Asked by: Sandy Martin (Labour - Ipswich)
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 £20 referral fee and four per cent collect and pay charge levied on people using the collect and pay service for Child Maintenance Service payments.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson
Fees and charges are intended to encourage separated parents to collaborate where possible to achieve the best outcome for their children. The application fee is a one-off payment of £20 and is waived for clients aged 18 or under, or those who have reported domestic abuse. The Direct Pay service does not incur any on-going collection charges. Collection charges only apply when a case is being managed in the Collect and Pay service. The four per cent charge for receiving parents is deducted only when maintenance is paid.
On 03 August 2017, we published the outcome of a review of the impact of fees and charges. The evidence available did not indicate that charges were preventing parents from making an application, and the majority of parents found the fee affordable. Roughly half of parents stated that charges influenced their decision to try a direct pay arrangement first.
We have no plans to abolish the application fee or charges, both of which remain central to our aim of encouraging collaboration and incentivising use of the Direct Pay service.
Asked by: Sandy Martin (Labour - Ipswich)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department has taken steps to ensure that benefits claimants in financial hardship can obtain letters which are required to progress their claims from their GP without having to pay for such letters; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Sarah Newton
We advise claimants not to seek additional evidence in support of their claim which they may be charged for, such as from GPs. Where an assessment provider determines that additional medical evidence from a GP could prove helpful they will request that evidence from the GP directly.
GPs are obliged through their contract with NHS England to provide the assessment provider with medical evidence for Employment and Support Allowance free-of-charge. For Personal Independence Payment, we pay GPs a standard fee (currently £33.50) for completing a General Practitioner Factual Report.
In the Government’s response to the Work and Pensions Select Committee report on Personal Independence Payment and Employment and Support Allowance Assessments we set out our commitment to continue improving the customer experience for both, including opportunities for better data sharing.
Asked by: Sandy Martin (Labour - Ipswich)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what guidance is provided to Job Centre staff on the Equality Act 2010 duty to make reasonable adjustments to enable disabled people to progress their claims.
Answered by Sarah Newton
Comprehensive guidance for Jobcentre staff about the Equality Act 2010 is included on the Department’s intranet site ‘Equality and You – a guide for employees’. This includes advice for staff on understanding what reasonable adjustments are and why the Department has a duty to provide them for claimants who are disabled.
Where our customers advise us that they need assistance to access our services and information, we make reasonable adjustments to meet their individual needs. This means the Department communicates with customers in a variety of different formats such as Braille, audio, large print, through third party interpreters or by arranging for a member of staff to visit the customer in their home.
Service delivery teams within Jobcentres provide a professional and supportive environment for our customers, providing digital coaching, helping claimants set up their claims and also maintaining them.
Claimants who require additional support to complete a claim form have the option to book a one to one appointment with a member of the Service Delivery team to receive assistance. In addition telephony support is in place for those vulnerable claimants who cannot ‘self-serve’ online and where a claimant is unable to manage their own affairs, an appointee can act on their behalf, taking responsibility for making and maintaining any benefit claim.
Asked by: Sandy Martin (Labour - Ipswich)
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 ensure that adults with schizophrenia and other permanent mental health conditions are made aware of their entitlement to claim the benefits to which they are entitled and assisted in making that claim.
Answered by Sarah Newton
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has an established approach to providing information to all its potential customers through the use of information leaflets, which are widely available and on the Gov.uk website. The National Employer and Partnership Team work with national partners through the Operational Stakeholder Engagement Forum (OSEF). This group consisting of about 40 organisations also attend quarterly meetings to learn more about, and feedback on, current and proposed DWP policies and communication practices. Attendees are encouraged to circulate key messages from the meetings to their many local outlets.
We also, at a local level, work with a wide range of partners and customer advocates in identifying and providing an appropriate level of support to customers who are vulnerable, including those with mental health conditions.
DWP’s definition of vulnerability is “any individual who is identified as having complex needs and/or requires additional support to enable them to access DWP benefits and use our services” as being vulnerable. This definition ensures that we have consistency and continuity in the type and level of service which is being offered and that it supports the customer appropriately whatever their needs. Assistance to make a claim is available, this can be through additional support from our telephony agents, or through face to face support in our network of jobcentres or a home visit.
DWP adopts this approach at all points of contact with the customer and uses its records to ensure, to the best of its abilities, when individuals are identified as being vulnerable we take all reasonable steps to try to mitigate any risks.
When DWP Staff are satisfied the risk to the individual is significant and immediate they are explicitly empowered to act without consent to take all steps felt necessary to address significant and immediate risks to an individual’s welfare or safety.
Where DWP consider that any risk is not significant or immediate we will continue follow our established approach working with the individual and with consent, where necessary, contact any relevant organisations to provide the appropriate levels of support.