Asked by: Peter Grant (Scottish National Party - Glenrothes)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to support claimants who are awaiting a work capability assessment for contributions based employment and support allowance and whose assessment will not be able to take place before their award ends.
Answered by Chloe Smith
We are committed to assessing people as quickly as possible in order that they receive the benefit they are entitled to. Unfortunately, some Work Capability Assessments (WCAs) for contributory Employment and Support Allowance (ESA(C) claimants were not completed as quickly as we would have liked due to the the Covid-19 pandemic. The resumption of face-to-face assessments, together with enhanced telephony assessment processes, now allow us to assess all cases. We are prioritising assessments for contributory Employment and Support Allowance claims that have exhausted or are at risk of exhausting.
Furthermore, the measures we implemented during the pandemic remain in place to support ESA(C) claimants at risk of exhausting before a WCA. This includes a dedicated operational team to identify contributory ESA claims that we can progress without face-to-face assessment – for instance, those where further evidence might exist on other DWP benefit systems. If claimants have further evidence they think might help progress their claim, they should contact the Department.
Claimants whose ESA(C) exhausts before they have had a WCA should continue to supply medical evidence (i.e. Fit Notes). This will ensure that their claim can be reinstated if they are found to have limited capability for work and work-related activity (LCWRA) at a future WCA, with any arrears of the LCWRA component paid in full.
Where an individual’s contributory ESA ends, they may be able to claim Universal Credit, depending on their personal circumstances.
Asked by: Peter Grant (Scottish National Party - Glenrothes)
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 number of claimants who have reached the end of their 12 month entitlement to contributions-based employment and support allowance before the Centre for Health and Disability Assessments has completed its work capability assessment to determine whether their entitlement remains after the initial 12 month period.
Answered by Chloe Smith
The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Peter Grant (Scottish National Party - Glenrothes)
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 number of claimants who are due to reach the end of their 12 month entitlement to contributions-based employment and support allowance before the Centre for Health and Disability Assessments has completed its work capability assessment by the end of 2021.
Answered by Chloe Smith
The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Peter Grant (Scottish National Party - Glenrothes)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent estimate her Department has made of the average waiting time to process personal independence payment applications in (a) Scotland and (b) Fife.
Answered by Chloe Smith
We are committed to ensuring that people can access financial support through Personal Independence Payment (PIP) in a timely manner and reducing customer journey times for PIP claimants is a priority for the Department. We always aim to make an award decision as quickly as possible, taking into account the need to review all available evidence.
Average waiting times for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) new claims made under normal rules (i.e. excluding those processed under special rules for terminal illness, which typically take 3 days) are calculated as the median number of weeks from registration to DWP decision, and published as the “Average Actual Clearance Time”. For claims cleared in July 2021, which is the most recent data available:
(a) The Average (median) Actual Clearance Time for new claims in Scotland was 26 weeks.
(b) The Average (median) Actual Clearance Time for new claims in the Fife Local Authority was 26 weeks.
Notes:
Data Source: PIP Atomic Data Store (ADS)
Asked by: Peter Grant (Scottish National Party - Glenrothes)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to her letter to the hon. Member for Glenrothes dated 13 August 2021, what progress she has made on the annual review meeting for the Cold Weather Payment Scheme.
Answered by Guy Opperman
I can confirm that the annual review meeting has taken place. We will update Parliament on the outcome of this year’s review shortly.