Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what her Department's timescale is for publication of ethnicity data for universal credit claimants.
Answered by Will Quince
Plans for the publication of ethnicity data can be found in the background information section of the Universal Credit Statistics Background Information & Methodology document.
Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
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 proportion of people whose (a) personal independence payment and (b) employment support allowance claims were (i) unsuccessful and (ii) closed due to (A) failure to attend and (B) failure to participate who were identified as vulnerable by her Department in the latest period for which figures are available.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The information requested for both Employment and Support Allowance and Personal Independence Payment is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how long her Department's South East region has taken on average to process changes of circumstances with regards to housing on universal credit claims since 14 January 2021.
Answered by Will Quince
The Department does not record this information.
Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
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 number of claimants who have not been notified of the extension of their award of personal independence payments by the time their award ends.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
No such estimate has been made. The Department has automatically extended awards of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) where needed, and have issued notifications to all customers whose awards have been extended as part of this exercise.
Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 9 December 2020 to Question 124879 on disability premium, whether any compensation is offered to claimants affected by accidental cessation of the severe disability premium on employment and support allowance awards; and how long on average claimants have had to wait before that premium was reinstated in the most recent period for which figures are available.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Where claimants have been affected by accidental cessation of the severe disability premium as part of their Employment and Support Allowance, we are taking swift action to rectify the mistake. The Department’s position on compensation is that each case must be considered on its own merits, taking into account the particular circumstances of that case.
Specific information on the waiting times for reinstatement of the premium is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the extension of personal independence payment awards, what data or estimates her Department holds on the number of claimants who are (a) yet to be notified of the extension of their awards and (b) have not been notified of the extension of their award by the time their award ends.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department has been automatically applying extension of awards of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and have issued around 756,000 notifications to date. We still have c850,000 notifications to issue and remaining customers will be notified of their new award end date early 2021, the planned completion date for all extension activity.
Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what factors Decision Makers take into account when determining the length of personal independence payment (a) awards and (b) review periods in circumstances where that award is initially made for a short period with the result that the recipient has to reapply.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Once someone has been awarded Personal Independence Payment (PIP), which can be paid at one of eight rates, that award will be usually be reviewed. Regular reviews are a key feature of the benefit and ensure that payments accurately match the current needs of claimants. Shorter term awards without a review can also be made where there is an expectation that a claimant’s condition will not give rise to a further award. Claimants given a fixed term award with no review are free to apply for PIP before their existing award ends and will be treated as a new claim.
Advice is available to Case Managers on the appropriate award length and was deposited in the House Library on 10 October 2018 [http://data.parliament.uk/DepositedPapers/Files/DEP2018-1113/UIN_174062_-_Award_period_guidance_10.10.18.pdf]. The guidance has since been updated to include guidance about awarding ongoing awards for PIP recipients of State Pension age.
Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what criteria was used to determine which personal independence payment awards, due for review in 2021-22, would be extended.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department has been automatically applying extension of awards of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) for all claims due for review in 2021-22. This does not include cases with a new decision from July, when review and reassessment activity resumed, as they are not part of the Covid-19 easements exercise.
Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
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 effect of not extending the £20 uplift in universal credit beyond April 2021 on the 17,000 households in Poplar and Limehouse in receipt of that benefit.
Answered by Will Quince
The £20 per week uplift to Universal Credit and Working Tax Credit was announced by the Chancellor as a temporary measure in March 2020 to support those facing the most financial disruption as a result of the public health emergency. This measure remains in place until April 2021. As the Government has done throughout this crisis, it will continue to assess how best to support low-income families, which is why we will look at the economic and health context in the new year.
Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has of the number of claimants whose disability premium on their employment support allowance has ceased to as a result of an automatic extension of a personal independence payment award has not been communicated to employment support allowance.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The specific information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
We are aware of the impact that extending PIP award end dates has had on the Severe Disability Premiums of a number of ESA claimants, between April and July 2020. Work is being undertaken to correct this issue and an alternative procedure has been put in place.