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Written Question
Universal Credit: Gower
Thursday 25th January 2024

Asked by: Tonia Antoniazzi (Labour - Gower)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 17 January 2024 to Question 9262 on Universal Credit: Gower, how many universal credit recipients were subject to sanctions in Gower constituency in the last 12 months.

Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Statistics are published regularly showing the number of Universal Credit full service claimants with a payment that has been reduced due to a sanction. These can be found in the UC sanction rates dataset on Stat-Xplore and are available by Westminster parliamentary constituency monthly from April 2019 to August 2023.


Written Question
Jobcentres: Gower
Thursday 25th January 2024

Asked by: Tonia Antoniazzi (Labour - Gower)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what data his Department holds on the number of job centre clients that have been assisted by an armed forces champion in the Gower constituency in the last 12 months.

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

Since July 2023, 30 members of the local Armed Forces community have been supported in the Gower constituency.

The Armed Forces Champions have specific responsibilities for supporting members of the Armed Forces community, including building staff capability within their districts, personally handling some claims, supporting veterans into work and helping resolve complex cases where necessary.

Every Work Coach is trained on how to provide tailored and personalised support to members of the Armed Forces community and their families, working in partnership with their Armed Forces Champions. In those areas where there are particularly high levels of demand, for example garrison towns, this will form a significant part of the work done in individual Jobcentres.

Please note that the data supplied is derived from unpublished management information, which was collected for internal departmental use only, and has not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics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 standard.


Written Question
Personal Independence Payment: Gower
Thursday 18th January 2024

Asked by: Tonia Antoniazzi (Labour - Gower)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of people in Gower constituency had personal independence payments overturned as a result of an appeal hearing in each year for which data is available.

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

Table 1 shows the number and percentage of initial decision awards for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) that were changed after an appeal tribunal hearing, in the Gower constituency by the financial year of the initial decision.

Table 1

Financial Year of Initial Decision

Appeals Overturned at Tribunal Hearing

% PIP Decisions Overturned at Tribunal Hearing

All Initial
Decisions

2013/14

.

1%

80

2014/15

50

5%

1,080

2015/16

60

6%

870

2016/17

160

8%

1,920

2017/18

40

5%

760

2018/19

40

6%

580

2019/20

40

6%

730

2020/21

20

4%

610

2021/22

30

4%

720

2022/23

30

2%

1,100

Table 2 shows the number and percentage of Award Reviews (AR) and Change of Circumstances (CoC) awards for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) that were changed after an appeal tribunal hearing, in the Gower constituency by the financial year of the AR or CoC decision.

Table 2

Financial Year of AR and CoC

Appeals Overturned at Tribunal Hearing

% PIP Decisions Overturned at Tribunal Hearing

All ARs and CoCs

2016/17

10

5%

240

2017/18

30

7%

370

2018/19

30

5%

600

2019/20

10

2%

490

2020/21

.

1%

560

2021/22

.

1%

510

2022/23

.

1%

590

Please note:

  • Figures in Table 1 and Table 2 are rounded to the nearest 10.
  • Percentages in Table 1 and Table 2 are calculated using unrounded figures, then rounded to the nearest percent.
  • In Table 1, the figures for the financial year 2023/24 were excluded because their values and proportions rounded to zero.
  • In Table 2, the figures for the financial year 2023/24 were excluded because their values and proportions rounded to zero.
  • These figures include initial decisions (New Claims, Reconsiderations), award reviews and change of circumstances following an assessment for PIP up to 30th June 2023, the latest date for which published data is available.
  • These figures include appeal outcomes up to 30th September 2023, the latest date for which published data is available. Note that more appeals could be made and completed after September 2023, so numbers may change as it can take some time for an appeal to be lodged and then cleared after the initial decision, award review and change of circumstances.

Written Question
Personal Independence Payment: Gower
Thursday 18th January 2024

Asked by: Tonia Antoniazzi (Labour - Gower)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of constituents in Gower constituency have had their personal independence payments overturned as a result of mandatory reconsideration in each year for which data is available.

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

Table 1 shows the number and percentage of initial decision awards for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) that were changed after a Mandatory Reconsideration (MR), in the Gower constituency by the financial year of the initial decision.

Table 1

Financial Year of Initial Decision

PIP Decisions Changed after MR

% PIP Decisions Changed after MR

All Initial
Decisions

2013/14

10

7%

80

2014/15

50

5%

1,080

2015/16

40

5%

870

2016/17

100

5%

1,920

2017/18

30

3%

760

2018/19

10

2%

580

2019/20

50

7%

730

2020/21

60

10%

610

2021/22

50

7%

720

2022/23

30

3%

1,100

2023/24

10

3%

230

Table 2 shows the number and percentage of Award Reviews (AR) and Change of Circumstances (CoC) awards for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) that were changed after a Mandatory Reconsideration (MR), in the Gower constituency by the financial year of the AR or CoC decision.

Table 2

Financial Year of AR and CoC

PIP Decisions Changed after MR

% PIP Decisions Changed after MR

All ARs and CoCs

2016/17

10

5%

240

2017/18

10

2%

370

2018/19

30

6%

600

2019/20

40

8%

490

2020/21

40

6%

560

2021/22

20

4%

510

2022/23

20

3%

590

2023/24

10

6%

200

Please note:

  • Figures in Table 1 and Table 2 are rounded to the nearest 10.
  • Percentages in Table 1 and Table 2 are calculated using unrounded figures, then rounded to the nearest percent.
  • These figures include initial decisions (New Claims, Reconsiderations), award reviews and change of circumstances following an assessment for PIP up to 30th June 2023, the latest date for which published data is available.
  • These figures include mandatory reconsideration outcomes up to 30th September 2023, the latest date for which published data is available. Note that more MRs could be made and completed after September 2023, so numbers may change as it can take some time for an MR to be lodged and then cleared after the initial decision, award review and chance of circumstances.

