Asked by: Christina Rees (Labour (Co-op) - Neath)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the number and proportion is of constituents in Neath who had their original decision on claiming personal independence payments overturned as a result of (a) mandatory reconsideration and (b) an appeal hearing in each year for which data is available.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt
The latest available data on personal independence payment (PIP) clearances split by type of clearance (i.e. whether the claim was awarded, disallowed or withdrawn) can be found at https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/.
Guidance on how to use Stat-Xplore can be found here: https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/index.html
The table below shows the number of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) Mandatory Reconsideration decisions and appeal decisions where the award was changed by year of each decision since the introduction of PIP in the Parliamentary Constituencies of Cardiff Central, Swansea East, Ogmore, Wrexham and Neath
Number of Initial decisions and Mandatory Reconsiderations decisions where the award changed by year of decision.
Year of Mandatory Reconsideration | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 (to April) | Total |
Number of Awards Changed at Mandatory Reconsideration | ||||||
Cardiff Central | # | 40 | 70 | 50 | 20 | 180 |
Swansea East | # | 40 | 90 | 230 | 40 | 390 |
Ogmore | # | 30 | 90 | 70 | 30 | 230 |
Wrexham | # | 20 | 70 | 190 | 30 | 300 |
Neath | # | 30 | 100 | 180 | 60 | 360 |
Year of Appeal Decision | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 (to April) | Total |
Number of Awards Changed at Appeal | ||||||
Cardiff Central | # | 10 | 70 | 60 | 20 | 160 |
Swansea East | # | 10 | 120 | 150 | 130 | 400 |
Ogmore | # | # | 100 | 90 | 20 | 210 |
Wrexham | # | # | 20 | 70 | 50 | 140 |
Neath | # | 10 | 100 | 140 | 100 | 350 |
# is used for instances where there are less than 5 cases to avoid the release of confidential data.
Asked by: Christina Rees (Labour (Co-op) - Neath)
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 effectiveness of back-to-work programmes for people with mental health problems; and if he will take steps to change programmes judged to be ineffective.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson
Our ambition to halve the disability employment gap has been a key driver in establishing the Work and Health unit with the Department for Health. At least £115m of funding will go to the Work and Health Unit, including an innovation fund to test new ways to join up health and employment to help people with disabilities and health conditions to return to and stay in work.
Our wider employment programmes provide those with mental health conditions with the appropriate support to find work. Work Choice is an employment programme is specifically for those with a disability or health condition. Of the 14,290 starters who declared either a Severe or Mild to Moderate Mental Health condition as their Primary Disability, 6,650 (over 46%) have achieved a job outcome.
The Department conducts a monthly review of a sample of claimants from each employment contract, to assess the effectiveness of those programmes and requires providers to rectify any issues identified.
Further support is available through the Access to Work Mental Health Support Scheme. Last year, it supported 1630 people who declared a Mental Health condition as their Primary Medical Condition – a 15% increase on 2013/14 and a record number for the scheme.
Over the next three years, we are investing £43 million to develop an evidence base, via a range of voluntary trials, for what works to support people with mental health conditions into employment. Each of the voluntary trials will test a different approach of combined health and employment support.
Asked by: Christina Rees (Labour (Co-op) - Neath)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make it his policy to publish statistics on national food bank usage.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson
The Government has no plans to collect or publish statistics on food bank usage.
Asked by: Christina Rees (Labour (Co-op) - Neath)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, by what process his Department identified the areas of policy within its responsibility proposed for reservation in Annex B of the publication Powers for a Purpose: Towards a lasting devolution settlement for Wales, published on 27 February 2015.
Answered by Priti Patel - Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs
Annex B to the Powers for a Purpose Command Paper provided an illustrative list of the main areas in which reservations would be needed in a reserved powers model. The list described the Government’s emerging thinking as the new reserved powers model was being developed. The Government published its full proposals in the draft Wales Bill on 20 October. .
Asked by: Christina Rees (Labour (Co-op) - Neath)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reasons the matters within his Department's responsibility in Schedule 1 of the draft Wales Bill have been designated as reserved.
Answered by Priti Patel - Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs
The reservations listed in Schedule 1 to the draft Wales Bill reflects the Government’s view of where the Welsh devolution boundary lies following the devolution of further powers to the Assembly provided for in the draft Bill.
Asked by: Christina Rees (Labour (Co-op) - Neath)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many times he has (a) met and (b) corresponded with a minister of the Welsh Government on the draft Wales Bill in the last 12 months.
Answered by Priti Patel - Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs
The Wales Office is the lead Government department on the draft Wales Bill, and is the primary point of contact with the Welsh Government on matters related to the draft Bill.
Asked by: Christina Rees (Labour (Co-op) - Neath)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in Neath constituency have been affected by the under-occupancy penalty in the last 12 months.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson
The Information requested, for those subject to the removal of spare room subsidy, is not readily available at constituency level (Neath); and could only be obtained at a disproportionate cost.