Asked by: David Burrowes (Conservative - Enfield, Southgate)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reasons refugees with disabilities who have been deemed entitled to disability living allowance have different backdating entitlements depending on whether their claim happened to be stockpiled before or after the Upper Tribunal ruling of 17 March 2016 on the past presence test.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt
No claims were stockpiled before the Upper Tribunal ruling of 17 March 2016, 40 Disability Living Allowance claims were stockpiled after the ruling.
Section 27 of the Social Security Act 1998 provides that, where the Upper Tribunal decides on a social security appeal that the Secretary of State has made an error of law in his original decision and other claims subsequently fall to be decided by the Secretary of State, the judgment generally is not to be applied in relation to any period that predates the Upper Tribunal’s decision (s.27(3)). This statutory rule does not apply to the person who brought the original appeal, to people who have already lodged an appeal against a decision or who are still in time to do so, or to people whose case the Secretary of State has stockpiled (or whose appeal he has stayed) pending the judgment under section 25 of the Act.
Asked by: David Burrowes (Conservative - Enfield, Southgate)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many claims were stockpiled (a) before and (b) after the Upper Tribunal ruling of 17 March 2016 on the unlawful and discriminatory use of the past presence test.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt
No claims were stockpiled before the Upper Tribunal ruling of 17 March 2016, 40 Disability Living Allowance claims were stockpiled after the ruling.
Section 27 of the Social Security Act 1998 provides that, where the Upper Tribunal decides on a social security appeal that the Secretary of State has made an error of law in his original decision and other claims subsequently fall to be decided by the Secretary of State, the judgment generally is not to be applied in relation to any period that predates the Upper Tribunal’s decision (s.27(3)). This statutory rule does not apply to the person who brought the original appeal, to people who have already lodged an appeal against a decision or who are still in time to do so, or to people whose case the Secretary of State has stockpiled (or whose appeal he has stayed) pending the judgment under section 25 of the Act.
Asked by: David Burrowes (Conservative - Enfield, Southgate)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if the Government will remove the local housing allowance cap for people living in supported housing; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
The Secretary of State has confirmed that the Government expects to make an announcement on the way forward for supported housing in early autumn.
Asked by: David Burrowes (Conservative - Enfield, Southgate)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans the Government has for the allocation of the £70 million funding for relationship support announced by the Prime Minister on 11 January 2016; and what the timetable will be for the distribution of that funding over the Parliament.
Answered by Priti Patel - Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs
The Department is developing the detail of how the funding will be allocated. For 2016/17 we are extending our programme of relationship support provision which will include supporting local authorities to improve the quality of couple or co-parenting relationships and extending the evidence base in this policy area.
We are also exploring which interventions can maximise the important links between parenting and relationship support.
Asked by: David Burrowes (Conservative - Enfield, Southgate)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much the Government plans to spend on relationship support in 2016-17; and on what programmes that funding will be spent.
Answered by Priti Patel - Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs
The Department is developing the detail of how the funding will be allocated. For 2016/17 we are extending our programme of relationship support provision which will include supporting local authorities to improve the quality of couple or co-parenting relationships and extending the evidence base in this policy area.
We are also exploring which interventions can maximise the important links between parenting and relationship support.
Asked by: David Burrowes (Conservative - Enfield, Southgate)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much was spent by the Government on relationship support in 2015-16; and to what programmes that funding was allocated.
Answered by Priti Patel - Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs
A total of £11.2m is forecast to be spent in the full year 2015/16 on relationship support as follows:
Legacy Relationship Support Contracts £7.0m
Evaluation of Legacy Relationship Support Contracts £0.3m
Innovation Fund £2.5m
Evaluation of Innovation Fund £0.5m
Local Family Offer £0.7m
Perinatal Pilot £0.2m
Total £11.2m