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 assessment she has made of the adequacy of the provision of deaf support services to (a) constituents in West Lancashire and (b) people throughout Lancashire by (i) Lancashire County Council, (ii) the NHS, (iii) courts, (iv) local authorities and (v) other public agencies.
Answered by Sarah Newton
It is for each Government department and public authority to make adequate provision for deaf support services. Disability in the UK is mainstreamed. This means that whilst I promote disability issues across government, every department is ultimately responsible for considering disability in the development and implementation of its policies and services.
For services provided by the Department for Work and Pensions to customers who are deaf or have hearing loss, we provide the following services:
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, for what reason personal independence renewal documents may not be processed when they are received by her Department, which resulted in my constituent Ms Selina Wilkinson's personal independence payment being stopped.
Answered by Sarah Newton
The only time when renewal documents would not be processed is if they are received after the deadline. The deadline is determined in legislation and claimants have one calendar month to return their renewal forms - although duplicate forms and extensions to the deadline can be considered if the claimant requests it.
However, all Personal Independence Payment renewal forms which are received after the deadline are looked at to see if they satisfy the legal test to determine if there was a good cause for lateness. If there was a good cause, the form is accepted; the case is
reconsidered and the award review is processed.
Additionally, where vulnerable claimants are identified as requiring additional support, further steps will be put in place to ensure that the claimant has had the opportunity and support to provide all relevant information before a final decision is made.
I will be happy to look into the specific details of this case if personal details are provided.
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 policy is on the provision of Departmental (a) guidance and (b) information to people that are subject to universal credit migration.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer to Question 197657 published on 10th December.
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 policy is on provision of Departmental guidance and information to those subject to universal credit migration.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
The Department is committed to delivering managed migration in a way that supports all claimants as they transition onto Universal Credit. Managed migration will begin with a lengthy and robust testing period, to ensure our processes are working well before we begin to migrate at scale.
In the first year we will only managed migrate 10,000 people to ensure we are moving people as carefully and sensitively as possible. We recognise that providing high-quality and timely communications will be essential to ensure that all claimants are fully aware of their responsibilities under the managed migration process. We are working closely with a large and diverse number of stakeholders to co-design the managed migration process which includes considering how we can best communicate with and support claimants through the process, to ensure a smooth transition onto Universal Credit.
As part of this testing phase, we will be trialling a variety of communication methods and will engage with claimants’ representatives so we can be confident that the process will work for all claimants.
Information will continue to be made available about Universal Credit for all claimants at https://www.gov.uk/universal-credit.
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, how many universal credit claimants have waited three months or longer for a work capability assessment after their completed UC50 form has been received by the Health Assessment Advisory Service in the latest period for which figures are available.
Answered by Sarah Newton
The information requested is not held for all assessments, however, data can be provided in relation to the number of face to face assessments undertaken.
In October 2018, 14,356 Universal Credit claimants had their initial Work Capability Assessment (WCA) completed by face to face assessment.
Of these, 703 (less than 5%) waited 3 months or longer following the date from which they returned their UC50 form. There are a number of reasons for a delay to an assessment including non-attendance and cancellation of the appointment by the claimant.
Whilst claimants are waiting for their work capability assessment decision, they continue to receive their standard allowance of Universal Credit, providing they continue to meet the requirements for a claim to benefit.
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 make it her policy to require senior personnel in the (a) North Central England office and (b) rest of her Department to sign their correspondence (i) to and (ii) from hon. Members.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
The Department’s main aim is to provide the best service to hon. Members. To do this correspondence from hon. Members to officials is generally handled at the most appropriate level to provide an appropriate response. Operational expediency and good customer service will mean that the official addressed may not be the official who replies.
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 assessment her Department has made of the effect of the introduction of universal credit on the ability of victims of domestic violence to claim the benefits.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Universal Credit continues to support victims of domestic violence to claim benefits through a range of measures.
These include special provisions for temporary accommodation, easements and same day advances. One-to-one Work Coaches will also signpost domestic violence victims to expert third-party support, and we can provide split payments where individuals in these cases request and where it would be helpful to do so.
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 assessment her Department has made of the effect of the introduction of universal credit on the ability of victims of domestic violence to claim the benefits.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Universal Credit continues to support victims of domestic violence to claim benefits through a range of measures.
These include special provisions for temporary accommodation, easements and same day advances. One-to-one Work Coaches will also signpost domestic violence victims to expert third-party support, and we can provide split payments where individuals in these cases request and where it would be helpful to do so.
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 the average time taken was to process benefit applications subject to delay due to backlog in the last period for which figures are available; and what assessment she has made of the effect of those delays on the time taken to process (a) cases in which one year's disability living allowance back payment is outstanding one month after a court decision on those payments and (b) other such urgent cases.
Answered by Sarah Newton
The information requested is not available. However, the statistics that the Department publishes on clearance times, ie for Employment Support Allowance and Personal Independence Payment only, can be found in the links below:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/personal-independence-payment-statistics
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 young cancer patients who are claiming personal independence payments can access financial support backdated from the day of their diagnosis.
Answered by Sarah Newton
Other than for those who are terminally ill, Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is assessed on the basis of the needs arising from a long-term health condition or disability rather than a diagnosis. Primary legislation sets out that a claimant cannot be entitled to PIP for any period prior to the date of claim.