Asked by: Mick Whitley (Labour - Birkenhead)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reason the Government has not taken the decision to increase carer's allowance during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The primary purpose of Carer’s Allowance is to provide a measure of financial support and recognition for people who give up the opportunity of full-time employment in order to provide regular and substantial care for a severely disabled person.
As of May 2020, there were 2,514 carers in Birkenhead receiving Carer’s Allowance and in 2019/20 we spent approximately £9.1 million on Carer’s Allowance there.
Information on the number of people in receipt of Carer’s Allowance by Parliamentary constituency is published and available at:
https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk
Guidance for users is available at:
https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/index.html
The latest information on benefit expenditure by parliamentary constituency including Carer’s Allowance is also published and available at:
The rate of Carer’s Allowance was last increased in April 2020 and it will be increased again in April 2021 to help ensure it maintains its value. Since 2010, the rate of Carer’s Allowance has increased from £53.90 to £67.25 a week, meaning nearly an additional £700 a year for carers.
Between 2020/21 and 2025/26 real terms expenditure on Carer’s Allowance is forecast to increase by nearly a third (around £1 billion). By 2025/26, the Government is forecast to spend just over £4bn a year on Carer’s Allowance.
Carers also have access to the full range of social security benefits according to their circumstances. Income replacement benefits help people and households on lower incomes, and can include a carer premium, currently £37.50 a week. An equivalent additional amount applies in Pension Credit. Universal Credit also includes a carer element at the rate of £162.92 per monthly assessment period. These amounts recognise the additional contribution and responsibilities associated with caring and mean that lower-income carers can receive more money than others who receive these benefits. Between the existing carer-specific support, and the temporary Covid-19 uplift, 270,000 carer households receiving Universal Credit have benefitted from up to an extra £2,990 this financial year.
Asked by: Mick Whitley (Labour - Birkenhead)
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 effect on levels of child poverty in (a) Birkenhead and (b) the North West of reducing the £20 universal credit uplift.
Answered by Will Quince
No assessment has been made.
The £20 per week uplift to Universal Credit and Working Tax Credit was announced by the Chancellor as a temporary measure in March 2020 to support those facing the most financial disruption as a result of the public health emergency. This measure remains in place until April 2021. As the Government has done throughout this pandemic, it will continue to assess how best to support low-income families, which is why we will look at the economic and health context before making any decisions.
Throughout this pandemic, this Government has delivered an unprecedented package of support to protect jobs and businesses and, for those in most need, injected billions into the welfare system. The new Covid Winter Grant Scheme builds on that support, with an additional £170m for local authorities in England, to support families with children and other vulnerable people with the cost of food and essential utilities this winter.
Asked by: Mick Whitley (Labour - Birkenhead)
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 effect on levels of child hunger in (a) Birkenhead and (b) the North West of reducing the £20 universal credit uplift.
Answered by Will Quince
No assessment has been made.
The £20 per week uplift to Universal Credit and Working Tax Credit was announced by the Chancellor as a temporary measure in March 2020 to support those facing the most financial disruption as a result of the public health emergency. This measure remains in place until April 2021. As the Government has done throughout this pandemic, it will continue to assess how best to support low-income families, which is why we will look at the economic and health context before making any decisions.
Throughout this pandemic, this Government has delivered an unprecedented package of support to protect jobs and businesses and, for those in most need, injected billions into the welfare system. The new Covid Winter Grant Scheme builds on that support, with an additional £170m for local authorities in England, to support families with children and other vulnerable people with the cost of food and essential utilities this winter.
Asked by: Mick Whitley (Labour - Birkenhead)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the potential barriers that deaf and hard of hearing people experience when attempting to access benefits during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
During the COVID-19 outbreak the Department identified the need to extend the Video Relay Service (VRS) across all benefits making it easier for deaf and hard of hearing customers to access services.
VRS uses a third party British Sign Language interpreter (BSL) to facilitate a conversation between DWP and a deaf customer and was already available to those accessing disability benefits. In April the Department began a phased roll out of this service commencing with Universal Credit and completed roll-out to all benefit lines in October 2020.
