Asked by: Sarah Gibson (Liberal Democrat - Chippenham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department has set any targets for improving employment rates among autistic adults; and what additional support is being provided to employers to create neurodiverse-friendly workplaces.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
In the plan to Make Work Pay (October 2024), government committed to raising awareness of all forms of neurodiversity in the workplace. This includes autism. We are supporting employers to be more inclusive in their workplace practices.
In January this year we launched an independent panel of academics with expertise and experiences of neurodiversity. This will build on the work of the independent Buckland Review which reported to the previous government in February 2024, and which focused more narrowly on autism employment. The panel will consider the reasons why neurodivergent people have poor experiences in the workplace, and a low overall employment rate, making their recommendations to employers and government later this summer.
The Secretaries of State for Work and Pensions and Business and Trade have also asked Sir Charlie Mayfield to lead the independent review Keep Britain Working. While not specific to neurodiversity, this review is considering how best to support and enable employers to recruit and retain more people with health conditions and disabilities, promote healthy and inclusive workplaces, and how to support more people to stay in or return to work. Sir Charlie Mayfield will deliver his final report in the autumn.
Our existing support includes:
The employment of autistic people is estimated using data from the Annual Population Survey (APS), which looks at the employment circumstances of the UK population. It is the largest household survey in the UK and is the recommended source for employment-related statistics, such as estimates of the number of people in employment or unemployed.
Asked by: Sarah Gibson (Liberal Democrat - Chippenham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she plans to review the (a) guidance and (b) training provided to assessors conducting Work Capability Assessments for people living with ME.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
When the FAS Health Assessment Advisory Service (HAAS) contracts commenced, DWP Clinical Policy Group took over ownership of all the clinical Core Training and Guidance Materials (CTGM). These documents, amongst other things, contain clinical condition specific training including ME.
All HAAS Lot Suppliers are required to use CTGM to inform and develop training programmes and associated materials for their Health Care Professionals (HCPs) delivering Work Capability Assessments, Personal Independence Payment and Specialist benefit assessments on behalf of the DWP. HCPs are required to have appropriate knowledge of the clinical aspects and the functional effects of a wide range of health conditions and disabilities.
To maintain quality and consistency across all Suppliers, we have established a Clinical Authorship Team (CAT), an Editorial Board and a robust quality assurance process. The CAT is responsible for producing, reviewing, and updating all CTGM annually. The CAT is comprised of: Clinical leads, Clinical authors & Admin leads from each of the Suppliers and is overseen by the DWP clinical policy team.
To ensure CTGM is unbiased and fit for purpose it is subject to a rigorous quality assurance process. All materials are clinically quality assured by external independent clinicians (in line with best practice and current up-to-date clinical guidance e.g. NICE guidelines) and policy quality assured by DWP clinical policy experts.
Asked by: Sarah Gibson (Liberal Democrat - Chippenham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of support available through Access to Work for people with cystic fibrosis (a) with and (b) without (i) transport and (ii) rural connectivity barriers to employment in Wiltshire.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Access to Work Scheme provides grant funding for workplace adjustments that go beyond an employer’s duty to provide reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act 2010. The Scheme can provide support for those in work or about to start work for a wide range of health conditions, such as Cystic Fibrosis, including support to travel to and in work.
In 2018, the Department commissioned NatCen, an independent social research organisation, to explore the feasibility of evaluating the impacts of Access to Work. The report uncovered several challenges determining the impacts of Access to Work mainly around identifying an appropriate counterfactual and the difficulties in constructing a comparison group.
To assess the role of Access to Work in supporting people with disabilities and long-term health conditions to enter and stay in work, the Department commissioned qualitative evaluations of Access to Work in most recently in 2018, and 2009. The 2018 evaluation ‘Access to Work: Qualitative research with applicants, employers and delivery staff’ gathered evidence on the value of Access to Work to employers and employees.
The 2009 evaluation: ‘Evaluation of Access to Work: Core Evaluation’ explored customer, employer, assessor and other views relating to: marketing and awareness, application process, assessments, outcomes, impact and areas for improvement.
Asked by: Sarah Gibson (Liberal Democrat - Chippenham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent estimate she has made of the number of people with multiple sclerosis who are expected to lose eligibility for Personal Independence Payment under the proposed reforms to the assessment criteria.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer to Question UIN 58296 on 16th June 2025.
