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1226501

	registered interest
	date	20/07/2020
	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 potential merits of extending the time frame beyond 30 days of the date of decision for the mandatory reconsideration of a universal credit decision to provide support agencies with a wider time frame to help people with that process.
	tabling member constituency	Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey
	tabling member printed	Drew Hendry
	uin	76779
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/09/2020 answer text <p>Whilst the time limit for applying for a Mandatory Reconsideration is one month, if an application is made within this period but more time is needed to provide supporting evidence, the claimant or their representative can ask that a decision is not made pending the provision of that evidence.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 01/09/2020 12:07:26 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	4467 label Biography information for Drew Hendry

1315657

	registered interest
	date	18/05/2021
	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
	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 reduce the time taken for a decision on a new personal independence payment claim.
	tabling member constituency	Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey
	tabling member printed	Drew Hendry
	uin	3035
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/05/2021 answer text <p>We are committed to ensuring that people can access financial support through Personal Independence Payment in a timely manner. We always aim to make an award decision as quickly as possible, taking into account the need to review all available evidence.</p><p>We are currently operating within expected levels. Average clearance times from initial claim to a decision being made for new claims are currently 19 weeks, which is the same as average clearance times achieved in January 2020.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 24/05/2021 13:04:04 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	4467 label Biography information for Drew Hendry

1286439

	registered interest
	date	11/02/2021
	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: Coronavirus
	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 potential merits of applying a backdated uplift to personal independence payment in line with the increase in universal credit to the start of the covid-19 outbreak.
	tabling member constituency	Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey
	tabling member printed	Drew Hendry
	uin	153302
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/02/2021 answer text <p>Universal Credit is an income related benefit unlike the disability benefits such as Personal Independence Payment (PIP) which is an extra costs benefits. PIP is not means–tested, non-contributory and thus paid regardless of any income or savings. PIP is also tax-free and worth up to £151.40 a week. PIP was not subject to the benefits freeze and was most recently uprated by 1.7 per cent from 6 April 2020. Following the Secretary of State’s most recent statutory review of the rates of PIP, it is due to be uprated again from 12 April 2021, subsequent to the recent approval of the Social Security Up-rating Order 2021 by both Houses of Parliament.</p><p> </p><p>PIP can be paid in addition to other financial support that those with a health condition or disability may be eligible for, such as Employment and Support Allowance, UC (thereby taking advantage of the UC increase), additional amounts and premiums paid within the income-related benefits, Carer’s Allowance or financial and practical help from the NHS or Local Authorities.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 22/02/2021 13:40:37 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	4467 label Biography information for Drew Hendry

1286438

	registered interest
	date	11/02/2021
	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: Coronavirus
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what equalities impact assessment her Department has undertaken on the decision not to extend the £20 uplift to universal credit to employment support allowance.
	tabling member constituency	Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey
	tabling member printed	Drew Hendry
	uin	153301
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/02/2021 answer text <p>The £20 per week uplift to Universal Credit was announced by the Chancellor as a temporary measure in March 2020 to support those facing the most financial disruption as a result of the public health emergency. This measure remains in place until March 2021. As the Government has done throughout this crisis, it will continue to assess how best to support people, which is why we will look at the economic and health context before making any decisions.</p><p>There are no plans to extend a benefit increase to legacy benefits. Claimants on legacy benefits can make a claim for UC if they believe that they will be better off. Claimants should check carefully their eligibility and entitlements under UC before applying as legacy benefits will end when claimants submit their claim and they will not be able to return to them in the future. For this reason, prospective claimants are signposted to independent benefits calculators on GOV.UK.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson grouped question UIN 153303 question first answered 22/02/2021 16:25:28 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	4467 label Biography information for Drew Hendry

1286441

	registered interest
	date	11/02/2021
	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: Health Services
	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 of the decision not to extend to uplift to universal credit to legacy benefits on the comparative healthcare outcomes for individuals living with disabilities.
	tabling member constituency	Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey
	tabling member printed	Drew Hendry
	uin	153303
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/02/2021 answer text <p>The £20 per week uplift to Universal Credit was announced by the Chancellor as a temporary measure in March 2020 to support those facing the most financial disruption as a result of the public health emergency. This measure remains in place until March 2021. As the Government has done throughout this crisis, it will continue to assess how best to support people, which is why we will look at the economic and health context before making any decisions.</p><p>There are no plans to extend a benefit increase to legacy benefits. Claimants on legacy benefits can make a claim for UC if they believe that they will be better off. Claimants should check carefully their eligibility and entitlements under UC before applying as legacy benefits will end when claimants submit their claim and they will not be able to return to them in the future. For this reason, prospective claimants are signposted to independent benefits calculators on GOV.UK.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson grouped question UIN 153301 question first answered 22/02/2021 16:25:28 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	4467 label Biography information for Drew Hendry

