Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what qualifications are required for the role of work coach within job centres.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Work Coaches are not required to hold any specific qualifications to undertake their role. They undergo a comprehensive learning journey designed to equip them with the tools, skills and behaviours required to provide a high quality, efficient service to all claimants. Work Coaches receive on-going learning in their roles and access to guidance which is refreshed at regular intervals.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will publish the financial criteria for eligibility for the Social Fund Funeral Payment scheme; and what was the average proportion of funeral costs that this scheme covered in the last 12 months.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Funeral Expenses Payments (FEP) scheme provides an important contribution towards the cost of a simple, respectful funeral arranged by someone who is in receipt of certain income related benefits or tax credits.
The scheme meets the necessary costs of a burial or cremation in full and offers up to £1000 to meet other funeral expenses such as, the cost of a coffin, church and funeral director fees. In April 2020, we increased the maximum amount families can claim for these additional costs by 43%, from £700 to £1000, providing vital financial support to families grieving the loss of a loved one.
The average FEP award in 2020/21 was £1,838, while the average cost of a cremation was £3,765 and average cost for a burial funeral was £4,927. (Costs vary significantly by region).
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department monitors the performance of providers completing medical assessments for Personal Independence Claims; and whether she has taken steps in response to poor performance or customer service in the last five years.
Answered by Chloe Smith
It might be helpful to explain that the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessment is not a medical assessment as it does not require the Health Professional (HP) to diagnose a condition and to recommend treatment options. Instead, it requires the HP to look at the impact the condition or impairment has on an individuals’ daily life.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) manages the PIP contracts robustly and have a full set of service level agreements setting out our expectations for service delivery. We ensure a high standard is maintained, having an Independent Audit function that continually monitors performance, and provides feedback to its providers. The contracts allow us to recover any financial loss caused by poor performance, and we have the right to terminate the contract if there is sustained underperformance.
The department has worked continuously to drive improvements in the assessment service and providers have introduced a number of steps to increase performance across their services. This includes new or enhanced systems of assessment report quality checks, to improve the quality of advice the department receives. In addition, PIP assessment reports have been redesigned to have clearer justifications, which support improved benefit decision making.
PIP assessment providers have consistently exceeded their customer satisfaction target scores of 90% since the measure began in 2016.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to reduce the waiting times for personal independent payment medical assessments.
Answered by Chloe Smith
The Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessment is not a medical assessment as it does not require the Health Professional (HP) to diagnose a condition and to recommend treatment options. Instead, it requires the HP to look at the impact the condition or impairment has on an individuals’ daily life.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is committed to assessing people as quickly as possible, in order that they receive the benefit and support they are entitled to in a timely manner. DWP has worked continuously with providers to drive improvements, to develop the PIP assessment process and how these impact on overall processing times. Telephone assessments were introduced at pace in 2020, when face-to-face assessments were suspended due to the pandemic, with video assessments introduced shortly after. These continue to be delivered alongside face-to-face and paper-based assessments.
Reducing processing times is a priority for the department, however under business-as-usual conditions, there may be referrals that take longer to progress. For example, an interpreter is required in a less common language, or a home visit to be arranged in a remote location. In addition, some claimants also fail to attend assessments for numerous reasons, which requires the department to understand and decide if a new referral to the assessment provider is needed. In these circumstances the overall time from claim registration to the claimant having an assessment may be extended.
The department has recently reiterated its commitment to continuously improve our services in ‘Shaping Future Support: The Health and Disability Green Paper’.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average backdated payment is for a Personal Independence claimant once they have gone through the full application, assessment and appeals processes.
Answered by Chloe Smith
The information requested is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average waiting time is between prospective claimants applying for Personal Independent Payments and being assessed.
Answered by Chloe Smith
The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
Available data on journey times for PIP New Claims is published in Table 1A of Personal Independence Payment statistics to April 2022, published on 14 June 2022 here.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people aged (a) 16 to 18, (b) 19 to 24 and (c) over 25 started a new position under the Kickstart scheme in each month since July 2020.
Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Since the Department for Work and Pensions launched the Kickstart Scheme in September 2020, over 20,000 young people on Universal Credit between the ages of 16 and 24 have started a Kickstart job. These funded, meaningful six-month jobs also provide support to improve the longer-term employability of the young people. We are not currently able to provide the age of participants on the Kickstart Scheme.
The table below lists the total number of starts to the scheme from October 2020 until January 2021 and by month since then. Almost 1,000 non-grant funded Kickstart jobs are included in the totals and statistics have been rounded to the nearest 10 job starts as per standard DWP statistical practice, except for October 2020 where there were only 5 starts recorded.
Although care is taken when processing and analysing Kickstart applications, referrals and starts, the data collected might be subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale recording system which has been developed quickly. The management information presented here has not been subjected to the usual standard of quality assurance associated with official statistics, but is provided in the interests of transparency. Work is ongoing to improve the quality of information available for the programme.
Time Period | Total Number of Starts |
October 20 | 5 |
November 20 | 280 |
December 20 | 1,390 |
January 21 | 440* |
February 21 | 1,660 |
March 21 | 5,990 |
April 21 | 9,480 |
May 21 up to and including 06/05/21 | 1,570 |
Total | 20,700 |
*Figures shown are rounded to nearest 10. The UK entered a national lockdown on January 21 which is reflected in the figures.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of staff employed by her Department are apprentices.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
3.1 per cent of the department’s employees are undertaking an apprenticeship based on the last quarterly figures produced as at 30 November 2020.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what formula her Department uses to calculate universal credit payments for couples; and whether she has plans to review that formula.
Answered by Will Quince
The rate of standard allowance in universal credit for single claimants and couples is set each year by the government after a review of the level of benefit that a claimant may receive. The rates for universal credit were originally based on the corresponding rates within Income Support, Jobseeker’s Allowance and Employment and Support Allowance.
The standard rate in Universal Credit has been temporarily increased for the 20/21 tax year by £86.67 per month (equivalent to £20 per week) on top of the planned annual uprating. This additional increase means claimants will be up to £1040 better off.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the cost to the public purse was of legal challenges to her Department's policy to remove (a) severe disability premium and (b) enhanced disability premium payments from claimants transferring to universal credit.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson
The Government remains committed to ensuring everyone receives the support they need, which is why we currently spend a record £55 billion a year to support people with disabilities. Universal Credit is a simpler system than its predecessor. By not replicating the SDP and other premiums, we have been able to target additional support to a wider group of claimants and create a more streamlined system. It is important that the Government can design policy and challenge court decisions, where appropriate, that seek to change that policy.
As at 13 February 2020, the Department has spent £215,846.89 on legal costs defending and appealing the cases in relation to people formerly in receipt of Severe Disability premium that have transferred to Universal Credit. These figures include Government Legal Department litigation fees, counsel’s fees and other disbursements, as well as VAT where payable.