Asked by: Corri Wilson (Scottish National Party - Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will record the number of autistic people in employment as part of the Labour Force Survey; and what steps his Department has taken to ensure that autistic people are benefitting from increased employment rates.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt
Over a number of years employment data on people with specific long term health conditions has been collected by the Office for National Statistics using the Labour Force Survey. This important survey has allowed the Department to produce useful time series statistics on the employment rates of individuals with long term health conditions, where this information is collected. The Labour Force Survey includes a large range of health conditions that survey respondents can report they experience; however this does not currently include autism as one of the named health conditions and there are no plans to begin collecting this data.
DWP is working with Autism Alliance UK on a national training programme for Jobcentre Plus staff (so that they can better support claimants with autism into work). In addition, the Department has helped to develop a Disability Passport - About Me - to support disabled people, including those with autism, who are seeking jobs and those helping them. Disabled people can share it with their work coach or adviser, to help improve communication and put any reasonable adjustments in place at the earliest opportunity.
Additionally, Improving Lives – the Work, Health and Disability Green Paper sets out the Government’s proposals for improving work and health outcomes for disabled people and people with long-term health conditions. We are now considering consultation responses and the next steps for longer term reform.
Asked by: Corri Wilson (Scottish National Party - Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will launch a national programme to promote the employment potential of autistic people to employers.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt
The Department is actively promoting the employment potential of all disabled people across Britain, including those with autism, to employers via the Disability Confident Scheme. To further support employers, the Hidden Impairments National Group, established by DWP, provides an “Uncovering Hidden Impairment toolkit” which is free of charge to employers.
Asked by: Corri Wilson (Scottish National Party - Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what progress his Department has made on behalf of DEC, Compaq and Hewlett Packard pensioners with pre-1997 pension contributions in resolving their case.
Answered by Lord Harrington of Watford
I have met senior representatives from the company to present the pensioners’ arguments and make clear my interest in the matter.
However, the company is meeting its legal obligations.
Any increases to pensions in payment are likely to mean significant additional expenditure for any scheme and its sponsoring employer. Therefore, the Government has no plans to require all schemes to pay increases on pre-1997 pensions.
Asked by: Corri Wilson (Scottish National Party - Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what advice his Department issues to personal independence payment claimants on their right to have a recorded home assessment.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt
Any claimant can request a home consultation for Personal Independence Payment, however a claimant may specifically require a home consultation where their diagnosis suggests extreme difficulty travelling to an assessment due to their health condition or impairment.
All PIP claimants are entitled to use their own equipment to record assessments, within an assessment centre or at their home. This equipment should meet DWP standards. You can find standards for recording PIP assessments, for each Assessment Provider, on their respective websites, or by using the following links:
Atos: http://www.atoshealthcare.com/pip/faq_view/recording_my_consultation
Capita: http://www.capita-pip.co.uk/en/assessment-process.html
The Health Professional does not need to separately consider the recording of a recorded assessment, as they will have conducted the assessment themselves and produced a report; however a copy the recording will be held securely for 14 months following. The Department will consider evidence from the recorded home assessment report in the same way it considers all PIP assessments; by treating people as individuals, considering the impact of their impairment or health condition on their everyday life and how each claimant has personally adapted to living with a disability.
Asked by: Corri Wilson (Scottish National Party - Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what criteria his Department uses to determine eligibility for recorded home assessments for personal independence payment; what support his Department provides for vulnerable claimants who require home assessments; and what processes are undertaken by his Department to consider the evidence from recorded home assessments.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt
Any claimant can request a home consultation for Personal Independence Payment, however a claimant may specifically require a home consultation where their diagnosis suggests extreme difficulty travelling to an assessment due to their health condition or impairment.
All PIP claimants are entitled to use their own equipment to record assessments, within an assessment centre or at their home. This equipment should meet DWP standards. You can find standards for recording PIP assessments, for each Assessment Provider, on their respective websites, or by using the following links:
Atos: http://www.atoshealthcare.com/pip/faq_view/recording_my_consultation
Capita: http://www.capita-pip.co.uk/en/assessment-process.html
The Health Professional does not need to separately consider the recording of a recorded assessment, as they will have conducted the assessment themselves and produced a report; however a copy the recording will be held securely for 14 months following. The Department will consider evidence from the recorded home assessment report in the same way it considers all PIP assessments; by treating people as individuals, considering the impact of their impairment or health condition on their everyday life and how each claimant has personally adapted to living with a disability.
Asked by: Corri Wilson (Scottish National Party - Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the findings of the reports from (a) the National Audit Office on Benefit Sanctions, published on 30 November 2013 and (b) the oral evidence to the Work and Pensions Committee of 28 November 2016, HC56, on the disability employment gap, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of exempting (i) disabled people and (ii) those experiencing mental ill health from the benefit sanctions regime.
Answered by Damian Hinds
Sanctions are only used in a very small percentage of cases and as a last resort. They are an important part of our benefits system and encourage claimants to stick to their agreed commitments to prepare for or find work, based on their individual needs and circumstances. The sanction system is under continuous review to ensure that it functions effectively and fairly - where we identify an issue, we act to put it right.