Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
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 potential merits of removing qualifying days in the context of the eligibility criteria for Statutory Sick Pay.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
In the Health is Everyone’s Business consultation, the Government set out proposals for limited reforms to Statutory Sick Pay (SSP), including consideration of the role qualifying days have.
In response to the consultation (2021), the Government maintained that SSP provides an important link between the employee and employer but that this was not the right time to introduce changes to the sick pay system. The Government is continuing to keep the SSP system under review.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make it his policy to extend the eligibility for the 2023-24 Cost of Living Payments to people in receipt of contributions-based Employer Support Allowance.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The government has targeted the means-tested Cost of Living Payments to those on means tested benefits as those with the lowest incomes are most vulnerable to increases in the cost of living.
Contributory and new style benefits such as contributory Employment and Support Allowance are not means-tested benefits, and people claiming them may have other financial resources available to them.
Low-income claimants of these benefits may also be able to claim a means-tested benefit. For example, they may be eligible for Universal Credit and, if their claim is successful, they may qualify for future cost of living support. They may also be eligible for a disability benefit and the Disability Cost of Living Payment.
Contributory and new style benefits will also be up-rated by 10.1% from April. And for those who need further support, we are extending the Household Support Fund in England throughout 2023/24 to help households with the cost of essentials including those in need who may not be eligible for the other support we have recently made available. The Devolved Administrations will receive Barnett funding to spend at their discretion with their local knowledge.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
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 potential merits of implementing the recommendations in the report by the Royal National Institute of Blind People entitled Access to Work: People with sight loss cannot wait any longer for action, published on 26 January 2023.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
Access to Work has received a significant increase in applications over the last year, and we have recruited new staff to meet the increased demand and reduce the time it takes to make decisions.
Customers making new applications where they are starting work within the next 4 weeks, or have a grant coming to an end that requires renewal, are prioritised to ensure customers are able to enter and remain in the labour market. The department is working hard to reduce the wait times for all disabled people, with all processes being kept under review, including in the context of the recommendations from the Royal National Institute of Blind People report.
The Royal National Institute of Blind People report included recommendations such as whether the DWP could reintroduce some of the easements that were in place during the COVID-19 pandemic. This has already been considered and, alongside prioritising people with a job start within the next 4 weeks, easements like a revised ‘light touch’ renewals process have been put in place.
Longer term, we are also transforming the Access to Work service through increased digitalisation, that will make the service more efficient, make the application process easier, and improve the time taken from application through to decision.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if his Department will review the threshold to qualify for Pension Credit in the context of the increase in the level of inflation.
Answered by Laura Trott - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
Following the conclusion of the Secretary of State’s annual up-rating review, subject to Parliamentary approval, the Standard Minimum Guarantee in Pension Credit will increase by 10.1% from April 2023. This is in line with the increase in prices in the year to September 2022 and it will also extend CPI protection to those who rely on the Standard Minimum Guarantee in Pension Credit at a cost of £700 million above the statutory minimum requirement.
Other elements of Pension Credit will also increase by 10.1%, including the additional amounts for disabled people and carers, and the threshold for access to the Savings Credit for those who reached State Pension age before April 2016.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent steps his Department has taken to ensure that Winter Fuel Payments are made in a timely manner.
Answered by Laura Trott - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The final batch of Winter Fuel Payments were processed by DWP on 7 December with payments credited to customers’ bank accounts on 12 December 2022. Payment adjustments resulting from customers’ change of circumstances and death arrears will continue to be made over the coming weeks, this includes any new claims for this year's Winter Fuel Payment exercise.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of calculating child maintenance payments using income net of tax.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
To calculate child maintenance, the Child Maintenance Service uses the paying parent’s gross income before tax and national insurance but after pension contributions.
While the method of assessment is kept under review to assure fairness for both parents, at this stage, using gross income allows calculations to be made quickly and accurately as income information can be obtained easily from HM Revenue and Customs. This avoids uncertainty for both parents and potential administrative problems.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of improving the current Statutory Maternity Pay arrangements for people who work in the Charity Sector.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) exists to provide a measure of financial security to help women take time off work in the later stages of their pregnancy and in the months following childbirth, in the interests of their own and their baby's health and wellbeing.
It is available to all women who meet the earnings and employment test, regardless of which sector they work in. On that basis, there are currently no plans to make an assessment of the potential merits of improving the current SMP arrangements for people who work in the Charity Sector.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she will take steps to provide additional targeted support to disabled people in response to increases in (a) the cost of living and (b) inflation.
Answered by Claire Coutinho - Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
The government understands the pressures people are facing with the cost of living and has taken decisive action to support people with their energy bills. The Energy Price Guarantee is supporting millions of households with rising energy costs, and the Chancellor made clear it will continue to do so from now until April next year.
In addition, the Government will provide a £400 non-repayable discount to eligible households provided through the Energy Bills Support Scheme.
We know disabled people may face a wide range of additional costs and that is why we have made a further £150 cost of living payment to people who receive qualifying disability benefits.
This £150 can be paid on top of the £650 in cost of living payments (paid in two separate payments of £326 and £324) to low-income households on a qualifying means-tested benefit and a one-off payment of £300 alongside the Winter Fuel Payment from November to pensioner households.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many benefit and tax credit claimants have reported a missing Cost of Living Payment via the Government's online reporting tool; and what estimate she has made of how many and what proportion of those reports have been processed as of 22 September 2022.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
As of 26 September 2022, 161,839 claimants have reported a missing Cost of Living Payment via the Government's online reporting tool, of these reports 138,496 have been processed.
Tax credits customers were directed to the tax credits helpline and not the online tool.
This does not necessarily mean that payments have been missed. Enquiries made through the GOV.UK form are resolved by payments being subsequently made as planned. In some cases, on further investigation of an enquiry, it may be found that the claimant had no entitlement to a £326 Cost of Living Payment.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if it continues to be her policy to uprate benefits in April in line with the current level of inflation in September.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions has a statutory obligation to undertake an annual review of State pensions and benefits. Her review will commence shortly, based on the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) in the year to September 2022, and on earnings growth in the year to May-July 2022. The latter figure was published on 11 October by the Office for National Statistics. The CPI figure will be published on 19 October. The Secretary of State’s decisions will be announced to Parliament shortly.