidence by Gareth Parry to the Work and Pensions Committee on 17 April 2024, HC 697, whether the Work and Health Programme will end in November 2024.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Work and Health Programme is part of a much wider offer to help people with disabilities and long-term health conditions and those in disadvantage groups start, stay and succeed in work.
As part of the government’s Back to Work Plan we have launched and plan to deliver a range of other support which will put in place an offer to a broader range of disabled people, for example, Universal Support will support up to 100,000 disabled people, people with health conditions and people with additional barriers to employment per year, once fully rolled out, helping them to find, enter, and remain in work
The Work and Health Programme will continue to be delivered until July 2026, further announcements on the programme will be made in due course.