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 her Department plans to take steps to apply transitional protections automatically for claimants moving from Employment and Support Allowance to Universal Credit.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Since 2024 the Department has been inviting claimants of income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA IR) to make a claim to Universal Credit (UC) within three months in order to maintain their financial support. Those making a UC claim before their deadline, whose circumstances remain the same as those of their ESA claim will be assessed for transitional protection and, where eligible, this will automatically be applied to their Universal Credit award.
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 she has made of the potential impact of the change in payment frequency from Employment and Support Allowance to Universal Credit on the finances of claimants.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Universal Credit has a range of tools available to support customers with budgeting including Benefit Transfer Advances which are available for customers moving across from legacy benefits to UC.
Universal Credit is, by default, a monthly payment which is paid directly to customers as a single household payment. Alternative Payment Arrangements are available to support those who cannot manage the single monthly payment.
In instances where it is identified that a claimant is finding it difficult to budget, they can ask to have their Universal Credit payment divided over the month to be paid more frequently. This may be paid twice, or in exceptional circumstances, four times within a monthly assessment period. This payment arrangement does not increase the total award received within each assessment period.
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 her Department plans to communicate with people who did not receive responses to their queries on voluntary National Insurance contributions before 5 April 2025.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Department is currently calling customers who registered an interest in Voluntary National Insurance Contributions before 5th April, where they may have a gap to fill. Where no further pension enhancement is possible, we may write to customers instead. We are prioritising those customers above or within 12 months of State Pension age.
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 she is taking to reduce the time taken to process voluntary National Insurance contributions for people who contacted her Department before 5 April 2025.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Department has doubled the number of people supporting this important activity and is pursuing digital routes to support processing Voluntary National Insurance Contributions.
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 adequacy of employment support for young people with SEND that do not meet the threshold for specialist provision but require workplace adaptations.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
As a government, we want to support young SEND adults in the workplace by encouraging employers to adopt inclusive working practices so that everyone can thrive at work. A range of measures are currently available.
The Disability Confident scheme was developed in collaboration with disabled people, employers and organisations representing disabled people. The scheme aims to challenge perceptions of what it means to employ disabled people and provides employers with the knowledge skills and free resources they need to attract, recruit, retain and progress disabled people of all ages in the workplace.
To support young people with the transition from education into work, Access to Work has developed a series of Adjustment Passports and Planners. They were developed with stakeholders and disability groups to ensure the format adhered to the social model of disability and met disability needs. They are completely voluntary, and can support the transitions into employment by providing:
In November the Government launched its plan to Get Britain Working. We are working closely with employers, and through insights from the Keep Britain Working Review, to understand the barriers they face to employing disabled people.
In addition to this, on 29 January this year, the Government launched an independent panel of academics with expertise and experiences of neurodiversity to advise us on boosting neurodiversity awareness and inclusion at work. Recommendations are expected to include employer actions that can support the inclusion of neurodivergent people, including in recruitment and day to day workplace practices.
The Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to get Britain Working’ Green Paper, published on 18 March, set out a £1 billion investment a year by the end of the decade in new employment, health and skills support.
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 her Department plans to provide further guidance on workplace adjustments and transition support for young people with SEND that do not qualify for an Education, Health and Care Plan.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
As a government, we want to support young SEND adults in the workplace by encouraging employers to adopt inclusive working practices so that everyone can thrive at work. A range of measures are currently available.
The Disability Confident scheme was developed in collaboration with disabled people, employers and organisations representing disabled people. The scheme aims to challenge perceptions of what it means to employ disabled people and provides employers with the knowledge skills and free resources they need to attract, recruit, retain and progress disabled people of all ages in the workplace.
To support young people with the transition from education into work, Access to Work has developed a series of Adjustment Passports and Planners. They were developed with stakeholders and disability groups to ensure the format adhered to the social model of disability and met disability needs. They are completely voluntary, and can support the transitions into employment by providing:
In November the Government launched its plan to Get Britain Working. We are working closely with employers, and through insights from the Keep Britain Working Review, to understand the barriers they face to employing disabled people.
In addition to this, on 29 January this year, the Government launched an independent panel of academics with expertise and experiences of neurodiversity to advise us on boosting neurodiversity awareness and inclusion at work. Recommendations are expected to include employer actions that can support the inclusion of neurodivergent people, including in recruitment and day to day workplace practices.
The Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to get Britain Working’ Green Paper, published on 18 March, set out a £1 billion investment a year by the end of the decade in new employment, health and skills support.
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 help improve workplace support for young people with SEND that do not meet the criteria for specialist provision.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
As a government, we want to support young SEND adults in the workplace by encouraging employers to adopt inclusive working practices so that everyone can thrive at work. A range of measures are currently available.
The Disability Confident scheme was developed in collaboration with disabled people, employers and organisations representing disabled people. The scheme aims to challenge perceptions of what it means to employ disabled people and provides employers with the knowledge skills and free resources they need to attract, recruit, retain and progress disabled people of all ages in the workplace.
To support young people with the transition from education into work, Access to Work has developed a series of Adjustment Passports and Planners. They were developed with stakeholders and disability groups to ensure the format adhered to the social model of disability and met disability needs. They are completely voluntary, and can support the transitions into employment by providing:
In November the Government launched its plan to Get Britain Working. We are working closely with employers, and through insights from the Keep Britain Working Review, to understand the barriers they face to employing disabled people.
In addition to this, on 29 January this year, the Government launched an independent panel of academics with expertise and experiences of neurodiversity to advise us on boosting neurodiversity awareness and inclusion at work. Recommendations are expected to include employer actions that can support the inclusion of neurodivergent people, including in recruitment and day to day workplace practices.
The Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to get Britain Working’ Green Paper, published on 18 March, set out a £1 billion investment a year by the end of the decade in new employment, health and skills support.
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 the (a) scope and (b) planned timeline is for her Department’s planned benefit reforms in 2025.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We are committed to reforming the system of health and disability benefits so that it promotes and enables employment among as many people as possible. The system must also work to support disabled people to live independently. It is also vital to ensure that the system is financially sustainable in the long term.
We are working to develop proposals for reform to the system of health and disability benefits and will set them out in a green paper in the spring.
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 his Department has made of the potential impact of trends in the cost of living on recent demand for food banks in rural areas.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The latest statistics on food bank usage including data at a national and regional level can be found in the household food security tables located here: Family Resources Survey: financial year 2022 to 2023 - GOV.UK
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 trends in food bank use in rural areas over the last 12 months.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The latest statistics on food bank usage including data at a national and regional level can be found in the household food security tables located here: Family Resources Survey: financial year 2022 to 2023 - GOV.UK