Asked by: Louise Haigh (Labour - Sheffield, Heeley)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the cost to the public purse of welfare and benefits fraud committed by serious and organised criminals in the last three years.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The requested information is not readily available and can only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Louise Haigh (Labour - Sheffield, Heeley)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, (a) how many and (b) for what reason personal independence payments were not paid on time in (i) June 2018 and (ii) July 2018.
Answered by Sarah Newton
There were 2 Northern Ireland Personal Independent Payments (PIP) that could have been classed as late in July, around the Battle of the Boyne Bank Holiday. Upon investigation it was found that the customers had recently changed address from Great Britain to Northern Ireland, around the time payments were being advanced which caused the delay. Changes to the system were made on these cases to prevent any future payment issues occurring.
No other PIP payments have been notified as late in June or July 2018.
Asked by: Louise Haigh (Labour - Sheffield, Heeley)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what his policy is on requiring jobseeker's allowance claimants to conduct job searches when they have been offered work and are waiting for a start date.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
Claimants with a job to start are still required to be available for and actively seeking work as there may be instances where the job start is delayed, or even falls through completely, and it is important to ensure claimants do not miss out on the opportunity to find alternative work. They would need to look for jobs which are appropriate to their situation - so in cases where they have a job start date in the future it may be appropriate for them to look for temporary work. It may also be appropriate for the individual to continue to seek work before a start date if the job they have been offered is part-time when they are able to work full time.
This is common and Work Coaches are familiar with and responsive to this type of scenario.
Asked by: Louise Haigh (Labour - Sheffield, Heeley)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, who is approved to carry out assessments for complex neurological conditions in work capability assessments.
Answered by Sarah Newton
All Healthcare Professionals undertaking Work Capability Assessments are highly-trained practitioners in their own field. They must be registered practitioners who have at least two years post-registration experience.
Doctors and Physiotherapists are approved by DWP to undertake complex neurological Work Capability Assessments. Neurological training is already a core component of their professional education; this ensures that they have the relevant skills and knowledge to be able to undertake these assessments.
Asked by: Louise Haigh (Labour - Sheffield, Heeley)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what targets his Department has for processing online applications for the state pension.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Work & Pensions (DWP) does not maintain average processing times relating to online State Pension applications and does not have a target to process online State Pension claims. Customers can claim their State Pension up to four months in advance of reaching pension age by making a clerical, telephone or online application. The Department measures processing times for all claims and monitors the percentage of applications processed by claim date.
Asked by: Louise Haigh (Labour - Sheffield, Heeley)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average length of time his Department takes to process online applications for the state pension is.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Work & Pensions (DWP) does not maintain average processing times relating to online State Pension applications and does not have a target to process online State Pension claims. Customers can claim their State Pension up to four months in advance of reaching pension age by making a clerical, telephone or online application. The Department measures processing times for all claims and monitors the percentage of applications processed by claim date.
Asked by: Louise Haigh (Labour - Sheffield, Heeley)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether it is his Department's policy to notify people when they are eligible to receive their state pension.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Work & Pensions (DWP) informs customers of their eligibility to claim State Pension approximately four months prior to reaching pension age. A BR330R – State Pension invitation pack is sent by post to the customer’s address held by DWP. This provides details of how a customer can make a claim for State Pension by either (a) making a claim online, (b) by telephone or (c) completing a clerical claim form. Further information regarding claiming State Pension can be obtained from GOV.UK
Asked by: Louise Haigh (Labour - Sheffield, Heeley)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of online applications for state pension were processed and paid in (a) less than one, (b) less than two, (c) less than three and (d) more than three months.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Work & Pensions (DWP) does not retain data for the proportion of online applications for State Pension which were processed and paid in (a) less than one, (b) less than two, (c) less than three and (d) more than three months.
Asked by: Louise Haigh (Labour - Sheffield, Heeley)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many state pension payments have been delayed in the last 12 months for more than (a) one, (b) two and (c) three months.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Work & Pensions (DWP) interprets this question as relating to State Pension claims.
DWP does not retain information about the amount of State Pension payments which have been delayed in the last 12 months for more than (a) one, (b) two and (c) three months.
DWP is not able to ascertain whether a State Pension payment has been delayed as this is dependant on a number of factors, such as the date of entitlement, date when the customer requests payment to be made and whether a customer has put off (deferred) making their claim.
Asked by: Louise Haigh (Labour - Sheffield, Heeley)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average waiting time is for calls made to the state pension helpline.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Average Speed of Answer for the Pensions Helpline was 1 minute and 28 seconds in September 2017.