Where changes to benefits were implemented as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, the Department communicated those changes through a variety of different channels, including the production of 20 BSL videos for deaf and hard of hearing customers via the Department’s You Tube channel.
Asked by: Mick Whitley (Labour - Birkenhead)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department has taken to ensure that deaf and hard of hearing people have access to a British Sign Language Interpreter during assessments for benefits.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The department and our assessment providers are committed to providing a quality, sensitive and respectful service to everyone. Individuals are encouraged to alert their assessment provider of any additional requirements they may have, such as needing a British Sign Language interpreter, and providers will endeavour to meet any such reasonable requests.
Face to face assessments for sickness and disability benefits are currently suspended in line with public health advice. However, we continue to make recommendations on paper-based evidence alone, where possible or paper-based evidence together with a telephone assessment, where appropriate to do so.
To enhance the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) telephony service, PIP providers have implemented a video relay service for claimants with British Sign Language requirements, to enable deaf or hard of hearing claimants to participate in an assessment; we are exploring whether this solution could support the Work Capability Assessment process.
Asked by: Mick Whitley (Labour - Birkenhead)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment her Department has made of the number and proportion of personal independence payment assessors who have undergone deaf awareness training.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
All Health Professionals carrying out Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessments are clinically qualified and registered practitioners in their own field. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) requires all Health Professionals to have a broad training in disability analysis as well as awareness training in specific conditions, which includes deaf awareness training.
During the induction period for new Health Professionals, training is delivered which covers how to effectively communicate with individuals who are deaf or have impaired hearing. This training includes the use of a British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter, which is provided to individuals with such impairments, where requested. Additionally, Health Professionals have access to a suite of learning materials, which include condition insight reports on deafness, hearing impairments and factors to consider for PIP assessments.
Asked by: Mick Whitley (Labour - Birkenhead)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department has taken to ensure that all personal independence payment assessors have received adequate training to communicate effectively with people who are (a) deaf or (b) hard of hearing.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
All Health Professionals carrying out Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessments are clinically qualified and registered practitioners in their own field. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) requires all Health Professionals to have a broad training in disability analysis as well as awareness training in specific conditions, which includes deaf awareness training.
During the induction period for new Health Professionals, training is delivered which covers how to effectively communicate with individuals who are deaf or have impaired hearing. This training includes the use of a British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter, which is provided to individuals with such impairments, where requested. Additionally, Health Professionals have access to a suite of learning materials, which include condition insight reports on deafness, hearing impairments and factors to consider for PIP assessments.
Asked by: Mick Whitley (Labour - Birkenhead)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reason people with long-term health conditions are required to undergo a review for personal independence payments every two years.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Reviews of PIP are a key part of the benefit and ensure that awards remain correct and reflect changes in claimants’ needs. The length of an award is based on an individual’s functional needs and can vary from nine months to an on-going award, with a light touch review at the ten-year point for claimants with severe and ongoing needs or who have reached State Pension Age.
Asked by: Mick Whitley (Labour - Birkenhead)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of enabling women affected by the Pensions Acts 1995 and 2011 to take up their state pension early in lieu of support under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, Self-employed Income Support Scheme, universal credit and other support schemes.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
No assessment has been made. Unlike a personal or workplace pension, which can potentially be drawn earlier on grounds of ill health, it has always been the case, under successive governments, that nobody can claim their State Pension early, before they reach their State Pension age. The welfare system continues to provide a safety-net for those who need support, that have not yet reached State Pension age.
Asked by: Mick Whitley (Labour - Birkenhead)
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 effect on local economies of enabling women affected by the Pensions Acts 1995 and 2011 to receive their (a) state pension and (b) pension credit early.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
No assessment has been made. Unlike a personal or workplace pension, which can potentially be drawn earlier on grounds of ill health, it has always been the case, under successive governments, that nobody can claim their State Pension early, before they reach their State Pension age. The welfare system continues to provide a safety-net for those who need support, that have not yet reached State Pension age.