Asked by: Rosie Cooper (Labour - West Lancashire)
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 who have been affected by the underpayment of benefits after transitioning from incapacity benefit to employment and support allowance in West Lancashire constituency.
Answered by Chloe Smith
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 19th January to question number 104377.
Asked by: Rosie Cooper (Labour - West Lancashire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what her timeframe is for updating the Workplace (Health and Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 to accommodate the provision of suitable bins for men to dispose of sanitary products.
Answered by Chloe Smith
The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 (‘Workplace Regulations’) do not explicitly require the provision of a disposal method for sanitary products in toilets, it is the guidance which supports the law Workplace health, safety and welfare - L24 (hse.gov.uk) Approved Code of Practice and guidance which makes reference to this requirement.
Regulation 2(3) of the Workplace Regulations aims to ensure that workplaces meet the health, safety and welfare needs of each member of the workforce. The Health and Safety Executive has informed me that they intend to consider whether the guidance regarding disposal of sanitary dressings in toilets fulfils that aim.
Asked by: Rosie Cooper (Labour - West Lancashire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when she plans to respond to a letter from the hon. Member for West Lancashire of 16 September 2021, reference ZA57691 regarding a pension claim.
Answered by Guy Opperman
A reply was sent to the hon. Member on 4 November 2021.
Asked by: Rosie Cooper (Labour - West Lancashire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when she plans to respond to a letter dated 11 August 2021 from the hon. Member for West Lancashire reference, ZA57289 regarding a foster care allowance claim.
Answered by Guy Opperman
A reply was sent to the hon. Member by the Minister for Welfare Delivery, on behalf of the Secretary of State, on 29 September 2021.
Asked by: Rosie Cooper (Labour - West Lancashire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when she plans to respond to the letter from the hon. Member for West Lancashire of 12 May 2021, on data security at her Department, reference ZA56478.
Answered by Guy Opperman
A reply was sent to the hon. Member by the Director for Customer Experience, on behalf of the Secretary of State, on 26 July 2021.
Asked by: Rosie Cooper (Labour - West Lancashire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 8 March 2021 to Question 162619, o Funeral Payments, what assessment she has made of the reasons for the rejection of 47 per cent of applications for the funeral expenses payment in January 2021.
Answered by Guy Opperman
In reference to the Answer of 8th March 2021 to Question 162619, the following figures were included: In January 2021 there were 3,890 Funeral Expenses Payment applications received, and 2,050 awards paid.
Reasons for this discrepancy are below:
We publish application success rate in Annex 1 of the Social Fund Annual Report. The latest available is the 2018/19 report:
Asked by: Rosie Cooper (Labour - West Lancashire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will take steps to ensure that the Child Maintenance Group replies to the letter from the hon. Member for West Lancashire, of 2 September 2020, on a constituent's child maintenance account, ref za53161.
Answered by Guy Opperman
A substantive reply was sent to the hon. Member by the Child Maintenance Service on 1 December; I apologise for the long delay.
Asked by: Rosie Cooper (Labour - West Lancashire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps the Government is taking to support people in the workplace who have increased vulnerability to covid-19.
Answered by Mims Davies - Shadow Minister (Women)
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) was involved in cross-government work, Safer Workplaces, coordinated by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), which produced guidance on the safety measures businesses will need to adopt. This includes advice for Vulnerable workers.
HSE guidance on practical steps to support workers in higher-risk groups, including those who are Clinically Extremely Vulnerable and pregnant workers, can be found at https://www.hse.gov.uk/coronavirus/working-safely/protect-people.htm.
Asked by: Rosie Cooper (Labour - West Lancashire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what financial support is available to people who are extremely vulnerable to covid-19 who cannot work from home and choose to shield themselves.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson
Those who are clinically extremely vulnerable will previously have received a letter from the NHS or their GP informing them of this and may have been advised to shield in the past. Individuals who receive a new notification that they need to shield should work from home where possible and if not possible follow their respective Government’s advice on not going to work.
Employees who are clinically extremely vulnerable can be furloughed under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. Where they are not furloughed, and they are unable to work, for example where they cannot work from home, they may be eligible for Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) from their employer.
Employees who are not eligible for SSP and the self-employed, may be eligible for New Style Employment and Support Allowance, subject to the wider eligibility criteria.
Where an individual’s income is reduced while off work sick and they require further financial support, they may be able to receive Universal Credit, depending on their personal circumstances.