Asked by: Baroness Doocey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that former Thomas Cook employees who apply for, and are eligible for, Universal Credit begin receiving payments swiftly.
Answered by Baroness Stedman-Scott - Opposition Whip (Lords)
The Department is monitoring all new claims to Universal Credit to identify where the claimant is a former employee of Thomas Cook so that they quickly receive the right level of support.
For claimants who require urgent financial support, new claim advances provide access to a payment quickly, until the first regular Universal Credit payment is due. Claimants can access up to 100% of the total expected monthly award, which they can pay back over a period of up to 12 months.
From April 2019 Citizens Advice (England and Wales) and Citizens Advice Scotland are delivering ‘Help to Claim’ support to claimants making a new Universal Credit claim. Help to Claim have offered locally tailored support to former Thomas Cook employees in need of assistance face to face, and through prioritised telephony and web-chat channels.
Where we have seen an increase in demand, additional staff have been deployed from neighbouring offices on a temporary basis.
The Department is offering a range of support to anyone affected by the closure of Thomas Cook, through our Rapid Response Service (RRS) and wider DWP services. This is a redundancy service designed to give support and advice to employers and their employees when faced with redundancy. It is coordinated nationally by the National Employer and Partnership Team (NEPT) and is managed by Jobcentre Plus.
The RRS has been mobilised to help people find a new job as soon as possible by offering tailored support. Each Jobcentre Plus district deploy resources according to the situation and the requirements of the workforce. The RRS is delivered in partnership with a range of national and local partners, including National Careers Service and local service providers.
Asked by: Baroness Doocey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many Personal Independent Payment claimants have so far been awarded the top level of mobility support; and of those, what percentage were awarded that support as a result of points from (1) the "planning and following a journey" activity, (2) the "moving around" activity, or (3) a combination of the two.
Answered by Baroness Altmann
At the end of January 2016 there were 218,279 people in receipt of the enhanced rate mobility component of PIP. The latest available data on the proportion of awards of the enhanced rate mobility component by activity are in the table below:
Activities/scores | Proportion |
12 or more points on the “planning and following a journey” activity | 19% |
12 or more points on the “moving around” activity | 51% |
12 or more points on both “moving around” and “planning and following a journey” | 5% |
12 or more points from a combination of these activities. | 25% |
Notes:
Figures relate to Normal Rules assessments only.
Data at 31 December 2015.
Asked by: Baroness Doocey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many disabled people who receive Disability Living Allowance (DLA) have so far been reassessed for Personal Independence Payment (PIP), and of those that have been reassessed, how many have lost the top level of mobility allowance as they move from DLA to PIP, in each case broken down by disability.
Answered by Baroness Altmann
The Department intends to provide detailed breakdowns of DLA to PIP reassessment outcomes in due course. The Department is working to guidelines set by the UK Statistics Authority to ensure we are able to publish statistics that meet high quality standards at the earliest opportunity.
The latest available data on Personal Independence Payment (PIP) claims in payment, registrations, clearances and awards for both new claims and reassessed claims (for those previously in receipt of Disability Living Allowance (DLA)) are published on the Gov.UK website. Breakdowns of reassessed claims in payment by type and rate of awards can be found through Stat-Xplore, a statistical exploration tool available on the Gov.UK website.