Asked by: Mark Tami (Labour - Alyn and Deeside)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect on the state pension entitlement for people who have been unable to make national insurance contributions because they could not prove their status despite being resident since 1973.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
The Department does not hold this information and to produce it would incur disproportionate cost. DWP has helped over 400 Windrush generation claimants to resolve issues with benefit entitlement.
DWP staff continue to support people of the Windrush generation with their benefits and pensions claims and are also working closely with other Government bodies to assist those who apply to the Home Office’s Windrush Compensation Scheme. This scheme will take into account loss of income, such as barriers to employment and/or access to benefits and pensions.
Asked by: Mark Tami (Labour - Alyn and Deeside)
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 proportion of people with Parkinson’s disease who have received enhanced levels of personal independence payments and the ongoing award in (a) Alyn and Deeside constituency and (b) the UK.
Answered by Sarah Newton
Due to a small, potentially disclosive, population size, the information requested for claimants with Parkinson’s disease in the Alyn and Deeside constituency is not available.
Between April 2013 and 31st July 2018, 30% of successful Personal Independence Payment (PIP) claimants in Great Britain with Parkinson’s disease were awarded the highest possible award (enhanced mobility and enhanced daily living components of PIP) and an ongoing award.
Table 1: Volumes and proportion of successful PIP claimants with Parkinson’s disease who received the described awards (April 2013 to July 31st 2018)
| Claimants awarded PIP with Parkinson’s disease | Enhanced Daily Living, Enhanced Mobility and Ongoing Award | Proportion of successful PIP claimants with Parkinson’s disease awarded the highest level of award and an on-going award |
Great Britain | 9,560 | 2,860 | 30% |
Source: PIP ADS
Notes:
Asked by: Mark Tami (Labour - Alyn and Deeside)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to improve the ratio of personal independence payment cases that reach the appeal stage due to inaccurate assessments.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
The system of assessing claimants’ eligibility for Personal Independent Payment (PIP) has been continually reviewed and refined in order to improve its efficiency and effectiveness. We continue to work extensively with PIP assessment providers and disability representatives to make improvements to guidance, training and audit procedures in order to ensure a quality service is maintained.
Furthermore, as part of on-going review and improvement of PIP, we are continuing to make efforts to ensure that all decisions, whether made initially or at Mandatory Reconsideration, are the best informed decisions. For example, the department is running a series of tests which explores the different ways we can improve evidence gathering and the quality of our decision making.
However, it is important that claimants can appeal their award decision if they are unhappy with it. Moreover, a request for an appeal does not mean that the decisions taken initially and as part of Mandatory Reconsideration were inaccurate. Claimants often provide new, relevant evidence at the tribunal stage.
Asked by: Mark Tami (Labour - Alyn and Deeside)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many personal independence payment assessment decisions have been overturned at mandatory reconsideration stage since 1 January 2017.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
Statistics on Personal Independence Payment Mandatory Reconsiderations can be found in published statistics in data tables 7A and 7B of:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/personal-independence-payment-statistics
These statistics relate to normal rules claims (i.e. excluding special rules cases for the terminally ill), and are for both new claims and Disability Living Allowance (DLA) reassessment claims.
Asked by: Mark Tami (Labour - Alyn and Deeside)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what procedures his Department has put in place to ensure that mail received by recorded delivery at jobcentres is logged and dealt with immediately; and what assessment he has made of whether such procedures are carried out across all jobcentres.
Answered by Mike Penning
All DWP mail, whether recorded delivery or otherwise, is opened and distributed to the appropriate office for action from one of the 2 Mail Opening Units. The only exceptions being items identified “OFFICIAL–SENSITIVE”, “SECRET”, or “TOP SECRET” and providing a named individual is included.
Asked by: Mark Tami (Labour - Alyn and Deeside)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what training is provided to front-desk jobcentre staff on understanding and being sympathetic to the variety of difficulties that some people with ill health or disability face.
Answered by Esther McVey - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
It's really important that DWP staff have the skills required to support a range of claimants: to respect their individual needs, including those related to their health conditions and disabilities and it is DWP Policy to ensure staff have those necessary skills.
Jobcentre Advisers, after initial compulsory training sessions can regularly update their knowledge through access to a comprehensive training programme. This training focuses on raising awareness of the individual's personal circumstances, and also recognises that disabilities and health conditions can affect individuals in different ways.
Further support for claimants is available from Disability Employment Advisers who receive additional training which has been designed in conjunction with Specialist DWP Occupational Psychologists to enable those advisers to provide effective support to people with particular complex needs.
Asked by: Mark Tami (Labour - Alyn and Deeside)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department takes to ensure that a claimant suffers no financial hardship as a result of paperwork lost by a jobcentre.
Answered by Esther McVey - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
In the event of maladministration, the Department provides for a special payment scheme. The scheme is designed to allow us to restore the claimant to the financial position they would have been in, had there been no maladministration. Information about the scheme can be found on gov.uk.
Asked by: Mark Tami (Labour - Alyn and Deeside)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many sick notes have been recorded as missing by Jobcentre plus (a) annually since 2010 and (b) in each of the last 12 months.
Answered by Esther McVey - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
DWP does not collate this information at the level required. This could only be achieved at disproportionate cost to the department.