Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many eligible pensioners have applied for Pension Credit since the Government launched its awareness campaign to increase uptake in April 2022.
Answered by Laura Trott - Shadow Secretary of State for Education
There have been 271,851 Pension Credit applications submitted from April 2022 to March 2023. DWP does not hold data that show the proportion of customers who are eligible.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of removing (a) the 20-metre rule, (b) informal observations and (c) the 50 per cent rule from Personal Independence Payment assessments.
Answered by Tom Pursglove
The enhanced rate of the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) mobility component was always intended to be for those "unable" or "virtually unable" to walk. The 20-metre distance was introduced to distinguish those whose mobility is significantly more limited than others and who face even greater barriers on a day-to-day basis. Individuals who can walk more than 20 metres can still receive the enhanced rate of the Mobility component if they cannot do so safely, to an acceptable standard, repeatedly or in a reasonable time period. We believe the current assessment criteria, including the 20-metre rule, are the best way of identifying people whose physical mobility is most limited and there are no immediate plans to make changes.
Whilst the PIP assessment does allow for informal observations of functional limitations, this is only part of the suite of evidence considered by health professionals. Informal observations are not viewed in isolation, they are considered alongside all other available evidence to determine entitlement. The observations are limited to between the point the assessment starts to when the assessment ends; the health professional (HP) cannot document observations made outside of this period. This is useful in assessing functional capability and there are no current plans to stop this.
It is essential the PIP assessment accurately reflects the impact of variations in an individual's level of impairment. All health professionals are required to assess individuals in line with the statutory requirements, including: whether an individual can complete each of the 12 activities; the manner in which they can do it; whether they can complete each activity “safely, to an acceptable standard, repeatedly and in a reasonable time period”. When choosing the descriptor, the health professional should also consider an individual’s ability over a 12-month period, ensuring that fluctuations are taken into account. For each activity, if a descriptor applies on more than 50 per cent of the days in the 12-month period, that descriptor should be chosen. In general, health professionals should record function over an average year for conditions that fluctuate over months, per week for conditions that fluctuate by the day, and by the day for conditions that vary over a day.
The department closely monitors all aspects of the assessment process, including how we assess fluctuating health conditions; however, there are no current plans to remove the 50 per cent rule.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of increasing the Local Housing Allowance in the context of the cost of living crisis.
Answered by Mims Davies - Shadow Minister (Women)
The Local Housing Allowance policy is kept under regular review, we monitor average rents and housing support levels provided to claimants to assess the impact of the policy.
In April 2020 Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates were raised to the 30th percentile of local market rents, a significant investment of almost £1 billion, we have maintained the increase since then so that everyone who benefited from the increase continues to do so. LHA rates are not intended to cover all rents in all areas.
For those who face a shortfall in meeting their housing costs and need further support. Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) are available from local authorities. Since 2011 the Government has provided nearly £1.6 billion in DHP funding to local authorities
We recognise that rents are increasing. However, the challenging fiscal environment means that difficult decisions were necessary to ensure support is targeted effectively.
The Government announced substantial cost of living support for 2023/24 in the Autumn Statement. This is intended to provide stability and certainty for households and includes Cost of Living Payments for the most vulnerable, meaning around 8 million households on eligible means-tested benefits will get up to a further £900 in Payments in 2023/24.
In addition, to protect the most vulnerable, benefits and state pensions will be increased by 10.1% in 2023-24.
For those who need additional support the Government is providing an additional £1 billion of funding, including Barnett impact, to enable a further extension to the Household Support Fund in England over the 2023/24 financial year. In England, this scheme will be backed by £842 million, running from 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024, which local authorities will use to help households with the cost of essentials. It will be for the devolved administrations to decide how to allocate their additional Barnett funding.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the freeze of the Local Housing Allowance ahead of the March Statement.
Answered by Mims Davies - Shadow Minister (Women)
The Secretary of State meets regularly with the Chancellor across the full range of DWP business in the lead up to a fiscal event. These discussions are sensitive and we are not able to disclose information regarding these meetings.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of raising the Carer’s Allowance earnings limit to the value of 21 hours of work a week at the National Living Wage rate.
Answered by Tom Pursglove
Many carers who are receiving Carer’s Allowance are also in households receiving Universal Credit, whose structure of tapers and work allowances (where applicable) effectively takes precedence over the earnings rules in Carer’s Allowance for these carers. This helps ensure that, if they wish to work, carers on the lowest incomes are better off doing so. There is, however, no requirement for those caring for 35 hours or more a week to undertake work search whilst receiving Universal Credit. In work or out of work, these carers may also receive the Universal Credit Carer Element, worth around an additional £2,000 a year.
The Carer’s Allowance earnings limit itself will increase from £132 to £139 net earnings per week in April 2023. This means it will have increased by more than one third since 2010. Whilst the Government does not directly link the earnings limit to any other particular factor (including hours worked or the National Living Wage), it does keep it under regular review and increases it when it is warranted and affordable.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to ensure people (a) have access to information relating to available benefits and (b) are aware of their potential benefits entitlements.
Answered by Guy Opperman
The Department works hard to ensure that people are aware of any potential entitlement to benefit. We communicate with the public through advertising, stakeholder and employer engagement, and campaigns to help people understand their entitlement and the support we can provide as a safety net.
The Government’s website, GOV.UK provides guidance on individual’s rights and entitlements to benefits in the UK. The website also provides links to independent benefits calculators that can be used to find out what an individual could get, how to claim, and how these benefits will be affected if an individual starts work.
https://www.gov.uk/benefits-calculators
In addition, DWP staff in Jobcentres provide support and advice about entitlement to benefits and will signpost citizens to appropriate information to help them.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of extending the State Pension to people of working age with a terminal diagnosis.
Answered by Laura Trott - Shadow Secretary of State for Education
We have no plans to allow early access to State Pension.
For those at the end of their life, the Government’s priority is providing financial support quickly and compassionately. The main way that the Department does this is through special benefit rules, sometimes referred to as “the Special Rules”. These enable people who are nearing the end of their lives to get faster, easier access to certain benefits, without needing to attend a medical assessment, serve waiting periods and in most cases, receive the highest rate of benefit. For many years, the Special Rules have applied to people who have 6 months or less to live and now they are being changed so they apply to people who have 12 months or less to live.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of taking steps to improve the accessibility of Universal Credit for students, in the context of the cost-of-living crisis.
Answered by Guy Opperman
No such assessment has been made. Financial support for students comes from the system of student loans and grants designed for their needs and any ongoing assessment of that level of support is a matter for the Department of Education and the devolved administrations. Although students cannot normally satisfy the entitlement conditions for Universal Credit, exceptions are made where students have additional needs that are not met through the student support system, for example, those who are responsible for a child.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing statutory (a) maternity and (b) paternity pay.
Answered by Mims Davies - Shadow Minister (Women)
The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions is currently conducting his statutory annual review of State Pensions and benefit rates. The outcome of that review will be announced in due course.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will publish data on current levels of social security fraud; and what steps he is taking to reduce social security fraud.
Answered by Tom Pursglove
Data on the levels of fraud in the benefit system is published annually, with the latest figures available via the following link:
Fraud and error in the benefit system: financial year 2021 to 2022 estimates - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Our Fraud Plan, Fighting Fraud in the Welfare System, published on 19 May 2022, sets out our plans for reducing the level of fraud and error in the welfare system by:
The full document can be found at: Fighting Fraud in the Welfare System-GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)(opens in a new tab).
The Government is investing £1.4bn of funding over the next three years to combat fraud and error. This includes additional invest to save funding, which will help stop over £2.0bn of loss in fraud and error during this time.