Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Liverpool Garston)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to ensure that previous claimants of the motability component under disability living allowance who have had their entitlement to the motability component removed under personal independence payments do not have their motability car removed while awaiting an appeal.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson
The Department worked closely with Motability to design an extensive £175 million Transitional Support Package for those who are no longer eligible for the Motability scheme following reassessment from DLA to PIP.
Motability allow eligible claimants to retain their vehicle for up to eight-weeks after DLA payment end and offer £2,000 for those who joined before 2013, or £1,000 for those joining during 2013; or, instead claimants may opt to extend their lease for 26 weeks after the DLA payments end (or until a decision on their appeal is heard) and receive a smaller lump sum payment: £500 for those who joined before 2013, or £250 for those who joined during 2013.
For those who are appealing their decision following reassessment, Motability have confirmed in a letter to the Work and Pensions Select Committee that “if a customer has opted for the 26-week retention period and Motability is satisfied that they are actively progressing an appeal, a discretionary extension to the handback period can be granted.”
Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Liverpool Garston)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will take steps to extend the six months grace period that claimants of personal independence payments have while awaiting an appeal on a decision to remove their entitlement to the motability component.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson
The Department worked closely with Motability to design an extensive £175 million Transitional Support Package for those who are no longer eligible for the Motability scheme following reassessment from DLA to PIP.
Motability allow eligible claimants who joined the Scheme before 2014 to opt to extend their lease for 26 weeks after the DLA payments end (or until a decision on their appeal is heard) and receive a smaller lump sum payment.
For those who are appealing their decision following reassessment, Motability have confirmed in a letter to the Work and Pensions Select Committee that “if a customer has opted for the 26-week retention period and Motability is satisfied that they are actively progressing an appeal, a discretionary extension to the handback period can be granted.”
Those joining the scheme after 2014 and who subsequently lose eligibility for their Motability vehicle will receive a £1000 stopped allowance support payment from Motability.
Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Liverpool Garston)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people have (a) had their motability cars removed before a personal independence payments appeal hearing and (b) subsequently had their entitlement reinstated post-appeal in the Garston and Halewood constituency in each year since April 2013.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson
The two respective parts of this question are being interpreted as referring to cases in the Garston and Halewood constituency, since April 2013, where individuals experienced the following sequence of events:
a) The number of individuals in receipt of the higher rate mobility component of Disability Living Allowance (DLA), and specifically using this for the Motability Scheme, that then underwent a Reassessment from DLA to Personal Independence Payment (PIP) where their PIP initial decision did not award them the enhanced rate mobility component, which therefore meant they were no longer eligible for the Motability Scheme.
b) The number of individuals from Part A that subsequently proceeded to lodge an appeal against the initial decision made at their Reassessment, and upon completing the appeal they saw the decision overturned where the post-appeal PIP award specifically included the enhanced rate mobility component, thus seeing them once again entitled to the Motability Scheme.
Information on the number of these cases could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Liverpool Garston)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to ensure that young people with SEND who are (a) in full-time further education and (b) aged 20 or above have sufficient financial support to complete their studies.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson
The Department for Education will be investing over £700 million in additional high needs funding to support young people with complex special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in education. This represents an increase of over 11% on the funding available this year, bringing the total high needs funding budget to over £7 billion.
Every local authority will see a minimum increase of 8% per head of 2 to 18 population to their high needs funding. The Department for Education will provide provisional allocations for individual local authorities in October.
A disabled student determined to have Limited Capability for Work (Work Related Activity Group) or Limited Capability for Work Related Activity (Support Group), in receipt of PIP/DLA, who has moved from Employment and Support Allowance to Universal Credit following a change in circumstances, with no break in their claim will meet the criteria to receive Universal Credit.
A person requiring financial support is able to claim Universal Credit alongside their PIP/DLA payments.
Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Liverpool Garston)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what financial support her Department provides to claimants of personal independence payments who have had their motability car removed pending appeal and who need to travel to hospital appointments.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson
Motability allow eligible claimants who joined the Scheme before 2014 to opt to extend their lease for 26 weeks after the DLA payments end (or until a decision on their appeal is heard) and receive a smaller lump sum payment.
The NHS are responsible for considering costs relating to travel for hospital appointments under the Healthcare Travel Costs Scheme. This is for people in receipt of a qualifying benefit or who have a low income.
Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Liverpool Garston)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people received the enhanced mobility rate of personal independence payments after a successful appeal in the Garston and Halewood constituency in each year since April 2013.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson
Information on the number of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) cases in the Garston and Halewood constituency since April 2013 that saw that their mobility award, upon an appeal being cleared, ‘increased up to the enhanced mobility rate’ could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Liverpool Garston)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what alternative financial provision his Department has made available for young people with SEND who are (a) in full-time further education and (b) aged 20 or above and no longer have access to non-contributory employment and support allowance.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson
A disabled student determined to have Limited Capability for Work (Work Related Activity Group) or Limited Capability for Work Related Activity (Support Group), in receipt of PIP/DLA, who has moved from Employment and Support Allowance to Universal Credit following a change in circumstances, with no break in their claim will meet the criteria to receive Universal Credit.
A person requiring financial support is able to claim Universal Credit alongside their PIP/DLA payments.
The following special points should be noted:
When claimants are undertaking education/training while claiming UC, their conditionality will depend on their circumstances and the labour market regime they are placed in. For example:
Regulation 12(4) of the Universal Credit Regulations 2013 provides that a person, as described, is not treated as receiving education if the course is considered to be compatible with any work related requirements which the Secretary of State places upon them.