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Written Question
Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit: Mining
Friday 1st March 2024

Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of former miners have had an application for industrial injuries disablement benefits rejected over the last 10 years.

Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The table below shows the number of assessments by outcome for Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit (IIDB) for people whose Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) code on which the IIDB claim is based, is ‘Mining and Quarrying’ over the last 10 years from 2013/14 to 2022/23.

Number

Percentage

Accepted - payable

8,450

25%

Accepted - not payable

4,200

12%

Accepted – no loss of faculty

0

0%

Disallowed

19,570

57%

Withdrawn

490

1%

Not applicable / Unknown

1,570

5%

Total

34,290

100%

Individual outcome categories do not sum to total due to rounding.

Information on Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit (IIDB) assessments by decision type and Standard Industrial Classification code can be found on Stat-Xplore.

You can log in or access Stat-Xplore as a guest user and, if needed, you can access guidance on how to extract the information required.


Written Question
Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit
Thursday 29th February 2024

Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, on how many occasions a decision made by his Department on a person's eligibility for industrial injuries disablement benefits has been found to be incorrect or unsuitable in the last 12 months.

Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

We have determined this query as relating to Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefits (IIDB) disputes, i.e. Mandatory Reconsiderations and Appeals.

Decisions can be overturned at a later stage in the claim journey for a number of reasons - it does not necessarily mean that the original decision was incorrect. The main reasons that decisions are overturned on appeal are: tribunals drawing a different conclusion based on the same evidence, cogent oral evidence given by the individual, or new written evidence provided at the hearing.

From October 2022 to September 2023 inclusive, 1,100 IIDB Mandatory Reconsiderations were completed. In 100 of these the decision was changed.

  • This data is derived from unpublished management information which was collected for internal departmental use only, and has not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standards. It should therefore be treated with caution.
  • Figures have been rounded to the nearest 100.
  • Figures include Industrial Injuries Disablement Allowance and Reduced Earnings Allowance.
  • Definition of Mandatory Reconsideration: Claimants who wish to dispute a decision made on their claim are required to ask the department to reconsider the decision before they can lodge an appeal with His Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service. MRs can arise for various reasons, such as omitting to tell the DWP about relevant evidence during the initial decision-making process; this could include not returning forms required as part of the claim.
  • Figures are for Great Britain only.

Information on First-tier Tribunal appeals is published at: www.gov.uk/government/collections/tribunals-statistics .

Specifically, information on the number of appeal receipts, disposals and outcomes of IIDB appeals, can be found in the Social Security and Child Support (SSCS) tables: SSCS_1, SSCS_2 and SSCS_3 of the Main Tables.


Written Question
Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit
Thursday 29th February 2024

Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, on how many occasions his Department's final decision on a person's eligibility for industrial injuries disablement benefits has differed from the medical opinion of the recommendation of Maximus staff in the last 12 months.

Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The information requested is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Information on Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit (IIDB) assessments by decision type can be found on Stat-Xplore.

You can log in or access Stat-Xplore as a guest user and, if needed, you can access guidance on how to extract the information required.


Written Question
Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit
Thursday 29th February 2024

Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what training is required for staff making decisions on eligibility for industrial injuries disablement benefits.

Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Department always aims to make the right decision as early as possible, and all staff making decisions on eligibility for Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit (IIDB) receive appropriate training in line with this aim. This includes standardised training packages targeted at certain decision-making staff, and new staff sitting with experienced decision makers for an initial period, to observe the process for a range of different possible decisions. Further standardised training packages are also being developed.

Detailed decision making guidance for IIDB is also made available to all decision makers. The Department publishes its “Decision Makers’ Guides” on GOV.UK, and the relevant materials for IIDB are available here.


Written Question
Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit
Thursday 29th February 2024

Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he plans to change the industrial injuries disablement benefits final decision making system.

Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Department always aims to make the right decision as early as possible on claims for Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit (IIDB). Where a person receives a decision about their IIDB and they disagree with that decision, they can ask the Department for Work and Pensions to look at the decision again (this is called a Mandatory Reconsideration). If the claimant remains dissatisfied with the decision following Mandatory Reconsideration, they may appeal to the First-Tier Tribunal, where the decision will be looked at again by the independent judiciary. The Department has no plans to change its decision-making processes.


