Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Sunderland West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether home assessments for people claiming disability benefits can be offered to claimants living with cancer.
Answered by Chloe Smith
Currently, all claimants to Personal Independence Payment (PIP) can be offered a telephone or video assessment where a paper-based assessment is not possible and a face-to-face assessment at an assessment centre is not appropriate. Home assessments were suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic and we are working towards re-introducing these where other assessment channels are not possible. Attendance Allowance care needs are assessed on paper-based evidence alone, with extra support available for vulnerable customers. Disability Living Allowance for children does not assess children and all decisions are taken on the basis of paper-based evidence.
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Sunderland West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of delays in the work capability assessment process for claimants who are living with cancer.
Answered by Chloe Smith
Supporting all claimants, including those living with cancer, remains an absolute priority for the department. We are committed to assessing claimants as quickly as possible in order that they receive the benefits and support they are entitled to in a timely manner.
The Capability for Work questionnaire incorporates a 'light touch' evidence gathering process for people who are having, waiting for or recovering from chemotherapy or radiotherapy. We would expect that most claimants to whom this applies would be assessed using the paper evidence provided by the claimant and/or their treating clinician. However, in cases where the evidence does not support any debilitating effects of treatment, they may need to attend a telephone, video or face to face assessment.
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Sunderland West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of including witness statements as part of the disability benefits decision-making process for people living with cancer.
Answered by Chloe Smith
In the context of claims for health and disability-related benefits, for all health conditions and disabilities, a claimant can provide to the Department any evidence, including a witness statement, which they consider supports that claim. All evidence, whatever the source or type, is considered and weighed accordingly as part of the decision-making process.
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Sunderland West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of reported delays to personal independence payments for people living with cancer.
Answered by Chloe Smith
Entitlement to Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is assessed on the basis of the needs arising from a health condition or disability, rather than the health condition or disability itself. People with the same condition or impairment can have very different daily living or mobility needs. New claims from claimants who are terminally ill are currently being cleared in an average of three days.
We are committed to ensuring people can access financial support through PIP in a timely manner. Reducing customer journey times for PIP claimants is a priority for the Department and we are working constantly to make improvements to our service, including using a blend of phone, video and fact-to-face assessments to deliver a more efficient and user-centred process. We always aim to make an award decision as quickly as possible, taking into account the need to review all available evidence, including that from the claimant.
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Sunderland West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what impact assessment her Department has undertaken of the potential effect of the end of the £20 uplift to universal credit on young women.
Answered by Will Quince
No impact assessment has been made.
The Chancellor announced a temporary six-month extension to the £20 per week uplift at the Budget on 3 March to support households affected by the economic shock of Covid-19. Universal Credit has provided a vital safety net for six million people during the pandemic, and the temporary uplift was part of a COVID support package worth a total of £407 billion in 2020-21 and 2021-22.
The latest poverty figures (2019/20) demonstrate that absolute poverty rates (both before and after housing costs) for working-age adults in working families have fallen since 2009/10. In 2019/20, 8% of working age adults in working families were in absolute poverty (before housing costs), compared to 9% in 2009/10.
There have been significant positive developments in the public health situation since the uplift was first introduced. With the success of the vaccine rollout and record job vacancies, it is right that our focus is on helping people back into work.
Through our Plan for Jobs, we are targeting tailored support schemes of people of all ages to help them prepare for, get into and progress in work. These include: Kickstart, delivering tens of thousands of six-month work placements for UC claimants aged 16-24 at risk of unemployment; Restart, which provides 12 months’ intensive employment support to UC claimants who are unemployed for a year; and JETS, which provides light touch employment support for people who are claiming either Universal Credit or New Style Jobseekers Allowance, for up to 6 months, helping participants effectively re-engage with the labour market and focus their job search. We have also recruited an additional 13,500 work coaches to provide more intensive support to find a job. In total, our Plan for Jobs interventions will support more than two million people.
