Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions she had with the Welsh Government on the process of selecting a provider to deliver the Restart Scheme in Wales.
Answered by Mims Davies - Shadow Minister (Women)
Providers on DWP’s Commercial Agreement for Employment and Health Related Services framework were invited to bid to deliver the Restart Scheme in Contract Package Areas across England and Wales. We conducted a fair and transparent call off exercise to secure the delivery of the Restart Scheme.
Bidders were required to show how they proposed to tailor their offer to local labour market conditions, including their plans for close working with employers, local government and other service providers to identify skills gaps and growth sectors and complement the wider landscape of support.
A Stakeholder Engagement and Local Integration question which was locally tailored to the specific nuances of the individual Contract Package Area was developed in conjunction with local partners. As part of the selection process the responses for Wales were evaluated by Welsh Regional Engagement Teams from Welsh Local Authorities to ensure local expertise was incorporated into the evaluation.
DWP officials have continued to meet with Welsh Government officials to provide updates on the Restart Scheme.
Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
What assessment she has made of the effectiveness of statutory sick pay.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson
Statutory Sick Pay provides a minimum level of income for employees who are unable to work and we have made temporary changes to support people to follow public health advice on coronavirus.
Individuals can receive further financial support through the welfare system and the Test and Trace support payment scheme depending on individual circumstances.
Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
What assessment her Department has made of the effect on disabled people of excluding legacy benefits from the universal credit covid-19 uplift.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson
Legacy benefits were increased by £600m (1.7%) from April 2020 and will receive a further £100m (0.5%) increase from April 2021 as part of the Government’s annual up-rating exercise.
Claimants on legacy benefits can make a claim for UC if they believe that they will be better off. Those in receipt of the Severe Disability Premium, will be able to make a new claim to Universal Credit from January 2021.
Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the Government's policy is on bringing forward from 2046 the planned increase in the retirement age to 68 for state pension purposes.
Answered by Guy Opperman
Following the 2017 independent review of State Pension age by John Cridland, the Government accepted his recommendation to bring forward the increase to State Pension age to 68 from 2044-46 to 2037-39. Government committed to carry out a further review of State Pension age before legislating to do so, to enable consideration of the latest life expectancy projections. The statutory deadline for the publication for this next Government Review is 2023.
Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many families are affected by the two-child limit on social security benefits in Carmarthen East and Dinefwr constituency.
Answered by Will Quince
In Carmarthen East and Dinefwr 60 families on Universal Credit were affected by the policy in April 2020.
Notes: