Asked by: Greg Mulholland (Liberal Democrat - Leeds North West)
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 UK's arrangements with French authorities for processing reimbursement claims from UK citizens for state-funded health treatment received in France.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson
European Union Regulations on the coordination of social security systems include provisions on how citizens may obtain healthcare in other EEA states. These are longstanding legislative arrangements which include the use of the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC), as well as how the resulting bills are settled between states. The European Commission and the member states are jointly responsible for assessing the effectiveness of the regulations on an on-going basis and where necessary the Commission will recommend any proposed changes for consideration and agreement with the member states.
Asked by: Greg Mulholland (Liberal Democrat - Leeds North West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what arrangements are in place to enable UK citizens to submit reimbursement claims under the European Health Insurance Card regulations; and what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of those arrangements.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson
In the UK, the NHS Choices website provides comprehensive information on the arrangements that are in place to enable UK citizens to submit reimbursement claims under the EU regulations. Such claims are dealt with by a dedicated team in the Department for Work and Pensions – the DWP Overseas Healthcare Team. Contact details for the DWP Overseas Healthcare Team are provided on the NHS Choices website and may also be found on the EHIC itself.
The reimbursement processes to which all member states adhere have been in place for many years and work in much the same way across Europe. The European Commission and the member states are jointly responsible for assessing the effectiveness of the regulations on an on-going basis and where necessary the Commission will recommend any proposed changes for consideration and agreement with the member states.
Asked by: Greg Mulholland (Liberal Democrat - Leeds North West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what guidelines are in place on the amount of time that should be taken to process reimbursement claims from UK citizens for health treatment in other European countries; and what data his Department holds on the average amount of time taken to process such claims.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson
The EU regulations do not provide set timescales for the processing of reimbursement claims. The DWP Overseas Healthcare Team work proactively with colleagues in the other EEA states to progress reimbursement claims on behalf of UK citizens. When all the appropriate information is received from the relevant EEA state, such claims are normally cleared for reimbursement within 10 days.
Asked by: Greg Mulholland (Liberal Democrat - Leeds North West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 20 January 2016 to Question 22645, what estimate he has made of the potential cost of answering that question for each of the resources that would be so required.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson
We estimate that it would require a departmental analyst to spend 4.5 working days to research, collate and analyse the data and around 0.5 further days of oversight and checking of methodology from a senior analyst. This would result in a total cost of around £1,500, which is significantly in excess of the limit for disproportionate costs.
Asked by: Greg Mulholland (Liberal Democrat - Leeds North West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many personal independence payment claimants were asked to attend reassessments earlier than the date originally given in each of the last three years.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson
The information requested can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Greg Mulholland (Liberal Democrat - Leeds North West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, in what circumstances claimants of personal independence payment may be asked to attend reassessments at an earlier date than initially expected.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson
Benefit is always awarded on the basis that the level of need at the start of the award will continue at the same level throughout the period of the award. In most cases the length of award is based on an intervention date decided by the decision maker, and informed by a healthcare professional.
Where a claimant’s circumstances change or doubt arises as to the correctness of the award, the claimant or the department can instigate a review of that award before the planned end date. Where this happens the claimant may be asked to attend a face to face consultation with a Health Professional.
Asked by: Greg Mulholland (Liberal Democrat - Leeds North West)
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 effect of Britain's exit from the EU on access to pensions for older British citizens who are resident in other EU countries.
Answered by Priti Patel - Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs
The Prime Minister believes Britain’s best future lies within a reformed European Union. He is focused on addressing the concerns of the British people and is confident that the right agreement can be reached.
Asked by: Greg Mulholland (Liberal Democrat - Leeds North West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many replies to constituent correspondence from hon. Members his Department sent by (a) email and (b) letter in each of the last three years; and what the cost breakdown of each method was in each such year.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson
We have received representations from a small number of hon. Members and where appropriate the Department obliges with email replies. Where there is sensitive personal information in a reply, it will be posted for security reasons.
The cost differential between sending postal replies and email replies is minimal.
The exact information requested on the method of dispatch is not available other than at a disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Greg Mulholland (Liberal Democrat - Leeds North West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what representations he has received on responding to correspondence from hon. Members by email rather than by letter.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson
We have received representations from a small number of hon. Members and where appropriate the Department obliges with email replies. Where there is sensitive personal information in a reply, it will be posted for security reasons.
The cost differential between sending postal replies and email replies is minimal.
The exact information requested on the method of dispatch is not available other than at a disproportionate cost.