Asked by: Julian Sturdy (Conservative - York Outer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the benefits of excluding (a) savings in lifetime and (b) help-to-buy ISAs from the eligibility calculation for housing benefit.
Answered by Will Quince
No assessment has been made. The fundamental purpose of Housing Benefit is to help people on low incomes pay their rent. As it is an income related benefit, regard must be had to all income and capital when assessing entitlement. Whilst it is important to encourage saving, it has never been thought right for substantial amounts of capital to be ignored altogether when deciding entitlement to a benefit based on need.
However, as ISAs are treated as capital, entitlement to Housing Benefit is only affected if the amount held in an ISA exceeds £6,000 for working age people or £10,000 for people over pension age. Housing Benefit claimants who are also receiving a passporting benefit such as Income Support or Pension Credit have all their capital disregarded.
Asked by: Julian Sturdy (Conservative - York Outer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment his Department has made of representations from civil society organisations on the efficacy of extending the £20 universal credit uplift to a permanent level of universal credit payment, in order to tackle financial hardship as a result of the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Will Quince
The £20 per week temporary Universal Credit increase remains in place until April 2021. As the Government has done throughout this crisis, it will continue to assess how best to support low-income families, which is why we will look at the economic and health context in the new year before making any decisions.
Asked by: Julian Sturdy (Conservative - York Outer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to ensure the Health and Safety Executive receives adequate resources to undertake its enforcement responsibilities.
Answered by Mims Davies - Shadow Minister (Women)
DWP and HSE officials meet regularly to discuss resources and performance against its Business Plan objectives. This includes recognising the importance of enforcement as one of the tools employed by HSE to secure effective management and control of risk in GB workplaces.
Asked by: Julian Sturdy (Conservative - York Outer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reasons the entitlement of spouses of armed forces personnel posted overseas to claim class three national insurance credits only applies to those who reach the state pension age on or after 6 April 2016.
Answered by Lord Harrington of Watford
This credit only applies to those who reach state pension age on or after 6 April 2016 because entitlement to the new State Pension, introduced on 6 April 2016, is based on a person’s own National Insurance contribution record, unlike the old State Pension scheme where it is possible to ‘derive’ a State Pension based on a spouse or civil partner’s contributions.
Under our state pension reforms, introduced on 6 April 2016, over three million women will gain an average of £11 per week more State Pension by 2030. Around 75 per cent of women (and 70 per cent of men) who reach State Pension age under the new system in the first fifteen years will have a higher value State Pension when compared to the value of the State Pension they would have received under the old system.
Asked by: Julian Sturdy (Conservative - York Outer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people with cystic fibrosis in receipt of disability living allowance have been invited to claim personal independence payments (PIP); and how many such people have been awarded PIP for (a) 16 to 18 year olds and (b) people over 18.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt
The Department intends to provide detailed breakdowns of DLA to PIP reassessment outcomes in due course. The Department is working to guidelines set by the UK Statistics Authority to ensure we are able to publish statistics that meet high quality standards at the earliest opportunity.
Asked by: Julian Sturdy (Conservative - York Outer)
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 impact of protocols on touching disability benefit assessment centre attendees on the accessibility of these sites to those who struggle to stand unaided.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt
If a physical assessment of the musculoskeletal system is required, it is largely non-touch and based on observing ‘active movements’ – i.e. movements carried out under the direction of, but without the physical intervention of, the Healthcare Professional.
The impact on a claimant undergoing this type of assessment should therefore be negligible.
Asked by: Julian Sturdy (Conservative - York Outer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of accessibility of assessment centres for work capability assessment and personal independence payments consultations for people using larger or bariatric wheelchairs.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt
All assessment centres meet accessibility standards under the Equality Act 2010.
Before attending an assessment, claimants are given the opportunity to alert the assessment provider to any additional requirements they may have and the providers will endeavour to meet any such reasonable requests.
If a claimant is unable to travel to, or access an assessment centre as a result of their health condition or impairment, a home visit may be offered.
Asked by: Julian Sturdy (Conservative - York Outer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to ensure assessment centres for work capability assessment and personal independence payment consultations are fully accessible to people using different kinds of mobility assistance devices.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt
All assessment centres meet accessibility standards under the Equality Act 2010.
Before attending an assessment, claimants are given the opportunity to alert the assessment provider to any additional requirements they may have and the providers will endeavour to meet any such reasonable requests.
If a claimant is unable to travel to, or access an assessment centre as a result of their health condition or impairment, a home visit may be offered.
Asked by: Julian Sturdy (Conservative - York Outer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make it his policy to increase the £30,000 threshold for the Local Government Pension Scheme.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson
Defined benefit pension arrangements offer a high level of security and, in some cases, very valuable guarantees. Therefore it is important that individuals carefully consider the implications of giving these guarantees up before proceeding with a decision to transfer out to access their benefits flexibly.
The independent financial advice £30,000 threshold applies to transfers out of all funded defined benefit schemes, including public sector schemes such as the Local Government Pension Scheme. The Government has no plans to create a separate threshold for funded public sector schemes.