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1092283

	registered interest
	date	20/03/2019
	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	Access to Work Programme: Finance
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she plans to allocate more funding towards Access to Work.
	tabling member constituency	Slough
	tabling member printed	Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi
	uin	234861
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/03/2019 answer text <p>ATW is demand led, so funding reflects the numbers of applicants and their needs.</p><p> </p><p>In 17/18 Access to Work made payments to 33,860 people (up 13% on 16/17) and £110.8m was spent on grants, which is a 4% increase in real terms expenditure compared to 16/17. The highest ever number of people with disabilities and health conditions are receiving tailored and flexible support to do their job.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 25/03/2019 15:54:04 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	4638 label Biography information for Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi

1089454

	registered interest
	date	15/03/2019
	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	Disability: Cost of Living
	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 the report entitled the Disability Price Tag 2019, published by Scope in February 2019, what assessment she has made of the extra costs incurred by disabled people; and if she will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	Southend West
	tabling member printed	Sir David Amess
	uin	232967
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/03/2019 answer text <p>We recognise that there are extra costs faces by those with long term health conditions and disabilities. That is why the Department provides a financial contribution towards those disability-related costs through Attendance Allowance, Disability Living Allowance and Personal Independence Payment. We will be spending over £26 billion on the extra costs disability benefits next year (2019/20), part of the over £55 billion spending on benefits to support disabled people and people with health conditions. Benefit provision is in addition to the wide range of additional support people with health conditions and disabilities may receive including from Local Authorities or the National Health Service.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 25/03/2019 16:07:15 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	44 label Biography information for Sir David Amess

1090973

	registered interest
	date	18/03/2019
	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	Occupational Health
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps the Government is taking to encourage the uptake of occupational health schemes among employers.
	tabling member constituency	Mansfield
	tabling member printed	Ben Bradley
	uin	233596
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/03/2019 answer text <p>The Government wants to see employers of all sizes create healthy workplaces where people can thrive. We will consult this year on measures to encourage and support all employers to play their part and to improve access to occupational health.</p><p> </p><p>Advice from an Occupational Health Expert Group is helping shape proposals. We have also commissioned research to better understand the current market supply and delivery structures of OH provision and its operation. Findings are due to be published in 2019.</p><p> </p><p>Tax incentives are currently available to employers to encourage investment in employee health and wellbeing, including relief for employer-funded medical treatment up to £500 where there has been a recommendation from an occupational health professional and the employee has been absent for 28 days.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 25/03/2019 17:24:50 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	4663 label Biography information for Ben Bradley

1090987

	registered interest
	date	18/03/2019
	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 she has made an assessment of the potential merits of extending to all people with later stage (a) degenerative and (b) non-curable conditions the ceasing of repeat assessments for personal independence payment; and if she will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	Cheltenham
	tabling member printed	Alex Chalk
	uin	233608
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/03/2019 answer text <p>Once someone has been awarded Personal Independence Payment (PIP), which can be paid at one of eight rates, that award will be reviewed. Reviews of PIP are a key part of the benefit to ensure that awards remain correct where needs may change (including where needs increase and the award may need to increase) and that we maintain contact with the claimant, both features that are missing from its predecessor Disability Living Allowance. The length of an award is based on an individual’s circumstances and can vary from nine months to an on-going award, with a light touch review after ten years.</p><p> </p><p>We introduced updated guidance for case managers and an updated PIP Assessment Guide in 2018 which will ensure that those people who receive the highest level of support under PIP, and where their needs are unlikely to change or may get worse, will now receive an ongoing award with a light touch review at the ten-year point. In line with PIP’s aim to be needs-based rather than condition-based, the change to the guidance is not condition specific. However, we believe the changes will ensure that those with severe and/or progressive conditions receive the most appropriate award duration that reflects their condition and the needs arising.</p><p> </p><p>Special considerations also apply to claimants who are terminally ill, and our arrangements recognise the particular difficulties faced by people who only have a short time to live. Claims by people with a terminal illness are fast tracked, are not subject to a face-to-face assessment and they are guaranteed the enhanced rate of the Daily Living Component; nearly all also receive the enhanced rate of mobility.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson grouped question UIN 234096 234097 question first answered 25/03/2019 17:26:55 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	4481 label Biography information for Alex Chalk