Asked by: Sarah Gibson (Liberal Democrat - Chippenham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of PIP decisions for people with MS have been overturned on appeal in the last five years, by region.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
For the proportion of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) New Claim and DLA reassessment decisions, for claimants with MS as main medical condition, overturned at appeal stage by region for the last five Financial Years, see Table 1 below.
Table 1: the percentage of PIP New Claim and DLA reassessment decisions, for claimants with MS as main medical condition, overturned at appeal stage by region for the last five Financial Years
Region of Initial New Claim or DLA reassessment decision | Financial Year of Initial Decision | ||||
2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 | |
East Midlands | 9% | 6% | 10% | 6% | 6% |
East of England | 6% | 6% | 8% | 9% | 5% |
London | 9% | 7% | 10% | 8% | 5% |
North East | 5% | 3% | 8% | 6% | 6% |
North West | 7% | 8% | 8% | 11% | 6% |
South East | 7% | 7% | 8% | 9% | 4% |
South West | 7% | 7% | 11% | 8% | 4% |
West Midlands | 7% | 3% | 5% | 10% | 6% |
Yorkshire and The Humber | 8% | 7% | 6% | 7% | 6% |
Total England | 7% | 6% | 8% | 8% | 5% |
Wales | 8% | 3% | 12% | 7% | 7% |
For the proportion of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) Award Review and Change of Circumstances decisions, for claimants with MS as main medical condition, overturned at appeal stage by region for the last five Financial Years, see Table 2 below.
Table 2: the percentage of PIP Award Review and Change of Circumstances decisions, for claimants with MS as main medical condition, overturned at appeal stage by region for the last five Financial Years
Region of Initial Award Review and Change of Circumstances decision | Financial Year of Initial Decision | ||||
2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 | |
East Midlands | 4% | 2% | 2% | 3% | 5% |
East of England | 3% | 2% | 2% | 2% | 2% |
London | 6% | 2% | 3% | 3% | 5% |
North East | 3% | 1% | 1% | 1% | 3% |
North West | 3% | 2% | 2% | 3% | 3% |
South East | 5% | 3% | 2% | 2% | 4% |
South West | 4% | 3% | 3% | 3% | 4% |
West Midlands | 5% | 3% | 1% | 4% | 6% |
Yorkshire and The Humber | 3% | 2% | 2% | 3% | 4% |
Total England | 4% | 2% | 2% | 3% | 4% |
Wales | 4% | 2% | 2% | 5% | 4% |
Source(s): PIP Administrative Data
Notes:
Asked by: Sarah Gibson (Liberal Democrat - Chippenham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department plans to take to help ensure prompt payment of the Winter Fuel Payment for pensioners in Wiltshire.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The vast majority of pensioners in England and Wales – around 9 million individuals - will now benefit from Winter Fuel Payments. No pensioner will need to take any action now as they will automatically receive the payment this winter, and for those with incomes above the threshold it will be automatically recovered via HMRC. Pensioners who want to opt out and not receive the payment at all, will be able to do so.
Announcing the increase in eligibility before the Summer recess and by paying all pensioners—except those who opt out—we are able to rely on established processes that can ensure prompt payments of Winter Fuel Payments for the coming winter.
Asked by: Sarah Gibson (Liberal Democrat - Chippenham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many pensioners in Wiltshire will receive the Winter Fuel Payment under the new income threshold.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Winter Fuel Payments are £200 for a household with someone of State Pension age and £300 for a household with someone aged 80 or over. They will be paid automatically to anyone who has not opted out. Individuals with a taxable income above £35,000 a year Winter Fuel Payments will be recouped via HMRC.
This means that the majority of pensioners in England and Wales – over three quarters, or around 9 million individuals – will now benefit from Winter Fuel Payments, making it better targeted than the previous near-universal payment.
Asked by: Sarah Gibson (Liberal Democrat - Chippenham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many pensioners in Wiltshire were eligible for the Winter Fuel Payment in winter 2024-25 but did not receive it.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The next release of Winter Fuel Payment statistics will cover 2024/25 and will be published on 16 September 2025. The latest data on Winter Fuel Payment caseload is available here: Winter Fuel Payment statistics for winter 2023 to 2024 - GOV.UK.
