Asked by: Kate Green (Labour - Stretford and Urmston)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of claimants of universal credit in full service areas by each stage of roll-out, including pilots, have gained (a) full and (b) part-time employment.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The data is not available in the form requested. However, Information on the employment status of Universal Credit claimants is available as part of the Universal Credit experimental official statistics which can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/universal-credit-statistics and https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk.
Latest analysis of the short term impacts of Universal Credit on labour market outcomes can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/universal-credit-employment-impact-analysis-update.
Asked by: Kate Green (Labour - Stretford and Urmston)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Written Statement of 2 November 2017, HCWS218, on social security, how existing personal independence payment (PIP) claimants who were considered ineligible for support as a result of previous PIP assessment guidelines will be (a) identified and (b) assessed according to the updated PIP assessment guidelines.
Answered by Sarah Newton
Claimants of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) will not have to wait until 2022/23 to benefit from these changes. New claimants will be assessed under the updated guidance from the 13th of November.
Existing claimants will have their awards reviewed under a separate exercise to ensure that their awards take into account the changes to the term ‘safely’ and the severity of harm. Those who were previously assessed as being ineligible for PIP from 9th of March will also have their award looked at again as part of this exercise. For those who see an increase in their award or are now entitled to PIP, we will be paying claimants their full entitlements back to the date of the judgment (9 March 2017).
This will be a complex exercise and it’s important we get it right so we will begin testing the process from the 20th of November 2017.
Asked by: Kate Green (Labour - Stretford and Urmston)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Written Ministerial Statement of 2 November 2017, on social security, HCWS218, whether new and existing claimants will have to wait until 2022-23 for any additional support they are entitled to under the updated Personal Independence Payments Assessment Guidelines.
Answered by Sarah Newton
Claimants of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) will not have to wait until 2022/23 to benefit from these changes. New claimants will be assessed under the updated guidance from the 13th of November.
Existing claimants will have their awards reviewed under a separate exercise to ensure that their awards take into account the changes to the term ‘safely’ and the severity of harm. Those who were previously assessed as being ineligible for PIP from 9th of March will also have their award looked at again as part of this exercise. For those who see an increase in their award or are now entitled to PIP, we will be paying claimants their full entitlements back to the date of the judgment (9 March 2017).
This will be a complex exercise and it’s important we get it right so we will begin testing the process from the 20th of November 2017.
Asked by: Kate Green (Labour - Stretford and Urmston)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Written Ministerial Statement of 2 November 2017, on social security, HCWS218, whether a fast-tracked reassessment process will be made available for previously personal independence payment (PIP) applicants with epilepsy within the updated PIP Assessment Guidelines.
Answered by Sarah Newton
Claimants of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) will not have to wait until 2022/23 to benefit from these changes. New claimants will be assessed under the updated guidance from the 13th of November.
Existing claimants will have their awards reviewed under a separate exercise to ensure that their awards take into account the changes to the term ‘safely’ and the severity of harm. Those who were previously assessed as being ineligible for PIP from 9th of March will also have their award looked at again as part of this exercise. For those who see an increase in their award or are now entitled to PIP, we will be paying claimants their full entitlements back to the date of the judgment (9 March 2017).
This will be a complex exercise and it’s important we get it right so we will begin testing the process from the 20th of November 2017.
Asked by: Kate Green (Labour - Stretford and Urmston)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Written Ministerial Statement of 2 November 2017, on social security, HCWS218, whether previous personal independence payment (PIP) applicants with epilepsy who were unsuccessful under the previous PIP Assessment Guidelines will have their claims automatically reassessed in accordance with the updated PIP Assessment Guidelines.
Answered by Sarah Newton
Claimants of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) will not have to wait until 2022/23 to benefit from these changes. New claimants will be assessed under the updated guidance from the 13th of November.
Existing claimants will have their awards reviewed under a separate exercise to ensure that their awards take into account the changes to the term ‘safely’ and the severity of harm. Those who were previously assessed as being ineligible for PIP from 9th of March will also have their award looked at again as part of this exercise. For those who see an increase in their award or are now entitled to PIP, we will be paying claimants their full entitlements back to the date of the judgment (9 March 2017).
This will be a complex exercise and it’s important we get it right so we will begin testing the process from the 20th of November 2017.
Asked by: Kate Green (Labour - Stretford and Urmston)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Written Statement of 2 November 2017, HCWS218, on social security, how many previously unsuccessful personal independence payment (PIP) claimants are now eligible for PIP under the updated PIP assessment guidelines.
