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 his Departments consultation outcome entitled Work Capability Assessment: activities and descriptors, published 5 September 2023, how his Department selected the cases to be reviewed.
Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
In November 2023, we announced changes to the Work Capability Assessment (WCA) criteria. The full response to the public consultation on these changes can be found here.
We do not know what “research exercise” the questions are referring to but have interpreted these questions to be about internal policy development undertaken before and during the consultation exercise on changes to the WCA. This work was undertaken by a variety of staff from a mix of grades and job titles, including Senior Civil Servants. We will publish an Impact Assessment in due course.
We undertook considerable engagement during the consultation period and received over 1300 written responses. We listened carefully to what people told us and took their views into account when deciding which changes to take forward. We took care to ensure the views of disabled people and people with health conditions, as well as the views of the charities, groups and organisations representing and supporting them, were considered. We also engaged directly with external clinical experts and employers.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of extending the Personal Independence Payment planning and following a journey descriptors to include (a) access to toilets and (b) fear of falling over due to mobility issues.
Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Personal Independence Payment (PIP) was developed in collaboration with independent specialists in health, social care and disability, including disabled people, and through public consultation between 2010-2012 prior to its introduction in 2013. This comprehensive consultation process informed the development of the PIP assessment criteria, as set out in legislation. There are currently no plans to change the criteria.
Activity 11 was designed to assess barriers to mobility that individuals may face that are associated with mental, cognitive, intellectual or sensory ability, as opposed to physical ability. This includes whether people can leave home to make journeys and whether they are able to plan and successfully follow those journeys. With regard to access to toilets, any continence issues would be considered separately under activity 5, and mobility issues under activity 12. Fear of falling down due to mobility issues could be considered under activity 11 if it is sufficient to impact on a claimant’s ability to leave home, plan or follow journeys as per the PIP regulations.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
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 merits of paying people who are waiting for the outcome of their Personal Independence Payment appeal at the rate they received before their last decision.
Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is not an income replacement benefit. It is paid to help with the additional costs that arise from long term health conditions or disability where they impact on the activities set out in legislation. Claimants are assessed against the legislative criteria and a decision on entitlement is made by a DWP decision maker.
In line with the legislative requirement, applicable to most social security benefits, we continue to apply the latest decision on a PIP award until such time as a new decision is made. Payment of PIP after a claim has been disallowed, or at a rate higher than the latest decision whilst an individual is waiting for an appeal hearing could lead to inappropriate expenditure of public funds. If a subsequent first-tier tribunal decides to reinstate PIP, or give a higher award, then the Department will backdate any payments due, in line with the new decision.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of extending the eligibility National Insurance criteria for Employment and Support Allowance to people who have paid National Insurance contributions over two full tax years in their lives.
Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
New Style Employment and Support Allowance (NS ESA) is a benefit for individuals with a limited capability to work based on the individual’s recent National Insurance (NI) record.
Normally, to be entitled to NS ESA, a claimant has to satisfy two NI conditions: to have worked and paid enough NI contributions in one of the two tax years prior to claiming NS ESA for at least 26 weeks; and to have either paid, or been credited with, enough NI contributions in both of the two tax years prior to claiming NS ESA that is at least 50 times the minimum threshold.
Looking at the most recent tax years, ensures people have a recent record of paid contributions and therefore a close link with the labour market.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has made an estimate of the proportion of people phoning the Personal Independence Payment helpline asking for an extension on the deadline to return their Payment form in each of the last six months..
Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
No estimate has been made, as this information is not held.
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, how many people were awaiting a decision on their Personal Independence Payment application on the first day of each month in 2022.
Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The table below gives the number of outstanding PIP cases on the first of each month from 2021 to 2023. Claims are considered outstanding when the claim has been registered but a decision has not yet been made by a Case Manager on whether to award PIP.
Month | Outstanding cases |
Jan-21 | 220,000 |
Feb-21 | 233,000 |
Mar-21 | 237,000 |
Apr-21 | 252,000 |
May-21 | 265,000 |
Jun-21 | 281,000 |
Jul-21 | 296,000 |
Aug-21 | 297,000 |
Sep-21 | 302,000 |
Oct-21 | 308,000 |
Nov-21 | 316,000 |
Dec-21 | 312,000 |
Jan-22 | 301,000 |
Feb-22 | 308,000 |
Mar-22 | 307,000 |
Apr-22 | 303,000 |
May-22 | 295,000 |
Jun-22 | 300,000 |
Jul-22 | 299,000 |
Aug-22 | 284,000 |
Sep-22 | 282,000 |
Oct-22 | 284,000 |
Nov-22 | 275,000 |
Dec-22 | 259,000 |
Jan-23 | 237,000 |
Feb-23 | 232,000 |
Mar-23 | 245,000 |
Apr-23 | 273,000 |
May-23 | 286,000 |
Jun-23 | 301,000 |
Jul-23 | 298,000 |
Aug-23 | 286,000 |
Sep-23 | 281,000 |
Oct-23 | 291,000 |
Nov-23 | 287,000 |
Dec-23 | 276,000 |
Notes:
- Source: PIP Atomic Data Store;
- Figures are rounded to the nearest 1,000;
- Figures are for England and Wales only;
- These figures include claims made under normal rules and special rules for terminal illness and include both new claims and Disability Living Allowance (DLA) to PIP reassessment claims.
