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Written Question
Department for Work and Pensions: Mental Health
Tuesday 26th March 2024

Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what training (a) he has and (b) other Ministers in his Department have had in mental health literacy.

Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

Ministers are not required to undertake specific mental health literacy training.


Written Question
State Retirement Pensions: Women
Tuesday 26th March 2024

Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department plans to formally respond to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman's report into the communication of state pension age increases, published on 21 March 2024.

Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

We are considering the Ombudsman’s report and will respond in due course.


Written Question
State Retirement Pensions: Women
Tuesday 26th March 2024

Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will take steps to introduce a compensation scheme for women affected by the Pensions Act 1995.

Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

We are considering the Ombudsman’s report and will respond in due course.


Written Question
Department for Work and Pensions: Mental Health
Tuesday 26th March 2024

Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to ensure his Department's (a) policy and (b) other staff have comprehensive training in mental health.

Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

DWP is actively taking steps to increase staff capability and raising awareness of the mental health difficulties that may be experienced by our customers, ensuring they can be directed to further support at any stage of the claimant journey.

We continually review our learning alongside external experts and psychologists to enhance the mental health training offer. The learning is mandatory and aims to help our colleagues better support claimants who may present with mental health issues/unexpected behaviour by exploring their impact on customers, the steps needed to build relationships and learning how to respond appropriately to customers’ needs.

All colleagues in customer contact roles will receive this learning by March 2025, and the learning is included in new entrant learning for colleagues in these roles. As of the end of February 2024, we have delivered the learning to 62,291 colleagues, with a further 20,399 colleagues due to receive the learning before the rollout is completed.

All DWP colleagues have access to support and resources relating to mental health.


Written Question
Children: Maintenance and Universal Credit
Tuesday 26th March 2024

Asked by: Richard Foord (Liberal Democrat - Tiverton and Honiton)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the number of people in receipt of both Child Maintenance payments and Universal Credit.

Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

At the end of the quarter ending September 2023, 353,000 Receiving Parents were also claiming Universal Credit.

Please note that Child Maintenance payments are not considered during the calculation of Universal Credit and Figures have been rounded to the nearest 1,000.


Written Question
Employment: Mental Health
Tuesday 26th March 2024

Asked by: Abena Oppong-Asare (Labour - Erith and Thamesmead)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of Health and Safety Executive employees are dedicated to mental health related workplace matters.

Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

Information on the work and resourcing within Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is not available in the format requested.


Written Question
Social Security Benefits: Mental Health
Tuesday 26th March 2024

Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that obligations under the Equalities Act 2010 are taken into account when developing policies on support for people with mental health challenges.

Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The DWP is proudly committed to becoming a more Trauma Informed organisation. The potential merits of the adoption of the Trauma Informed Approach into DWP services, will benefit all customers including those with mental ill health who are unemployed. Adopting the principles of the approach into the core of our business will help us to ensure that anyone interacting with our services feels as safe, empowered and understood as possible; this will underpin our ongoing commitment to compassionate coaching and tailored services.

We have a dedicated programme which will integrate the six key pillars of the approach as defined by the Office for Health Improvements and Disparities (December, 2022) which are safety, trustworthiness, choice, empowerment, collaboration and cultural consideration. Our programme looks at these six pillars within the contexts of application to our colleagues, our customers, our culture, and the context of our interaction- whether that is a physical, telephony, digital or postal interaction. There is significant emphasis within the design of the programme regarding what more can be done to prevent trauma and re-traumatisation for both our customers and our colleagues. We are learning from best practice demonstrated by organisations such as NHS Education Scotland, Work Services Australia and the Wales ACES Hub to shape the future prioritisation of this work.

When developing policies, the Department routinely carries out assessments against the Public Sector Equality Duty to ensure that due regard is given to our responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010.


Written Question
Unemployment: Mental Health
Tuesday 26th March 2024

Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment has he made of the potential merits of taking a nurturing and trauma-informed approach to people with mental health challenges who are not in employment.

Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The DWP is proudly committed to becoming a more Trauma Informed organisation. The potential merits of the adoption of the Trauma Informed Approach into DWP services, will benefit all customers including those with mental ill health who are unemployed. Adopting the principles of the approach into the core of our business will help us to ensure that anyone interacting with our services feels as safe, empowered and understood as possible; this will underpin our ongoing commitment to compassionate coaching and tailored services.

We have a dedicated programme which will integrate the six key pillars of the approach as defined by the Office for Health Improvements and Disparities (December, 2022) which are safety, trustworthiness, choice, empowerment, collaboration and cultural consideration. Our programme looks at these six pillars within the contexts of application to our colleagues, our customers, our culture, and the context of our interaction- whether that is a physical, telephony, digital or postal interaction. There is significant emphasis within the design of the programme regarding what more can be done to prevent trauma and re-traumatisation for both our customers and our colleagues. We are learning from best practice demonstrated by organisations such as NHS Education Scotland, Work Services Australia and the Wales ACES Hub to shape the future prioritisation of this work.

When developing policies, the Department routinely carries out assessments against the Public Sector Equality Duty to ensure that due regard is given to our responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010.


Written Question
Disability
Tuesday 26th March 2024

Asked by: Ellie Reeves (Labour - Lewisham West and Penge)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Disability Action Plan, published in February 2024, what steps his Department is taking to help with the extra financial costs associated with disability when standing for elected office.

Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to PQ15196 on 29 February.


Written Question
Personal Independence Payment
Tuesday 26th March 2024

Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to his Department's publication entitled Transforming Support: The Health and Disability White Paper, published on 16 March 2023, what progress his Department has made on testing matching a Personal Independent Payment applicant’s primary health condition to a specialist assessor; and when he plans to publish the findings.

Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Health and Disability White Paper, published in March 2023, set out ambitious and extensive reforms to further support disabled people including exploring the initiative referred to as “Specialist Assessors”.

As the term “specialist” has a very specific meaning in a medical context, the decision has been made to rename the initiative to “Condition Focused Assessors” to avoid misalignment with clinical definitions. The ambition and intent of the initiative remains the same.

In September 2023, we began a small-scale test matching certain PIP claimants’ primary health condition to an existing healthcare professional (HCP) with relevant clinical experience. This test ran until January 2024, at which point it was expanded to cover claimants with multiple conditions.

We continue to work closely with key stakeholders and support organisations as we progress our testing. Initial exploratory research will be published later this year. The Health Transformation Programme looks to publish evaluation when services are suitably developed, and when findings are robust and provide a representative picture of our progress.