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1140243

	registered interest
	date	18/07/2019
	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: Disability
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to work with (a) charities and (b) advice centres to improve the advice and support provided to disabled people completing applications and undergoing assessments for benefits.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
	uin	278906
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/07/2019 answer text <p>We are absolutely committed to improving the overall claimant experience as this is what claimants rightly expect and deserve. We continue to engage with charities, academics, think tanks, and disabled people through several forums to ensure that options for improvement are informed by a wide variety of perspectives and views.</p><p> </p><p>Stakeholders are currently involved in our ongoing work on improving the PIP2 questionnaire and design of the Light Touch Review. The PIP Toolkit is accessible to all third parties to assist in the PIP application process. In addition, there is signposting for additional resources on www.gov.uk/PIP. In the 2017 “Improving Lives: The Future of Health, Work and Disability” Command Paper, we committed to reforming the WCA, and to working with external stakeholders to ensure that we get any future changes right.</p><p> </p><p>From 1 April 2019 Citizens Advice and Citizens Advice Scotland are now delivering the Help to Claim service which supports claimants in making a new Universal Credit claim or moving from a legacy benefit to Universal Credit because of a change of circumstances. Help to Claim runs alongside the support that Jobcentres can provide and offers tailored, practical support to help people make their claim up to receiving their first full correct payment on time. It is widely available online, through a Freephone number and face to face through local Citizens Advice services. There is early evidence that the Help to Claim service is supporting those who most struggle to access DWP’s services, particularly those with multiple complex needs and health conditions.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 23/07/2019 10:03:01 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

1138692

	registered interest
	date	12/07/2019
	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: Disability
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much her Department has spent on administering reviews and appeals against disability benefits in each of the last ten years.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
	uin	276510
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/07/2019 answer text <p>The table below gives the operational costs for disability benefits for the years from 2013/14 to 2018/19. This is the only comparable data available for the period requested due to changes in benefit delivery. The question asks for the cost of ‘administering reviews’ which is not a recognised DWP terminology so we have assumed the request is for the cost of Reconsiderations, as well as Appeals.</p><p>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. The data should therefore be treated with caution.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td rowspan="2"><p> </p></td><td><p><strong>18/19</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>17/18</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>16/17</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>15/16</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>14/15</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>13/14</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>£m</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>£m</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>£m</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>£m</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>£m</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>£m</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Appeals and Reconsiderations</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>66.93</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>66.07</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>49.33</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>37.21</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>39.20</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>51.03</strong></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 22/07/2019 13:09:36 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

1138422

	registered interest
	date	11/07/2019
	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: Terminal Illnesses
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to improve access to benefits for all people who have been diagnosed as terminally ill.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
	uin	276141
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/07/2019 answer text <p>The Special Rules for Terminal Illness provide a guaranteed entitlement to benefit under a fast track process, without people being required to attend a face-to-face assessment.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>On 11 July the Secretary of State announced an in-depth evaluation of how the benefits system supports people nearing the end of their life, and those with the most severe conditions.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 16/07/2019 12:38:34 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

1133190

	registered interest
	date	19/06/2019
	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	Work Capability Assessment
	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 adequacy of training for fit-to-work assessors to assess a person's mental health.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
	uin	266653
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/06/2019 answer text <p>All Healthcare Professionals receive training on how to assess the impact of mental health conditions on individuals. This is followed by on-going professional training and support which continues for the duration of their employment in the role. In addition, Mental Health Function Champions support Healthcare Professionals by providing additional expertise about mental health, cognitive, developmental and learning disabilities and can be referred to at any time during the assessment process.</p><p>Health Assessment Providers frequently engage with medical experts, charities and relevant stakeholders to strengthen, review and update training programmes for all their assessment staff.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 24/06/2019 13:17:35 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

1133192

	registered interest
	date	19/06/2019
	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	Work Capability Assessment: Veterans
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of training for fit-to-work assessors for military veterans.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
	uin	266654
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/06/2019 answer text <p>Military Veterans who claim Employment and Support Allowance/Universal Credit are likely to have a variety of health conditions both physical and mental health related. Healthcare Professionals undertaking work capability assessments are equipped to identify the impact of these conditions as part of the existing assessment process.</p><p>All Healthcare Professionals carrying out work capability assessments are medically qualified and highly-trained practitioners in their own field. They are subject to a rigorous recruitment process followed by a comprehensive training programme in disability assessment. The assessment is not a medical assessment requiring the Healthcare Professional to diagnose a condition and recommend treatment options. The focus is on ensuring Healthcare Professionals are experts in disability analysis, drawing on evidence supplied by the individual and their GP or specialist clinical team, with knowledge of the likely functional effects of a wide range of health conditions.</p><p>While preparing to undertake an assessment, Healthcare Professionals can access a wide range of clinical resources to research any conditions presented. This includes evidence based protocols, e-learning modules or case studies as well as keeping knowledge up to date through Continuous Professional Development.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 24/06/2019 12:14:51 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