1092172

	registered interest
	date	20/03/2019
	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	Social Security Benefits: Appeals
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will set out the average time (a) taken to process mandatory reconsiderations and (b) between a mandatory reconsideration decision and a tribunal, in each of the last three years for which data are available.
	tabling member constituency	Birkenhead
	tabling member printed	Frank Field
	uin	234691
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/03/2019 answer text <p>Information on median clearance times for PIP Mandatory Reconsiderations (MRs) is provided in the table below.</p><p /><p><strong>Median Clearance Times, in Calendar Days, for PIP MRs, Normal Rules, Great Britain:</strong></p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Financial Year of MR Clearance</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Median Calendar Days for MR to be Cleared</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2016/17</p></td><td><p>33</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2017/18</p></td><td><p>29</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2018/19 <em>(April 18 – January19)</em></p></td><td><p>37</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>This data on PIP MR clearance times is unpublished data. It should be used with caution and it may be subject to future revision.</p><p> </p><p>The Department publishes quarterly statistics on “ESA: outcomes of Work Capability Assessments including mandatory reconsiderations and appeals” which include figures on median MR clearance times, available at Table 16 here:</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/esa-outcomes-of-work-capability-assessments-including-mandatory-reconsiderations-and-appeals-march-2019" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/esa-outcomes-of-work-capability-assessments-including-mandatory-reconsiderations-and-appeals-march-2019</a></p><p> </p><p>To provide information on MR clearance times across all other DWP administered benefits would incur disproportionate cost.</p><p /><p>There are a number of reasons for differences in clearance times between benefits. This includes the PIP clearance times being based on the clearance times from the point of registration to the date the MR was cleared. This is different to the MR clearance times for ESA which are based on the date when the Benefit Centre has decided that the MR received is a valid MR, having considered whether they can initially change the decision in the light of any new information to the date when the decision maker at the Dispute Resolution Team (DRT) has cleared and logged the final decision.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Information on the median time between a PIP MR decision and an Appeal being lodged is provided in the table below.</p><p /><p><strong>Median Times, in Calendar Days, between a PIP MR decision and an Appeal being lodged in Great Britain:</strong></p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Financial Year of Appeal lodgement</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Median Calendar Days between an MR Decision and an Appeal being lodged</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2016/17</p></td><td><p>26</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2017/18</p></td><td><p>28</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2018/19 <em>(April – Dec18) </em></p></td><td><p>28</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>This data is unpublished data. It should be used with caution and it may be subject to future revision.</p><p> </p><p>To provide information on the average time between an MR decision being made and appeal being lodged across all other DWP administered benefits would incur disproportionate cost.</p><p> </p><p>The Ministry of Justice publish statistics on the average (mean) age of a case at disposal for different benefit types. These in Tables SSCS.3 of the Main Tables, available here:</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/tribunals-statistics#tribunal-statistics-quarterly" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/tribunals-statistics#tribunal-statistics-quarterly</a></p><p> </p><p>These statistics represent the average number of weeks from receipt in Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) to the final outcome within the period. It will include cases cleared at hearing and cases cleared without a hearing which include strike outs, superseded and withdrawals prior to a hearing. An appeal may not necessarily be cleared at its first hearing.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 25/03/2019 16:20:03 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead

1092178

	registered interest
	date	20/03/2019
	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	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 steps she is taking to improve the (a) quality and (b) accuracy of welfare assessments in order to reduce the number of cases going to tribunal.
	tabling member constituency	Birkenhead
	tabling member printed	Frank Field
	uin	234692
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/03/2019 answer text <p>The department is committed to ensuring individuals receive high quality, objective and accurate assessments and we aim to make the right decision first time.</p><p> </p><p>We continue to work extensively with providers to make improvements to guidance, training and supplier audit procedures in order to ensure the quality of the services is continuously improved.</p><p> </p><p>All elements of the providers’ performance are monitored including the requirements for the quality of assessments, which are assessed through independent audit, with feedback provided to the provider.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 25/03/2019 16:32:32 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead

1090940

	registered interest
	date	18/03/2019
	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	Universal Credit: Cancer
	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 the roll-out of universal credit on claimants of benefits with cancer.
	tabling member constituency	Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill
	tabling member printed	Hugh Gaffney
	uin	233583
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/03/2019 answer text <p>The Department takes seriously the need to support vulnerable claimants. We are committed to ensuring that people who have cancer are treated with the upmost sensitivity and care, when making a claim to Universal Credit. For instance, when a claimant is asked to attend a Work Capability Assessment to determine entitlement to the additional component of Universal Credit specifically for disabled claimants, they must complete a UC50 questionnaire which incorporates a 'light touch' evidence gathering process for cancer patients; and makes clear that Clinical Nurse Specialists and consultants can provide information on the form, therefore making the claim and assessment process simpler for people with cancer.</p><p>We are continuously reviewing and improving the service for vulnerable people who claim Universal Credit to ensure that it is accessible and responsive to their needs. This includes how they are identified and supported, either from our own staff or via referrals from local services.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 25/03/2019 16:53:46 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	4614 label Biography information for Hugh Gaffney