Asked by: Siân Berry (Green Party - Brighton Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he plans to remove the work capability assessment.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We announced in the Pathways to Work Green Paper that we are abolishing the Work Capability Assessment (WCA) and that following this, eligibility to the new Universal Credit Health Element would require the claimant to be in receipt of a Daily Living award on Personal Independence Payment (PIP).
Work is continuing to determine the detail of how this reformed system would work and discussions are also under way with the Scottish Government about the interactions between the devolved and reserved systems. We will set out further details of the reformed system, and the timing of WCA abolition, once we are in a position to do so.
Asked by: Siân Berry (Green Party - Brighton Pavilion)
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 impact of the Motability Scheme on supporting disabled people into employment and training.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Motability Foundation report that 27% of Scheme users have improved access to education and 21% have improved access to employment opportunities. Scheme customers in employment report working an extra 14 hours a week, on average.
Asked by: Siân Berry (Green Party - Brighton Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether ideas for reforming the Personal Independent Payment assessment criteria and processes requiring additional expenditure will be permitted under the terms of reference of the Timms Review of Personal Independence Payment.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Timms Review will be co-produced with disabled people, the organisations that represent them, and other experts.
The Review is focussed on ensuring we have a system that supports disabled people to achieve better health, higher living standards and greater independence. We are committed to spending public money as effectively as possible to support disabled people in living independent and fulfilling lives.
It will be for the Steering Group to determine the Review’s recommendations, subject to the Terms of Reference which specify that the Review will operate within the OBR’s projections for future Personal Independence Payment expenditure.
Asked by: Siân Berry (Green Party - Brighton Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the Motability Scheme in addressing transport accessibility gaps.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Motability Scheme supports many disabled people and families, by enabling them to lease a car, wheelchair accessible vehicle, scooter or powered wheelchair in exchange for an eligible disability benefit allowance. The scheme helps people with significant mobility issues participate in society, including by breaking down barriers to work.
The Motability Foundation have published its strategy to support and empower disabled people by improving their access to transport. The plan sets out how they will act directly and work with others to drive change.
Asked by: Siân Berry (Green Party - Brighton Pavilion)
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 (a) transparency and (b) openness on the the decision-making processes of the Timms Review of Personal Independence Payment.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We recognise the high levels of interest in the Timms Review and are committed to continued transparency and evaluation, listening, learning and adapting as this work continues.
The Review will be co-produced with disabled people, the organisations that represent them, clinicians, experts, MPs and other stakeholders, to ensure that expertise from a wide range of perspectives is drawn upon. This means the Government will share ownership and responsibility for the Review and what it recommends.
On 30 October, I announced that the Review will be co-chaired by myself alongside Sharon Brennan and Dr Clenton Farquharson CBE. We will oversee a steering group responsible for leading the co-production process, setting the Review’s strategic direction, priorities and workplan. The group will be made up of a majority of disabled people or representatives of disabled people’s organisations and will be recruited through an open and transparent Expression of Interest (EOI) process. The EOI is now live and will run until 30 November. The group will consider how best to engage with the widespread interest in its work.
The Review will report to the Secretary of State for final decisions in autumn 2026, with an interim update expected ahead of that.
Asked by: Siân Berry (Green Party - Brighton Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what action he is taking to ensure that the voices of people with learning disabilities are heard directly during the Timms Review of Personal Independence Payment, including (a) digitally excluded people with learning disabilities, (b) people with learning disabilities who are non-verbal, and (c) people with learning disabilities who need written information provided in an accessible format.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
For the Review to be a success, lived experience must be at the heart of its work. The Timms Review will be co-produced with disabled people, the organisations that represent them, clinicians, experts, MPs and other stakeholders, to ensure that expertise from a wide range of perspectives is drawn upon.
On 30 October, I published the revised Terms of Reference on GOV.UK which set out further details about its scope. I also announced that the Review will be co-chaired by myself alongside Sharon Brennan and Dr Clenton Farquharson CBE. We will oversee a steering group responsible for leading the co-production process, setting the Review's strategic direction, priorities and workplan.
The group will be made up of a majority of disabled people or representatives of disabled people's organisations and will be recruited through an open and transparent Expression of Interest (EOI) process, which is now live. We have worked closely with experts to ensure the EOI is accessible, inclusive and has a broad reach. The steering group will not work alone, it will oversee a programme of participation that brings together the full range of views and voices.
Asked by: Siân Berry (Green Party - Brighton Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether staff in her Department have been instructed to apply Access to Work guidance more strictly since July 2024.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
For the last year, we have worked to improve decision-making throughout the Access to Work Scheme by ensuring that guidance is applied with greater consistency, helping to provide a fairer process. This may mean that some awards change at the point of renewal, but this does not reflect a change in policy of the Scheme.
Asked by: Siân Berry (Green Party - Brighton Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether existing Personal Independence Payment claimants could have their support reduced following changes implemented in response to the Timms Review of Personal Independence Payment.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Timms Review aims to ensure we have a system that supports disabled people to achieve better health, higher living standards and greater independence, including through employment.
The Review will be co-produced with disabled people, the organisations that represent them, clinicians, experts, MPs and other stakeholders. Co-production will be led by a steering group, a majority of whose members will be disabled or representatives of disabled people’s organisations. I will co-chair the steering group alongside Sharon Brennan and Dr Clenton Farquharson CBE.It will be for the steering group to set the Review’s strategic direction and agree its recommendations. We will not pre-empt the Review’s decisions.
Asked by: Siân Berry (Green Party - Brighton Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he will take steps to ensure that (a) disabled people who receive means-tested benefits and (b) young people are represented on the Timms Review of Personal Independence Payment.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Timms Review will be co-produced with disabled people, the organisations that represent them, clinicians, experts, MPs and other stakeholders, to ensure that expertise from a wide range of perspectives is drawn upon.
On 30 October, I announced that I would co-chair the Review alongside Sharon Brennan and Dr Clenton Farquharson CBE. Together, they bring a wealth of expertise and experience on health and disability issues, as well as the co-production process.
We will oversee a steering group which will lead the co-production process. To ensure lived experience is at the heart of its work, the majority of the steering group will be disabled or representatives of disabled people’s organisations. Members will be recruited via an open and accessible expression of interest (EOI), which has been designed to ensure the steering group reflects a broad range of perspectives, including lived experience of disability and professional expertise. The EOI is now live and will run until 30 November.
Asked by: Siân Berry (Green Party - Brighton Pavilion)
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 that there is social security expertise on the steering group for the Timms Review of Personal Independence Payment.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Timms Review will be co-produced with disabled people, the organisations that represent them, clinicians, experts, MPs and other stakeholders, to ensure that expertise from a wide range of perspectives is drawn upon.
On 30 October, I announced that I would co-chair the Review alongside Sharon Brennan and Dr Clenton Farquharson CBE. Together, they bring a wealth of expertise and experience on health and disability issues, as well as the co-production process.
We will oversee a steering group which will lead the co-production process. To ensure lived experience is at the heart of its work, the majority of the steering group will be disabled or representatives of disabled people’s organisations. Members will be recruited via an open and accessible expression of interest (EOI), which has been designed to ensure the steering group reflects a broad range of perspectives, including lived experience of disability and professional expertise. The EOI is now live and will run until 30 November.