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1077704

registered interest
date	26/02/2019
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Personal Independence Payment: Medical Examinations
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, to what extent auditors of health assessment reports on claimants of personal independence payment are independent from her Department.
tabling member constituency	Motherwell and Wishaw
tabling member printed	Marion Fellows
uin	226157
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/03/2019 answer text <p>Auditors of health assessment reports on claimants of Personal Independence Payment are not independent of DWP; they are independent of the Assessment Providers.</p><p> </p><p>The DWP independent audit function, which was rolled out across the contracts in 2016, is used to judge how the providers are performing against set quality targets to ensure that the advice provided to the Department’s decision makers is of suitable quality, fully explained and justified.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Truro and Falmouth answering member printed Sarah Newton question first answered 04/03/2019 16:51:45 answering member 4071 label Biography information for Sarah Newton
tabling member	4440 label Biography information for Marion Fellows

1063923

registered interest
date	19/02/2019
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Universal Credit
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the effect of requiring the owners of limited companies to provide company financial accounts when applying for universal credit on the ability of those people to complete their applications in a timely manner.
tabling member constituency	Motherwell and Wishaw
tabling member printed	Marion Fellows
uin	223063
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/02/2019 answer text <p>I refer the Hon. Member to my answer to the response to Question <a href="https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2019-02-15/222037/" target="_blank">222037</a> answered on the 20 February 2019.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 25/02/2019 16:11:39 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
tabling member	4440 label Biography information for Marion Fellows

1062114

registered interest
date	15/02/2019
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Universal Credit
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reason her Department requires owners of limited companies to provide company financial accounts when applying for universal credit; and if she will review that policy.
tabling member constituency	Motherwell and Wishaw
tabling member printed	Marion Fellows
uin	222036
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/02/2019 answer text <p>The Department does not require owners of limited companies to provide company financial accounts when applying for Universal Credit. Self-employed earnings are reported on a simplified 'cash accounting' basis, which asks for the total income from receipts into the business and details of payments out of the business under defined categories during the assessment period. The requirements were designed to be as simple as possible in order for self-employed claimants to easily report their earnings.</p><p> </p><p>The Department has therefore not made an assessment.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma grouped question UIN 222037 question first answered 20/02/2019 17:36:18 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
tabling member	4440 label Biography information for Marion Fellows

1062115

registered interest
date	15/02/2019
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Universal Credit
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the practicality of requiring the owners of limited companies to provide company financial accounts when applying for universal credit.
tabling member constituency	Motherwell and Wishaw
tabling member printed	Marion Fellows
uin	222037
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/02/2019 answer text <p>The Department does not require owners of limited companies to provide company financial accounts when applying for Universal Credit. Self-employed earnings are reported on a simplified 'cash accounting' basis, which asks for the total income from receipts into the business and details of payments out of the business under defined categories during the assessment period. The requirements were designed to be as simple as possible in order for self-employed claimants to easily report their earnings.</p><p> </p><p>The Department has therefore not made an assessment.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma grouped question UIN 222036 question first answered 20/02/2019 17:36:18 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
tabling member	4440 label Biography information for Marion Fellows

1059766

registered interest
date	12/02/2019
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Cold Weather Payments
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reason cold weather payments are given to people receiving income related employment and support allowance but not contributions-based employment and support allowance; and if she will review her Departments's policy.
tabling member constituency	Motherwell and Wishaw
tabling member printed	Marion Fellows
uin	220280
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/02/2019 answer text <p>Cold Weather Payments are made to people who receive certain income-related benefits and satisfy the eligibility conditions. People who receive contribution-based benefits are not eligible for Cold Weather Payments. This is because the scheme was specifically designed to target the additional heating costs of the most vulnerable people in society. The scheme is subject to financial constraints and to ensure that limited public funds are used in the most effective way possible, the Government believes that the fairest way of managing this is by linking eligibility to income-related benefits.</p><p>To put this into context, during the 2010/11 Cold Weather Payment season over £435 million was paid to eligible claimants. If the scheme were to be extended to all contributory benefit recipients, the scheme would become unaffordable.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 18/02/2019 15:01:28 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	4440 label Biography information for Marion Fellows

