Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
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 impact of sanctions for (a) minor infringements of welfare rules and (b) being late for jobcentre meetings on the mental health of people sanctioned.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
No assessment has been made of the potential mental health impact of sanctions for (a) minor infringements of welfare rules and (b) being late for jobcentre meetings.
Under Universal Credit, sanctions do not apply to all customers. Those with a health condition, illness or disability who are found to have ‘limited capability for work and work-related requirements’, are not subject to work-related conditions and will therefore not be sanctioned. Those on work-related benefits are expected to take responsibility for meeting the conditionality requirements they have agreed with their work coach to do so. Where a customer on a work-related benefit has a health condition, illness or a disability, work coaches have the discretion to tailor their requirements to what is reasonable and achievable taking into account the individual's condition. Additionally, in some circumstances a customer’s work-related requirements maybe be lifted for a period if their ability to carry them out is disrupted due to their personal circumstances.
A sanction is only applied where an individual has failed to meet their agreed conditionality requirements without demonstrating good reason for doing so and in the cases where vulnerabilities are known or suspected, a pre-referral quality check is undertaken prior to any sanction referral to ensure that it is appropriate in the circumstances. For minor conditionality failures, including failing to attend a mandatory appointment with a work coach an open-ended sanction is applied. Open-ended sanctions can be ended at any time by the customer simply re-engaging with their work coach and complying with the failed conditionality requirement.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
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 mental health impact of (a) disability tests and (b) sanctions.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
No assessment has been made of the potential mental health impact of PIP or WCA, assessments or social security sanctions.
a) Evaluations of Personal Independence Payments (PIP) and Work Capability Assessments (WCA) policy are routinely carried out, and often include engagement with external researchers. The methods used are designed to be appropriate to the specific type of intervention being evaluated. Customer experience of assessments is also continually monitored. However, it would be extremely difficult to objectively separate the specific impact of disability tests on mental health from other contributory factors.
b) Under Universal Credit and Employment and Support Allowance, sanctions do not apply to all customers. Those with a health condition, illness or disability who are found to have ‘limited capability for work and work-related requirements’, are not subject to work-related conditions and will therefore not be sanctioned. Those found to have limited capability for work and claimants on work-related benefits are expected to take responsibility for meeting the conditionality requirements they have agreed with their work coach. Where a customer has a health condition, illness or disability, work coaches have the discretion to tailor these requirements to what is reasonable and achievable, taking into account the individual's condition. Additionally, in some circumstances a customer’s work-related requirements may be lifted for a period if their ability to carry them out is disrupted due to their personal circumstances.
A sanction is only applied where an individual has failed to meet their agreed conditionality requirements without demonstrating good reason for doing so. In cases where vulnerabilities are known or suspected, a pre-referral quality check is undertaken prior to any sanction referral to ensure that it is appropriate in the circumstances.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what (a) support his Department provides to and (b) safeguarding measures are in place within the welfare system for people assessed to be at serious risk of suicide or self-harm; and whether he plans to take steps to strengthen that support.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department recognises the importance of supporting vulnerable customers. All staff working with customers undertake comprehensive training to equip them with the skills to be able to support those who express an intention of suicide or self-harm.
The Department has an established Six Point Plan for staff to follow when they identify a customer who may be at risk of harming themselves. This toolkit ensures that appropriate support is provided and this may involve notifying emergency services in the event where the customer is at immediate risk.
The Six Point Plan is under continuous review to ensure it aligns with current thinking on mental health. We also have Advanced Customer Support Senior Leaders whose role is to reach across local communities to underpin our relationships with other organisations that provide support to our customers.
The Work and Pensions Select Committee announced an inquiry into ‘Safeguarding vulnerable claimants’ on 21 July 2023 and will examine this with emphasis on whether the Department’s approach to safeguarding needs to change.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
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 (a) financial and (b) social assistance support available for single pensioners.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
No such assessment has been made.
The Government has announced plans to increase the basic State Pension, the new State Pension and the Standard Minimum Guarantee in Pension Credit by 8.5% in April 2024. This follows last year’s largest ever cash increase in the State Pension.
The Government also provides additional support to older people. The Winter Fuel Payment, which this year also includes the £300 pensioner Cost of Living Payment, is paid on a household basis meaning a single pensioner will receive £500 or £600 depending on their age.
Regarding social assistance support, under the Care Act 2014, local authorities are tasked with the duty to shape their care market to ensure a diverse range of high quality, sustainable, person-centred care and support services are provided.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
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 providing additional financial support to unpaid carers.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
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 social security system in Great Britain provides financial support for unpaid carers on low incomes through Universal Credit and the DWP benefits it replaces; through Pension Credit; and through pensioner Housing Benefit. In England and Wales, it also provides non-means-tested support through Carer’s Allowance.
The rate of Carer’s Allowance will increase from £76.75 to £81.90 from April 2024, in line with the increase in the Consumer Prices Index in the year to September 2023. As of May 2023, it was being paid to nearly 830,000 carers in England and Wales. Between 2022/23 and 2027/28, real-terms expenditure on Carer’s Allowance in England and Wales is forecast to rise by around 40% to just over £4.7 billion a year.