1229126

	registered interest
	date	28/08/2020
	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: Coronavirus
	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 been made of the current clearance time frame for a personal independence payment claim compared to the three year average.
	tabling member constituency	Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey
	tabling member printed	Drew Hendry
	uin	82099
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/09/2020 answer text <p>The table below shows the median clearance time in weeks from registration to initial decision for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) Normal Rules New Claims and Reassessments from Disability Living Allowance (DLA) for all decisions made in April 2020 (the latest data available) and for the period May 2017 – April 2020 (the latest 3-year period for which data is available).</p><p> </p><p>The median time from registration to initial decision for PIP Normal Rules claims for each month from April 2013 – April 2020 for New Claims and Reassessments from DLA is published and can be found in Table 2A of the published statistical tables linked below:</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/904392/tables-pip-statistics-to-april-2020-revised-july-2020.xlsx" target="_blank">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/904392/tables-pip-statistics-to-april-2020-revised-july-2020.xlsx</a></p><p> </p><p><strong>Table 1: Median Clearance Times in weeks for PIP New Claims and Reassessments from DLA for April 2020 and the 3-year period up to April 2020</strong></p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p> </p></td><td colspan="2"><p><strong>Reassessment Type</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p>New Claim</p></td><td><p>Reassessment</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>April 2020</p></td><td><p>16</p></td><td><p>27</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>May 2017 - April 2020</p></td><td><p>14</p></td><td><p>15</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p><strong>Notes</strong></p><p> </p><p><strong>Source: PIP ADS</strong></p><p> </p><ul><li>PIP data includes normal rules claimants only and is for both new claims and DLA reassessment claims.</li><li>Figures have been rounded to the nearest whole number of weeks.</li></ul><ul><li>The status of claims as 'normal rules' and 'new claim/reassessment' is shown as at the point of clearance.</li><li>The figures in the table are the median clearance time of claims which are cleared in the given time period.</li><li>The median time is the middle value if you were to order all the times within the distribution from lowest value to highest value. The median is presented here instead of the mean because the mean can be unduly affected by outlying cases (e.g. cases where the person has been hard to reach due to being in prison, hospital, failed to attend the assessment on numerous occasions etc.)</li><li>The 'Registration to DWP decision (end to end)' clearance time is measured as the median time between the date of registration of the claim and the date of the DWP decision to either award or disallow the claim. It does not include claims that were withdrawn by the claimant or claims that were disallowed by DWP pre-referral to the Assessment Providers (e.g. for failure to meet basic eligibility criteria or failure to return the Part 2 form within the time limit).</li><li>Great Britain only.</li></ul><ul><li>The median clearance time for May 2017 – April 2020 is unpublished data. It should be used with caution and it may be subject to future revision.</li></ul><p> </p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 03/09/2020 16:29:54 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	4467 label Biography information for Drew Hendry

1216877

	registered interest
	date	23/06/2020
	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	Statutory Sick Pay: Coronavirus
	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 ensure the continuity of statutory sick pay payments for those individuals asked to continue to shielding beyond 1 August 2020.
	tabling member constituency	Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey
	tabling member printed	Drew Hendry
	uin	63397
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/06/2020 answer text <p>The current epidemiological data shows the risk is currently low enough to allow the relaxation in guidance that we have outlined. From 1 August. the Government will further relax advice to those shielding, bringing it in line with the advice to those who are clinically vulnerable. In broad terms, this means that although the advice is still to stay at home as much as possible, those shielding may wish to go out to more places and see more people, as long as they take particular care to minimise contact with others outside their household and follow hygiene measures. This means that if they are unable to work from home but can work on site, they should do so, provided the business is COVID-safe. Therefore, clinically extremely vulnerable individuals will no longer be eligible for Statutory Sick Pay on the basis of being clinically extremely vulnerable.</p><p> </p><p>The government expects employers to do the right thing to help their employees to transition back to work safely and support them to follow strict social distancing in the workplace where they cannot work from home.</p><p> </p><p>If employers cannot provide a safe working environment, they will still be able to access a range of government support: this includes the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme for employees who have previously been furloughed for a full three-week period prior to 30 June and the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme.</p><p> </p><p>Guidance around shielding will be continually reviewed and informed by the latest scientific evidence and advice. We will continue to assess the support in place should advice to shield be reinstated.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>Background</strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><ul><li>Employees will remain eligible for SSP if they are unable to work and are required to self-isolate because they, or someone in their household, has symptoms of COVID-19, or because they have been notified by the NHS or public health authorities that they have come into contact with someone who has coronavirus.</li><li>SSP also remains available to those who are off sick for reasons other than coronavirus.</li><li>SSP eligibility conditions apply.</li></ul> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 29/06/2020 14:42:06 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	4467 label Biography information for Drew Hendry

