Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many applicants for Access to Work support had not received an assessment on 1 December 2022.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The number of applications awaiting a decision for Access to Work on the requested dates were as follows. Figures have been steadily increasing due to the rise in the volume of application received.
As of 1st January 2024 – 24,874
As of 1st February 2024 – 26,812
As of 1st March 2024 – 29,864
There were 25,292 Access to Work applications awaiting a decision as of 1st December 2022.
Please note that the data supplied is derived from unpublished management information, which was collected for internal Departmental use only, and have not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standard. They should therefore be treated with caution.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to enable adults with (a) learning disabilities and (b) autism living in in-patient units to live independently.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
We are taking action to support timely discharges of people with a learning disability and autistic people from mental health inpatient services, and to support them in leading ordinary lives in their communities. In January 2024, we published guidance which sets out key principles for how National Health Service bodies and local authorities should work together to support people to be discharged from mental health inpatient services.
To improve community support, in 2023/24 we invested an additional £121 million as part of the NHS Long Term Plan, including funding for children and young people’s keyworkers. The Building the Right Support Action Plan, published in July 2022, sets out cross-Government actions to strengthen community support and reduce reliance on mental health inpatient care for people with a learning disability and autistic people.
As set out in NHS England statutory guidance published on 9 May 2023, we expect integrated care boards to assign an executive lead role for learning disability and autism to a suitable board member. The named lead will support the board in planning to meet the needs of its local population of autistic people and people with a learning disability.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to provide housing for adults with (a) learning disabilities and (b) autism who are currently living in in-patient units so that they can live independently.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
On 26 January 2024, we published statutory guidance on discharge from mental health inpatient settings. This guidance sets out key principles for how National Health Service bodies and local authorities across adult and children’s services should work together to support people in being discharged from mental health inpatient services, including mental health inpatient services for people with a learning disability and for autistic people. This guidance states that strong links should be made with relevant community services prior to, and during, the person’s stay in hospital, and that this should include links in relation to meeting the person’s housing needs.
We continue to support the delivery of new supported housing by providing capital subsidies to providers, through the Care and Support Specialised Housing Fund and the Affordable Homes Programme in England.
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities is represented on the Building the Right Support Delivery Board. This cross-Government, cross-system board is responsible for driving progress on reducing the number of people with a learning disability and autistic people in mental health inpatient services.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has made a recent assessment of the adequacy of funding for social care.
Answered by Laura Trott - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The government has made available up to £8.6bn in additional funding over this financial year and next to support adult social care and discharge. This includes £500m announced in January which has specifically been made available to support local authorities with the cost of social care in 2024-25 in response to representations from local government stakeholders. This funding will enable local authorities to buy more care packages, help people leave hospital on time, improve workforce recruitment and retention, and reduce waiting times for care.
At Spring Budget, the government announced it is investing £165 million over the next 4 years to significantly expand the capacity of the children’s home estate in England, improving outcomes for looked after children and unlocking productivity savings by reducing local government reliance on emergency provision. The government is also exploring further ways to combat profiteering and bring down costs in the children’s care market. This is in addition to the £200 million the government has already committed in response to the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 15 March 2024 to Question 17902, how many individual Musculoskeletal Physical Activity Hubs will be created as a result of the £12 million a year allocated as part of the 2023 Spring Budget.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The DHSC/DWP Joint Work and Health Directorate is actively exploring opportunities to increase access to, and hence the number of, MSK Physical Activity Hubs in the Community, and enhancing the interventions on offer by embedding vocational support and rehabilitation services. This includes how to maximise access for people with greatest unmet MSK need and people with MSK conditions living in areas of deprivation. We are exploring how to improve referral pathways so where appropriate people with MSK conditions get easier access. This will help inform new models of delivery and our thinking on scale.
We are currently undertaking extensive stakeholder engagement and anticipate publishing our approach over the next few months.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to increase the financial inclusion of people with a learning disability.
Answered by Bim Afolami - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government aims to ensure that all people have access to useful and affordable financial products and services. To promote financial inclusion, the Government works closely with the regulators and stakeholders from the public, private and third sectors.
The FCA’s vulnerability guidance requires firms to identify vulnerable customers, which can include those with a learning disability, and to consider the needs of these customers appropriately.
The Consumer Duty builds on this work by raising the standard expected from firms for all customers with a focus on delivering good outcomes and preventing harm.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what fiscal steps his Department is taking to provide financial support for disabled people with the rise in the cost of living.
Answered by Bim Afolami - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The government has demonstrated its commitment to supporting the most vulnerable. Over the last two years, the government has provided support to help households with the cost of living totalling £96 billion – an average of £3400 per UK household.
Individuals who incur extra cost due to a long-term health conditions or disability may be eligible for Personal Independence Payment, which can be worth over £8,900 per year. This has been complemented in recent years with two £150 Disability Cost of Living Payments, to help the most vulnerable through the period of high inflation.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people were waiting for a decision on their Access to Work application on 1 March 2024.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
As of 1st March 2024, there were 29,871 applications awaiting a decision.
Please note that the data supplied is derived from unpublished management information, which was collected for internal Departmental use only, and have not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standard. They should therefore be treated with caution.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make it his policy to require airline staff to wear cameras to help prevent discrimination against disabled airline passengers by staff.
Answered by Anthony Browne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Air travel should be enjoyable and accessible for all, and discrimination against disabled passengers is completely unacceptable.
Government has been clear with the aviation industry that it must provide the best possible service, including ensuring disabled passengers receive the support they require.
UK aviation operates in the private sector, and it would not be for the UK government to mandate use of body worn cameras by airline staff.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress he has made on the introduction of an airlines accessibility framework.
Answered by Anthony Browne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Civil Aviation Authority, the UK’s specialist aviation regulator, consulted on the introduction of an airline accessibility performance framework, which closed in July 2023. The CAA has been analysing the responses, and will publish its response to that consultation and next steps in due course.