Answered by Sarah Newton
The Department estimates that approximately 10,000 claimants will benefit from this change in 2022/23. However, the Department cannot reliably apply this methodology retrospectively to past disallowances.
Asked by: Kate Green (Labour - Stretford and Urmston)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Written Ministerial Statement of 2 November 2017, on social security, HCWS218, whether his Department plans to undertake a full review of the Personal Independence Payments (PIP) Assessment Guide to take account of all relevant Upper Tribunal rulings relating to PIP.
Answered by Sarah Newton
The Department regularly reviews and updates the Personal Independence Payment Assessment Guide to ensure the guidance reflects case law resulting from relevant Upper Tribunal rulings alongside other legislative and policy changes. The Department has no plans to undertake an additional review.
Asked by: Kate Green (Labour - Stretford and Urmston)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many non-UK EU citizens are in receipt of each of his Department's benefit to which they are entitled.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The nationality and immigration status of claimants is not currently recorded on benefit payment systems. However the Department for Work and Pensions has published statistics on working age benefit recipients by nationality at point of National Insurance Number (NINo) registration. This is available here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/analysis-of-migrants-access-to-income-related-benefits
Asked by: Kate Green (Labour - Stretford and Urmston)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what progress has been made on working with providers of (a) energy, (b) telecoms and (c) other essential services on reducing the extra costs that disability can incur.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
A Social Tariff is provided by BT (and KCom in Hull) in relation to telecommunications for those on particular benefits including disabled people.
With regard to energy, a cap on the prices energy suppliers can charge customers on pre-payment meters, many of whom are disabled people and/or on low incomes, came into effect on 1 April 2017. The price cap covers around 4.5m households, saving many dual fuel customers £70 a year
In addition, my colleague the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has written to Ofgem asking the regulator to advise what action it intends to take to safeguard customers on the poorest value tariffs. Ofgem is committed to helping the more disadvantaged in society and has launched work on measures to protect and empower vulnerable energy consumers. This work includes considering extending the current safeguard tariff in place for consumers on pre-payment meters.
To support disabled and other people when asking work coaches in Jobcentres for advice on budgeting and saving money, DWP has prepared ‘Need help managing your money?’ a factsheet which has a section on household bills. It explains you should get in touch with your supplier if you’re having difficulty paying bills or to find out if they offer a cheaper tariff. It signposts to the Money Advice Service for further information on how to save money on household bills, including switching supplier. The factsheet also covers budgeting information, basic bank accounts and the basic phone and broadband packages mentioned above.
Asked by: Kate Green (Labour - Stretford and Urmston)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what progress has been made on reviewing disabled people's access and amending regulations where necessary to improve disabled access to licensed premises, parking and housing.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
Government is concerned about issues raised in relation to access and inclusion of disabled people and the problems with ensuring businesses and service providers comply with their duties under the Equality Act 2010. We are keen to remove the barriers that some disabled people face so they can take a full part in their communities; socialise with their friends; and live where they want to.
Too many licensed premises are still difficult for disabled people to access. The House of Lords Select Committee on the Licensing Act 2003 published its report in April 2017 and recommended that the 2003 Act should be amended to require that an application for a premises licence is accompanied by a disabled access and facilities statement. The Government will respond to the recommendation made by the Lords Select Committee in due course.
The government is currently examining how the Blue Badge scheme works in practice for people with non-physical disabilities in order to ensure the rules and guidance are clear for both local authorities and citizens and to improve the way the scheme is administered across the country.
The Neighbourhood Planning Act 2017 introduced statutory obligations on the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government to provide guidance on housing to meet the needs for older and disabled people, and we are in the process of developing that additional guidance in consultation with the sector and other interested parties. We have commissioned research into Part M of the Building Regulations and are considering the results of that research in order to determine whether there is a need to review current Building Regulation guidance.
In addition to the actions above, I am also working more widely to improve access for disabled people. Earlier this year I appointed eleven Sector Champions, leaders in their particular sectors, to champion accessibility for disabled people as consumers. Sectors covered include, retail, transport, hotels, banking and tourism. My officials are also working with those in DCLG and with the Changing Places Consortium to ensure that, when the opportunity arises Building Regulations will include provisions for fully accessible toilets. There are currently 1033 Changing Paces facilities in the UK