Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has made an assessment of the adequacy of the level of Personal Independence Payments for people affected by long-term conditions associated with in utero exposure to Debendox.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Personal Independence Payment (PIP) provides a contribution towards the extra costs that may arise from a long-term disability or health condition.
Entitlement to PIP focuses on the functional impacts of a person’s health condition or disability on their daily life. It is assessed on the basis of needs arising and not on the condition itself, so is available to individuals when they meet the PIP qualifying criteria.
PIP is non-contributory, non-means-tested and can be worth up to £9,747.40 a year, tax free. Receiving a qualifying rate of PIP can act as a ‘passport’ to extra money or higher amounts of other means-tested benefits, such as Universal Credit, Employment and Support Allowance, and Housing Benefit. It can also provide access to council tax reductions and a Disabled Person's Railcard.
Individuals can choose how to use the benefit, in the light of their individual needs and preferences.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will review the adequacy of support available through disability benefits to people impacted by in utero exposure to Debendox.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Personal Independence Payment (PIP) provides a contribution towards the extra costs that may arise from a long-term disability or health condition.
Entitlement to PIP focuses on the functional impacts of a person’s health condition or disability on their daily life. It is assessed on the basis of needs arising and not on the condition itself, so is available to individuals when they meet the PIP qualifying criteria.
PIP is non-contributory, non-means-tested and can be worth up to £9,747.40 a year, tax free. Receiving a qualifying rate of PIP can act as a ‘passport’ to extra money or higher amounts of other means-tested benefits, such as Universal Credit, Employment and Support Allowance, and Housing Benefit. It can also provide access to council tax reductions and a Disabled Person's Railcard.
Individuals can choose how to use the benefit, in the light of their individual needs and preferences.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when her Department last estimated the number of women born in the 1950s affected by State Pension age changes in West Dorset constituency.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
All women born since 6 April 1950 have been affected by changes to State Pension age. No specific estimate has been made for the number of women born in the 1950s in West Dorset constituency. However, estimates can be made with 2021 census data.
ONS population estimates indicate that in 2021 there were approximately 8,500 females born in the 1950s resident in the West Dorset constituency in that year.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many women in West Dorset constituency born in the 1950s are impacted by changes to the State Pension age.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
All women born since 6 April 1950 have been affected by changes to State Pension age. No specific estimate has been made for the number of women born in the 1950s in West Dorset constituency. However, estimates can be made with 2021 census data.
ONS population estimates indicate that in 2021 there were approximately 8,500 females born in the 1950s resident in the West Dorset constituency in that year.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what support is available for women born in the 1950s impacted by State Pension age changes in West Dorset constituency.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
We are absolutely committed to supporting pensioners and giving them the dignity and security they deserve in retirement.
The State Pension is the foundation of state support for older people. In 2025-26 we will spend £174.9 billion on benefits for pensioners in Great Britain, 5.8% of GDP. This includes spending on the State Pension which is forecast to be £145.6 billion in 2025-26
Through our commitment to protect the Triple Lock both the basic and new State Pensions increased by 4.1% in April, benefitting over 12 million pensioners by up to £470. That’s up to £275 more than if pensions had been uprated by inflation.
From the end of this Parliament, spending on the State Pension as a result of our commitment to protect the Triple Lock is forecast to be around £31 billion more a year, compared with 2024/25. This will see pensioners’ yearly incomes rising by up to £1,900.
Pension Credit provides vital financial support for pensioners, with 66% of those receiving support being women. It tops up state and private pensions to a guaranteed weekly minimum - the Standard Minimum Guarantee. This also increased by 4.1% in April and is now £227.10 pw for a single person and £346.60 pw for couples. Additional amounts can be paid in respect of disability, caring responsibilities and certain housing costs.
The Government wants all pensioners to get the support to which they are rightly entitled. That is why we ran the biggest ever Pension Credit take-up campaign, which included adverts on television, radio, social media, on YouTube, on advertising screens in post offices and GP surgeries as well as in the press. The next stage of the campaign starts this month and will run through to the end of the financial year.
