Asked by: Jim Fitzpatrick (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 15 May 2019 to Question 224493, how much has been deducted from universal credit claimants' standard allowance in (a) the London Borough of Tower Hamlets and (b) Poplar and Limehouse constituency in each month since April 2017.
Answered by Will Quince
The attached table shows the amount deducted from Universal Credit claims in (a) the London Borough of Tower Hamlets and (b) the Poplar and Limehouse parliamentary constituency in each month since April 2017 to May 2019, which is the latest month that data is available for.
Asked by: Jim Fitzpatrick (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
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 implications for her policies of the report from the London Borough of Tower Hamlets' Housing Scrutiny Sub-Committee, published 26 February 2019, which found that in 2018-19 the local authority had referred 539 universal credit cases back to her Department due to accuracy queries, of which 197 were still outstanding.
Answered by Will Quince
The vast majority of Universal Credit (UC) claimants’ claims are administered in real time and accurately. Every UC award is calculated based on the circumstances of individuals during each assessment period, taking into account savings, assets and income.
All claimants have a responsibility to notify the Department about changes in their circumstances, as this could alter the monthly award and/or the responsibilities associated with receiving UC.
Asked by: Jim Fitzpatrick (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, by how much the cap on Access to Work grants will be uprated for the 2019-20 financial year.
Answered by Sarah Newton
This year, the annual limit on individual Access to Work grants will be increased to £59,200. This new limit will be applied to new customers with effect from 1 April. Existing customers will be subject to the new limit when their application is reviewed.
Asked by: Jim Fitzpatrick (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people affected by the lower benefit cap in May 2018 were also affected by the cap in February 2017.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson
The Lower Benefit Cap was introduced on 7th November, 2016. There were 27,000 households who had their Housing Benefit capped in both February 2017 and May 2018. 1,000 households had their Universal Credit capped in both February 2017 and May 2018.
Asked by: Jim Fitzpatrick (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people no longer affected by the lower benefit cap became exempt because they became in receipt of (a) employment and support allowance (support group), (b) personal independent payments and (c) another exempting benefit.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson
The breakdown of information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
The total number of households that no longer had their Housing Benefit capped at May 2018 because they became exempt as they were in receipt of an exempt benefit is published here: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk.
Guidance for users is available at: https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started.html.
Asked by: Jim Fitzpatrick (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what interim support is available for deaf people between the start of a new job and when an Access to Work workplace assessment is carried out.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
Access to Work (AtW) aims to supply help as quickly as possible, but where there are unavoidable delays, interim solutions may be considered. These will vary according to individual customers’ needs and situations. In such cases, AtW Advisers will inform customers and employers of likely delays and discuss interim support options.
We are continuously engaging with stakeholders to explore how the customer journey can be improved. For example, in June 2017 the new contract for AtW workplace assessments came into effect, changing the workplace assessments target. The new contract requires 90% of assessments to be carried out in 8 days, rather than the 10 days that was previously the case. This is intended to expedite the provision of support to AtW customers.
We will publish our response to “Improving Lives: The Work, Health, and Disability Green Paper“ this autumn, in which we will explore options for improving the service offered through AtW.
Asked by: Jim Fitzpatrick (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what training health professionals carrying out personal independence payment assessments receive on deafness.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
Both Assessment Providers are required to ensure that the Health Professionals (HPs) carrying out assessments have knowledge of the clinical aspects and likely functional effects of a wide range of health conditions and impairments including deafness.
All HPs receive comprehensive training in disability analysis. This includes specific case studies and guidance which covers how a person who is deaf, or has a hearing impairment, is likely to be affected in their day-to-day activities. All HPs are required to complete this training before they can be approved to carry out assessments on our behalf.
The Department and our Providers work with a wide range of organisations, including those who represent people who are deaf or have a hearing impairment in order to continuously improve the service provided, including strengthening deaf awareness training material for HPs.
Asked by: Jim Fitzpatrick (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when his Department plans to introduce a digital application process that is accessible for deaf people claiming personal independence payment.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
The Government is committed to modernising and digitalising public services, and in the longer term, plans to develop a joined up digital journey for claimants with health and disability needs. However due to the fiscal constraints the Department cannot commit to a timescale for achieving our aspiration to further modernise technology in this area at this time. Currently deaf claimants are able to write in to ask for a paper claim form and the Department also offers “next generation text” and a video relay service.
We are considering options as to how we are able to provide a digital process in line with the recommendations of the second independent review of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessments.
Asked by: Jim Fitzpatrick (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many personal independence payment appeals have been made to the Social Security Tribunals by deaf claimants; and how many of those appeals have been successful.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
The following table gives volumes of appeals lodged and overturned by year for claimants with a hearing disorder. Appeals lodged are given by the year the appeal was registered. Appeals cleared are appeals where a decision has been made and are given by the year the appeal was cleared. Appeals overturned are appeals where the DWP decision has been changed and are given by the year the appeal was cleared.
| Appeals Lodged | Appeals Cleared | Appeals Overturned |
2013/14 | # | # | # |
2014/15 | 300 | 100 | # |
2015/16 | 700 | 600 | 300 |
2016/17 | 1,100 | 900 | 500 |
2017/18 (data until April'17) | # | 100 | 100 |
*Figures have been rounded to the nearest 100.
**‘#‘used for instances where there are less than 50 cases.
Asked by: Jim Fitzpatrick (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 13 July 2017 to Question 3064 how many fire experts are employed by the Health and Safety Executive; and if he will list their specialisms.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
HSE's regulatory responsibility covers process fire precautions - the management of fire and explosion risks arising from work processes such as chemical manufacturing, or the storage of dangerous substances at work.
HSE employs staff with the expertise required to carry out the necessary inspections, investigations and assessments on the sites for which it has regulatory responsibility. With regards to the regulation of fire and explosion risks, HSE employs a total of 70 specialists with expertise in a range of industrial fire-related areas: