Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing additional financial support to (a) disabled people and (b) their carers.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The Government understands the pressures people are facing with the cost of living, including disabled people and unpaid carers, and has taken further, decisive action to support people with their energy bills. The Energy Price Guarantee is supporting millions of households with rising energy costs in addition to other cost of living support announced last year which includes:
Following the Secretary of State’s statutory annual review of up-rating, from April 2023 the State Pension and benefits will increase by 10.1%, in line with the increase in the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) in the year to September 2022. This includes benefits paid to disabled people and unpaid carers, including Personal Independence Payment, Disability Living Allowance, Attendance Allowance, Employment and Support Allowance, Carer’s Allowance, Universal Credit, and Pension Credit.
To ensure stability and certainty for households, the Government is making further cost of living support available in 2023/24. Households in receipt of eligible means-tested benefits will get up to a further £900 in Cost of Living Payments, people in receipt of eligible disability benefits will receive a further £150 payment, and pensioner households will receive a further £300 as an addition to the Winter Fuel Payment. This is in addition to the amended Energy Price Guarantee which will save the average UK household £500 in 2023-24.
For those who require extra support, the Government is providing an additional £1 billion of funding, including Barnett impact, to enable the extension of the Household Support Fund in England in the next financial year. In England this will be delivered through an extension to the Household Support Fund backed by £842 million, running from 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024, which local authorities use to help households with the cost of essentials. It will be for the devolved administrations to decide how to allocate the additional Barnett funding.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
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 access to Universal Credit support for (a) full time students and (b) partners of full time students during the cost of living crisis.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
No such meetings have taken place and no such assessment has been made.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many meetings he has had with the National Union of Students on access to Universal Credit for (a) full time students and (b) partners of full time students in the last 12 months.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
No such meetings have taken place and no such assessment has been made.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has held recent discussions with Macmillan Cancer Support on the potential impact of raising benefits in line with inflation for people (a) with and (b) related to people with cancer.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
I have, and will, regularly meet stakeholders to discuss a range of disability related issues, including the Disability Benefit Consortium of which Macmillan Cancer Support is a member.
The Government is protecting the most vulnerable in society, many of whom face the biggest challenge making their incomes stretch, by increasing benefits in line with inflation. This means that they will rise by September’s Consumer Prices Index – 10.1% from April 2023.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to ensure people with mental health problems have access to help in the workplace.
Answered by Claire Coutinho - Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) offer a range of support for those with mental health problems to stay in and return to work. This includes the Access to Work Mental Health Support Service, and Individual Placement Support for people with common mental health and/or physical health conditions.
On 10th October 2022 (World Mental Health Day), we announced the expansion of a joint programme by DWP, DHSC, and NHS England. This extension will spend £122 million to expand the provision of Employment Advisers in Improving Access to Psychological Therapies services across England (EAs in IAPT). This voluntary service will recruit an additional 700 employment advisers to support people with common mental health conditions to improve their mental health, whilst also helping them stay in or find work.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to support people with mental illness who take regular absences from work.
Answered by Claire Coutinho - Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) offer a range of support for those with mental health problems to stay in and return to work. This includes the Access to Work Mental Health Support Service, and Individual Placement Support for people with common mental health and/or physical health conditions.
On 10th October 2022 (World Mental Health Day), we announced the expansion of a joint programme by DWP, DHSC, and NHS England. This extension will spend £122 million to expand the provision of Employment Advisers in Improving Access to Psychological Therapies services across England (EAs in IAPT). This voluntary service will recruit an additional 700 employment advisers to support people with common mental health conditions to improve their mental health, whilst also helping them stay in or find work.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether work coaches receive any specific training in how to support disabled jobseekers.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
DWP Work Coaches undergo comprehensive ongoing learning to support customers with additional or complex needs, which continues at point of need throughout their role. The learning provides work coaches with the knowledge and skills to enable them to:
Their technical learning enables the work coach to determine what is required and never assume to know. They complete scenario-based discussions and skills practice to cultivate effective communication skills including the sensitive use of questions, to reach joint decisions.
DWP also provides the work coach with an understanding of assisted digital, and how they can effectively coach claimants who find using digital services a challenge and are signposted to tools, guidance support and websites to effectively use resources from both internal and external sites. This ensures that they access the most up to date advice and expertise on a particular health condition.
