Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many income-related Employment and Support Allowance claimants have been found to have a diagnosable mental health illness.
Answered by Tom Pursglove
The latest available data on the Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) caseload with ‘Mental and Behavioural disorders’ as their primary medical condition, split by payment type (i.e. ‘Income based’ and ‘Both income and contributions based’), can be found on Stat-Xplore.
Data is based on primary medical condition as recorded on the ESA computer systems. Claimants may have multiple disabling conditions on which their entitlement is based, but only the primary condition is available for statistical purposes and shown in these statistics.
Guidance on how to use Stat-Xplore can be found here.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
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 of managed migration on exacerbating existing mental health conditions among legacy claimants.
Answered by Guy Opperman
I refer the Hon member to the written answer to Question 362 tabled on 10th of May 2022 by the previous Minister.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what support her Department plans to provide to legacy claimants whose mental health condition may prevent them from acting on a Migration Notice, in the context of managed benefits migration.
Answered by Guy Opperman
I refer the Hon member to the written answer to Question 362 tabled on 10th of May 2022 by the previous Minister.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many individuals receiving Personal Independence Payments have been identified as having a diagnosable mental health illness.
Answered by Tom Pursglove
Only the claimant’s main disabling condition is recorded on the department’s systems. Many people in receipt of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) have more than one condition.
However, the latest data for PIP cases by main disability condition can be found at: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/.
Particularly, the ‘PIP Cases with Entitlement’ dataset contains details of claimants receiving PIP and within that, ‘Table 2 – Caseload by Main Disability’ has this data up to July 2022 broken down by disability categories. The disability category ‘Psychiatric Disorders’ includes mental health issues. The full disability hierarchy can be found here: Disability Category / Disability Sub Group (dwp.gov.uk).
Guidance on how to use Stat-Xplore can be found here:
https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/index.html.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an estimate with Cabinet colleagues of the number and proportion of foodbank users who have been diagnosed with a mental health condition in the latest period for which figures are available.
Answered by David Rutley
The data is unavailable to make that assessment.
Foodbanks are independent, charitable organisations and the Department for Work and Pensions does not have any role in their operation.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
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 people on benefits who have received mental health support in each year since 2010.
Answered by Chloe Smith
No specific assessment has been made on the impact on the mental health of people receiving benefits of the recent increase in the cost of living. The Government understands the pressures people are facing with the cost of living: that is why it is providing over £37 billion of support this year. This includes the £650 Cost of Living Payment which is designed to target support at low-income households on means-tested benefits. In addition, 6 million eligible disabled people will receive a one-off, disability Cost of Living Payment of £150. And pensioner households will receive a separate one-off payment of £300 (through and as an addition to the Winter Fuel Payment).
People that are receiving benefits can access mental health support in a number of ways such as seeking a referral from GP in the first instance. In addition, all NHS mental health providers have established 24/7 all-age urgent mental health helplines for people in crisis or for those worried about someone who may be experiencing a mental health crisis. Details of these helplines are available on the NHS website at: Where to get urgent help for mental health - NHS (www.nhs.uk). Administrative data on mental health support and benefit receipt are not routinely linked so we cannot estimate the number of people on benefits who receive mental health support.
Evidence suggests that good, appropriate paid work can be beneficial for individuals' health and wellbeing. We offer specialist support for people with mental health conditions to stay in and return to work, often working jointly with the health system, through:
We will also work closely with DHSC and other government departments in supporting the new cross government 10-year plan for mental health and wellbeing for England.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what resources her Department has allocated to improving the mental health of people receiving benefits.
Answered by Chloe Smith
No specific assessment has been made on the impact on the mental health of people receiving benefits of the recent increase in the cost of living. The Government understands the pressures people are facing with the cost of living: that is why it is providing over £37 billion of support this year. This includes the £650 Cost of Living Payment which is designed to target support at low-income households on means-tested benefits. In addition, 6 million eligible disabled people will receive a one-off, disability Cost of Living Payment of £150. And pensioner households will receive a separate one-off payment of £300 (through and as an addition to the Winter Fuel Payment).
People that are receiving benefits can access mental health support in a number of ways such as seeking a referral from GP in the first instance. In addition, all NHS mental health providers have established 24/7 all-age urgent mental health helplines for people in crisis or for those worried about someone who may be experiencing a mental health crisis. Details of these helplines are available on the NHS website at: Where to get urgent help for mental health - NHS (www.nhs.uk). Administrative data on mental health support and benefit receipt are not routinely linked so we cannot estimate the number of people on benefits who receive mental health support.
