Asked by: Marion Fellows (Scottish National Party - Motherwell and Wishaw)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many work coaches in job centres have specialist disability training.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
All new 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 the work coach with an understanding of assisted digital, and how they can effectively coach claimants who find using digital services a challenge.
Work coaches are also signposted to tools, guidance support and websites to effectively use resources from both internal and external sites. This ensures that they access the most up to date advice and expertise on a particular health condition.
In addition, within DWP, there are staff who undertake the Disability Employment Advisor (DEA) role. Staff who undertake this role are expected to have completed the Work Coach Learning Journey prior to commencing specific learning for the DEA role.
DEAs support Work Coaches by providing expert knowledge on how to support disabled customers, building the skills and capability of Work Coaches, and influencing employer engagement in local communities. DEA’s can also directly support customers with a health condition or disability where additional support can benefit the customer.
Asked by: Marion Fellows (Scottish National Party - Motherwell and Wishaw)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what his timeline is for completion of the local government redundancy modification order.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
Announcements will be set out in the usual way.
Asked by: Marion Fellows (Scottish National Party - Motherwell and Wishaw)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether a new assessment will be introduced for Personal Independence Payment to take account of the end of the work capability assessment.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
Transforming Support: The Health and Disability White Paper announced that we will legislate to remove the Work Capability Assessment (WCA) so that in future there will only be one health and disability assessment, the PIP assessment.
This will remove the need to be found to have limited capability for work and limited capability to prepare for work to receive additional income-related support for a disability or health condition, giving people confidence that they will receive support, for as long as it is needed, regardless of whether they are working.
In today’s benefits system some people that receive the Universal Credit health element as a result of being determined to have Limited Capability for Work and Work-Related Activity do not receive Personal Independence Payment. This is also the case for some people that are in the Employment and Support Allowance Support Group.
For this group, we will carefully consider whether they meet the PIP assessment and eligibility criteria. As we develop our reform proposals, we will consider how disabled people and people with health conditions who need additional financial support may receive it.
Asked by: Marion Fellows (Scottish National Party - Motherwell and Wishaw)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what new data on the life chances of disabled people his Department has commissioned since July 2021.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
A response to the Hon Lady’s Parliamentary Question of 30th March is attached.
Asked by: Marion Fellows (Scottish National Party - Motherwell and Wishaw)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether her Department has made an assessment of the impact of malaria and other global health issues on the UK’s overseas trade with countries disproportionately affected by malaria and tropical diseases, including trade with Commonwealth countries.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) is an economic growth department that will support British businesses to invest, grow and export, creating jobs and prosperity across the UK; such health assessments fall outside its remit.
Asked by: Marion Fellows (Scottish National Party - Motherwell and Wishaw)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of (a) malaria and (b) other global health issues on recent levels of trade by UK businesses with (i) countries in the Commonwealth and (ii) other countries with a high level of malaria.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) is an economic growth department that will support British businesses to invest, grow and export, creating jobs and prosperity across the UK; such health assessments fall outside its remit.
Asked by: Marion Fellows (Scottish National Party - Motherwell and Wishaw)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, on how many occasions (a) Ministers or (b) officials in his Department have held discussions with their counterparts in the Department for Work and Pensions on the position of overseas pensioners without reciprocal social security arrangements in the last five years.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
FCDO Ministers and officials routinely engage with their counterparts in other Government Departments on matters of mutual interest and concern.
Asked by: Marion Fellows (Scottish National Party - Motherwell and Wishaw)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will support a public health campaign to increase understanding of and reduce the stigma around conversations about death, dying and bereavement.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
There are no plans to run a public health campaign on bereavement. Bereavement is included as part of the Better Health: Every Mind Matters campaign under the ‘Life’s challenges’ section, helping to normalise the bereavement experience and signpost support. The Department and NHS England will also continue to support National Grief Awareness Week through their social media channels.
Asked by: Marion Fellows (Scottish National Party - Motherwell and Wishaw)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate his Department has made of the cost of running the series of regular disability surveys as set out in National Disability Strategy published in July 2021.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The 2021 National Disability Strategy set out an ambition to improve the lives of millions of disabled people in the UK. In January 2022, the High Court declared the strategy to be 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 DWP Secretary of State has been granted permission to appeal from the Court of Appeal.
In order to ensure compliance with the Court’s declaration, we are obliged to pause a limited number of policies which are referred to in the strategy, or are directly connected with it. This policy is not one of the policies we have been obliged to pause.
ONS started work on developing a survey into disabled people’s experiences and barriers in 2022. The cost is estimated at £2.1 million as a start-up figure, followed by an estimated yearly cost of £1.5 million, for which we are seeking funding with a range of partners.
Asked by: Marion Fellows (Scottish National Party - Motherwell and Wishaw)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent estimate his Department has made of the (a) employment rate (b) unemployment rate and (c) rate of economic inactivity among people of working age who use British Sign Language as their primary language.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
We hold no estimate of the employment rate, unemployment rate, or rate of economic inactivity among working age people who use British Sign Language (BSL) as their primary language.
The Government has a range of initiatives to support disabled people and people with health conditions, including those who use BSL as their primary language, to start, stay and succeed in work. These include:
To tackle rising economic inactivity due to long-term sickness, we announced a wide-reaching package at the Spring Budget to support disabled people and people with health conditions to work. New investment will provide faster access to joined-up work and health support, including for mental health and musculoskeletal conditions, the two leading causes of economic inactivity due to long-term sickness.