Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many (a) disability living allowance and (b) employment and support allowance claimants were not awarded personal independence payments following reassessment.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt
The Personal Independence Payment (PIP) reassessment process only applies to Disability Living Allowance claimants (DLA) who were aged 16 to 64 on 8 April 2013 (the date PIP was introduced) or who reach the age of 16 after that date. Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) claimants will not be invited to claim PIP unless they are also in receipt of DLA.
Since July 2015 all DLA claimants who reach 16, report a change in needs or whose existing awards are ending have been reassessed for PIP. For those claimants with longer or indefinite awards, the reassessment process (Full PIP Rollout) has been in progress nationally since October 2015. Full PIP Rollout cases are selected at random and volumes are managed according to DWP and Assessment Provider capacity.
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independence payment (PIP) clearances split by type of clearance (i.e. whether the claim was awarded, disallowed or withdrawn) can be found at https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk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
Please note that PIP statistics are published at Great Britain level.
Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
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 the transfer of benefits from disability living allowance and employment and support allowance to personal independence payment.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt
The Personal Independence Payment (PIP) reassessment process only applies to Disability Living Allowance claimants (DLA) who were aged 16 to 64 on 8 April 2013 (the date PIP was introduced) or who reach the age of 16 after that date. Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) claimants will not be invited to claim PIP unless they are also in receipt of DLA.
Since July 2015 all DLA claimants who reach 16, report a change in needs or whose existing awards are ending have been reassessed for PIP. For those claimants with longer or indefinite awards, the reassessment process (Full PIP Rollout) has been in progress nationally since October 2015. Full PIP Rollout cases are selected at random and volumes are managed according to DWP and Assessment Provider capacity.
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
Please note that PIP statistics are published at Great Britain level.
Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to ensure access to benefits for children and young people who have been diagnosed with cancer.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt
Children and young people with serious or critical illnesses such as cancer are able to apply for Disability Living Allowance (DLA) if they are aged under 16 or Personal Independence Payment (PIP) if aged 16 and above. DLA and PIP are tax free allowances, which are designed to contribute to the extra costs incurred as a result of long-term health conditions and/or disabilities. Children and young people in receipt of DLA or PIP can receive up to £141.10 a week. Entitlement to DLA and PIP depends on the effects that severe disability has on a person’s life and not on a particular disability or diagnosis. This is because people living with the same illnesses or disabilities may not necessarily have the same care or mobility needs.
Special considerations do however apply to children and adults who are terminally ill, and our arrangements recognise the particular difficulties faced by people who have only a short time to live. Their claims are fast-tracked and they are awarded the highest rate of the care component of DLA and the enhanced rate of the daily living component of PIP automatically without having to complete a qualifying period. This means that, if they claim straight away, they can get benefit as soon as they have been diagnosed as being terminally ill. The arrangements ensure that claims are dealt with quickly and sensitively. The legislation defines a person as terminally ill if ‘he suffers from a progressive disease and his death can reasonably be expected within six months’.
People over the age of 16 who are unable to work due to an illness or disability can claim Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) which has both a contributory strand accessible via a National Insurance contribution test and an income-related strand accessible via an income test. For cancer sufferers, a light touch evidence gathering process exists, to help determine eligibility. There is also a presumption that claimants receiving or recovering from cancer treatment will be placed in the Support Group which could entitle them to up to £109.65 per week, subject to suitable evidence from a healthcare professional such as a GP or oncologist.
Carers may also be able to qualify for Carer’s Allowance, which is currently £62.70 a week if they meet the eligibility criteria.
Trudi Hills, our Sector champion for banking, has been working with Macmillan to improve how the banking industry supports people when they receive a cancer diagnosis
Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what support is currently available to children and young people diagnosed with cancer for claims for (a) disability living allowance and (b) personal independence payments.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt
Children and young people with serious or critical illnesses such as cancer are able to apply for Disability Living Allowance (DLA) if they are aged under 16 or Personal Independence Payment (PIP) if aged 16 and above. DLA and PIP are tax free allowances, which are designed to contribute to the extra costs incurred as a result of long-term health conditions and/or disabilities. Children and young people in receipt of DLA or PIP can receive up to £141.10 a week. Entitlement to DLA and PIP depends on the effects that severe disability has on a person’s life and not on a particular disability or diagnosis. This is because people living with the same illnesses or disabilities may not necessarily have the same care or mobility needs.