Evidence suggests that good, appropriate paid work can be beneficial for individuals' health and wellbeing. We offer specialist support for people with mental health conditions to stay in and return to work, often working jointly with the health system, through:
We will also work closely with DHSC and other government departments in supporting the new cross government 10-year plan for mental health and wellbeing for England.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
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 impact on the mental health of people receiving benefits of the recent increase in the cost of living.
Answered by Chloe Smith
No specific assessment has been made on the impact on the mental health of people receiving benefits of the recent increase in the cost of living. The Government understands the pressures people are facing with the cost of living: that is why it is providing over £37 billion of support this year. This includes the £650 Cost of Living Payment which is designed to target support at low-income households on means-tested benefits. In addition, 6 million eligible disabled people will receive a one-off, disability Cost of Living Payment of £150. And pensioner households will receive a separate one-off payment of £300 (through and as an addition to the Winter Fuel Payment).
People that are receiving benefits can access mental health support in a number of ways such as seeking a referral from GP in the first instance. In addition, all NHS mental health providers have established 24/7 all-age urgent mental health helplines for people in crisis or for those worried about someone who may be experiencing a mental health crisis. Details of these helplines are available on the NHS website at: Where to get urgent help for mental health - NHS (www.nhs.uk). Administrative data on mental health support and benefit receipt are not routinely linked so we cannot estimate the number of people on benefits who receive mental health support.
Evidence suggests that good, appropriate paid work can be beneficial for individuals' health and wellbeing. We offer specialist support for people with mental health conditions to stay in and return to work, often working jointly with the health system, through:
We will also work closely with DHSC and other government departments in supporting the new cross government 10-year plan for mental health and wellbeing for England.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what provisions have been put in place to support those with a mental health problem when completing a work capability assessment.
Answered by Chloe Smith
We are fully committed to supporting those with mental health conditions. The assessment of mental, cognitive, and intellectual function is an integral part of the Work Capability Assessment (WCA) and all Healthcare Professionals (HCPs) have undergone comprehensive training in the functional assessment of disability and mental health conditions.
In addition, Mental Health Function Champions support HCPs by providing additional expertise about mental health, cognitive, developmental, and learning disabilities, and can be referred to at any time during the assessment process.
Before attending an assessment, claimants are given the opportunity to alert Centre for Health and Disability Assessments (CHDA) of any additional requirements they may have, who will look to meet any reasonable requests. Furthermore, companions or advocates play an active role in helping claimants answer questions where the claimant or HCP wishes them to do so. This may be particularly important where the claimant has a mental, cognitive, or intellectual impairment.
The department has worked closely with CHDA to develop and test new processes for obtaining further evidence as part of the WCA. The guidance has been expanded and provides examples of situations where further evidence may assist the WCA process at initial review stage, especially for those with a mental health condition.
CHDA also have a network of Customer Champions around the country focused on making sure individuals receive the best service possible. The support individuals need is very varied, so it is important that we have highly trained disability experts on hand to offer colleagues advice, explain best practice, or to support individuals who may be anxious or unwell on the day of their assessment. Customer Champions also focus on individuals with specific conditions like autistic spectrum disorder, learning difficulties, mental health issues and illnesses that vary from day to day.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
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 adequacy of mental health and wellbeing support available in the workplace; and what steps her Department is taking to encourage businesses to improve workplace mental health support.
Answered by Chloe Smith
The Government has taken steps to encourage businesses to improve workplace mental health. For example, the Disability Confident scheme provides employers with the knowledge, skills and confidence they need to understand health and disability issues, including mental health, in the workplace. As of 31 December 2021, Disability Confident employers reported over 11m paid employees working in their businesses.
To support mental health and well-being, the Access to Work Mental Health Support Service is available for those who need mental health support whilst in employment. The support can be accessed remotely, and is delivered by external partners, Remploy Employment Services and Able Futures, who offer individualised workplace support from experienced mental health practitioners. The support and advice is available for up to nine months and can offer coping strategies, a step-by-step support plan, advice on adjustments, and support for employers to enable them to fully understand the person’s condition.
In addition, in March 2021, the Government published the COVID-19 Mental Health and Wellbeing Recovery Action Plan. This acknowledged the important role that employers play in creating workplaces in which employees with health conditions, including mental illnesses, can stay and thrive in work. We are supporting employers in this, particularly with our commitment to develop a new digital service, designed directly with small and medium-sized businesses to provide employers with better-tailored and integrated information about health and disability at work. An early version of the service is currently in private live-testing.