Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool, Walton)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will take steps to end non-dependant reductions from Housing Benefit for disadvantaged groups.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
As previously stated, there are easements within the rules, which apply if the householder (or their partner) is blind, getting Attendance Allowance, the care component of Disability Living Allowance, the daily living component of Personal Independence Payment, or Armed Forces Independence Payment. In these circumstances, no non-dependant deductions would be made.
This easement is designed to help sustain disabled householders in their own home rather than increase the risk of them moving into alternative accommodation, which might be more expensive and /or less appropriate for them.
There are currently no plans to review the non-dependant deductions policy in Housing Benefit.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool, Walton)
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 changing the eligibility criteria of the carer's allowance to allow carers to claim the allowance for caring for more than one individual.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
This Government recognises and values the vital contribution made by carers in supporting some of the most vulnerable in society, including pensioners and those with disabilities.
The benefit system supports unpaid carers primarily through Universal Credit, Pension Credit and Carer’s Allowance. The first two are payable to carers on low incomes who are respectively below or above State Pension age. They are means-tested and can be paid at a higher rate than to those without caring responsibilities through the Universal Credit carer element (currently £185.86 per monthly assessment period in addition to the standard allowance) or the additional amount for carers in Pension Credit (currently £42.75 a week in addition to the standard minimum guarantee).
Carer’s Allowance is not means-tested and is not based on National Insurance contributions. Its principal purpose is to provide a measure of financial support and recognition for people who give up the opportunity of full-time work in order to provide regular care for a severely disabled person. The main qualifying condition is that the carer is providing at least 35 hours of care to somebody in receipt of a qualifying disability benefit, and that no-one else is providing such care to that person. This has been the approach of successive governments and reflects wider social policy aims, as well as issues of affordability.
Nearly 60% of carers on low incomes who are of working age and on Carer’s Allowance claim an income-related means-tested benefit. More than 8 million households on means-tested benefits received Cost of Living Payments of up to £650 in 2022, and more than 8 million households will receive up to £900 in Cost of Living Payments in 2023/24. All pensioner households will also receive the £300 Pensioner Cost of Living Payment. Carers who are themselves disabled may also receive the £150 Disability Cost of Living Payment, as will the people for whom they provide care. Overall, the Government is providing total support of over £94bn over 2022-23 and 2023-24 to help households and individuals with the rising cost of bills. For people who require additional support, the Household Support Fund will continue until March 2024. This year-long extension allows local authorities in England to continue to provide discretionary support with the significantly rising cost of living to those most in need. The devolved administrations will receive consequential funding.
The Government keeps the qualifying conditions for Carer’s Allowance under review, but has no plans to amend them at this time.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool, Walton)
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 that full-time carers receive adequate financial support, in the context of rises in the cost of living.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
This Government recognises and values the vital contribution made by carers in supporting some of the most vulnerable in society, including pensioners and those with disabilities.
The benefit system supports unpaid carers primarily through Universal Credit, Pension Credit and Carer’s Allowance. The first two are payable to carers on low incomes who are respectively below or above State Pension age. They are means-tested and can be paid at a higher rate than to those without caring responsibilities through the Universal Credit carer element (currently £185.86 per monthly assessment period in addition to the standard allowance) or the additional amount for carers in Pension Credit (currently £42.75 a week in addition to the standard minimum guarantee).
Carer’s Allowance is not means-tested and is not based on National Insurance contributions. Its principal purpose is to provide a measure of financial support and recognition for people who give up the opportunity of full-time work in order to provide regular care for a severely disabled person. The main qualifying condition is that the carer is providing at least 35 hours of care to somebody in receipt of a qualifying disability benefit, and that no-one else is providing such care to that person. This has been the approach of successive governments and reflects wider social policy aims, as well as issues of affordability.