1057082

registered interest
date	08/02/2019
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Independent Case Examiner
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to improve the performance of the Independent Case Examiner.
tabling member constituency	Motherwell and Wishaw
tabling member printed	Marion Fellows
uin	218827
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/02/2019 answer text <p>During 2017/18, the Independent Case Examiner’s Office received high levels of demand.</p><p>In the 2018/19 reporting year, the Office received funding for thirteen additional staff and productivity increased. By the end of January 2019 the Office had cleared 1,047 complaints, compared to 782 at the end of January 2018.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 13/02/2019 12:31:56 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	4440 label Biography information for Marion Fellows

1055034

registered interest
date	05/02/2019
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Personal Independence Payment: Medical Examinations
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 21 January 2019 to Question 208914 on Personal Independence Payment: Medical Examinations, what her Department’s definition is of prescriptive.
tabling member constituency	Motherwell and Wishaw
tabling member printed	Marion Fellows
uin	217023
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/02/2019 answer text <p>The word ‘prescriptive’ is not defined in the Personal Independence Payment audit criteria.</p><p>Where DWP considers that assessment reports are not fit for purpose it may return them to Assessment Providers for rework, which will be carried out at their expense.</p><p>The criteria are that reports will be:</p><ul><li>fair and impartial;</li><li>legible and concise;</li><li>in accordance with relevant legislation;</li><li>comprehensive, clearly explaining the medical issues raised, fully clarifying any contradictions in evidence;</li><li>in plain English and free of medical jargon and unexplained medical abbreviations;</li><li>presented clearly; and</li><li>complete.</li></ul><p>The rework action to be taken by Assessment Providers will vary on a case-by-case basis. Wherever possible, cases should be discussed with the original Health Professional or referred back to them for further action to be taken.</p> answering member constituency Truro and Falmouth answering member printed Sarah Newton question first answered 12/02/2019 11:07:09 answering member 4071 label Biography information for Sarah Newton previous answer version 100775 answering member constituency Truro and Falmouth answering member printed Sarah Newton answering member 4071 label Biography information for Sarah Newton
tabling member	4440 label Biography information for Marion Fellows

1055055

registered interest
date	05/02/2019
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Independent Case Examiner
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what her Department's target timetable is for deciding whether complaints to the Independent Case Examiner will be accepted for investigation; what (a) proportion and (b) number of complaints met that target in each year for which information is available; and how many complaints are currently awaiting a decision on whether or not they will be investigated.
tabling member constituency	Motherwell and Wishaw
tabling member printed	Marion Fellows
uin	217031
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/02/2019 answer text <p>Funding for the Independent Case Examiner’s (ICE) Office is reviewed on an annual basis. In the current financial year, the ICE Office has received funding for thirteen additional posts.</p><p> </p><p>Productivity in the ICE Office has increased by 34% in the current reporting year, with the Office having cleared 1,047 cased by the end of January 2019, compared with 782 in the same period during 2017/18.</p><p>The Office has an internal target to inform 90% of complainants within four weeks of its reciept, whether thier complaint can be accepted for investigation. The Office can only accept a complaint for investigation once it has (a) established that the complainant has exhausted the relevant business complaints process, and (b) reached agreement with the complainant regarding the scope of any investigation.</p><p> </p><p>The table below provides the available performance data.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Year</p></td><td><p>Number of complaints received</p></td><td><p>Number of complaints not accepted for investigation</p></td><td><p>Number of complaints accepted for investigation</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2017/18</p></td><td><p>5,886</p></td><td><p>2,247 (81% within internal target of four weeks)</p></td><td><p>3,639 (38% within internal target of four weeks)</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2018/19 (1<sup>st</sup> April 2018 to 6<sup>th</sup> February 2019)</p></td><td><p>4,169</p></td><td><p>2,928 (68% within internal target of four weeks)</p></td><td><p>1,073 (47% within internal target of four weeks)</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>As at 6<sup>th</sup> February 2019, there were 168 complainants awaiting a decision on whether their complaint could be accepted for examination.</p><p> </p><p>During the period covered by this response the Independent Case Examiner’s Office received 4,118 complaints from women concerning changes to State Pension age, which directly impacted on its ability to meet its internal target for determining whether a complaint can be accepted for examination.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 08/02/2019 12:40:02 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	4440 label Biography information for Marion Fellows

