Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department has made a comparative assessment of the impact of receiving the (a) basic State Pension and (b) new State Pension on recipients of those pensions, in the context of the cost of living crisis.
Answered by Laura Trott - Shadow Secretary of State for Education
The Government understands the pressures pensioners are facing with the cost of living and has taken clear action to support all pensioners. Nearly 12 million pensioners will benefit from a 10.1% increase to their State Pension payments from April 2023, under the Triple Lock.
People on the basic State Pension can receive amounts of earnings-related additional State Pension or, if they were contracted-out, an occupational or private pension, or a combination of the two. In 2023/24, additional State Pension payments will also increase by 10.1%. Most people on the new State Pension do not receive the full rate, as the amount is based on an individual’s National Insurance record paid both before and after 2016 when the new State Pension was introduced. Transitional arrangements are in place that reflect this and ensure fairness to both groups of people.
Pension Credit is an income-related benefit that targets help at the poorest pensioners, whether they reached State Pension age before or after the introduction of the new State Pension.
In addition, all Pensioner households have been supported by a £300 Cost of Living payment in 2022/23. In 2023/24 a further Cost of Living payment will be made. More than eight million pensioner households will receive an additional £300 to help with bills.
The Government’s Energy Price Guarantee, running from October 2022-March 2023, saves a typical British household around £900 this winter, based on what the energy price would have been under the current price cap – reducing bills by roughly a third. This is in addition to over £37bn of cost of living support announced earlier this year which includes the £400 non-repayable discount to eligible households provided through the Energy Bills Support Scheme. To ensure stability and certainty for households, the Government is providing a further £26bn in cost of living support for 2023/24.
Pensioners can also benefit from the discretionary Household Support Fund for which the government has provided total funding of £2.5 billion.
This is a substantial package of support which recognises the current additional costs faced by pensioners.
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps is the Department is taking to ensure the basic state pensions rises in line with the new state pension.
Answered by Laura Trott - Shadow Secretary of State for Education
The Government has announced plans to increase the rates of both the basic State Pension and the new State Pension by 10.1% in April 2023. Subject to Parliamentary approval, this will mean that the full yearly basic State Pension will be over £3,000 higher than in 2010.
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that accessibility requirements are fully taken into account when making a decision on the most appropriate Personal Independence Payment assessment method.
Answered by Baroness Prentis of Banbury
It is important that all our claimants can access our services and that they do not face obstacles in applying and communicating with the department and its providers. The feasibility of a paper-based assessment will always be considered in the first instance for all cases. Where this is not possible the claimant will be invited to a telephone, video or face-to-face assessment. Before an invite to assessment is sent, consideration will be given to claimants who need a specific assessment channel due to their health condition or circumstances. In addition, before attending a face-to-face or telephone consultation, claimants are given the opportunity to alert their assessment provider of any additional requirements they may have, and the providers will meet any such reasonable requests.
Claimants identified as being vulnerable (e.g. having mental health or learning disabilities) can access additional support at any point in the claim or assessment process.
An audit criteria was introduced from 1 July 22 for Personal Independence Payment (PIP), which will ensure claimants are allocated to the most appropriate assessment channel for their needs and circumstances.
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that paying parents are paying a fair and balanced amount of Child Maintenance in light of the rising cost of living.
Answered by Baroness Prentis of Banbury
The child maintenance calculation was designed to be fair for the paying parent, while ensuring they contribute a significant proportion of their income to support their children.
The calculation represents an amount of money that is broadly similar with the amount that a non-resident parent would spend on supporting the child if they were still living with them.
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure that applications for Pension Credit are processed in a timely manner.
Answered by Baroness Prentis of Banbury
The success of the recent Pension Credit campaign together with the Cost of Living Crisis is driving the volume of Pension Credit claims being submitted to an all time high.
Additional resources are being deployed to ensure we deal with the increase as quickly as possible. We are also working closely with stakeholders and service providers to identify
potential process enhancements that will drive efficiency and reduce processing times.
Successful claims and arrears are backdated and paid accordingly, to ensure those who are entitled do not miss out.
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department is planning to provide additional support to people with disabilities to help them meet energy bills and the increase in living costs.
Answered by Chloe Smith
In response to the increase in energy bills and the cost of living, around six million people who receive a non-means-tested disability benefit will receive a one-off Disability Cost of Living Payment of £150. This is only one part of the government’s £15bn package of support and sits alongside Cost of Living Payments of up to £650 for means-tested benefits recipients, payments to those eligible for Winter Fuel Payments and the extension of the Household Support Fund. This is on top of the £22bn the government has already announced to support households with the cost of living.
In addition to specific targeted support, disabled people may also benefit from previously announced measures to help people tackle the cost of living, including:
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department plans to increase (a) carers allowance and (b) attendance allowance in line with inflation.
Answered by Chloe Smith
The Secretary of State undertakes an annual review of benefits and pensions, and CPI in the year to September is the latest figure that the Secretary of State can use to allow sufficient time for the required operational changes before new rates can be introduced at the start of the new financial year in April. Both Carer’s Allowance and Attendance Allowance were uprated in April 2022 by 3.1%
As per convention, the Secretary of State will undertake a review of benefit rates for the 2023/24 tax year this autumn.
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that PIP claimants with long term disabilities are not required to undergo the reassessment process in cases where their conditions and care needs have not changed since their last assessment.
Answered by Chloe Smith
Once someone has been awarded Personal Independence Payment (PIP), which can be paid at one of eight rates, that award will usually be reviewed. Regular reviews are a key feature of the benefit and ensure that payments accurately match the current needs of claimants. The length of an award is based on an individual’s circumstances and can vary from nine months to an on-going award, with a light touch review after ten years.
In 2018 we introduced updated guidance for case managers which ensures that those people who receive the highest level of support under PIP, and where their needs are unlikely to change or may get worse, will receive an ongoing award with a light touch review at the ten-year point. We also announced in the Shaping Future Support: Health and Disability Green Paper that we will test a new Severe Disability Group (SDG) so that those with severe and lifelong conditions can benefit from a simplified process to access PIP, Employment and Support Allowance and Universal Credit without needing to go through a face-to-face assessment or frequent reviews.
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department plans to take to ensure that personal independence payment assessments are carried out in a fair, consistent, and accurate manner.
Answered by Chloe Smith
The Department is committed to ensuring claimants receive high quality, objective and accurate assessments, as part of the suite of evidence the department uses to decide entitlement. There are a range of regular governance and monthly performance meetings to support delivery of the contracts to ensure that where action is required, it can be focused and targeted.
We have a strong and collaborative relationship with Capita and Independent Assessment Services (IAS) and work closely with them to further improve the quality of assessments, including clinical coaching, feedback, and support available to Health Professionals. Providers share training materials between themselves to encourage best practice, standardise processes and improve the claimant experience. They also regularly engage with medical experts, charities, and relevant stakeholders to strengthen, maintain, and update their training programmes.
The Department is also bringing forward a Green Paper on health and disability support, focusing on the welfare system. The Green Paper will explore how the welfare system can better meet the needs of disabled people and people with health conditions now and in the future, to build a system that enables people to live independently and move into work where possible.
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department plans to take to improve the Child Maintenance System to ensure that inaccurate statements are not produced while a case is under review.
Answered by Guy Opperman
Financial statements issued at any point within the lifecycle of a child maintenance case reflect the amount of child maintenance due and paid at that point in time. The account balances will only be updated once any change of circumstances have been accepted and processed. It is important to note that most change of circumstances have evidential requirements and we cannot assume that requests for review will be accepted whilst they are outstanding.