Nearly 60% of carers on low incomes who are of working age and on Carer’s Allowance claim an income-related means-tested benefit. More than 8 million households on means-tested benefits received Cost of Living Payments of up to £650 in 2022, and more than 8 million households will receive up to £900 in Cost of Living Payments in 2023/24. All pensioner households will also receive the £300 Pensioner Cost of Living Payment. Carers who are themselves disabled may also receive the £150 Disability Cost of Living Payment, as will the people for whom they provide care. Overall, the Government is providing total support of over £94bn over 2022-23 and 2023-24 to help households and individuals with the rising cost of bills. For people who require additional support, the Household Support Fund will continue until March 2024. This year-long extension allows local authorities in England to continue to provide discretionary support with the significantly rising cost of living to those most in need. The devolved administrations will receive consequential funding.
The Government keeps the qualifying conditions for Carer’s Allowance under review, but has no plans to amend them at this time.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool, Walton)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he plans to (a) review and (b) amend the carer's allowance.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
This Government recognises and values the vital contribution made by carers in supporting some of the most vulnerable in society, including pensioners and those with disabilities.
The benefit system supports unpaid carers primarily through Universal Credit, Pension Credit and Carer’s Allowance. The first two are payable to carers on low incomes who are respectively below or above State Pension age. They are means-tested and can be paid at a higher rate than to those without caring responsibilities through the Universal Credit carer element (currently £185.86 per monthly assessment period in addition to the standard allowance) or the additional amount for carers in Pension Credit (currently £42.75 a week in addition to the standard minimum guarantee).
Carer’s Allowance is not means-tested and is not based on National Insurance contributions. Its principal purpose is to provide a measure of financial support and recognition for people who give up the opportunity of full-time work in order to provide regular care for a severely disabled person. The main qualifying condition is that the carer is providing at least 35 hours of care to somebody in receipt of a qualifying disability benefit, and that no-one else is providing such care to that person. This has been the approach of successive governments and reflects wider social policy aims, as well as issues of affordability.
Nearly 60% of carers on low incomes who are of working age and on Carer’s Allowance claim an income-related means-tested benefit. More than 8 million households on means-tested benefits received Cost of Living Payments of up to £650 in 2022, and more than 8 million households will receive up to £900 in Cost of Living Payments in 2023/24. All pensioner households will also receive the £300 Pensioner Cost of Living Payment. Carers who are themselves disabled may also receive the £150 Disability Cost of Living Payment, as will the people for whom they provide care. Overall, the Government is providing total support of over £94bn over 2022-23 and 2023-24 to help households and individuals with the rising cost of bills. For people who require additional support, the Household Support Fund will continue until March 2024. This year-long extension allows local authorities in England to continue to provide discretionary support with the significantly rising cost of living to those most in need. The devolved administrations will receive consequential funding.
The Government keeps the qualifying conditions for Carer’s Allowance under review, but has no plans to amend them at this time.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool, Walton)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department plans to take steps to remove the non-dependent charge in Housing Benefit for disadvantaged groups.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The general policy for non-dependant deductions is that adults (such as adult children) living in the household of people claiming Housing Benefit should contribute to the household expenses of the accommodation where they live.
There are easements within the rules, which apply if the householder (or their partner) is blind, getting Attendance Allowance, the care component of Disability Living Allowance, the daily living component of Personal Independence Payment, or Armed Forces Independence Payment. In these circumstances, no non-dependant deductions would be made.
This easement is designed to help sustain disabled householders in their own home rather than increase the risk of them moving into alternative accommodation, which might be more expensive and /or less appropriate for them.
There are currently no plans to review the non-dependant deductions policy in Housing Benefit.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool, Walton)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the (a) powers of and (b) funding for the Health and Safety Executive to enable them to carry out investigations (i) quickly and (ii) effectively.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has sufficient powers to enable them to carry out effective investigations within their enforcement responsibility. These are granted through a number of primary and secondary pieces of legislation, principally The Health and Safety at Work Etc. Act. 1974.
HSE is funded to deliver a range of different regulatory interventions and its activities are based on intelligence, targeting the most serious risks. This includes industries with the greatest hazards and sectors with the worst risk management record. HSE allocates budgets and resources based on the levels of expected interventions, including inspection, investigation and enforcement activity.
As part of HSE’s ongoing strategy work, options are being considered around potential opportunities to enhance both the recruitment and development of regulators in future. HSE runs regular recruitment campaigns to onboard trainee regulators, with a national campaign planned for the latter part of the financial year 2023/24.