Within DWP, there are also staff who undertake the Disability Employment Advisor (DEA) role. Staff who undertake this role are expected to have completed the Work Coach Learning Journey prior to commencing specific learning for the DEA role which provides them with further skills to:
There is also a new product Accessibility Fundamentals learning which helps work coaches and Disability Employment Advisors to understand the various features in Microsoft that can be used to make opportunities more accessible.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to ensure that autistic people are supported to access their pensions in later life.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
In order to ensure our services are available to all, including those with varying or complex needs, DWP provides choice in how customers can access our services to claim their State Pension.
State Pension invite letters are issued to prompt a customer to claim State Pension four months before State Pension age. In the unlikely event of not receiving an invite letter there are still four access routes to claim, making sure those with differing or complex needs have options to use the most appropriate route based on their individual requirements. This includes online, telephony and postal channels. Customers, or their trusted helpers, can choose the most appropriate route to support their needs.
Where, during contact with the department, someone is identified as having additional or complex needs, DWP Agents have access to the Advanced Customer Support Team who ensure DWP has the services and tools in place to help our most vulnerable customers identify, access and engage with the support that they need when they have multiple barriers. This includes support to make a claim and to ensure first payments are made on time, signposting, or referrals to external organisations if needed. All channels offer alternative formats when the claim is made which includes braille, British Sign Language, email, a hearing loop, translations, large print and audio.
In addition, the Government provides free and impartial Pension Wise guidance for anyone who is over the age of 50 with a defined contribution pension (DC). Pension Wise helps individuals with the options they have to access their DC workplace and private pensions savings. This guidance is delivered by the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) who are required to comply with the Equality Act 2010 and must make reasonable adjustments for people’s accessibility needs. Accessibility requests can either be arranged at the point of booking a Pension Wise appointment or, if during the appointment any additional needs are identified, MaPS can adjust the delivery of the appointment to suit requirements.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what support her Department provides to autistic people to help them access their pensions in later life.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
In order to ensure our services are available to all, including those with varying or complex needs, DWP provides choice in how customers can access our services to claim their State Pension.
State Pension invite letters are issued to prompt a customer to claim State Pension four months before State Pension age. In the unlikely event of not receiving an invite letter there are still four access routes to claim, making sure those with differing or complex needs have options to use the most appropriate route based on their individual requirements. This includes online, telephony and postal channels. Customers, or their trusted helpers, can choose the most appropriate route to support their needs.
Where, during contact with the department, someone is identified as having additional or complex needs, DWP Agents have access to the Advanced Customer Support Team who ensure DWP has the services and tools in place to help our most vulnerable customers identify, access and engage with the support that they need when they have multiple barriers. This includes support to make a claim and to ensure first payments are made on time, signposting, or referrals to external organisations if needed. All channels offer alternative formats when the claim is made which includes braille, British Sign Language, email, a hearing loop, translations, large print and audio.
In addition, the Government provides free and impartial Pension Wise guidance for anyone who is over the age of 50 with a defined contribution pension (DC). Pension Wise helps individuals with the options they have to access their DC workplace and private pensions savings. This guidance is delivered by the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) who are required to comply with the Equality Act 2010 and must make reasonable adjustments for people’s accessibility needs. Accessibility requests can either be arranged at the point of booking a Pension Wise appointment or, if during the appointment any additional needs are identified, MaPS can adjust the delivery of the appointment to suit requirements.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether any of the training modules for (a) Work Coaches and (b) Disability Employment Advisers have been coproduced by disabled people.
Answered by Julie Marson
All DWP learning for Work Coaches and Disability Employment Advisers is designed in partnership with Work Psychologists, external organisations such as MIND, (a national charity providing mental health information and support), RNIB, (Royal National Institute of Blind People), SENSE, (a national charity set-up to support people who are deafblind or have other complex disabilities), and National Autistic Society alongside DWP staff who have a variety of disabilities to ensure that learning is not only accessible to all but is sensitive to everyone’s requirements regardless of abilities/disabilities.
DWP are also working with Microsoft to provide Accessibility Fundamentals learning which helps work coaches / DEAs understand the various features in Microsoft that can be used to make opportunities more accessible for all our customers.