Asked by: Kirsty Blackman (Scottish National Party - Aberdeen North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the HSE has plans to increase the agreed capacity of the Wind and Marine Energy Team within HSE’s Energy division.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
To date, the Wind and Marine Energy Team (WMET) at the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) consists of an Operations Manager, a Team Leader and three HM Inspectors. This was the position in 2018. However, WMET is also supported by five Visiting Officers and Specialist HM Inspectors from across HSE.
HSE has recently recruited an additional HM Inspector into the WMET, who will be in post from next month, along with a new trainee HM Inspector, who will complete their training over the next two years.
HSE keeps the capacity of WMET under regular review to ensure it continues to meet the regulatory requirements of the sector.
Asked by: Kirsty Blackman (Scottish National Party - Aberdeen North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the agreed capacity of the Wind and Marine Energy Team within HSE’s Energy division was in 2018.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
To date, the Wind and Marine Energy Team (WMET) at the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) consists of an Operations Manager, a Team Leader and three HM Inspectors. This was the position in 2018. However, WMET is also supported by five Visiting Officers and Specialist HM Inspectors from across HSE.
HSE has recently recruited an additional HM Inspector into the WMET, who will be in post from next month, along with a new trainee HM Inspector, who will complete their training over the next two years.
HSE keeps the capacity of WMET under regular review to ensure it continues to meet the regulatory requirements of the sector.
Asked by: Kirsty Blackman (Scottish National Party - Aberdeen North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of offshore incidents (a) met HSE’s Incident Selection Criteria and (b) were investigated by HSE in the first six months of 2022.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
In the first 6 months of 2022:
Asked by: Kirsty Blackman (Scottish National Party - Aberdeen North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many offshore incidents met HSE’s Incident Selection Criteria in the first six months of 2022.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
In the first 6 months of 2022:
Asked by: Kirsty Blackman (Scottish National Party - Aberdeen North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many dangerous occurrences offshore were reported to HSE in the first six months of 2022.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
In the first 6 months of 2022:
Asked by: Kirsty Blackman (Scottish National Party - Aberdeen North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the amendments to the permitted period contained in The Universal Credit and Jobseeker’s Allowance (Work Search and Work Availability Requirements - limitations) (Amendment) Regulations 2022 include an objective to support claimants to move into sustained, long-term employment.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Way to Work campaign is a move to help job-ready claimants into work sooner, utilising strong relationships with employers to help fill the hundreds of thousands of vacancies in the economy.
We are also providing claimants with more time with their Work Coaches so they are better supported in their search for work as we know that a claimant that can work is better off in work and that those in work have a greater chance of securing a better job and progressing in a career.
Finally, building on the Way to Work campaign, we are rolling out a new in-work progression offer to all Jobcentres. This will extend the support we provide to low-paid benefit claimants in work, providing targeted support to help people progress in their jobs, overcome barriers to fulfil their potential and earn more.
Asked by: Kirsty Blackman (Scottish National Party - Aberdeen North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 8 February 2022 to Question 117880, on Social Security Benefits: Disqualification, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the finding on page 73 of her Department's in-work progression randomised control trial that ran between April 2015 and March 2018 that sanctions did not appear to have a positive impact on motivation to progress and that they could damage the relationship between the Work Coach and participant.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
A positive working relationship between a Work Coach and a claimant is crucial but the same section also shows how sanctions are an effective tool at driving compliance.
Building on the evidence from the randomised control trial to support in-work progression, we are extending the support Jobcentres provide to people in work and on low incomes to help them to increase their earnings and move into better paid quality jobs.
This will be provided by Work Coaches and focus on career progression advice, such as considering skills gaps, identifying training needs, or looking for opportunities for the claimant to progress in their current role or in a new role.
The support will be offered to working UC claimants on a voluntary basis initially. However, we will review this in the future to ensure everyone who could benefit from this support engages with it.
Our evaluation of the new voluntary in-work progression offer will inform our future approach to helping UC claimants to progress.
Asked by: Kirsty Blackman (Scottish National Party - Aberdeen North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to paragraph 12 of Benefit Sanctions: Government response to the Work and Pensions Committee’s Nineteenth Report of Session 2017-19, if she will provide details of the external evidence on the impact of sanctions on claimants' health, finances and wellbeing of claimants her Department took into account prior to the introduction of The Universal Credit and Jobseeker’s Allowance (Work Search and Work Availability Requirements - limitations) (Amendment) Regulations 2022.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
No specific assessment has been made. The Department considers all available evidence when making decisions regarding new or existing policies. To ensure sanctions are clear, fair and effective in promoting positive behaviours, we keep the operation of the conditionality and sanctions policies and process under continuous review. We routinely undertake Equality Analyses when developing policies.
These regulations change the amount of time people have to search for jobs in their preferred sector, which is known as the permitted period. The permitted period is available at the discretion of a Work Coach and only claimants with substantial experience in a certain sector or occupation, or at a level of remuneration are eligible. If, after 4 weeks, claimants granted a permitted period refuse to widen their job search and apply for roles, attend interviews or take up paid work outside of their preferred sector without good reason, then they may be referred for a sanction. A sanction is only ever applied if claimants fail, without good reason, to meet their agreed conditionality requirements.
We have a well-established system of hardship payments, available as a safeguard if a claimant demonstrates that they cannot meet their immediate and most essential needs, including accommodation, heating, food and hygiene.
Asked by: Kirsty Blackman (Scottish National Party - Aberdeen North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answers of 8 February 2022 to Question 117880 and Question 121901, on Social Security Benefits: Disqualification, what assessment she has made of the findings of the implications for her policies of international studies, including those summarised in Griggs and Evans (2010), the National Audit Office’s 2016 report on Benefit sanctions and the written evidence from her Department to the Work and Pension Committee’s inquiry on benefit sanctions in 2018, that, where sanctions prompted people to move into work, the effect could be short-lived and result in lower quality jobs in respect of pay, conditions, duration and sustainability.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
No specific assessment has been made. The Department considers all available evidence when making decisions regarding new or existing policies. To ensure sanctions are clear, fair and effective in promoting positive behaviours, we keep the operation of the conditionality and sanctions policies and process under continuous review. We routinely undertake Equality Analyses when developing policies.
These regulations change the amount of time people have to search for jobs in their preferred sector, which is known as the permitted period. The permitted period is available at the discretion of a Work Coach and only claimants with substantial experience in a certain sector or occupation, or at a level of remuneration are eligible. If, after 4 weeks, claimants granted a permitted period refuse to widen their job search and apply for roles, attend interviews or take up paid work outside of their preferred sector without good reason, then they may be referred for a sanction. A sanction is only ever applied if claimants fail, without good reason, to meet their agreed conditionality requirements.
We have a well-established system of hardship payments, available as a safeguard if a claimant demonstrates that they cannot meet their immediate and most essential needs, including accommodation, heating, food and hygiene.
Asked by: Kirsty Blackman (Scottish National Party - Aberdeen North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will publish the equalities impact assessment undertaken by her Department in respect of The Universal Credit and Jobseeker’s Allowance (Work Search and Work Availability Requirements - limitations) (Amendment) Regulations 2022.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The department aims to place a copy of the equalities impact assessment for these Regulations in the House Library in due course.