Universal Credit, Pension Credit and other means-tested benefits can be paid to carers at a higher rate than to those without caring responsibilities. The Universal Credit carer element is currently £185.86 per monthly assessment period, rising to £198.31 in April 2024. It is payable in addition to the standard allowance and was being paid to around 560,000 carers as of May 2023. The additional amount for carers in Pension Credit is currently £42.75 a week, rising to £45.60 from April 2024. It is paid as an additional amount in the Guarantee Credit and was being paid to around 100,000 carers as of May 2023.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many staff his Department employs to determine the outcome of PIP claims as of 8 November 2023.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The latest information of the number of Full Time Equivalent (FTE) staff who are in paid employment and undertake decisions on Personal Independence Claims is in the table below:
Benefit | ABM FTE |
Personal Independence Payment | 3,100 |
Source: Derived from the Department’s Activity Based Model (ABM)
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
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 reduce the backlog in (a) Personal Independence Payment new claims and (b) Personal Independence Payment reviews.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We have seen a decrease in PIP clearance times for new claimants since August 2021 with the latest statistics showing that the average end-to-end journey has reduced from 26 weeks in August 2021 to 15 weeks at the end of July. This means that we’re clearing claims faster than we were prior to the pandemic.
This is because we:
In addition, the Health Transformation Programme (HTP) is creating a more efficient service and a vastly improved claimant experience, reducing journey times and improving trust in our services and decisions. This transformation includes introducing the option to claim for PIP online.
Our actions to ensure new claimants receive their decision as quickly as possible, when we are receiving unprecedented volumes of new claims, has had an impact on our capacity to process award reviews. To handle any delays, we have introduced processes which allow a certain proportion of award reviews with sufficient and robust evidence to be conducted by Case Managers without referral to an Assessment Provider. In addition, where a claimant reports a change in their needs, whether at any point during their award or at award review, we are prioritising these.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the time taken by his Department to process Personal Independence Payment claims.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We have seen a decrease in PIP clearance times for new claimants since August 2021 with the latest statistics showing that the average end-to-end journey has reduced from 26 weeks in August 2021 to 15 weeks at the end of July. This means that we’re clearing claims faster than we were prior to the pandemic.
This is because we:
In addition, the Health Transformation Programme (HTP) is creating a more efficient service and a vastly improved claimant experience, reducing journey times and improving trust in our services and decisions. This transformation includes introducing the option to claim for PIP online.
Our actions to ensure new claimants receive their decision as quickly as possible, when we are receiving unprecedented volumes of new claims, has had an impact on our capacity to process award reviews. To handle any delays, we have introduced processes which allow a certain proportion of award reviews with sufficient and robust evidence to be conducted by Case Managers without referral to an Assessment Provider. In addition, where a claimant reports a change in their needs, whether at any point during their award or at award review, we are prioritising these.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what data his Department holds on the average actual clearance times for personal independence payment special rules for end of life claims in Slough constituency in each of the last five financial years.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Table (a) shows the average actual clearance times for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) Special Rule for End of Life (SREL) claims in Slough constituency and England and Wales in each of the last 5 financial years (from 2018/19 to 2022/23), calculated as the median number of working days from registration to DWP decision.
Financial Year | Slough New Claims (median number of working days) | England and Wales New Claims (median number of working days) |
2018/19 | 7 | 6 |
2019/20 | 6 | 6 |
2020/21 | 5 | 4 |
2021/22 | 5 | 3 |
2022/23 | 2 | 3 |
Source: PIP Atomic Data Store (ADS)
Notes:
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what data his Department holds on the average actual clearance times for (a) personal independence payment (PIP) normal rules new claims and (b) Disability Living Allowance to PIP reassessments in Slough constituency in each of the last 5 financial years.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Table (a) shows the average actual clearance times for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) normal rules new claims in Slough constituency and across England and Wales in each of the last 5 financial years (from 2018/19 to 2022/23), calculated as the median number of weeks from registration to DWP decision.
Financial Year | Slough New Claims (median number of weeks) | England and Wales New Claims (median number of weeks) |
2018/19 | 16 | 14 |
2019/20 | 17 | 16 |
2020/21 | 21 | 19 |
2021/22 | 23 | 22 |
2022/23 | 18 | 16 |
Table (b) shows the average actual clearance times for Disability Living Allowance (DLA) to PIP reassessments in Slough constituency and across England and Wales in each of the last 5 financial years (from 2018/19 to 2022/23), calculated as the median number of weeks from registration to DWP decision.
Financial Year | Slough Reassessment (median number of weeks) | England and Wales Reassessment (median number of weeks) |
2018/19 | 16 | 16 |
2019/20 | 17 | 18 |
2020/21 | 26 | 24 |
2021/22 | 26 | 26 |
2022/23 | 18 | 18 |
Source: PIP Atomic Data Store (ADS)