Asked by: Drew Hendry (Scottish National Party - Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey)
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 implementing a time limit on the (a) re-assessment and (b) removal of previously granted Personal Independence Payment awards in order that claimants are not in debt for overpayments of awards where the evidence base her Department has available to it for the original provision of that award has altered.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
Overpayments may arise due to official error or the claimant misrepresenting their circumstances or failing to report an adverse change of circumstances in time. All potential overpayments are considered on the facts with recovery being decided on a case-by-case basis. There are no plans to introduce a time-limit to recovery of an overpayment. We are committed to making assessment decisions in a timely way and ensuring that the right outcome is reached.
Asked by: Drew Hendry (Scottish National Party - Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to ensure support for individuals currently employed under the Temporary Employment Support Grant under Access to Work programs continues to move forward.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
The Transitional Employer Support Grant is a flat-rate time-limited grant paid by Access to Work to fund the in-work support needs of disabled individuals working in Supported Businesses who previously delivered the Work Choice programme. This grant is providing transitional protection for disabled employees while a long-term funding model is developed. A new more personalised funding model is currently being piloted which offers disabled employees more tailored support and recognises the adaptations the employer has made. If the new model is successful it is expected to replace the Transitional Employer Support Grant.
Asked by: Drew Hendry (Scottish National Party - Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of enabling data sharing between the Child Maintenance Service and HMRC to help ensure accurate income assessments of non-resident parents.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) already uses data received directly from HMRC to ensure child maintenance liabilities are based on accurate income information. The CMS can also access a wide range of income information, including income from property, savings, and investments (including dividends) and other miscellaneous income.
Asked by: Drew Hendry (Scottish National Party - Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of the immediate removal of the two child limit for the Universal Credit Child Element for all claimants to enable Ukrainian nationals arriving in the UK are not (a) subject to limitations in available family support, and (b) made to disclose if they have being the victims of sexual violence used as a weapon of war in order to receive support for any children who may have being conceived in non-consensual conception above the two child limit.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
No assessment has been made. The policy applies to all children born on or after 6 April 2017 regardless of the nationality of the child.
We recognise that some claimants are not able to make the same choices about the number of children in their family.
That is why exceptions have been put in place to protect certain groups, including those likely to have been born as a result of non-consensual conception. This includes rape or where the claimant was in a controlling or coercive relationship with the child’s other biological parent at the time of conception. In this case, before a claim is approved, claimants are asked to contact a suitable third-party professional who can confirm the claimant’s circumstances, as described by them, are consistent with the criteria for the exception. The third-party professional does not judge the credibility of the claimant’s statement or require any further evidence.
Furthermore, On 9th July 2021, the Supreme Court handed down the judicial review judgement on the two-child Policy. The court found the two-child Policy lawful and not in breach of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Asked by: Drew Hendry (Scottish National Party - Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of the introduction of a registration system for assistance dogs.
Answered by Chloe Smith
The services and standards of assistance dogs are currently and historically maintained on the basis of a voluntary regulatory framework. There is no specific legislation for the regulation of assistance dogs and no legislation is planned.
There are recognised standards for assistance dogs worldwide set by international bodies to which a number of UK charities and organisations are accredited.