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Written Question
State Retirement Pensions: Females
Thursday 3rd December 2020

Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester, Gorton)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 19 November 2020 to Question 114313 on State Retirement Pensions: Females, if her Department will make that assessment.

Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

There are no plans to make an assessment.


Written Question
State Retirement Pensions: Females
Thursday 19th November 2020

Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester, Gorton)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what support the Government is providing to women born in the 1950s not yet in receipt of (a) state pension or (b) pension credit to mitigate the financial effect of the covid-19 outbreak.

Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

We have never spent more as a country on welfare support than we do now.

The Government has strengthened the safety net to provide financial support during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is committed to providing financial support for people at every stage of their life, including when they near or reach retirement.

The welfare system will continue to provide support to those who are unable to work or who are on a low income but who are not eligible to pensioner benefits because of their age.

We have invested in a significant new programme, the Plan for Jobs, to help people of all ages who may be made redundant find work and acquire the skills they need to return to work.


Written Question
State Retirement Pensions: Females
Thursday 19th November 2020

Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester, Gorton)

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 providing women born in the 1950s early access to (a) state pensions and (b) pension credit in order to mitigate the financial effects of the covid-19 outbreak.

Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

No assessment has been made.


Written Question
Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit: Medical Examinations
Tuesday 29th September 2020

Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester, Gorton)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when her Department plans to resume face-to-face medical assessments for Industrial Injuries' Disablement Benefit.

Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

Our priority throughout this health emergency continues to be to protect the public and our assessment providers’ staff, while ensuring people get the benefits they are entitled to quickly and safely. Face-to-face assessments remain suspended while we review what activity we can gradually start reintroducing in line with the latest public health advice. We will confirm next steps as soon as possible.

In the meantime, for claimants with the most serious or terminal conditions, claims continue to be processed and decisions made as normal. We are actively considering how to deal with those cases not currently being processed.


Written Question
Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit: Asbestosis and Diffuse Pleural Thickening
Tuesday 29th September 2020

Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester, Gorton)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when her Department plans to resume assessing Industrial Injuries' Disablement Benefit claims for (a) asbestosis and (b) diffuse pleural thickening.

Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

Our priority throughout this health emergency continues to be to protect the public and our assessment providers’ staff, while ensuring people get the benefits they are entitled to quickly and safely. Face-to-face assessments remain suspended while we review what activity we can gradually start reintroducing in line with the latest public health advice. We will confirm next steps as soon as possible.

In the meantime, for claimants with the most serious or terminal conditions, claims continue to be processed and decisions made as normal. We are actively considering how to deal with those cases not currently being processed.


Written Question
Statutory Sick Pay
Tuesday 14th July 2020

Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester, Gorton)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of increasing the rate of statutory sick pay.

Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

This Government has a strong safety net that helps people who are facing hardship and are unable to support themselves financially. Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) provides a minimum level of income for employees when they are off work sick. It is paid in full by employers who may also decide to pay more than the statutory minimum through Occupational Sick Pay. SSP is just part of our welfare safety net and our wider government offer to support people in times of need.

Where an individual’s income is reduced while off work sick and they require further financial support, they may be able to claim Universal Credit and new style Employment and Support Allowance, depending on their personal circumstances. Many of those on low incomes are already in receipt of benefits. For those on Universal Credit, their award will rise if their income falls.


Written Question
Local Housing Allowance
Tuesday 14th July 2020

Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester, Gorton)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of increasing the local housing allowance to the 50th percentile.

Answered by Will Quince

There has been no such assessment.

We increased Local Housing Allowance rates to the 30th percentile of local rents, providing additional financial support for private renters in response to calls from homelessness charities. This significant investment of almost £1 billion ensures over 1 million households will see an increase, on average, of £600 per year.

For renters whose circumstances mean they may require more support, Discretionary Housing Payments are also available. We have already provided £180m in Discretionary Housing Payment funding to local authorities to support vulnerable claimants with housing costs in the private and social rented sector in England and Wales for 2020/21. This includes an extra £40m announced at the spending round.


Written Question
Universal Credit
Tuesday 14th July 2020

Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester, Gorton)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment her Department has made of the effect on the finances of claimants of making advance payments of universal Credit grants instead of loans.

Answered by Will Quince

A new system of grants could not be implemented without significant reprioritisation of current measures: our focus remains firmly on ensuring that millions of new and existing claimants continue to receive their payments on time, and that we do everything possible to support people back into work where it is right to do so.

We introduced measures that could be quickly and effectively operationalised following the outbreak of COVID-19, supported by over £6.5bn of additional funding to the welfare system and which benefitted as many disadvantaged claimants as possible. This includes temporarily increasing the Universal Credit standard allowance by the equivalent of £20 per week – worth up to £1,040 this year. This is in addition to the 1.7% inflation increase as part of the Government’s decision to end the benefits freeze and means more financial support for millions of claimants across the country.

Universal Credit advances allow new claimants to request additional support during the first assessment period. Advances can be repaid over a year, allowing new claimants to receive 13 payments during that period instead of 12.


Written Question
Poverty: Children
Tuesday 14th July 2020

Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester, Gorton)

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 tackle the number of BAME children living in poverty; and what success criteria her Department sets to measure outcomes on that matter.

Answered by Will Quince

This Government provides a strong welfare safety net, spending over £95 billion in the last financial year on working age welfare benefits. Total welfare spending in 2019/20 was £225bn.

Our current focus is on supporting people financially during these unprecedented times. Our long-term ambition remains to build an economy that supports employment, ensuring opportunities for all to enter and progress in work where possible.

We are committed to levelling up skills and opportunity across the country. Using data from the Race Disparity Audit, updated annually since October 2017, and DWP’s own analysis we are continuing to help those underrepresented in the labour market, for example we are investing £90m towards activities that address disparities in youth unemployment.


Written Question
Social Security Benefits: Ethnic Groups
Monday 13th July 2020

Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester, Gorton)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment her Department has made of the effect of the benefits cap, by ethnic group.

Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Department cannot precisely quantify the proportion of households by ethnic group that are affected by the benefit cap since recording of ethnicity on benefits administrative data is voluntary and, as such, not sufficiently reliable.

However, the 2016 published Impact Assessment of the benefit cap can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/welfare-reform-and-work-act-impact-assessment-for-the-benefit-cap