Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what communication channels are in place for deaf individuals to contact his department about Personal Independence Payments.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
People who are deaf or hearing impaired can use two ‘real-time’ communication channels to contact DWP to enquire about PIP. They can use Video Relay Service, a third-party text and talk solution. Alternatively, they can use Relay UK, a text relay service for people who cannot hear or speak on the phone.
In line with the requirements of the Equality Act 2010, we also offer e-mail as a reasonable adjustment when providing written communication to customers who require information in an alternative format. This is available to hearing impaired and deaf customers on request and is considered on a case-by-case basis due to individual needs.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to decrease the amount of time it takes for the outcome of tribunal cases to be placed on people's journal for Universal Credit.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Information on the average time to record tribunal outcomes on the UC journal is not collated centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Our aim is to implement UC tribunal decisions as quickly as possible, with some exceptions.
The main reason that a tribunal’s decision might not be implemented timeously, is if the Secretary of State considers that the decision may contain an error of law and suspends payment of the tribunal’s award whilst that is considered. In such a case the claimant must be notified that this is being done. If the claimant is not notified of a reason for the decision not being implemented, then they can contact the department: this can be done by using the telephone numbers on Gov.UK, on the decision letter they received, or by attending a Jobcentre; if it is a UC appeal they can use their journal.
If a decision is not implemented timeously, there is guidance published by HMCTS and available on Gov.UK, entitled ‘How to appeal against a decision made by the Department for Work and Pensions’.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
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 adequacy of the average amount of time it takes for the outcome of a tribunal case to be placed on a person's journal for Universal Credit.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Information on the average time to record tribunal outcomes on the UC journal is not collated centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Our aim is to implement UC tribunal decisions as quickly as possible, with some exceptions.
The main reason that a tribunal’s decision might not be implemented timeously, is if the Secretary of State considers that the decision may contain an error of law and suspends payment of the tribunal’s award whilst that is considered. In such a case the claimant must be notified that this is being done. If the claimant is not notified of a reason for the decision not being implemented, then they can contact the department: this can be done by using the telephone numbers on Gov.UK, on the decision letter they received, or by attending a Jobcentre; if it is a UC appeal they can use their journal.
If a decision is not implemented timeously, there is guidance published by HMCTS and available on Gov.UK, entitled ‘How to appeal against a decision made by the Department for Work and Pensions’.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of individuals that are unable to use the online pensions portal.
Answered by Laura Trott - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Check your State Pension Forecast (CySPF) service allows citizens to get an estimate of their State Pension and the earliest they may get it. Identity verification is important so that information is provided safely to the right person. Verification can be met by providing information from the user’s UK Passport, UK Driving Licence, pay slip or P60. Many millions of people have accessed their SP forecast using CySPF. Individuals who are unable to satisfy the identity verification requirements via the CySPF service can contact the Future Pension Centre instead to verify their identity and get a State Pension forecast.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
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 adequacy of the pension portal for people uploading verification documents.
Answered by Laura Trott - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Check your State Pension Forecast (CySPF) service allows citizens to get an estimate of their State Pension and the earliest they may get it. Identity verification is important so that information is provided safely to the right person. Verification can be met by providing information from the user’s UK Passport, UK Driving Licence, pay slip or P60. Many millions of people have accessed their SP forecast using CySPF. Individuals who are unable to satisfy the identity verification requirements via the CySPF service can contact the Future Pension Centre instead to verify their identity and get a State Pension forecast.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent discussions he has had with officials at the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman on the timescales for the publication of the second stage of its report on Women’s State Pension age: our findings on the Department for Work and Pensions’ communication of changes.
Answered by Laura Trott - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
It would not be appropriate to comment on the investigation while it is ongoing. Section 7(2) of the Parliamentary Commissioner Act 1967 states that Ombudsman investigations “shall be conducted in private”.
Please refer to the Ombudsman’s website for the latest information.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to reduce the average time taken by the Future Pensions Centre to answer calls.
Answered by Laura Trott - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
Due to the unprecedented high demand of calls, DWP have moved additional staff into this area to help reduce the average time taken to answer calls.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to inform previously unsuccessful applicants to the Bereavement support payment scheme about the recent change to that scheme which will enable unmarried bereaved partners to access those payments.
Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
We do not routinely keep details of people who have originally claimed and been refused Bereavement Support Payment on the basis of being in a cohabiting relationship. We therefore do not intend to contact previous claimants directly.
We have, however, taken a range of steps to raise awareness, including updating GOV.UK and using existing DWP channels to communicate this change to claimants and interested external organisations. We have also, and will continue to, collaborate closely with key external stakeholders such as the Childhood Bereavement Network, to ensure that information about the scheme is accessible.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much paraquat the Health and Safety Executive recorded as exported from the UK in (a) 2019, (b) 2020 and (c) 2021.
Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Following the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union (EU) on 31 January 2020, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) no longer has access to data to give a UK specific figure for the export of paraquat in 2019.
However, the European Chemicals Agency has published EU data for 2019 showing an aggregated export volume for paraquat and carbon tetrachloride, which is available here: Annual reporting on PIC exports and imports - ECHA (europa.eu).
HSE’s data, collected annually since 2020, shows that exports of paraquat from Great Britain (GB) totalled 10,158 tonnes in 2020 and 10,562 tonnes in 2021.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, which countries have given consent for the import of paraquat from the UK.
Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Health and Safety Executive’s data on exports under the Great Britain Prior Informed Consent Regulation, collected annually since 2020, shows that the following countries have given consent to the import of paraquat from Great Britain: Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, European Union, Guatemala, India, Mexico, Singapore, South Africa and the United States.