Asked by: Sarah Gibson (Liberal Democrat - Chippenham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many calls to the Pension Service helpline (a) were not answered, (b) involved the caller being on hold for more than 10 minutes and (c) were terminated by the Pension Service following the caller being on hold for more than 10 minutes in (i) February, (ii) March, and (iii) April 2025.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
DWP does not have a specific enquiry line called the Pension Service Helpline, so I have provided the data from the State Pensions enquiries line.
Over the period 1 February to 30 April 2025 a total of 28,775 calls were not answered due to caller abandonment. A monthly breakdown shows February 6,696; March 16,960 and April 5,119. The percentage of calls answered over these 3 months on average shows Feb 92%, March 84% and April 94%, against an expectation of 90%. A total of 67,736 callers were on hold for more than 10 minutes with the monthly breakdown showing February 9,082, March 51,746, April 6,908. No calls were terminated by DWP.
We do not hold the data before June 2023 and therefore have based our answer on the period from 1st June 2023 to 31st January 2025. In this data, calls not answered were due to caller abandonment. No calls were terminated by DWP.
Date | Abandoned | Hold for 10 mins or more |
Jun-23 | 336 | 31 |
Jul-23 | 228 | 15 |
Aug-23 | 922 | 259 |
Sep-23 | 4563 | 4054 |
Oct-23 | 7634 | 11403 |
Nov-23 | 5828 | 10297 |
Dec-23 | 1208 | 366 |
Date | Abandoned | Hold for 10 mins or more |
Jan-24 | 1676 | 12 |
Feb-24 | 6569 | 4124 |
Mar-24 | 3407 | 163 |
Apr-24 | 15829 | 29090 |
May-24 | 4752 | 3296 |
Jun-24 | 952 | 363 |
Jul-24 | 1947 | 1798 |
Aug-24 | 2854 | 2544 |
Sep-24 | 3131 | 1678 |
Oct-24 | 3478 | 3830 |
Nov-24 | 3671 | 3884 |
Dec-24 | 2321 | 1557 |
The information provided here is based on internal management information which is not intended for publication and has not been quality assured to official statistics standards.
Asked by: Sarah Gibson (Liberal Democrat - Chippenham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many calls to the Pension Service helpline (a) were not answered, (b) involved the caller being on hold for more than 10 minutes and (c) were terminated by the Pension Service following the caller being on hold for more than 10 minutes in each month between January 2015 and January 2024.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
DWP does not have a specific enquiry line called the Pension Service Helpline, so I have provided the data from the State Pensions enquiries line.
Over the period 1 February to 30 April 2025 a total of 28,775 calls were not answered due to caller abandonment. A monthly breakdown shows February 6,696; March 16,960 and April 5,119. The percentage of calls answered over these 3 months on average shows Feb 92%, March 84% and April 94%, against an expectation of 90%. A total of 67,736 callers were on hold for more than 10 minutes with the monthly breakdown showing February 9,082, March 51,746, April 6,908. No calls were terminated by DWP.
We do not hold the data before June 2023 and therefore have based our answer on the period from 1st June 2023 to 31st January 2025. In this data, calls not answered were due to caller abandonment. No calls were terminated by DWP.
Date | Abandoned | Hold for 10 mins or more |
Jun-23 | 336 | 31 |
Jul-23 | 228 | 15 |
Aug-23 | 922 | 259 |
Sep-23 | 4563 | 4054 |
Oct-23 | 7634 | 11403 |
Nov-23 | 5828 | 10297 |
Dec-23 | 1208 | 366 |
Date | Abandoned | Hold for 10 mins or more |
Jan-24 | 1676 | 12 |
Feb-24 | 6569 | 4124 |
Mar-24 | 3407 | 163 |
Apr-24 | 15829 | 29090 |
May-24 | 4752 | 3296 |
Jun-24 | 952 | 363 |
Jul-24 | 1947 | 1798 |
Aug-24 | 2854 | 2544 |
Sep-24 | 3131 | 1678 |
Oct-24 | 3478 | 3830 |
Nov-24 | 3671 | 3884 |
Dec-24 | 2321 | 1557 |
The information provided here is based on internal management information which is not intended for publication and has not been quality assured to official statistics standards.