1124189

	registered interest
	date	01/05/2019
	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	Food Poverty: Disability
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the number of disabled people in food poverty.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
	uin	249834
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/05/2019 answer text <p>We will spend over £55 billion this year (2019/20) on benefits to support disabled people and people with health conditions. This is around 2.5% of GDP, and over 6% of government spending, and as a share of GDP, the UK’s public spending is second highest in the G7, bar Germany [OECD 2015 data]. This year spending on the main disability benefits (PIP, DLA and Attendance Allowance) will be over £6bn higher in real terms than it was in 2010.</p><p> </p><p>Alongside this, we want to build a better understanding of household food needs so that future support reaches those who need it most. The new questions that we are including on the Family Resources Survey starting from April 2019 will enable us to better understand the drivers of food insecurity and identify which groups are most at risk.</p><p> </p><p>We are committed to helping people with health conditions and disabilities move nearer to the labour market and, when ready, into work, by building more personalised tailored employment and health support, such as:</p><ul><li>The Work and Health programme, which was rolled out between November 2017 and March 2018, and will provide innovative support for around 275,000 people. The majority of people of starting on the programme (around 220,000) will be disabled people who can volunteer for the programme at any time.</li></ul><p> </p><ul><li>Access to Work, which is a demand-led, discretionary grant scheme that offers advice and in-work support above the level of statutory reasonable adjustments to disabled people who are in work or about to start work, up to an annual limit of £59,200 per person.</li></ul><p> </p><ul><li>We also are promoting the skills and talents of disabled people and those with long term health conditions to employers through the Disability Confident Scheme. The Scheme focuses on the crucial role that employers play in ensuring disabled people are recruited, retained and developed in their careers. Over 11,500 employers have already signed up to the campaign, and this number continues to grow.</li></ul> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 08/05/2019 11:57:41 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

1123530

	registered interest
	date	29/04/2019
	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	Carer's Allowance: Overpayments
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the number of unprocessed change in circumstance notifications which led to the over-payment of carer's allowance.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
	uin	248577
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/05/2019 answer text <p>There is no estimate. When we receive a notification of change, consideration is given as to whether the change will affect the benefit. Where it does, action is taken to prevent an overpayment, or to stop an overpayment. Once the customer has notified us of a change in their circumstances, any delay in actioning that notification would be official error and would not be recoverable from the customer.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 02/05/2019 15:26:47 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

1123532

	registered interest
	date	29/04/2019
	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	Carer's Allowance: Overpayments
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what safeguards are in place to ensure reasonable rates of repayment from recipients of carers' allowance who have been overpaid through no fault of their own.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
	uin	248578
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/05/2019 answer text <p>Claimants are required to tell us about any changes in their circumstances. Once a claimant has advised us of a change, any subsequent overpayment is called official error.</p><p> </p><p>The Department does not seek the recovery of Carer’s Allowance official error overpayments as this is not permitted under the Social Security Administration Act 1992 Section 71 (1).</p><p> </p><p>Where a claimant has failed to report a change, or has provided inaccurate information, overpayments are recoverable. When recovering overpayments, the Department ensures that appropriate safeguards are in place to protect the welfare of claimants, including renegotiating repayment rates where this is needed.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 02/05/2019 14:58:20 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

1105197

	registered interest
	date	26/03/2019
	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, whether all PIP assessors have undertaken training on understanding the (a) nature and (b) impact of fluctuating medical conditions.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
	uin	237000
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/04/2019 answer text <p>All Health Professionals receive comprehensive 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. Furthermore, any health professional undertaking assessments must have at least two years' experience following registration</p><p> </p><p>It is recognised that, over time, most conditions fluctuate to some degree and so it is essential that the Personal Independent Payment assessment works for people with fluctuating conditions. Health Professionals carrying out assessments are directed to take a view of an individual’s ability over a longer period of time in order to establish a more coherent picture of the disabling effects of an individual’s health condition.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 01/04/2019 16:51:29 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

1054709

	registered interest
	date	04/02/2019
	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 recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of her Department's support for people on legacy benefits with high support needs who will be required to transfer to universal credit during managed migration.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
	uin	216128
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/02/2019 answer text <p>The Department is committed to ensuring that all claimants, especially the most vulnerable, are supported as they move from legacy benefits onto Universal Credit.</p><p> </p><p>We are working closely with a diverse range of stakeholders so the widest possible range of insights are played into the design of the pilot. Learnings from the pilot will shape the support we provide to claimants.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 07/02/2019 14:00:41 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham