Asked by: Margaret Greenwood (Labour - Wirral West)
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 the covid-19 outbreak on the disability employment gap.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The latest data show that by Q1 2020, which covers the period up to the end of March 2020, there were 1.4 million more disabled people in work compared to Q1 2014, and the employment rate gap had closed from 33.8 percentage points to 28.6 percentage points in just six years. These data may be viewed here:
There will be a period until we have the robust data needed to fully assess any effects of the economic downturn on disabled people’s employment. We will continue to monitor employment of disabled people using the quarterly Labour Force Survey and other relevant sources.
Asked by: Margaret Greenwood (Labour - Wirral West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Budget Statement of 11 March 2020, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of removing the universal credit minimum income floor for self-employed people that are not (a) self-isolating and (b) directly affected by covid-19 but see their income fall as a result of that pandemic.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We are temporarily relaxing the Minimum Income Floor (MIF) for all self-employed UC claimants affected by the economic impact of COVID-19 from 6 April, for the duration of the outbreak. This means a drop in earnings due to sickness or self-isolation or as a result of the economic impact of the outbreak will be reflected in claimants’ awards.
Asked by: Margaret Greenwood (Labour - Wirral West)
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 extending eligibility for statutory sick pay to parents who have to stop work as a result of their children's school being closed.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Statutory Sick Pay is not appropriate for people facing childcare issues rather than health ones. Parents who cannot work because of school closures should explore options with their employer. However, as both the Prime Minister and Chancellor have made clear, the Government will do whatever it takes to support people affected by COVID 19 and we have been clear in our intention that everyone should be supported to do the right thing.
Asked by: Margaret Greenwood (Labour - Wirral West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when the Government plans to publish its response to its consultation entitled Health is everyone’s business, published July 2019.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
A response to the consultation will be published later this year.
Asked by: Margaret Greenwood (Labour - Wirral West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Government consultation entitled Health is everyone’s business, published by the Government on 15 July 2019, whether it is her policy that (a) the Lower Earnings Limit for eligibility for Statutory Sick Pay may result in people working when unwell and (b) eligibility for Statutory Sick Pay should be extended to workers earning less than the Lower Earnings Limit.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
One of the ideas in last year’s consultation, “Health is everyone’s business”, was to extend Statutory Sick Pay eligibility to those earning below the Lower Earnings Limit. The rationale was that this would provide a stronger link between the employer and employee, make a return to work more likely, and therefore reduce ill-health related job loss.
We received a good response from a range of stakeholders and we are currently reviewing the detailed responses to inform decisions on next steps. A response to the consultation will be published later this year.