1347367

	registered interest
	date	15/07/2021
	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
	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 consent order in K v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions CO / 4263 / 2020, what steps her Department is taking in response to that consent order to ensure that people who received on the spot benefit calls and as a result accepted a lower Personal Independence Payment (PIP) payment than they were legally entitled to are (a) contacted and (b) have that PIP payment (i) corrected and (ii) fully backdated.
	tabling member constituency	Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey
	tabling member printed	Drew Hendry
	uin	33963
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/07/2021 answer text <p>The Department’s aim is to ensure that claimants are paid the correct amount of benefit at the earliest opportunity. Accordingly, if new evidence or information becomes available after an appeal has been lodged, it is right that decisions are reviewed and claimants put in the best position where they can choose either to continue with their appeal, or have the decision revised. At the same time claimants have, and have always had, a right of appeal against the revised decision, and to have their payments fully backdated if successful at appeal. Claimants are notified of this right of appeal in their revised decision letter.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 20/07/2021 13:15:17 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	4467 label Biography information for Drew Hendry

1347987

	registered interest
	date	19/07/2021
	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
	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 Order by Consent issued by the High court on 13 July 2021 (CO/4263/2020), what assessment she has made of the potential merits of conducting an inquiry into her Department's handling of Personal Independence Payment benefit calls.
	tabling member constituency	Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey
	tabling member printed	Drew Hendry
	uin	35747
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/07/2021 answer text <p>The Department’s aim is that claimants are paid the correct amount of benefit at the earliest opportunity. Where new evidence or information becomes available after an appeal has been lodged, but before it is heard at a tribunal, DWP is able to revise a decision and increase the award where appropriate. In circumstances where the decision can be revised but not to the level the claimant is seeking on appeal, we contact claimants to give them the option to continue with their appeal or to have the decision revised, in which case they can still appeal the new decision. The right of appeal was always set out in the decision letter claimants receive notifying them of the new decision. Accordingly, we have no plans to further review the Department’s handling of past calls.</p><p> </p><p>We began contacting claimants in this way in 1998 consequent on the change in the law introduced by the Social Security Act 1998, whereby the Secretary of State may revise a decision in the claimant’s favour even if they would not get everything they were seeking on appeal. An equality impact assessment was not conducted at that time and has not been conducted pursuant to the Equality Act 2010.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson grouped question UIN 35748 question first answered 22/07/2021 13:22:30 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	4467 label Biography information for Drew Hendry

1347988

	registered interest
	date	19/07/2021
	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
	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 Order by Consent issued by the High court on 13 July 2021 (CO/4263/2020), whether her Department carried out an equalities impact assessment of its policy to make on-the-spot personal independence payment benefit calls to recipients of that benefit.
	tabling member constituency	Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey
	tabling member printed	Drew Hendry
	uin	35748
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/07/2021 answer text <p>The Department’s aim is that claimants are paid the correct amount of benefit at the earliest opportunity. Where new evidence or information becomes available after an appeal has been lodged, but before it is heard at a tribunal, DWP is able to revise a decision and increase the award where appropriate. In circumstances where the decision can be revised but not to the level the claimant is seeking on appeal, we contact claimants to give them the option to continue with their appeal or to have the decision revised, in which case they can still appeal the new decision. The right of appeal was always set out in the decision letter claimants receive notifying them of the new decision. Accordingly, we have no plans to further review the Department’s handling of past calls.</p><p> </p><p>We began contacting claimants in this way in 1998 consequent on the change in the law introduced by the Social Security Act 1998, whereby the Secretary of State may revise a decision in the claimant’s favour even if they would not get everything they were seeking on appeal. An equality impact assessment was not conducted at that time and has not been conducted pursuant to the Equality Act 2010.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson grouped question UIN 35747 question first answered 22/07/2021 13:22:30 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	4467 label Biography information for Drew Hendry