Asked by: David Amess (Conservative - Southend West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the report entitled the Disability Price Tag 2019, published by Scope in February 2019, what assessment she has made of the extra costs incurred by disabled people; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson
We recognise that there are extra costs faces by those with long term health conditions and disabilities. That is why the Department provides a financial contribution towards those disability-related costs through Attendance Allowance, Disability Living Allowance and Personal Independence Payment. We will be spending over £26 billion on the extra costs disability benefits next year (2019/20), part of the over £55 billion spending on benefits to support disabled people and people with health conditions. Benefit provision is in addition to the wide range of additional support people with health conditions and disabilities may receive including from Local Authorities or the National Health Service.
Asked by: David Amess (Conservative - Southend West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the timeframe is for the universal credit managed migration trial that is planned to start in July 2019; and if she will publish an assessment of the effectiveness of that trial after it has concluded.
Answered by Lord Sharma
As set out in Ministerial Statement HCWS1399 on 12 March 2019, we will begin the pilot phase for moving a small number existing legacy benefit claimants onto Universal Credit in July 2019. We expect this pilot to take about 12 months, and expect all legacy benefit claimants to have been moved onto Universal Credit by the end of 2023, as previously planned.
Following the pilot, we will report on our findings to Parliament before bringing forward legislation to continue this process on a larger scale.
Asked by: David Amess (Conservative - Southend West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the report entitled the Disability Price Tag 2019, published by Scope, what steps she is taking to ensure that personal independence payment assessments accurately capture the extra costs incurred by disabled people.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson
Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is a more modern, dynamic and fairer benefit than its predecessor, Disability Living Allowance (DLA), designed to focus support on those experiencing the greatest barriers to living independently. DLA had not been fundamentally reformed since it was introduced over 25 years ago and it lacked some of the basic checks and reviews that are integral to most other State-funded support.
Built on rules developed for disability benefits created in the 1970s, DLA was also a product of its time, focusing primarily on physical disabilities, whereas we now have a better understanding of the needs of individuals with mental health conditions, learning difficulties, and sensory impairments like blindness. Understanding of conditions like autism has also changed measurably. That is why we introduced PIP. Reform of DLA had long been overdue and the benefit had to be changed to better support disabled people to lead independent lives as they want to today. PIP provides an opportunity to better target support for disabled people and to enable them to lead full, active and independent lives.
At the core of the benefit’s design is the principle that awards of the benefit should be made according to a claimant’s overall level of need; entitlement being assessed on the basis of the needs arising from a health condition or disability. It is intended to act as a contribution
towards the extra costs that arise as a result of a long-term health condition or disability. We take all feedback regarding the benefit and assessment process seriously; and we remain committed to continuous improvements and working closely with claimants and
representative organisations.
Asked by: David Amess (Conservative - Southend West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans her Department has to increase the number of employers that sign up to the disability confident scheme.
Answered by Sarah Newton
Staff in the DWP Disability Confident team are working constantly to engage with employers, run events and support the scheme. We have recently been working with Jobcentre Plus districts in Devon & Cornwall and South Yorkshire to identify new opportunities to engage with employers. The learning from this is currently being shared across Jobcentre Plus and should lead to a significant increase in employer sign-ups. Over 8,300 organisations are currently signed up to Disability Confident and this number continues to grow substantially.
The Disability Confident Business Leaders Group (BLG), comprising senior leaders from significant British businesses across all sectors, helps to increase engagement with employers and encourage and support them on their Disability Confident journeys. The group promotes the business benefits of disability employment and works with DWP officials to identify any changes or developments that will improve the effectiveness of the scheme.
In the public sector, with all main Government departments now signed up as Disability Confident Leaders we are turning focus on Local Authorities, Police, Fire Authorities and NHS Trusts. 75% of Local Authorities are already Disability Confident.