Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what have been the (a) cash values and (b) annual percentage increases have been of state pensions payments to UK citizens living in the EU in each of the last five years.
Answered by Lord Harrington of Watford
No information is available concerning the number of UK citizens who are in receipt of a UK State Pension. This is because the UK State Pension is a contributory based pension payable worldwide regardless of nationality to those who meet the eligibility criteria.
Table 1 shows the annual expenditure of the State Pension in the EU (excluding the UK) and how many individuals received the State Pension in EU countries (excluding the UK) in each year.
Table 1: State Pension recipients and expenditure in the EU (excluding the UK)
| 2011-12 | 2012-13 | 2013-14 | 2014-15 | 2015-16 |
State Pension expenditure in EU (excl. UK) - | 1,490 | 1,628 | 1,669 | 1,749 | 1,814 |
Number of recipients of State Pension in the EU (excl. UK) | 431,500 | 444,400 | 455,700 | 464,500 | 470,400 |
Source: State Pension expenditure by country of residence, 1995/96 to 2015/16
DWP’s Work and Pension Longitudinal Study (WPLS)
Table 2 shows the weekly standard rate of the basic State Pension (bSP) in each of the last six financial years. DWP’s Annual Abstract of Statistics provides information on the uprating of the State Pension.
Table 2: Standard rate of basic State Pension for recipients living in EU countries
| 2011-12 | 2012-13 | 2013-14 | 2014-15 | 2015-16 | 2016-17 |
Basic State Pension (weekly rate) | £102.15 | £107.45 | £110.15 | £113.10 | £115.95 | £119.30 |
Source: Abstract of statistics 2016: tables
A new State Pension has been introduced for those reaching State Pension age on or after 6 April 2016. The standard rate in 2016-17 is £155.65 a week.
Further information on the cash values of all elements of the State Pension and annual percentage increases can be found here:
2012-13:
2013-14 & 2014-15:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/proposed-benefit-and-pension-rates-2014-to-2015
2015-16 & 2016-17:
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what state pensions payments have been made to UK citizens living in the EU in each of the last five years.
Answered by Lord Harrington of Watford
No information is available concerning the number of UK citizens who are in receipt of a UK State Pension. This is because the UK State Pension is a contributory based pension payable worldwide regardless of nationality to those who meet the eligibility criteria.
Table 1 shows the annual expenditure of the State Pension in the EU (excluding the UK) and how many individuals received the State Pension in EU countries (excluding the UK) in each year.
Table 1: State Pension recipients and expenditure in the EU (excluding the UK)
| 2011-12 | 2012-13 | 2013-14 | 2014-15 | 2015-16 |
State Pension expenditure in EU (excl. UK) - | 1,490 | 1,628 | 1,669 | 1,749 | 1,814 |
Number of recipients of State Pension in the EU (excl. UK) | 431,500 | 444,400 | 455,700 | 464,500 | 470,400 |
Source: State Pension expenditure by country of residence, 1995/96 to 2015/16
DWP’s Work and Pension Longitudinal Study (WPLS)
Table 2 shows the weekly standard rate of the basic State Pension (bSP) in each of the last six financial years. DWP’s Annual Abstract of Statistics provides information on the uprating of the State Pension.
Table 2: Standard rate of basic State Pension for recipients living in EU countries
| 2011-12 | 2012-13 | 2013-14 | 2014-15 | 2015-16 | 2016-17 |
Basic State Pension (weekly rate) | £102.15 | £107.45 | £110.15 | £113.10 | £115.95 | £119.30 |
Source: Abstract of statistics 2016: tables
A new State Pension has been introduced for those reaching State Pension age on or after 6 April 2016. The standard rate in 2016-17 is £155.65 a week.
Further information on the cash values of all elements of the State Pension and annual percentage increases can be found here:
2012-13:
2013-14 & 2014-15:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/proposed-benefit-and-pension-rates-2014-to-2015
2015-16 & 2016-17:
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department has taken to improve the personal independence payment assessment process to reduce the number of successful appeals against assessments.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt
In the period between April 2013 – September 2016, 1.9m PIP decisions were made. Of these, 3% were overturned on appeal.
