Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in Dwyfor Meirionnydd constituency are using fuel direct as a method of payment for energy bills as of 28 February 2022.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government's website, GOV.UK provides information about Fuel Direct as well as advice on extra help with fuel bills for people in receipt of benefits. DWP staff will discuss this option with claimants and handle any applications they receive.
In addition, Jobcentre staff have access to information on services and support available in their local area and will signpost claimants to national and local organisations, who provide specialist debt and money management support.
Whilst we can identify the number of claims on Universal Credit with a deduction for energy arrears or energy ongoing consumption in the Dwyfor Meirionnydd parliamentary constituency we cannot release this data as the numbers are so small that releasing these could potentially identify individuals and risk claimant confidentiality.
The Department does not keep this information centrally for legacy benefits and to provide it would incur disproportionate costs.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 8 September 2021 to Question 42053 on Maternity Allowance, and with reference to Table 7 of the quarterly Maternity Allowance statistics published by her Department on 15 February 2022, if she will make an assessment of the reasons for the 45 per cent fall in the number of grants of Maternity Allowance to employed women between the four quarters ending on 31 May 2016, during which period there were 50,100 grants, and the four quarters ending on 31 August 2021, in which there were 27,480 grants.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Fewer Maternity Allowance claims were started in the year up to 31 August 2021, compared to the year up to 31 May 2016. This decrease is particularly evident in claims by employed women. A likely contributor to this is the decrease in the UK’s total fertility rate. This has fallen year-on-year from 1.92 in 2012, to 1.56 in 2020. Population projections continue to anticipate a decrease in 2021 and 2022.
National population projections, fertility assumptions: 2020-based interim - Office for National Statistics [Figure 2]
We will continue to monitor fertility rates, as well as changes in the employment status and income of the female population over time, which impact on the number of MA claims.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the number of self-employed mothers who have had a child through a surrogacy arrangement who have not been eligible for either (a) Statutory Adoption Pay or (b) Maternity Allowance in the last five years.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
No estimation has been made.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
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 reasons for the change in the number of maternity allowance starts between 2016-17 and the second half of 2020-21.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
No assessment has been made. However, any change will be contributed to by the total fertility rate, which has decreased in recent years.
Births in England and Wales - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk)
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 17 May 2021 to Question 704 on Bereavement Benefits, what his timescale is for bringing forward a draft Remedial Order to extend eligibility for Widowed Parent’s Allowance and Bereavement Support Payment to cohabitees with children.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
It remains our intention to take forward a Remedial Order that will extend eligibility for Widowed Parent’s Allowance and Bereavement Support Payment to cohabitees with children.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department has taken to expand the eligibility criteria for the Bereavement Support Payment to include unmarried couples; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
We intend to take forward a Remedial Order to remove the incompatibilities from the legislation governing Widowed Parent’s Allowance and Bereavement Support Payment by extending these benefits to cohabitees with children. The Order will be laid before the House in due course.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
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 potential merits of allowing registered healthcare professionals other than GPs to sign statements of Fitness for Work.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
We recognise that the changing nature of primary care services and the associated workforce means that there are professionals other than GPs who are well placed to have work and health conversations and issue statements of Fitness for Work.
We have assessed the benefits of extending certification to other healthcare professionals by carrying out research and consultation with key stakeholders including professional bodies.
We have also worked closely with our stakeholders to ensure that we have considered a range of options and that any changes to the operation of the fit note will meet the needs of healthcare services, their workforce and their patients.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she has taken to ensure that universal credit claimants know (a) during which months they should note Self-Employment Income Support Scheme income as income in their universal credit diaries and (b) how to record other SEISS information in those diaries.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We have provided guidance for claimants, including useful step-by-step process maps, on the Understanding Universal Credit website at https://www.understandinguniversalcredit.gov.uk/employment-and-benefits-support/self-employment/. It is also made very clear in a claimant’s journal that they should report SEISS payments as self-employed income when they are received, as normal, and an additional field in their journal has been provided for claimants to do this easily.
Additionally, internal guidance has been drafted and circulated to ensure our work coaches are aware of how to treat SEISS payments, along with other Coronavirus grants and schemes.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
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 adequacy of the current definition of statutory sick pay for people with endometriosis.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) provides a minimum level of income for employees when they are sick or incapable of work. For SSP purposes, any periods of sickness which last for four or more days in a row, and are less than 8 weeks apart, are treated as linked and therefore count as one period of sickness. Once waiting days have been served, SSP is paid for all days of work missed because of sickness in any linked periods. The current definition supports employees who have fluctuating conditions who may take frequent, shorter absences from work as part of managing their health condition, such as endometriosis.
The government recently published a consultation in which we sought views on a range of proposals to reform SSP. Reform to SSP forms part of a wider package of proposals which seek to reduce ill-health related job loss and support disabled people and people with health conditions to stay in and thrive in work.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
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 effect of eligibility for statutory sick pay from the fourth day of sickness on people with endometriosis; and if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of paying statutory sick pay from the first day of sickness for people with that condition.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) provides a minimum level of income for employees when they are sick or incapable of work. It is paid by employers at £95.85 per week for up to 28 weeks in any one period of entitlement.
SSP is designed to balance support for an individual when they are unable to work because of sickness with the costs to employers of providing such support. SSP is paid from the fourth day of sickness for absences not related to COVID-19 to avoid an employer facing the burden of paying for all minor absences. The rules apply to all employees where they meet the eligibility criteria, regardless of the nature of their health condition.
For SSP purposes, periods of sickness for four or more days in a row are known as a Period of Incapacity for Work. Periods of Incapacity for Work are linked and treated as one period of sickness, if the gap between them is not more than eight weeks. Where an employee has two or more linked periods, SSP is paid from the first day in the linked period. This is because waiting days will have been served in the earlier period. The linking rules add protections to both employers, by imposing limits on their liability to make payments, and to employees by not penalising those who suffer from reoccurring health problems, such as endometriosis.