Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department has taken to ensure that people with special dietary requirements are able to access appropriate emergency food support from their local authority.
Answered by Will Quince
Local Authorities in England have powers to run Local Welfare Assistance Schemes at their discretion, which may include emergency support. It is for Local Authorities to assess need in their area and to determine the design of any such scheme, including eligibility, access and nature of provision, giving due consideration to their duties under the Equality Act and other relevant legislation. No assessment has been made by DWP of the suitability of local authority-run emergency food support schemes for people with special dietary requirements.
Since 1 December 2020, DWP has allocated funding to upper tier Local Authorities in England, through the Covid Winter Grant Scheme and the Covid Local Support Grant, to provide additional support to families and individuals who may be struggling with the cost of food and essential utility bills due to the pandemic. We have now extended this temporary scheme for a final time with an additional £160 million in funding between 21 June and 30 September, taking total funding under the scheme to £429 million. This brings the end date for this scheme past the lifting of restrictions, supporting families who might need additional help to get back on their feet as the vaccine rollout continues and our economy recovers. This scheme recognises that Local Authorities are best placed to understand needs in their area.
This year, we are also investing up to £220m in the Holiday Activities and Food programme which has been expanded to every Local Authority across England. Participating children will benefit from a range of support, including a healthy and nutritious meal that takes into account dietary needs as well as fun and engaging activities and it is for the Local Authority who delivers the programme in their area to give due consideration to their duties under the Equality Act and other relevant legislation.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North)
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 the suitability of local authority-run emergency food support schemes for people with special dietary requirements.
Answered by Will Quince
Local Authorities in England have powers to run Local Welfare Assistance Schemes at their discretion, which may include emergency support. It is for Local Authorities to assess need in their area and to determine the design of any such scheme, including eligibility, access and nature of provision, giving due consideration to their duties under the Equality Act and other relevant legislation. No assessment has been made by DWP of the suitability of local authority-run emergency food support schemes for people with special dietary requirements.
Since 1 December 2020, DWP has allocated funding to upper tier Local Authorities in England, through the Covid Winter Grant Scheme and the Covid Local Support Grant, to provide additional support to families and individuals who may be struggling with the cost of food and essential utility bills due to the pandemic. We have now extended this temporary scheme for a final time with an additional £160 million in funding between 21 June and 30 September, taking total funding under the scheme to £429 million. This brings the end date for this scheme past the lifting of restrictions, supporting families who might need additional help to get back on their feet as the vaccine rollout continues and our economy recovers. This scheme recognises that Local Authorities are best placed to understand needs in their area.
This year, we are also investing up to £220m in the Holiday Activities and Food programme which has been expanded to every Local Authority across England. Participating children will benefit from a range of support, including a healthy and nutritious meal that takes into account dietary needs as well as fun and engaging activities and it is for the Local Authority who delivers the programme in their area to give due consideration to their duties under the Equality Act and other relevant legislation.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of (a) the potential merits of excluding mandatory travel to work expenditure from income for universal credit purposes and (b) the effect of the inclusion of that expenditure as income for universal credit purposes on the ability of claimants to seek further employment.
Answered by Will Quince
No such assessment has been done.
Universal Credit provides support for everyday living expenses. Any earnings an employee receives would normally be expected to cover the costs of travel to and from work, irrespective of whether or not the employee was also claiming Universal Credit.
To keep Universal Credit as simple as possible, the definition of earnings aligns very closely to the rules in tax legislation (Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003 (ITEPA)), so that rules across tax and benefits are aligned where possible. Any allowable expenses which are wholly, necessarily and exclusively incurred as part of the duties of employment are not counted as employed earnings and would be excluded from the calculation of a Universal Credit Award. Travel from home to a permanent workplace is not an allowable expense for tax purposes.
The Flexible Support Fund is a discretionary fund and can be used by staff to remove barriers when a claimant is starting work for example it can cover the first 3 months travel costs. Where there are difficulties with public transport work coaches can consider funding for pedal cycles and e bikes to allow people to get to their place of employment. Discussion s should be held with their work coach in the first instance around this type of support.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of mandating a specific workplace risk assessment for clinically extremely vulnerable employees.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Employers’ health and safety responsibilities include taking reasonable steps to protect all workers and others from the risk of transmission of coronavirus in connection with their work activities. The Covid-19 Risk Assessment identifies the control measures employers have identified that they need to take to manage the risk of transmission of coronavirus in the workplace.
As these control measures are comprehensive and apply to all workers, additional control measures for Clinically Extremely Vulnerable (CEV) workers are not required.
However, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) advises employers to have individual discussions with their CEV employees in order to understand and resolve any workplace concerns. There is specific guidance on the HSE website to help employers protect people who are at higher risk: https://www.hse.gov.uk/coronavirus/working-safely/protect-people.htm Anyone who does not feel that adequate protections are in place can contact HSE either online using their working safely enquiry form or by telephone: 0300 790 6787 lines are open Monday to Friday 8:30am to 5pm.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many complaints the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has received on workplaces not being covid-secure since August 2020; and how long it took HSE to respond to each of those complaints.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Between 1 August 2020 and 26 November 2020 HSE received a total of 7487 COVID concerns. As of 26 November, 5139 had been completed. 3998 of those resolved were dealt with by our Concerns and Advice Team, taking on average 3.35 days. The remaining 1141 completed cases were investigated by regulatory inspectors and visiting officers, taking an average of 21.8 days to be closed out, meaning that all actions relating to the intervention had been completed. It is standard practice for the notifier to be contacted by HSE during the early stages of the investigation and again at its conclusion. HSE isn’t able to provide details of the average period of time before initial contact is made because this data is not collected.
Notes:
(i) Investigations by inspectors and visiting officers are ‘closed out’ once all actions relating to the intervention are complete. This happens when HSE has evaluated the dutyholder’s covid-secure control measures, taken any necessary enforcement action or provided advice, confirmed that sufficient action has been taken by the dutyholder to address any shortfalls and associated records completed on HSE’s live operational database.
(ii) Figures were extracted from HSE’s live operational database and provide the picture on the date of extraction (26 November 2020) and are subject to change.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people who are clinically extremely vulnerable have registered for statutory sick pay since July 2020 because their workplace was not covid-secure.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Employees do not need to register for Statutory Sick Pay (SSP). Employers are legally required to pay SSP to eligible employees who are sick or incapable of work, where their employee meets the eligibility criteria. The government does not collect, or require the reporting of, any data on sickness absences from employers and so does not hold data on the number of clinically extremely vulnerable individuals receiving SSP.
In England, shielding was paused nationally from 1 August 2020 to 5 November 2020. During this period, clinically extremely vulnerable individuals were not eligible for SSP on the basis of being clinically extremely vulnerable as they were not advised to shield and were able to go to work if they could not work from home. Clinically extremely vulnerable employees can be furloughed if their employer is eligible to do so.
All employers are required to take steps to reduce the risk of exposure to COVID-19 in the workplace. If an individual has concerns about their health and safety at work, they can raise them with any union safety representatives, or ultimately with the organisation responsible for enforcement in their workplace, either the Health and Safety Executive or their local authority.
SSP is available to clinically extremely vulnerable individuals who have been advised to stay at home (known as shielding) and are unable to work as a result. Individuals will receive a notification, advising them on the shielding advice to follow and how long for. This notification may be in the form of a letter from their doctor or from the government.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of allocating additional funding to support to patients experiencing prolonged covid-19 symptoms.
Answered by Will Quince
The Government has been clear with its commitment to support those affected in these difficult times and we have made a number of changes to the welfare system to ensure people are receiving the support they need. These changes include:
These steps form part of a wider package of measures which represent an investment of over £6.5 billion into the welfare system following the outbreak of COVID-19. These measures, along with the other job and business support programmes announced by the Chancellor, represent one of the most comprehensive packages of support by an advanced economy.
We know that circumstances can change rapidly, and that was particularly true at the beginning of the outbreak of COVID-19, which is why the Government will continue to keep the adequacy of its welfare response under review.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North)
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 the potential merits of an additional fuel payment to pensioners following Government advice for them to stay at home.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
There are no plans to extend the winter fuel allowance scheme.
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has, however, published a series of measures designed to help those affected by the coronavirus outbreak with the cost of their energy bills.
Further information on the measures is available here:
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans her Department has to improve the benefits claim process by (a) sharing assessment data between benefits and (b) making the criteria for claiming different benefits consistent.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
DWP are developing a single, integrated service which will simplify the assessment process for millions of people claiming health related benefits. This includes, with individuals’ consent, better information sharing and re-using relevant information already held within DWP. Also by gathering better evidence earlier in the claim to enable a decision to be made without meeting face-to-face, will help reduce the number of face-to-face assessments.
The criteria, entitlement and purpose of Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) and Personal Independence Payment (PIP) are different as the benefits are paid for different reasons. ESA is an income replacement benefit for working age people, with entitlement based on an assessment of the functional impact of a claimant’s health condition or disability on their capability for work. PIP looks at the needs arising from a claimant’s health condition or disability and is intended to act as a contribution towards meeting extra costs associated with a long-term health condition or disability.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment, whether her Department plans to make exempt people with long-term health problems from assessments to include people assessed before 2017.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Since 29 September 2017, those placed in ESA’s Support Group and the UC equivalent who have the most severe and lifelong health conditions or disabilities, whose level of function would always mean that they would have Limited Capability for Work and Work-Related Activity, and be unlikely ever to be able to move into work, will no longer be routinely reassessed.
These criteria are applied at either the initial Work Capability Assessment or for existing claimants at their next assessment. We need to ensure that we have the right and most up to date information to apply the criteria fairly and make sure we identify everyone who should benefit from it. The people who best understand how their health problem or disability affects them are the individuals themselves, and so it is only right that we ask them for their information. However, we will do this in the least intrusive way possible – the vast majority of people who will fall into this category, will be assessed on paper and will not need to attend a face-to-face assessment.