Special considerations do however apply to children and adults who are terminally ill, and our arrangements recognise the particular difficulties faced by people who have only a short time to live. Their claims are fast-tracked and they are awarded the highest rate of the care component of DLA and the enhanced rate of the daily living component of PIP automatically without having to complete a qualifying period. This means that, if they claim straight away, they can get benefit as soon as they have been diagnosed as being terminally ill. The arrangements ensure that claims are dealt with quickly and sensitively. The legislation defines a person as terminally ill if ‘he suffers from a progressive disease and his death can reasonably be expected within six months’.
People over the age of 16 who are unable to work due to an illness or disability can claim Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) which has both a contributory strand accessible via a National Insurance contribution test and an income-related strand accessible via an income test. For cancer sufferers, a light touch evidence gathering process exists, to help determine eligibility. There is also a presumption that claimants receiving or recovering from cancer treatment will be placed in the Support Group which could entitle them to up to £109.65 per week, subject to suitable evidence from a healthcare professional such as a GP or oncologist.
Carers may also be able to qualify for Carer’s Allowance, which is currently £62.70 a week if they meet the eligibility criteria.
Trudi Hills, our Sector champion for banking, has been working with Macmillan to improve how the banking industry supports people when they receive a cancer diagnosis
Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what financial support the Government provides to people who have terminal cancer and their families.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt
Children and young people with serious or critical illnesses such as cancer are able to apply for Disability Living Allowance (DLA) if they are aged under 16 or Personal Independence Payment (PIP) if aged 16 and above. DLA and PIP are tax free allowances, which are designed to contribute to the extra costs incurred as a result of long-term health conditions and/or disabilities. Children and young people in receipt of DLA or PIP can receive up to £141.10 a week. Entitlement to DLA and PIP depends on the effects that severe disability has on a person’s life and not on a particular disability or diagnosis. This is because people living with the same illnesses or disabilities may not necessarily have the same care or mobility needs.
Special considerations do however apply to children and adults who are terminally ill, and our arrangements recognise the particular difficulties faced by people who have only a short time to live. Their claims are fast-tracked and they are awarded the highest rate of the care component of DLA and the enhanced rate of the daily living component of PIP automatically without having to complete a qualifying period. This means that, if they claim straight away, they can get benefit as soon as they have been diagnosed as being terminally ill. The arrangements ensure that claims are dealt with quickly and sensitively. The legislation defines a person as terminally ill if ‘he suffers from a progressive disease and his death can reasonably be expected within six months’.
People over the age of 16 who are unable to work due to an illness or disability can claim Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) which has both a contributory strand accessible via a National Insurance contribution test and an income-related strand accessible via an income test. For cancer sufferers, a light touch evidence gathering process exists, to help determine eligibility. There is also a presumption that claimants receiving or recovering from cancer treatment will be placed in the Support Group which could entitle them to up to £109.65 per week, subject to suitable evidence from a healthcare professional such as a GP or oncologist.
Carers may also be able to qualify for Carer’s Allowance, which is currently £62.70 a week if they meet the eligibility criteria.
Trudi Hills, our Sector champion for banking, has been working with Macmillan to improve how the banking industry supports people when they receive a cancer diagnosis
Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment his Department has made of the views of employers and employees on auto-enrolment workforce pensions.
Answered by Lord Harrington of Watford
Automatic enrolment is a policy that works. Over 7.5 million individuals have been automatically enrolled into a workplace pension by more than 465,000 employers. I am now conducting a review of the policy in order to build on that achievement.
On 8 February 2017 I published a set of initial questions on the main themes, including coverage, engagement and future contributions and invited views and evidence to help inform our considerations. The deadline for responses was 22 March and we are now considering the responses. We are also engaging extensively with stakeholders, and an advisory group of external experts is providing insight, challenge and guidance.
The success of automatic enrolment has been based on a partnership approach and our approach to the review will enable us to understand the views of all stakeholders, including employers and employees.
Towards the end of 2017 we will publish a report to Parliament.