Asked by: Jess Phillips (Labour - Birmingham, Yardley)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking with the Child Maintenance Service to ensure that victims of domestic abuse are protected from financial control.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) is committed to ensuring that victims and survivors of domestic abuse get the support they need to use the CMS safely.
Parents who have experienced domestic abuse are exempt from paying the application fee. There are no ongoing charges for using Direct Pay, which is designed to be a safe service for victims of domestic abuse.
The CMS provides advice and support to help parents use the Service, without needing to have contact with an abusive ex-partner. This includes acting as an intermediary and providing information to parents about how to set up non-traceable payment methods. In addition, all CMS caseworkers have received specific training, developed with input from Women’s Aid, on domestic abuse so they can quickly identify parents who need additional support.
Those found to be abusing the system are subject to the full extent of our enforcement powers and the Child Maintenance Service will pursue these, where appropriate.
Asked by: Jess Phillips (Labour - Birmingham, Yardley)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps is the Child Maintenance Service taking to assess the finances of parents claiming they cannot pay due to the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
No one should use this time as an excuse to avoid their child maintenance payments. However, where paying parents experience a change in income, we can review their case and check if the amount paid should change. If it does not, they should continue to make payments.
No one will get away with giving false information and those abusing the system will find themselves subject to the full extent of our enforcement powers.
Asked by: Jess Phillips (Labour - Birmingham, Yardley)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will place in the Library any guidance or training materials that were issued by her Department to the Child Maintenance Service on how to manage changes in procedure in response to the covid-19 outbreak where domestic abuse was a factor.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
All CMS staff are trained in how to support women who disclose domestic abuse and have access to The Domestic Abuse Plan which guides caseworkers through the appropriate action to take to help safeguard vulnerable women.
There are currently no plans to place Child Maintenance Service guidance or training materials in the Library.
Asked by: Jess Phillips (Labour - Birmingham, Yardley)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what training is provided to staff at the Child Maintenance Service on domestic abuse.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
All CMS staff are trained in how to support women who disclose domestic abuse and have access to The Domestic Abuse Plan which guides caseworkers through the appropriate action to take to help safeguard vulnerable women..
Additionally, earlier this year we introduced a bespoke Domestic Abuse Awareness training course that was developed with Women’s Aid and has been delivered for our staff across the country.
Asked by: Jess Phillips (Labour - Birmingham, Yardley)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department has taken to support disabled employees of Arlington Automotive following the insolvency of that company and resulting job losses.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
We know this is a worrying time for people, and DWP are ready to support anyone impacted by job loss.
In response to covid-19, DWP has established an alternative service to our usual face to face offer. People will be able to access redundancy help and job search advice on the Department’s new Job Help campaign website. There’s also information on gov.uk. and updated information packs provided to employers to help them signpost employees to the support that is available. The support available includes:
In addition, officials in the Solihull Jobcentre have supported both the employer and employees of Arlington Automotive, by providing a factsheet which gives an overview of the help and support through Jobcentre plus; details regarding the National Careers Service and relevant links. The factsheet is also available in alternative formats.
Asked by: Jess Phillips (Labour - Birmingham, Yardley)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of setting up an enforcement telephone line for employees to report employers that are not following social distancing guidance relating to covid-19.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Employees with concerns about social distancing measures in their workplace can contact the Health and Safety Executive Concerns and Advice Team by completing an on-line form accessible on the HSE website https://www.hse.gov.uk/ or by calling the team on 0300 003 1647.
Lines are open Monday to Friday from 8.30am to 5pm (on Wednesdays from 10am to 5pm). HSE encourages workers to try to resolve workplace concerns through local discussions before contacting the enforcement body where possible.
Asked by: Jess Phillips (Labour - Birmingham, Yardley)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what contingency plans she has to ensure that people unable to attend tribunal hearings for benefit allocations as a result of self-isolating have adequate living funds.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
HMCTS has set out its priorities for managing the response to the coronavirus: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-courts-and-tribunals-planning-and-preparation. This includes advice to those self-isolating to contact the tribunal in which the hearing is to take place. Judges can consider an audio or video hearing.
Asked by: Jess Phillips (Labour - Birmingham, Yardley)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department has undertaken any recent assessment on trends in the level of economic inactivity in socio-economic groups.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
The latest available data, covering Oct-Dec 2018, shows the rate of economic inactivity being 20.9% – a record low. This rate has fallen since 2010 for every region and country of the UK. These statistics are for the 16-64 age group, which is the Office for National Statistics’ headline rate for economic inactivity.
The ONS does not publish statistics on economic inactivity split by socioeconomic group.
Asked by: Jess Phillips (Labour - Birmingham, Yardley)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what gender awareness training staff at the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) have undertaken in relation to their inspections of workplaces; and whether the HSE has a gender awareness strategy in place for those inspections.
Answered by Sarah Newton
It is a mandatory requirement that all staff in HSE, not just those inspecting workplaces, are required to complete unconscious bias training and diversity and inclusion training annually. This training covers all protective characteristics including gender.
HSE has a Dignity at Work Statement published on its Intranet site. This statement is for everyone within HSE, and applies to all members of staff including contractors, agency staff and anyone engaged to carry out work on HSE's behalf. It sets out what behaviours are expected when dealing with each other and members of the public.
Asked by: Jess Phillips (Labour - Birmingham, Yardley)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people with (a) leukaemia, (b) myeloma, (c) hodgkin’s lymphoma and (d) non-hodgkin’s lymphoma have successfully appealed against a decision not to award personal independence payment.
Answered by Sarah Newton
Since Personal Independence Payment (PIP) was introduced up to June 2018, there have been:
(a) 60 successful appeals against a decision not to award PIP by people with a primary disabling condition of leukaemia,
(b) 30 successful appeals against a decision not to award PIP by people with a primary disabling condition of myeloma,
(c) 20 successful appeals against a decision not to award PIP by people with a primary disabling condition of Hodgkin’s lymphoma and
(d) 40 successful appeals against a decision not to award PIP by people with a primary disabling condition of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
Data has been rounded to the nearest 10.
Data is based on primary disabling condition as recorded on the PIP computer systems. Claimants may often have multiple disabling conditions upon which the decision is based but only the primary condition is shown in these statistics.
The appeals may include decisions which are changed at mandatory reconsideration, and where the claimant continues to appeal for a higher PIP award, are then changed again at tribunal appeal.