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Sunderland West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to ensure that her Department's assessors are aware of the symptoms of mesh injury.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
All health professionals carrying out Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessments and Work Capability Assessments (WCA) on behalf of the department have been issued with guidance on mesh which was developed in conjunction with external stakeholders and will be reviewed and updated as necessary.
The department requires health professionals carrying out assessments to have a broad training in disability analysis, as well as training in specific conditions, including multiple and complex conditions. While preparing to undertake an assessment, health professionals can access a wide range of clinical resources to research any condition presented. This includes evidence based protocols, e-learning modules or case studies, as well as keeping knowledge up to date through Continuous Professional Development (CPD).
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Sunderland West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 26 February 2021 to Question 150714 on Employment and Support Allowance: Work Capability Assessment, if she will make an estimate of the number of claimants who have had their contributory based employment and support allowance payments stopped as a result of the (a) temporary suspension of face-to-face assessments for health and disability-related benefits and (b) inability to be placed in a support group as a result of suspended face-to-face assessments.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
I would like to refer the Honourable Member to question 154860 answered on 26th February 2021.
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Sunderland West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to question 150714 answered on 12 February 2020, on Employment and Support Allowance: Work Capability Assessment, if he will make an estimate of the number of claimants who have had their contributory based employment and support allowance payments stopped because of the temporary suspension of face-to-face assessments for health and disability-related benefits.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Individuals claiming contributory Employment and Support Allowance (ESA(C)) do not have their benefit stopped because face-to-face assessments have been suspended. Entitlement to ESA(C) ends after 365 days unless the claimant has been placed in the Support Group.
Throughout the pandemic we have continued to assess people on paper evidence, using this route whenever possible. We also introduced telephone assessments in June 2020 in a phased approach which allowed us to build capability and improve processes. From 1 February 2021 the combination of paper and telephone assessments will enable us to ensure that claimants receive their correct benefit entitlement as quickly as possible and reduce the time claimants who may be entitled to a higher award have to wait for their assessment.
We recognise that some assessments have unfortunately not been completed within the 365 day window due to the pressures presented by the pandemic. If, following their assessment, and the subsequent decision, an ESA claimant is entitled to a higher rate of benefit, payments are backdated where appropriate, so that they do not lose out.
Where an individual’s contributory ESA ends, if they require further financial support, they may be able to claim Universal Credit, depending on their personal circumstances.
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Sunderland West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many claimants have had their employment and support allowance payments stopped because of the temporary suspension of face-to-face assessments for health and disability-related benefits.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
New claimants will receive the assessment rate of benefit, and existing claimants will remain on their current award, until we are able to gather the evidence needed for a decision to be made (or until their benefit is due to end in contributory ESA). Where an individual’s contributory ESA ends, if they require further financial support, they may be able to claim Universal Credit, depending on their personal circumstances.
If, following their assessment, and the subsequent decision, an ESA claimant is entitled to a higher rate of benefit, payments are backdated where appropriate, so that they do not lose out.
We are committed to doing everything we can to ensure that people get the support they are entitled to as quickly as possible by continuing to assess people on paper evidence, as usual, where we can, using this route as often as we are able to. We have also introduced telephone assessments and we are currently in the early stages of testing WCA video assessments.
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Sunderland West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what mechanism was used to determine how much each local authority will receive from the Covid Winter Grant Scheme.
Answered by Will Quince
The Covid Winter Grant Scheme is a new £170m fund which will enable local authorities to support vulnerable households this winter with food and key utilities. Grants to local authorities will be made under Section 31 of the Local Government Act 2003 and will carry conditions to ensure the primary focus of the scheme is on supporting vulnerable families with children affected by the pandemic. Within the conditions, local authorities will have flexibility to decide how best to identify and support those most in need in their local area.
In line with the £63m grant fund made available to local authorities earlier in the year, funding will be dispersed according to an authority’s population, weighted by a function of the English Index of Multiple Deprivation.
Funding allocations for each upper tier Local Authority were published on gov.uk on 24 November: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-winter-grant-scheme/indicative-funding-levels-per-county-council-or-unitary-authority