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100913

	registered interest
	date	24/10/2014
	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	Discretionary Housing Payments
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much each local authority in (a) Wales and (b) the UK returned to his Department in unused discretionary housing payment funding in 2013-14.
	tabling member constituency	Aberconwy
	tabling member printed	Guto Bebb
	uin	221891
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/10/2014 answer text <p /> <p>Five local authorities in Wales spent less than their 2013-14 Government contribution in Discretionary Housing Payments. These were:</p><p> </p><p><strong>Local Authority Government Contribution Amount Unspent</strong></p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Ceredigion</p></td><td><p>£324,933</p></td><td><p>£290</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Conwy</p></td><td><p>£267,700</p></td><td><p>£1,498</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Gwynedd</p></td><td><p>£605,141</p></td><td><p>£20,072</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Newport</p></td><td><p>£343,870</p></td><td><p>£1</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Pembrokeshire</p></td><td><p>£193,940</p></td><td><p>£4,176</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>Details for all 240 local authorities in Great Britain which spent less than their 2013-14 Government contribution in DHP are provided in the attached annex.</p><p /> <p /> <p>For the remaining 140 local authorities across Great Britain, of which 17 were in Wales, DHP expenditure in 2013-14 either matched or exceeded the Government contribution.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 29/10/2014 16:10:27 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb attachment 1 file name UnspentDHPGB.PDF title Unspent DHP GB
	tabling member	3910 label Biography information for Guto Bebb

100917

	registered interest
	date	24/10/2014
	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 training his Department makes available to staff who assess people with progressive health conditions for employment and support allowance or personal independence payment on the nature of those conditions.
	tabling member constituency	Bristol East
	tabling member printed	Kerry McCarthy
	uin	211883
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/10/2014 answer text <p /> <p> </p><p>All healthcare professionals who carry out either Work Capability Assessments or Personal Independence Payment assessments undergo broad and thorough training in disability analysis, as well as training in specific conditions, including progressive conditions. Atos Healthcare and Capita are required to conform to a rigorous set of quality and recruitment standards which are closely monitored by the Department for Work and Pensions.</p> answering member constituency Forest of Dean answering member printed Mr Mark Harper question first answered 29/10/2014 15:04:11 answering member 1520 label Biography information for Mr Mark Harper
	tabling member	1491 label Biography information for Kerry McCarthy

100921

	registered interest
	date	24/10/2014
	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
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to reduce delays in benefit payments; and if he will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	East Ham
	tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
	uin	211859
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/10/2014 answer text <p /> <p> </p><p>DWP has made a number of operational improvements in benefit processes across each working age benefit, supporting both speed of clearance performance and overall customer experience. There are no delays in benefit payments, working age benefits are currently being paid on time.</p><p><strong> </strong></p> answering member constituency Wirral West answering member printed Esther McVey question first answered 29/10/2014 16:26:55 answering member 4084 label Biography information for Esther McVey
	tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

100916

	registered interest
	date	24/10/2014
	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 assessment he has made of the adequacy of the support available for people with progressive conditions; and to what extent the assessment process for (a) employment and support allowance and (b) personal independence payments takes into account the fluctuating and progressive nature of conditions such as Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis and cystic fibrosis.
	tabling member constituency	Bristol East
	tabling member printed	Kerry McCarthy
	uin	211882
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/10/2014 answer text <p /> <p>Both Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) and Personal Independence Payment (PIP) have been designed to take full account of fluctuating conditions and healthcare professionals who undertake assessments are required to fully explore and report any fluctuations in a claimant’s condition(s).</p><p> </p><p>If a claimant has a progressive medical condition, healthcare professionals will take this into consideration when advising the Department as to when the claimant might need to be reviewed.</p><p> </p><p>Entitlement to both ESA and PIP is based on the impact of the claimant’s disability or health conditions.</p> answering member constituency Forest of Dean answering member printed Mr Mark Harper question first answered 29/10/2014 14:56:59 answering member 1520 label Biography information for Mr Mark Harper
	tabling member	1491 label Biography information for Kerry McCarthy

100920

	registered interest
	date	24/10/2014
	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: Older Workers
	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 implications for his policies of the findings of the Mid-life Career Review Project.
	tabling member constituency	East Ham
	tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
	uin	211858
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/10/2014 answer text <p /> <p>I welcome the findings of the Mid-life Career Review. As identified in our publication “Fuller Working Lives – A Framework For Action”, re-skilling is an essential component in ensuring that people can work, earn and save for as long as they wish. A number of lessons learned from the pilot have already been integrated into existing career and skills provider practice, and the Department for Work and Pensions and Department for Business, Innovation and Skills will continue to work with the National Careers Service and the wider network of advisers in the community, and with business, on ways to meet career review needs.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 29/10/2014 14:51:16 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