Throughout the claim and any reconsideration process, the DWP encourages and guides claimants to provide evidence and information that would be useful for their Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessment.
We are continuing to improve the PIP process. For example, there are plans to test a new version of the ‘How your disability affects you’ form with claimants to see whether this improves their experience of claiming PIP. In addition we are carrying out our own evaluation, commissioning an external research contractor to look at people’s experiences of claiming PIP at different stages of the claimant journey.
We look forward to considering the recommendations from Paul Gray’s second Independent Review of PIP which is due to be published by April.
We will also shortly be introducing service user panels to take real-time feedback from claimants on their experiences of claiming PIP and consider areas for further improvement.
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how long the training programme is for a personal independence payment assessor.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt
All Health Professionals (HPs) working on the delivery of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessments must be either an occupational therapist, level 1 nurse, physiotherapist, paramedic or doctor. They must also be fully registered and have at least two years’ post full-registration experience. In addition to their profession, the Department recognises the importance of ensuring that individuals also have sufficient experience, skills and training to carry out their duties and PIP providers are required to ensure that the HPs carrying out assessments have knowledge of the clinical aspects and likely functional effects of a wide range of health conditions and impairments.
All new assessors complete one month of intensive training in disability analysis which includes a functional evaluation as to how medical conditions and the long-term medical treatment of those conditions affect an individual’s ability to perform day-to-day activities. This is followed by on-going professional training and support which continues for the duration of their employment in the role.
Final approval to work as a health assessor must be conferred by the Department for Work and Pension’s Chief Medical Adviser on behalf of the Secretary of State.
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many civil servants in each unit of his Department are in the redeployment pool.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
DWP does not operate a redeployment pool. Employees whose role is no longer required are managed within their business area and will continue to do meaningful work for the Department. When a new permanent role becomes available, these members of staff will be given priority. Of our 83,332 employees, 23 are currently in this temporary position.
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of which policy areas within his Department's remit will be affected by the outcome of the EU referendum.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson
The Prime Minister has been clear that the negotiation for Britain’s future relationship with Europe will need to begin under a new Prime Minister, and we have now got to look at all the detailed arrangements. In the meantime, Departments continue to deliver the Government agenda.
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether benefits for people with disabilities will be exempt from the freeze on working-age benefits.
Answered by Priti Patel - Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs
The Welfare Reform and Work Bill introduces a four-year freeze for the main rates of most working-age benefits from 2016-17 to 2019-20, as part of the Government’s welfare reforms that are moving the country to a higher wage, lower tax, lower welfare society.
The freeze does not apply to benefits related to the additional costs of disability, such as Disability Living Allowance and Personal Independence Payment; to the support group component of Employment and Support Allowance or the limited capability for work and work-related activity amount in Universal Credit; or to the disability premiums in Jobseeker’s Allowance, Employment and Support Allowance, Income Support or Housing Benefit. Carers benefits and premiums are also exempted from the freeze.
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much of the welfare budget was spent on jobseeker's allowance claimants in 2014-15.
Answered by Priti Patel - Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs
Total Jobseeker’s Allowance expenditure in 2014/15 was £3,065m.
Detailed information on benefit expenditure is available in our Benefit Expenditure tables which can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/benefit-expenditure-and-caseload-tables-2015
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much of the welfare budget was spent on employment and support allowance, incapacity benefit and income support claimants or universal credit claims with sickness or disability elements in 2014-15.
Answered by Priti Patel - Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs
The benefit expenditure for 2014/15 is in the table below:
| Benefit | 2014/15 expenditure £m |
| Employment & Support Allowance | 12,827 |
| Incapacity Benefit | 245 |
| Income Support incapacity | 389 |
| Severe Disablement Allowance | 735 |
| Total | 14,196 |
Severe Disablement Allowance is a non-contributory version of Incapacity Benefit and is included here for completeness. Information on the sickness or disability element of Universal Credit is currently unavailable.
Detailed information on benefit expenditure is available in our Benefit Expenditure tables which can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/benefit-expenditure-and-caseload-tables-2015