Asked by: Lord Shinkwin (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they plan to publish their response to the consultation Disability workforce reporting, which closed on 8 April; and when they plan to publish the findings of their review of the Disability Confident scheme.
Answered by Baroness Stedman-Scott
The commitment to consult on disability workforce reporting was set out in the National Disability Strategy. In January 2022, the High Court declared that the strategy was unlawful because the UK Disability Survey, which informed it, was held to be a voluntary consultation that failed to comply with the legal requirements on public consultations.
The Department aims to minimise the risk of acting inconsistently with the Court’s declaration, without compromising on the ambitious agenda we are delivering for disabled people. As such, we have paused a limited number of policies referred to in the Strategy or directly connected with it, including the planned findings report and next steps publication for the Disability Workforce Reporting consultation and work directly related to the Disability Confident review.
We are committed to disability policy that supports all areas of life, and to taking action to create a society that works for everyone.
Asked by: Lord Shinkwin (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Stedman-Scott on 11 November (HL3461), whether in their view the removal of the Universal Credit uplift meets the public sector equality duty tests set out in section 149(1) of the Equality Act 2010 for any of the nine protected characteristics; what evidence informs their view that the public sector equality duty does not apply to ‘temporary’ measures; and what legal advice they have sought to confirm this view.
Answered by Baroness Stedman-Scott
The Government recognises that the Public Sector Equality Duty set out in Section 149 of the Equality Act 2010 is ongoing. As such, a full equality impact assessment was completed prior to the introduction of the uplift to Universal Credit and that equality impact assessment was reviewed and updated prior to implementation of the temporary six-month extension announced by the Chancellor at the Budget on 3 March 2021.
Consideration of the impact of the end of the uplift was implicit in those equality impact assessments, because the uplift was always intended as a temporary measure only. No separate assessment was therefore needed when the uplift came to an end.
Asked by: Lord Shinkwin (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Stedman-Scott on 11 November (HL3461), what assessment they have made of the number of disabled households living in poverty following the end of the Universal Credit uplift; what assessment they have made of the impact of increasing inflation and cost of living on disabled households; and what plans they have to support disabled people who are unable to work.
Answered by Baroness Stedman-Scott
No assessment has been made. Official poverty statistics for individuals living in disabled families, covering the period 2020/21, will be published in March 2022, as part of the Department’s Households Below Average Income publication, subject to the usual checks on data quality. This is an annual publication.
As well as receiving support through ESA or UC Health, disabled people may be eligible for Personal Independence Payment, which helps towards some of the extra costs arising from having a long-term health condition or disability. Spending on benefits for disabled people and people with long-term ill health has never been higher and is set to increase further. In 2021/22 we are forecast to spend £59 billion.
Vulnerable households in most need of support will also benefit from the £421m Household Support Fund (HSF), a new grant made by DWP to upper tier Local Authorities across England. The Devolved Administrations will receive £80m through the Barnett Formula.
We are reviewing responses to the Health and Disability Green Paper and intend to publish a White Paper next year, setting out changes to the benefits system that will better meet the needs of claimants now and in the future by improving claimant experience of our services, enabling independent living and improving employment outcomes.
Asked by: Lord Shinkwin (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether an equality impact assessment was completed prior to the removal of the £20 Universal Credit uplift; and if so, what reference this had to disabled people.
Answered by Baroness Stedman-Scott
The Department has not completed an equality impact assessment of the removal of the Universal Credit temporary uplift as it was introduced as a temporary measure.
The Chancellor announced a temporary six-month extension to the £20 per week uplift at the Budget on 3 March to support households affected by the economic shock of Covid-19. Universal Credit has provided a vital safety net for six million people during the pandemic, and the temporary uplift was part of a COVID support package worth a total of £407 billion in 2020-21 and 2021-22.
There have been significant positive developments in the public health situation since the uplift was first introduced. With the success of the vaccine rollout and record job vacancies, it is right that our focus is on helping people back into work.
Through our existing programmes such as Work and Health Programme and the Intensive Employment Support Programme we are keen to see disabled people progress in work. Over the last 8 years the number of disabled people in employment has increased by 1.5m.
Asked by: Lord Shinkwin (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what evaluation they have made of their supported employment schemes and employment support programmes for (1) disabled people, and (2) young people, since February 2020.
Answered by Baroness Stedman-Scott
The Department for Work and Pensions’ two main employment support programmes for disabled people are the Work and Health Programme (WHP) and Intensive Personalised Employment Support (IPES). Both programmes are subject to ongoing evaluation to capture a full range of employment, health and wellbeing outcomes for programme participants.
Alongside these employment schemes, DWP continues to evaluate labour market interventions targeted at disabled people and those with health conditions, including:
The Plan for Jobs includes specific support for young people, including Kickstart, which funds the direct creation of jobs for young people at risk of long-term unemployment. The Department for Work and Pensions will be monitoring and evaluating the Kickstart scheme, alongside the wider DWP Youth Offer, throughout and after implementation.
Asked by: Lord Shinkwin (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of any long-term, disproportionate effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the employment of (1) disabled people, and (2) young Black people; and what steps they are taking to address those effects.
Answered by Baroness Stedman-Scott
Since 2013 (the earliest comparable year using the current definition of disability) up to the start of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic the general trend in disability employment had been positive. There had been strong growth in the number and rate of disabled people in employment and a narrowing of the gap, between the rate of disabled and non-disabled people in employment.