100914

	registered interest
	date	24/10/2014
	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: Medical Examinations
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what payments were made in (a) 2012-13 and (b) 2013-14 in compensation for delays to claimants arising from the Atos assessment process (a) nationwide and (b) in the Stoke-on-Trent area; what steps he is taking to ensure that no further such delays are incurred; and if he will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	Stoke-on-Trent North
	tabling member printed	Joan Walley
	uin	211896
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/10/2014 answer text <p /> <p>My response relates to Work Capability Assessments.</p><p> </p><p>The reasons for making special payments are not routinely recorded and to provide the requested information would incur disproportionate cost.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>We are continuing to work closely with Atos under the current contract and process claims as quickly as possible. DWP’s aim is to continually improve the Work Capability Assessment process and help bring down waiting times for claimants.</p> answering member constituency Forest of Dean answering member printed Mr Mark Harper question first answered 29/10/2014 14:44:47 answering member 1520 label Biography information for Mr Mark Harper
	tabling member	286 label Biography information for Joan Walley

100919

	registered interest
	date	24/10/2014
	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, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of universal credit access to childcare accounts equivalent to those proposed in the Childcare Payments Bill for claimants of tax-free childcare.
	tabling member constituency	East Ham
	tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
	uin	211857
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/10/2014 answer text <p /> <p>Universal credit prepares claimants for the world of work in which around 75% of employees are paid monthly and in arrears. Monthly payment of benefit, which includes support for childcare costs that have been paid out, makes for more straightforward reporting and helps households to budget on a monthly income, which eases the transition into paid work.</p><p> </p><p>Moving to a system of ‘childcare accounts’ which ring-fences childcare costs would complicate the system for these claimants. It would add complexity to the Universal Credit system, which is being rolled out in a safe and controlled manner and could potentially increase the administration costs of running two systems in parallel.</p><p> </p><p>We have worked with Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to support claimants that may wish to switch between Universal Credit and Tax Free Childcare. It will be easy for parents to register and open a childcare account online for Tax Free Childcare, and those who wish to move back to Universal Credit may do so without having to report the change to HMRC. Both systems are designed to be simple, responsive and flexible.</p><p> </p><p>We recognise the importance of providing information and support to help parents make an informed choice about which scheme to access. Alongside wider guidance and information, we will provide support and online tools for parents choosing between Universal Credit and Tax-Free Childcare.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 29/10/2014 14:39:47 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

100912

	registered interest
	date	24/10/2014
	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	Discretionary Housing Payments
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many local authorities in (a) Wales and (b) the UK returned unused discretionary housing payment to his Department in 2013-14.
	tabling member constituency	Aberconwy
	tabling member printed	Guto Bebb
	uin	221890
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/10/2014 answer text <p>In 2013-14, 240 local authorities in Great Britain spent less than 100% of their total Government contribution in DHP, of which 5 were in Wales. Thirteen local authorities, of which two were in Wales, reported expenditure which exactly matched their Government contribution.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>In June, the Government published an analysis of local authority DHP expenditure in 2013-14, which can be found at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/322455/use-of-discretionary-housing-payments-june-2014.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/322455/use-of-discretionary-housing-payments-june-2014.pdf</a></p><p> </p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 29/10/2014 16:26:33 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	3910 label Biography information for Guto Bebb

100918

	registered interest
	date	24/10/2014
	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
	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 17 October 2014 to Question 210464, what metrics are used to track and manage timeliness of payments within the benefits system.
	tabling member constituency	East Ham
	tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
	uin	211860
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/10/2014 answer text <p>The Department uses a broad range of Management Information to monitor processing of benefit claims including, for example, the percentage of claims processed within defined timescales and the average time for claims to be processed, with different metrics being used for different benefits. Further information on activities to manage timeliness of payments, and some examples of the metrics used for specific benefits, is available via the Departmental Improvement Plan and the Annual Report and Accounts, both of which are publicly accessible via the gov.uk website.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>DIP <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dwp-departmental-improvement-plan-2014" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dwp-departmental-improvement-plan-2014</a></p><p> </p><p>Accounts <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/323953/dwp-annual-report-accounts-2013-2014.PDF" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/323953/dwp-annual-report-accounts-2013-2014.PDF</a></p><p> </p> answering member constituency Wirral West answering member printed Esther McVey question first answered 29/10/2014 16:22:00 answering member 4084 label Biography information for Esther McVey
	tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms