Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds North West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many ESA65B letters her Department sent to GPs in Yorkshire and the Humber in 2018.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department does not hold information on the number of ESA65B letters sent to GPs.
The ESA65B letter is normally automatically issued to GPs by the Department’s IT system in every case where an Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) claimant has been found ‘fit for work’ following a Work Capability Assessment (WCA).
If a claimant states that they do not agree to information about the determination of their WCA being shared with their GP, the claim will be maintained clerically and the papers noted that the letter is not to be issued.
The latest ESA statistics, which show the number of claimants found fit for work, can be found here:
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds North West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many claimants took advance payments during the five-week waiting period for their first universal credit payment in (a) October, (b) November and (c) December 2018 in Yorkshire and the Humber.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
New Claim and Benefit Transfer Advances are available to support claimants until their first Universal Credit payment. The table below gives the number of these advances paid in Yorkshire and the Humber for the months requested.
The Universal Credit caseload continued to increase in 2018 as the number of offices delivering Full Service increased. Subject to some fluctuation, the rate of advance take-up has been broadly consistent, at around 60%.
Month | Number of Paid New Claims, Nationally | Number of New Claim and Benefit Transfer Advances | Proportion of New Claim and Benefit Transfer Advances |
Oct-18 | 129,100 | 8,010 | 62% |
Nov-18 | 132,200 | 9,400 | 71% |
Dec-18 | 149,200 | 9,350 | 63% |
Notes
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds North West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average wait is for personal independence payment claimants in Leeds to attend a tribunal hearing.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Information on the average waiting time to a first tribunal hearing and to attend a tribunal hearing is not collated centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
The Ministry of Justice publish statistics on the average (mean) age of a case at disposal. This is the average number of weeks from receipt in Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) to the final outcome within the period. It will include cases cleared at hearing and cases cleared without a hearing which include strike outs, superseded and withdrawals prior to a hearing. An appeal may not necessarily be cleared at its first hearing.
These statistics are available by Tribunal Venue in the Tribunal Statistics CSV files, available here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/tribunals-statistics
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds North West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average waiting time was for a hearing for a claimant appealing a personal independence payment decision in Leeds in 2018.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Information on the average waiting time to a first tribunal hearing and to attend a tribunal hearing is not collated centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
The Ministry of Justice publish statistics on the average (mean) age of a case at disposal. This is the average number of weeks from receipt in Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) to the final outcome within the period. It will include cases cleared at hearing and cases cleared without a hearing which include strike outs, superseded and withdrawals prior to a hearing. An appeal may not necessarily be cleared at its first hearing.
These statistics are available by Tribunal Venue in the Tribunal Statistics CSV files, available here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/tribunals-statistics
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds North West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many claimants of personal independence payment were sent home from their assessment appointments at Independence Assessment Services in 2018 due to staffing issues.
Answered by Sarah Newton
In 2018 the number of claimants who attended an assessment appointment for Personal Independence Payment that were sent home unseen by Independent Assessment Service (IAS) due to the unavailability of a Health Professional was 5,700.
This figure has been rounded to the nearest 100.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds North West)
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 on the effect of universal credit on the mental health of applicants with long term illness and disability.
Answered by Sarah Newton
The Department takes seriously the need to support vulnerable claimants. We are committed to supporting those with physical and mental health conditions, and ensuring that terminally ill patients are treated with the utmost sensitivity and care, when making a claim to Universal Credit.
Universal Credit provides enhanced personalised support for people. Universal Credit is simplifying the benefits system. All claimants, including vulnerable claimants and those with mental health conditions, receive continuous tailored support managed through personal work coaches, who know each person. We have started to deliver additional training in mental health that will be available to work coaches to build their expertise and provide the most effective support.
We are continuously reviewing and improving the service for vulnerable people who claim Universal Credit to ensure that it is accessible and responsive to their needs. This includes how they are identified and supported, either from our own staff or via referrals from local services.
The information requested on special rules is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost. We have committed to explore options around data sharing with the SSAC to consider how current practices could be enhanced. Analysts are currently investigating the availability of this data further.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds North West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made on the effect of universal credit on the mental health of applicants with terminal illness; and how many applicant applied for universal credit under the special rules in 2018.
Answered by Sarah Newton
The Department takes seriously the need to support vulnerable claimants. We are committed to supporting those with physical and mental health conditions, and ensuring that terminally ill patients are treated with the utmost sensitivity and care, when making a claim to Universal Credit.
Universal Credit provides enhanced personalised support for people. Universal Credit is simplifying the benefits system. All claimants, including vulnerable claimants and those with mental health conditions, receive continuous tailored support managed through personal work coaches, who know each person. We have started to deliver additional training in mental health that will be available to work coaches to build their expertise and provide the most effective support.
We are continuously reviewing and improving the service for vulnerable people who claim Universal Credit to ensure that it is accessible and responsive to their needs. This includes how they are identified and supported, either from our own staff or via referrals from local services.
The information requested on special rules is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost. We have committed to explore options around data sharing with the SSAC to consider how current practices could be enhanced. Analysts are currently investigating the availability of this data further.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds North West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate her Department has made of the financial saving to the public purse as a result of removing the Christmas £10 bonus from universal credit.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
The Department has not made an estimate. As outlined in the answer to Question HL12406 on 7 January 2019, the income-related working age benefits that Universal Credit replaces were not treated as a qualifying benefit for Christmas Bonuses and therefore the payment of Universal Credit does not directly produce entitlement to a Christmas Bonus.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds North West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate her Department has made of the percentage of (a) GPs and (b) other medical professionals listed on personal independence payment application forms who are contacted to obtain further medical information in relation to those applications.
Answered by Sarah Newton
The specific information requested is not available.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds North West)
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 help people that are unable to find full-time employment.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
Jobcentre Plus work coaches offer all claimants, including those unable to find full-time employment, a comprehensive package of support, including skills provision and job search support. Work coaches are further supported by specialist expertise, both in-house and external, to help claimants with more complex barriers to enter employment.
Universal Credit is helping claimants to find work by providing an enhanced level of tailored support. This includes back to work support, such as volunteering opportunities, skills support and work experience. Claimants may also be able to access the Flexible Support Fund, which is a flexible and discretionary fund which provides non-repayable support to claimants, in financial need, to move into work.