Written Question
Mining: Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit
Thursday 19th October 2023

Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if the Government will take steps to ensure that former mineworkers are eligible for the Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit (IIDB) provides non-contributory, “no-fault” benefit for disablement because of an accident at work or one of over 70 ‘prescribed’ diseases known to be a risk from certain jobs.

The department is advised by the Industrial Injuries Advisory Council (IIAC), an independent scientific body, on changes to the list of occupational diseases for which IIDB can be paid. A disease can only be recommended for prescription by IIAC if the risk to workers in a certain occupation is substantially greater than the risk to the general population, and the link between the disease and the occupation can be established or presumed with reasonable certainty.

Former coal miners that satisfy the occupational and other eligibility criteria for a particular Prescribed Disease (PD) may already be eligible for IIDB.

IIAC keeps existing PDs under continuous review to ensure they are in line with current scientific evidence. If any further recommendations are made by IIAC on changes to the list of PDs, they will be carefully considered by the department.


Written Question
Department for Work and Pensions: Artificial Intelligence
Tuesday 18th July 2023

Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what (a) algorithmic and (b) other automated decision making systems his Department uses; and for what purposes.

Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Department does use algorithms and automated decision making in some services and processes, which allow us to improve accuracy, speed up delivery and free up colleagues’ time so they can support the people who need it most. A list of the services and processes which fall under Article 22(1) of the UK GDPR was contained in PQ187258.

Review or appeal options are built in to all DWP benefit processes, even where this is not specifically required by data protection laws. The Department is always careful to process data lawfully, proportionately, and ethically with safeguards for the protection of individuals. DWP does not use Artificial Intelligence for automated decision making. DWP’s Personal Information Charter explains how and why we use personal information and citizen’s rights and responsibilities.


Written Question
Department for Work and Pensions: Data Protection
Tuesday 27th June 2023

Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the oral contribution of the Minister for Data and Digital Infrastructure of 14 June 2023 at Topical Questions, T7, Official Report, column 286, what plans his Department has to (a) utilise the provisions in Part 3 of the Data Protection and Digital Information (No. 2) Bill and (b) use smart data in new sectors.

Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

There is potential to explore Smart Data in further sectors, beyond Open Banking. Government, regulators and industry experts are working together via the Smart Data Council to ensure that the UK continues to be at the forefront of developments in this space.

Before committing to utilise the provisions in Part 3 of the Data Protection and Digital Information (No.2) Bill in any given sector, there is work to be done to understand how Smart Data can empower consumers and turbo charge competition.


Written Question
Mining: Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit
Wednesday 26th April 2023

Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)

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 expertise of assessors who are conducting health assessments for Industrial Injuries Disablement benefits on former mineworkers in taking into account the often-complex health issues they are likely to have.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

The assessment provider, Centre for Health and Disability Assessments (CHDA), is required to ensure that all healthcare professionals (HCP) carrying out Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit (IIDB) assessments have sufficient training and knowledge of the clinical aspects, and likely overall functional effects of, a wide range of health conditions and impairments.

IIDB assessments are undertaken by doctors who have successfully completed an initial IIDB training programme. If they are assessing a respiratory disease, they must complete additional respiratory disease training; which ensures that the HCPs are fully competent in managing the complex health issues that mineworkers may suffer from.

Assessment quality is a priority for both CHDA and the department. We work closely with disabled people and their representatives to shape how assessments are delivered and to improve every stage of the claimant journey. This includes making improvements to guidance, training, and audit procedures to ensure a quality service.


Written Question
Mining: Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit
Wednesday 26th April 2023

Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)

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 administration of the health assessments for Industrial Injuries Disablement benefits by the Centre for Health and Disability Assessments on former mineworkers.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

The assessment provider, Centre for Health and Disability Assessments (CHDA), is required to ensure that all healthcare professionals (HCP) carrying out Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit (IIDB) assessments have sufficient training and knowledge of the clinical aspects, and likely overall functional effects of, a wide range of health conditions and impairments.

IIDB assessments are undertaken by doctors who have successfully completed an initial IIDB training programme. If they are assessing a respiratory disease, they must complete additional respiratory disease training; which ensures that the HCPs are fully competent in managing the complex health issues that mineworkers may suffer from.

Assessment quality is a priority for both CHDA and the department. We work closely with disabled people and their representatives to shape how assessments are delivered and to improve every stage of the claimant journey. This includes making improvements to guidance, training, and audit procedures to ensure a quality service.