Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of applications for Carer's allowance that have been delayed for people caring for a child with cancer as a result of delayed (a) Personal Independence Payments and (b) Disability Living Allowance for the child or young person being cared for.
Answered by Mims Davies - Shadow Minister (Women)
The information requested on the number of delayed applications is not collected and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
It is a long standing principle that Carer’s Allowance can only be awarded once a decision has been made to award the “trigger” disability benefit to the person being cared for, but the award of Carer’s Allowance can be backdated to the date that the disability benefit is payable from.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the change to annual income that families experience as a result of (a) a child or young person receiving a cancer diagnosis and (b) their associated caring responsibilities.
Answered by Mims Davies - Shadow Minister (Women)
No such estimate has been made.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
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 adequacy of financial support available for carers of children and young people with cancer for (a) travel costs, (b) energy bills, (c) accommodation and (d) dietary requirements.
Answered by Mims Davies - Shadow Minister (Women)
The Government recognises and appreciates the vital role unpaid carers play in caring for, and supporting, members of their own family.
Providing they meet the entitlement conditions, unpaid carers of children and young people with cancer may be able to receive Carer’s Allowance and/or an extra amount in means tested benefits, including Universal Credit. Carer’s Allowance provides a measure of financial support and recognition for people who are not able to work full time because of their caring responsibilities. The extra amounts in means tested benefits at least partly recognise the additional costs associated with providing unpaid care.
Disability benefits, such as Disability Living Allowance for children and Personal Independence Payment, are available as a contribution towards the extra costs of being disabled and recipients are free to choose how they spend them.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether any redundancy notices will be given to local government staff due to the end of the Household Support Fund.
Answered by Jo Churchill
The current Household Support Fund runs from April 2023 until the end of March 2024, and the government continues to keep all its existing programmes under review in the usual way.
The Department for Work and Pensions guidance states that staffing costs are included in reasonable administrative spend for the duration of the current scheme. It is the responsibility of individual Local Authorities to appropriately manage their staffing arrangements.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people received funding from the Household Support Fund in each financial year since 2021-2022.
Answered by Jo Churchill
8.9 million awards were made during HSF1, from 6 October 2021 to 31 March 2022.
17.2 million awards were made during HSF2 and HSF3, from 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023.
This does not necessarily represent the number of households supported, as some may have received more than one award.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
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 adequacy of the support provided by his Department to universal credit recipients who wish to appeal a decision at Upper Tribunal.
Answered by Tom Pursglove
The judiciary is independent of the department and therefore any appeals to the Upper Tribunal are a matter for the claimant and His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS). If a claimant seeks to appeal their First-tier Tribunal (FTT) decision to the Upper Tribunal, they must follow the guidance provided to them by the FTT.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
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 adequacy of the accessibility of the Access to Work scheme for carers.
Answered by Tom Pursglove
Access to Work (ATW) is a demand-led, discretionary grant that supports the recruitment and retention of disabled people in sustainable, paid employment.
The grant contributes to the disability related extra costs of working faced by disabled people, and those with a health condition in the workplace, that are beyond standard reasonable adjustments, but it does not replace an employer’s duty under the Equality Act to make reasonable adjustments.
Where a carer, with a physical or mental health condition or disability that means they need support to work, is in paid work, or about to return to paid work in the next 12 weeks, they are able to apply for support from Access to Work.
Details on eligibility and how to apply can be found at https://www.gov.uk/access-to-work.