While quarterly statistics published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that the pandemic initially reversed these trends, there are now signs of the trends improving, with the disability employment rate returning to its pre-pandemic level in Q2 2021. The disability employment gap has also started to narrow again during Q1 and Q2 of 2021. This suggests that, in the long term, disability employment rates have not been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic.
We continue to monitor the data and annual statistics, published by the Department on 4 November 2021, provided a more detailed view of disabled people in the labour market. These included breakdowns by a number of individual and work-related characteristics and covered the first 12 months of the pandemic. The number of disabled people in employment continued to increase (year-on-year) throughout the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic but at a slower rate than seen in previous years. The number of disabled people in employment is now above pre-pandemic levels.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we have provided specialist employment support remotely and made programmes easier to access. A range of DWP initiatives are supporting disabled people to start and stay in work. These include the Work and Health Programme, the Intensive Personalised Employment Support programme, Access to Work, Disability Confident and support in partnership with the health system, including Employment Advice in NHS Improving Access to Psychological Therapy services.
Data from the Annual Population Survey shows the impact of the Covid-19 outbreak on young Black people in relation to employment. Before the Covid-19 pandemic (July 2018 - June 2019) the employment rate for 16-24 year-old black people was 36.3%. This fell during the pandemic to 27.4% between July 2020 - June 2021.This is the latest available published data and therefore we cannot yet see how the employment rate of young black people has changed as the economy recovers from the pandemic.
Throughout these unprecedented times, the Government has provided crucial support to record numbers of claimants. . This includes the Youth Offer, which has been developed to ensure that 18-24 year olds claiming Universal Credit have the skills they need to look for, find and keep employment. We also have a national programme of mentoring circles, involving employers offering specialised support to young jobseekers from ethnic minority backgrounds, including young black people.
Asked by: Lord Shinkwin (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government why they commenced the National Strategy for Disabled People survey before the Cabinet Office's systematic review of the lived experience of disabled people (CCZZ21A07) was completed.
Answered by Baroness Stedman-Scott
The systematic review of the evidence on the lived experience of disabled people in the UK is expected to conclude in autumn 2021. It is one strand of the Disability Unit's analytical work. It is part of a long-term programme of analytical work to improve and systematise the evidence base and ensure that government departments make decisions that are driven by robust evidence. It will inform the Disability Unit’s post-strategy work, including evaluation.
Any publication of the review would not be before Autumn 2021 at the earliest, due to the time it takes to conduct and write-up the review. Ministers will decide whether the final output of the review - or a condensed version of it - will be published, nearer the time.
The UK Disability Survey and the systematic review of the evidence on the lived experience of disabled people are two distinct but complementary strands of our evidence and insight and engagement work
Asked by: Lord Shinkwin (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government (1) whether their National Strategy for Disabled People will be published after the Cabinet Office’s systematic review of the lived experience of disabled people (CCZZ21A07) is completed, and (2) how it will take into account the findings of that review.
Answered by Baroness Stedman-Scott
The systematic review of the evidence on the lived experience of disabled people in the UK is expected to conclude in autumn 2021. It is one strand of the Disability Unit's analytical work. It is part of a long-term programme of analytical work to improve and systematise the evidence base and ensure that government departments make decisions that are driven by robust evidence. It will inform the Disability Unit’s post-strategy work, including evaluation.
Any publication of the review would not be before Autumn 2021 at the earliest, due to the time it takes to conduct and write-up the review. Ministers will decide whether the final output of the review - or a condensed version of it - will be published, nearer the time.
The UK Disability Survey and the systematic review of the evidence on the lived experience of disabled people are two distinct but complementary strands of our evidence and insight and engagement work
Asked by: Lord Shinkwin (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when the Cabinet Office’s systematic review of the lived experience of disabled people (CCZZ12A07) will be made publicly available.
Answered by Baroness Stedman-Scott
The systematic review is part of Disability Unit’s ongoing work to improve and systematise the evidence base on the lived experience of disabled people in the UK.
The tendering process has been overseen by Disability Unit (DU) staff as well as procurement specialists from Crown Commercial Service (CCS). We do not know about those from the CCS side, but some DU staff involved do have lived experience of disability.
The scope and criteria were drawn up by Disability Unit, informed by knowledge of the existing evidence base and its gaps, and also incorporating the focus areas of the National Strategy for Disabled People. Since the tender was conducted as an open competition, all of the criteria (e.g. the requirements and the evaluation criteria) for the tendering process were available on Contracts Finder.
Asked by: Lord Shinkwin (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will publish the criteria for the tendering process of the Cabinet Office’s systematic review of the lived experience of disabled people (CCZZ21A07).
Answered by Baroness Stedman-Scott
The systematic review is part of Disability Unit’s ongoing work to improve and systematise the evidence base on the lived experience of disabled people in the UK.
The tendering process has been overseen by Disability Unit (DU) staff as well as procurement specialists from Crown Commercial Service (CCS). We do not know about those from the CCS side, but some DU staff involved do have lived experience of disability.
The scope and criteria were drawn up by Disability Unit, informed by knowledge of the existing evidence base and its gaps, and also incorporating the focus areas of the National Strategy for Disabled People. Since the tender was conducted as an open competition, all of the criteria (e.g. the requirements and the evaluation criteria) for the tendering process were available on Contracts Finder.