Asked by: Louise Ellman (Independent - Liverpool, Riverside)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when his Department will implement plans to cease work capability assessments re-assessments for employment and support allowance claimants with the most severe health conditions and disabilities where the condition is unlikely to improve; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt
This change will come into effect in 2017 and will apply to those placed in Employment and Support Allowance’s Support Group and the Universal Credit equivalent.
Whilst the new criteria and process for this group of claimants is developed, we do not plan to reassess claimants who had the most severe health conditions or disabilities when they had their first Work Capability Assessment. We are currently working with stakeholders to develop the new criteria and, when finalised, we will revisit this group to confirm the position, but we expect this will not require a face-to-face assessment.
Asked by: Louise Ellman (Independent - Liverpool, Riverside)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent representations he has received on the appropriateness of his Department's assessments for hearing impaired people; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt
The Department and our Assessment Providers work with a wide range of organisations representing disabled people, including those who are deaf or have a hearing impairment to make improvements to the service provided. For example, Action on Hearing Loss is a member of the Disability Charities Consortium who I meet with on a regular basis. Recent activity includes strengthening processes for booking British Sign Language interpreters and engagement with the British Deaf Association which has led to a joint review of deaf awareness material for health professionals carrying out assessments.
Asked by: Louise Ellman (Independent - Liverpool, Riverside)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he plans to meet with Women Against State Pension Inequality campaigners; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson
The Secretary of State has met with a number of his constituents who have raised this issue, and with Tim Loughton, who has been involved in the WASPI campaign. He has made clear that he will not be bringing forward further concessions or changes.
Asked by: Louise Ellman (Independent - Liverpool, Riverside)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what representations he has made to the Danish government on the death of Stephen O'Malley since the adjournment debate of 25 November 2015.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson
A transcript of the debate was passed to the Danish authorities, via the Danish Deputy Chief Prosecutor, on 27 November 2015.
The Danish authorities have since confirmed that their State Attorney is reviewing the case, and is expected to make a decision on whether to re-open the case or agree that the original findings were correct, in January 2016.
Asked by: Louise Ellman (Independent - Liverpool, Riverside)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of the statistics collected by the Campaign to End Child Poverty on child poverty rates in Liverpool.
Answered by Esther McVey
We remain committed to our goal of ending child poverty by 2020. We've already made great strides under this government with 300,000 fewer children in relative poverty and around 390,000 fewer children growing up in workless families, now at the lowest levels since records began.
The Government is taking action to tackle child poverty including introducing Universal Credit, which will simplify the benefit system and ensure that work is always the best option; investing more in nursery and pre-school provision, including providing 260,000 disadvantaged 2 year-olds with 15 hours a week free childcare; investing in education, including £2.5 billion for the Pupil Premium; raising the tax threshold which will lift 3 million more people out of paying tax altogether; and introducing tax cuts for over 26 million people on low incomes.
This Government has taken action to give local areas more freedom to respond to local needs. Under the Child Poverty Act, each Local Authority is required to complete a needs assessment of child poverty in its areas and, working with partners, introduce a local strategy to tackle the local problems. Local Authorities understand the local situation best, and can therefore design effective strategies for tackling child poverty at a local level.