1049995

registered interest
date	28/01/2019
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Social Security Benefits: Overpayments
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the effect on the living standards of benefit claimants of the rate at which repayments of overpayments are repaid to her Department.
tabling member constituency	Motherwell and Wishaw
tabling member printed	Marion Fellows
uin	213410
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 31/01/2019 answer text <p>The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) balances a requirement to protect tax payer’s money with a duty to ensure that claimants are not placed in undue hardship by excessive deductions from their benefit.</p><p> </p><p>For this reason, the maximum deduction rates that can be applied to an on-going benefit award for the recovery of an overpayment are set out in legislation. Different deduction rates will be applied in different circumstances, with the highest rate only being applicable where an overpayment has been classified as fraud.</p><p> </p><p>DWP administers benefits to approximately 20 million people with a wide variety of individual circumstances so it is difficult to make a general assessment on living standards. Therefore, we apply any considerations of this type at an individual level. If a person states they cannot afford the proposed rate of recovery, they are asked to provide details of their income and expenditure. Their individual circumstances will then be taken into account and a temporary reduction in the rate of repayment may be agreed. In exceptional circumstances, a temporary suspension of recovery may be appropriate.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 31/01/2019 14:45:32 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	4440 label Biography information for Marion Fellows

1045619

registered interest
date	21/01/2019
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Employment and Support Allowance: Chronic Illnesses
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to Employment Support Allowance (ESA), how many and what proportion of people with the most severe health conditions and disabilities with lifetime award of ESA have been placed in the ESA Support Group or Universal Credit Limited Capability for Work and Work Related Activity category and are exempt from repeat assessments; what steps his Department has taken to ensure individuals with lifelong illnesses will not be required to be reassessed; and for what reasons decision-makers are allocating timeframes for the award of ESA for applicants whose ESA 50 forms have not been reviewed.
tabling member constituency	Motherwell and Wishaw
tabling member printed	Marion Fellows
uin	210604
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/01/2019 answer text <p>In response to (a)(i), information on the number of claimants who have met the severe conditions criteria for Employment and Support Allowance is published and can be found in tables 5a and 5b in the file which can be found at the following link:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/esa-outcomes-of-work-capability-assessments-including-mandatory-reconsiderations-and-appeals-december-2018" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/esa-outcomes-of-work-capability-assessments-including-mandatory-reconsiderations-and-appeals-december-2018</a></p><p> </p><p>With regard to (a)(ii), the information requested is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.</p><p> </p><p>In response to (b), the Honourable lady might be interested to know that we have worked with healthcare professionals and other stakeholders to develop a set of criteria to switch off re-assessments for people with the most severe health conditions or disabilities (unless there is a change of circumstances). From 29 September 2017 those placed in ESA’s Support Group and the UC equivalent who have the most severe and lifelong health conditions or disabilities, whose level of function would always mean that they would have Limited Capability for Work and Work-Related Activity, and be unlikely ever to be able to move into work, will no longer be routinely reassessed.</p><p> </p><p>With regards to question (c) to clarify, all ESA50 questionnaires completed and returned by claimants are reviewed by a Healthcare Professional. Their advice to the decision maker including advice on the review period will be based on all of the evidence they have considered.</p> answering member constituency Truro and Falmouth answering member printed Sarah Newton question first answered 24/01/2019 13:46:27 answering member 4071 label Biography information for Sarah Newton
tabling member	4440 label Biography information for Marion Fellows