Once recruited, the Regulators Training Programme (RTP) develops HSE’s new regulators through a programme of operational and formally accredited training, and once qualified undertake a programme of continued professional development (CPD).
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool, Walton)
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 increase the number of qualified health and safety inspectors.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has sufficient powers to enable them to carry out effective investigations within their enforcement responsibility. These are granted through a number of primary and secondary pieces of legislation, principally The Health and Safety at Work Etc. Act. 1974.
HSE is funded to deliver a range of different regulatory interventions and its activities are based on intelligence, targeting the most serious risks. This includes industries with the greatest hazards and sectors with the worst risk management record. HSE allocates budgets and resources based on the levels of expected interventions, including inspection, investigation and enforcement activity.
As part of HSE’s ongoing strategy work, options are being considered around potential opportunities to enhance both the recruitment and development of regulators in future. HSE runs regular recruitment campaigns to onboard trainee regulators, with a national campaign planned for the latter part of the financial year 2023/24.
Once recruited, the Regulators Training Programme (RTP) develops HSE’s new regulators through a programme of operational and formally accredited training, and once qualified undertake a programme of continued professional development (CPD).
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool, Walton)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to ensure that people with (a) severe and (b) lifelong conditions are not subjected to unnecessary reassessments for (i) Personal Independence Payments and (ii) other benefits.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
We want to reduce unnecessary assessments for people with severe and lifelong health conditions which will not improve.
We announced in the ‘Future Support: Health and Disability Green Paper’ that we will test a new Severe Disability Group (SDG), so that those with severe and lifelong conditions can benefit from a simplified process to access PIP, ESA and UC, without needing to go through a face-to-face assessment or frequent reassessments. We will consider the test results once complete to influence thinking on the next stages of this work.
We have made changes to help reduce the frequency of repeat assessments some people need to go through on Personal Independence Payment. We have also ensured that people who receive the highest level of support, and whose needs will not improve, together with most people over State Pension age, receive an ongoing award of PIP with a ‘light touch’ review at the 10-year point.
For the Work Capability Assessment (WCA), the Severe Conditions Criteria (SCC) were introduced in 2017 and are applied during the WCA for Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) and the additional health-related amount of Universal Credit (UC). They identify claimants who have severe disabling lifelong conditions whose level of function would always mean that they are unlikely ever to be able to move into work. Claimants who meet the SCC are not routinely reassessed.
We are also now supporting people via changes to the Special Rules for End of Life and the testing of a new Severe Disability Group (SDG). These changes will ensure that people receive access to the financial support they need as quickly as possible, and will simplify the assessment process for people with severe and lifelong conditions that will not improve.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool, Walton)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department is taking steps to provide training to (a) work coaches and (b) disability employment advisors on the barriers to employment faced by disabled people.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The DWP Work Coaches undergo comprehensive learning to support customers with additional or complex needs, particularly disabilities, and they continue to build on this in the workplace through accessing point of need learning products.
The learning provides Work Coaches with the knowledge and skills to enable them to:
Learning includes a number of training courses that cover disability awareness:
Within the DWP, the Disability Employment Advisor (DEA) role are expected to have completed the Work Coach Learning Journey prior to commencing specific learning for the DEA role, which provides them with further skills to support specific needs, enabling claimants to progress towards employment and making opportunities more accessible.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool, Walton)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will take steps to install assistive technology for disabled people in jobcentres.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
This is already happening, we now have over 7,981 devices, for dedicated use by customers, across our Jobcentre estate which have in-built accessibility features. We also constantly review the number of computers available and have capacity to increase the number of devices quickly, if the need arises.
The software in use on these machines is continually upgraded as and when required to ensure their continued use for customers. In addition to this further support is available to customers where reasonable adjustments are identified and recorded. Each Jobcentre District Office has been provided with the following items for use by customers if requested:
We have opened a number of temporary sites across the estate to support delivery of face-to-face public services. As part of this work, Customer Computers are also available in these sites.
We have also improved access to our Wi-Fi services in all Jobcentres, allowing customers to use their own personal devices if they prefer, to access internet services.