Written Question
Universal Credit: Gower
Wednesday 17th January 2024

Asked by: Tonia Antoniazzi (Labour - Gower)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many universal credit recipients were subject to deductions in Gower constituency in the last 12 months.

Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

There were 3,000 Universal Credit households in the Gower constituency that were subject to a deduction in the period September 2022 to August 2023.

Notes:

1. Household level figures have been provided as deductions are applied at the household level.

2. The number of households has been rounded to the nearest 100.

3. Data for September 2022 - August 2023 has been provided in line with the latest available UC Household Statistics.

4. Deductions include advance repayments, third party deductions and all other deductions, but exclude sanctions and fraud penalties which are reductions of benefit rather than deductions.

5. The figure includes the number of distinct Universal Credit households subject to a deduction in the period September 2022 - August 2023. Any household with deductions in more than one assessment period within the period requested will only be counted once.

6. Figures are provisional and are subject to retrospective change as later data becomes available.


Written Question
Personal Independence Payment
Thursday 7th September 2023

Asked by: Tonia Antoniazzi (Labour - Gower)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the effectiveness of PIP descriptors for the assessment of people with fluctuating conditions.

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

The Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessment criteria account for fluctuations by considering an individual’s ability to undertake 12 specific daily activities over a 12-month period.  It is essential for the assessment to accurately reflect the impact of variations in an individual's level of impairment - this is important for all health conditions and impairments, not only those which more typically fluctuate. For each activity, if a descriptor applies more than 50 per cent of the time, that descriptor should be chosen.

All health professionals are required to assess individuals in line with the statutory requirements, including: whether an individual can complete each of the 12 activities; the manner in which they can do it; and whether they can complete each activity “safely, to an acceptable standard, repeatedly and in a reasonable time period”.

Many of the changes set out in Transforming Support: The Health and Disability White Paper aim to improve our assessment of fluctuating conditions, such as the way we use medical evidence, and developing the capability of our assessors. We will also explore options for introducing a new way of gathering evidence of fluctuation in a person’s condition before their assessment.


Written Question
State Retirement Pensions: Telephone Services
Monday 15th May 2023

Asked by: Tonia Antoniazzi (Labour - Gower)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the level of service provision by the Future Pension Centre helpline.

Answered by Laura Trott - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

The DWP Futures Pension Centre helpline has experienced unprecedented levels of contact from customers considering whether to pay voluntary National Insurance Contributions (VNICS) before the deadline. To ensure customers have the time and information to make an informed decision, HM Revenue & Customs has announced it will extend the deadline to pay these contributions until 31 July 2023. DWP have provided additional resource directed to the telephony lines and continue to review resourcing options to meet the current call demand and improve the service.


Written Question
State Retirement Pensions: Females
Tuesday 25th April 2023

Asked by: Tonia Antoniazzi (Labour - Gower)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of establishing an alternative disputes resolution process for people affected by changes in state pension age for women.

Answered by Laura Trott - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

The equalisation of State Pension age has been the policy of successive governments dating back to 1995.

The Ombudsman’s investigation is ongoing and section 7(2) of the Parliamentary Commissioner Act 1967 states that Ombudsman investigations “shall be conducted in private”. This is a multi-staged process, and the Ombudsman has not given his final findings on the investigation. We are cooperating with the Ombudsman’s investigation.


Written Question
Poverty: Children
Tuesday 28th March 2023

Asked by: Tonia Antoniazzi (Labour - Gower)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to end child poverty.

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

The Government is committed to reducing child poverty and supporting low-income families. We will spend around £276bn through the welfare system in Great Britain in 2023/24 including around £124bn on people of working age and children.

With 1.12 million job vacancies across the UK, our focus remains firmly on supporting individuals, including parents, to move into, and progress in work, an approach which is based on clear evidence about the importance of employment - particularly where it is full-time - in substantially reducing the risks of child poverty and in improving long-term outcomes for families and children. The latest statistics show that in 2021/22 children living in workless households were around 5 times more likely to be in absolute poverty after housing costs than those where all adults work.

At the Spring Budget, the Chancellor announced an ambitious package of measures designed to support people to enter work, increase their working hours and extend their working lives. The government’s employment package will focus on supporting inactive individuals aged 50+, disabled people, people with long-term health conditions, welfare claimants and parents. We are investing billions in additional childcare support for parents of toddlers, investing in wraparound childcare in schools, and increasing financial support for, and expectations of, parents claiming Universal Credit.

From April, we are uprating benefit rates and State Pensions by 10.1%. In order to increase the number of households who can benefit from these uprating decisions the benefit cap levels are also increasing by the same amount.

To further support those who are in work, including parents, from 1 April 2023, the National Living Wage (NLW) will increase by 9.7% to £10.42 an hour for workers aged 23 and over - the largest ever cash increase for the NLW.

For 2023/24, we have also announced further cost of living support. Households on eligible means-tested benefits will get up to £900 in Cost of Living Payments. This will be split into three payments of around £300 each across the 2023/24 financial year. A separate £300 payment will be made to pensioner households on top of their Winter Fuel Payments and individuals in receipt of eligible disability benefits will receive a £150 payment. Also, the government is maintaining the Energy Price Guarantee at £2,500 for a further three months, from April 2023.


Written Question
State Retirement Pensions: Uprating
Wednesday 8th March 2023

Asked by: Tonia Antoniazzi (Labour - Gower)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what process his Department has for determining which countries the UK will have reciprocal agreements with for up-rating pensions.

Answered by Laura Trott - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

I refer the honourable member to the answer given to PQ 146826 on 27 February 2023.