The Government offers further direct financial help to low-income pensioners through the Warm Home Discount, providing eligible households across Great Britain with £150 off their winter energy bill. We have also extended the Household Support Fund for an additional year until 31 March 2026.
For those people who are unable to work but who are not yet eligible for pensioner benefits because of their age, financial support is available through the welfare system.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
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 potential impact of the treatment of SSIP funds as savings rather than pensions by local authorities.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
DWP does not take into account the value of a pension fund (such as a SIPP) that someone and/or their employer has paid into, this protects investments for retirement. Monies drawn from a pension fund, either as a lump-sum, a pension/annuity or both will be taken into account in means-tested benefits in the usual way. This includes where someone reaches the age for state pension credit and has chosen to continue to defer their private/occupational or state pension, in which case this may be taken into account as notional income.
How SIPPs are treated by local authorities is a matter for them and MHCLG.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
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 advice services can meet increased demand.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department for Work and Pensions provides a range of support to customers claiming Universal Credit. This includes a dedicated Universal Credit helpline, information on gov.uk, face to face support in Jobcentres as well as support from the Help to Claim service.
Help to Claim is delivered independently by Citizens Advice, in partnership with Citizens Advice Scotland, to provide practical tailored support to enable individuals to make a new claim to Universal Credit or move from legacy benefits. Help to Claim is available to anyone making a claim to Universal Credit and is focussed on providing help that meets an individual’s needs at any time until the first full payment of Universal Credit is made.
The Department for Work and Pensions forecasts demand as part of its Grant Funding Agreement with Citizens Advice to ensure they have the resources required to deliver Help to Claim. Since April 2019, Help to Claim has supported over 1.1 million people, with 9 in 10 people rating their overall experience as good or very good and would recommend it to friends and family.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reason she plans to implement changes to the Access to Work scheme in phases from May 2025, prior to the conclusion of her Department’s consultation.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
No changes have been made to Access to Work policy. We will announce any changes before they are implemented. Current operational guidance is published online at GOV.UK. Following the consultation, which concluded on 30 June, we will be reviewing all aspects of the Scheme.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of Access to Work funding on disabled people in West Dorset.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department has not made an assessment of the potential impact of Access to Work funding on disabled people in West Dorset and currently does not have plans to do so.
Access to Work spending has however increased every year since 2021/22. In 2023/24, the average amount an individual received across all Access to Work provision was around £4,180, which is around a 6% increase in real terms compared to the previous year.
Demand for the service has increased - in 2023/24 Access to Work provision was approved for 67,720 people, an increase of 32% in real terms in comparison to the previous year.
We are pleased to confirm that Access to Work will continue to be funded as part of the Spending Review 2025.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of changes to the Access to Work scheme on the ability of disabled people to (a) enter, (b) remain and (c) succeed in employment.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Access to Work has not been substantially changed since its introduction in 1994. There is a strong case for updating the role it plays in making work accessible for disabled people.
In the Pathways to Work Green Paper, we consulted on the future of the Access to Work scheme. We also considered the role of employers in creating accessible and inclusive workplaces as well as how we can shape the market for aids, appliances and assistive technology, to reduce their cost and spread their adoption.
We are considering responses to the consultation and will set out our plans in due course. The Green Paper launched a consultation that will inform the chosen future direction of Access to Work. Once this is established, we will consider timelines and work closely with stakeholders to ensure an appropriate transition.
This government values the input of disabled people and people with health conditions, in addition to the representative organisations and people that support them. That is why we brought forward the Green Paper and opened a public consultation. We are now carefully reviewing responses to the Green Paper as we further develop proposals, alongside facilitating other ways to involve disabled people in the reforms.
One such way is through the Collaboration Committees, which we launched on the 2 July, which bring together groups of disabled people and other experts for specific work areas, including Access to Work, to collaborate and provide discussion, challenge, and recommendations.