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, how many people were awaiting a decision on their Personal Independence Payment application on the first day of each month in 2021.
Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The table below gives the number of outstanding PIP cases on the first of each month from 2021 to 2023. Claims are considered outstanding when the claim has been registered but a decision has not yet been made by a Case Manager on whether to award PIP.
Month | Outstanding cases |
Jan-21 | 220,000 |
Feb-21 | 233,000 |
Mar-21 | 237,000 |
Apr-21 | 252,000 |
May-21 | 265,000 |
Jun-21 | 281,000 |
Jul-21 | 296,000 |
Aug-21 | 297,000 |
Sep-21 | 302,000 |
Oct-21 | 308,000 |
Nov-21 | 316,000 |
Dec-21 | 312,000 |
Jan-22 | 301,000 |
Feb-22 | 308,000 |
Mar-22 | 307,000 |
Apr-22 | 303,000 |
May-22 | 295,000 |
Jun-22 | 300,000 |
Jul-22 | 299,000 |
Aug-22 | 284,000 |
Sep-22 | 282,000 |
Oct-22 | 284,000 |
Nov-22 | 275,000 |
Dec-22 | 259,000 |
Jan-23 | 237,000 |
Feb-23 | 232,000 |
Mar-23 | 245,000 |
Apr-23 | 273,000 |
May-23 | 286,000 |
Jun-23 | 301,000 |
Jul-23 | 298,000 |
Aug-23 | 286,000 |
Sep-23 | 281,000 |
Oct-23 | 291,000 |
Nov-23 | 287,000 |
Dec-23 | 276,000 |
Notes:
- Source: PIP Atomic Data Store;
- Figures are rounded to the nearest 1,000;
- Figures are for England and Wales only;
- These figures include claims made under normal rules and special rules for terminal illness and include both new claims and Disability Living Allowance (DLA) to PIP reassessment claims.
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, how many applicants for Personal Independence Payment had not received a decision on the first day of each month in 2023.
Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The table below gives the number of outstanding PIP cases on the first of each month from 2021 to 2023. Claims are considered outstanding when the claim has been registered but a decision has not yet been made by a Case Manager on whether to award PIP.
Month | Outstanding cases |
Jan-21 | 220,000 |
Feb-21 | 233,000 |
Mar-21 | 237,000 |
Apr-21 | 252,000 |
May-21 | 265,000 |
Jun-21 | 281,000 |
Jul-21 | 296,000 |
Aug-21 | 297,000 |
Sep-21 | 302,000 |
Oct-21 | 308,000 |
Nov-21 | 316,000 |
Dec-21 | 312,000 |
Jan-22 | 301,000 |
Feb-22 | 308,000 |
Mar-22 | 307,000 |
Apr-22 | 303,000 |
May-22 | 295,000 |
Jun-22 | 300,000 |
Jul-22 | 299,000 |
Aug-22 | 284,000 |
Sep-22 | 282,000 |
Oct-22 | 284,000 |
Nov-22 | 275,000 |
Dec-22 | 259,000 |
Jan-23 | 237,000 |
Feb-23 | 232,000 |
Mar-23 | 245,000 |
Apr-23 | 273,000 |
May-23 | 286,000 |
Jun-23 | 301,000 |
Jul-23 | 298,000 |
Aug-23 | 286,000 |
Sep-23 | 281,000 |
Oct-23 | 291,000 |
Nov-23 | 287,000 |
Dec-23 | 276,000 |
Notes:
- Source: PIP Atomic Data Store;
- Figures are rounded to the nearest 1,000;
- Figures are for England and Wales only;
- These figures include claims made under normal rules and special rules for terminal illness and include both new claims and Disability Living Allowance (DLA) to PIP reassessment claims.
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, how many applicants for Access to Work support had not received a decision on (a) 1 January, (b) 1 February and (c) 1 March 2024.
Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The number of applications awaiting a decision for Access to Work on the requested dates were as follows. Figures have been steadily increasing due to the rise in the volume of application received.
As of 1st January 2024 – 24,874
As of 1st February 2024 – 26,812
As of 1st March 2024 – 29,864
There were 25,292 Access to Work applications awaiting a decision as of 1st December 2022.
Please note that the data supplied is derived from unpublished management information, which was collected for internal Departmental use only, and have not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standard. They should therefore be treated with caution.
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, how many applicants for Access to Work support had not received an assessment on 1 December 2022.
Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The number of applications awaiting a decision for Access to Work on the requested dates were as follows. Figures have been steadily increasing due to the rise in the volume of application received.
As of 1st January 2024 – 24,874
As of 1st February 2024 – 26,812
As of 1st March 2024 – 29,864
There were 25,292 Access to Work applications awaiting a decision as of 1st December 2022.
Please note that the data supplied is derived from unpublished management information, which was collected for internal Departmental use only, and have not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standard. They should therefore be treated with caution.