Asked by: Chris Evans (Labour (Co-op) - Caerphilly)
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 effect on people waiting for an employment and support allowance assessment of the transition of supplier from Atos to Maximus in (a) the UK, (b) Wales and (c) Caerphilly County Borough.
Answered by Priti Patel - Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs
There was a successful transition from Atos Healthcare to Centre for Health and Disability Assessments (operated by MAXIMUS) right across the country. No changes were made to the Employment and Support Allowance assessment processes, so claimants would not be affected by the change of provider.
Centre for Health and Disability Assessments (CHDA) have introduced several changes to improve the overall customer experience, for example increasing the number of Mental Health Champions and introduced a new service to help claimants complete their ESA50 questionnaire.
Asked by: Chris Evans (Labour (Co-op) - Caerphilly)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average appointment length is for jobseekers at a Jobcentre Plus.
Answered by Priti Patel - Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs
The information requested is not available.
Asked by: Chris Evans (Labour (Co-op) - Caerphilly)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the annual cost of (a) youth unemployment and (b) long-term unemployment to the public purse.
Answered by Priti Patel - Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs
The Department has not made an assessment of the overall cost of youth unemployment and long term unemployment to the public purse.
Asked by: Chris Evans (Labour (Co-op) - Caerphilly)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the annual budget was for Jobcentre Plus between 2005 and 2015.
Answered by Priti Patel - Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs
Jobcentre Plus ceased to be an Executive Agency of the Department for Work and Pensions from October 2011 consequently no budget was allocated from 2012/13. Audited information on the administrative budget and spend by category can be found in the Jobcentre Plus annual report and accounts for the years between 2005/06 and 2010/11, the last years these accounts were lodged.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/jobcentre-plus-annual-report-and-accounts-2005-to-2006
Asked by: Chris Evans (Labour (Co-op) - Caerphilly)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of progress in clearing the backlog of employment and support allowance assessments in (a) the UK, (b) Wales and (c) Caerphilly County Borough.
Answered by Priti Patel - Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs
The information available for the number of Employment and Support Allowance claimants by phase of claim, by parliamentary constituency, local authority and Great Britain is published and can be found at:
https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/default.asp
Guidance for users is available at:
https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/home/newuser.asp
Information for Northern Ireland is the responsibility of the Department for Social Development in Northern Ireland.
http://www.dsdni.gov.uk/index/stats_and_research.htm
Asked by: Chris Evans (Labour (Co-op) - Caerphilly)
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 number of outstanding employment and support allowance assessments in (a) the UK, (b) Wales and (c) Caerphilly County Borough.
Answered by Priti Patel - Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs
The information available for the number of Employment and Support Allowance claimants by phase of claim, by parliamentary constituency, local authority and Great Britain is published and can be found at:
https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/default.asp
Guidance for users is available at:
https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/home/newuser.asp
Information for Northern Ireland is the responsibility of the Department for Social Development in Northern Ireland.
http://www.dsdni.gov.uk/index/stats_and_research.htm
Asked by: Chris Evans (Labour (Co-op) - Caerphilly)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment has been made of the adequacy of employment and support allowance assessment waiting times in Wales.
Answered by Priti Patel - Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs
Centre for Health and Disability Assessments is working closely with the Department to achieve all its performance requirements and progress is being made on reducing the volume of outstanding cases and reducing the time people have to wait for an assessment.
Asked by: Chris Evans (Labour (Co-op) - Caerphilly)
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 availability of doctor's appointments for employment and support allowance assessments in (a) the UK, (b) Wales and (c) Caerphilly County Borough area.
Answered by Priti Patel - Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs
Claimants attending Employment and Support Allowance assessments are seen by a Healthcare Professional who may be a fully qualified occupational therapist, physiotherapist, nurse, or doctor. Certain medical conditions however, have been designated as requiring a doctor’s assessment, for example: stroke, head-injury, multiple-sclerosis, motor neurone disease, Parkinson’s disease, muscular dystrophy and, spina bifida.
The Centre for Health and Disability Assessments is able to provide doctors to assess designated doctor-only cases in all parts of the country.
Asked by: Chris Evans (Labour (Co-op) - Caerphilly)
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 number of priority employment and support allowance cases in (a) the UK, (b) Wales and (c) Caerphilly County Borough.
Answered by Priti Patel - Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs
Cases are not generally given priority over any other except where the claimant is terminally ill.