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1137024

	registered interest
	date	04/07/2019
	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	Employment: Arthritis
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent steps she has taken to improve support in the workplace for sufferers of rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis.
	tabling member constituency	Chesterfield
	tabling member printed	Toby Perkins
	uin	273371
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/07/2019 answer text <p>We are committed to improving employment outcomes for disabled people and people with health conditions like rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis. We have seen almost 950,000 more disabled people in work over the five years to the first quarter of 2019.</p><p> </p><p>Access to Work offers disabled workers practical advice and a discretionary grant of up to £59,200 per year for in-work support. Access to Work does not record arthritis as a primary medical condition category, as the scheme uses the same categories as the Labour Force Survey. However, last year Access to Work paid over £13 million to individuals who listed ‘arms or hands, 'legs or feet' and 'back or neck' as their primary medical conditions, and many of these will be people living with rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis. That represents over 10% of the total Access to Work spend and a 2% increase, in real terms, on the previous year.</p><p> </p><p>In addition, DWP is engaging with employers through the Disability Confident scheme - supporting them to feel more confident about both employing disabled people, including people with arthritis, and supporting disabled employees to realise their potential. Over 12,000 employers have signed up to the scheme so far.</p><p> </p><p>Looking forward, DWP is working in partnership with Department of Health and Social Care to publish a consultation on how employers can best support disabled people and people with long-term health conditions like arthritis, to stay and thrive in work. The proposals included in the consultation not only seek to benefit disabled people, but all employees who experience or are at risk of a long term sickness absence.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 10/07/2019 15:34:26 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	3952 label Biography information for Mr Toby Perkins

1177413

	registered interest
	date	10/02/2020
	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, how many claimants who transferred from (a) severe disability premium and (b) enhanced disability premium payments to universal credit are waiting for their payments to be (i) reinstated and (ii) backdated.
	tabling member constituency	Chesterfield
	tabling member printed	Mr Toby Perkins
	uin	14695
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/02/2020 answer text <p>Disabled people are some of the biggest beneficiaries of Universal Credit, with around 1 million disabled households having on average around £100 a month more on Universal Credit than they would have had on the legacy benefits. When designing Universal Credit, a choice was made not to replicate every aspect of the disability provision in the previous system, including the Enhanced Disability Premium.</p><p> </p><p>The Severe Disability Premium (SDP) gateway has been in place for over a year to prevent those claimants entitled to the SDP as part of their legacy benefit from claiming Universal Credit. We have successfully identified eligible former SDP claimants who have already moved to Universal Credit due to a change in circumstances, providing them with monthly payments and a lump sum in arrears, where appropriate.</p><p> </p><p>As of 17 January 2020, 15,397 claims have been paid an SDP transitional payment. The median value of the lump sum payments is £2,280. To date, over £51.5m has been disbursed to support former SDP claimants, including the recurring payments that have now commenced.</p><p> </p><p>Positive progress has been made and caseload growth has now slowed, however, in the event a new case is discovered payments will be in place quickly. It is not possible to estimate when we will have paid everyone who is entitled as some people become entitled to these payments retrospectively, and therefore the caseload is not a fixed number.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p /> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson grouped question UIN 14696 question first answered 17/02/2020 17:35:49 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	3952 label Biography information for Mr Toby Perkins

1177414

	registered interest
	date	10/02/2020
	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 the timescale is for all universal credit claimants who previously received (a) severe disability premium and (b) enhanced disability premium to (i) have their payments reinstated and (ii) receive backdated payments.
	tabling member constituency	Chesterfield
	tabling member printed	Mr Toby Perkins
	uin	14696
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/02/2020 answer text <p>Disabled people are some of the biggest beneficiaries of Universal Credit, with around 1 million disabled households having on average around £100 a month more on Universal Credit than they would have had on the legacy benefits. When designing Universal Credit, a choice was made not to replicate every aspect of the disability provision in the previous system, including the Enhanced Disability Premium.</p><p> </p><p>The Severe Disability Premium (SDP) gateway has been in place for over a year to prevent those claimants entitled to the SDP as part of their legacy benefit from claiming Universal Credit. We have successfully identified eligible former SDP claimants who have already moved to Universal Credit due to a change in circumstances, providing them with monthly payments and a lump sum in arrears, where appropriate.</p><p> </p><p>As of 17 January 2020, 15,397 claims have been paid an SDP transitional payment. The median value of the lump sum payments is £2,280. To date, over £51.5m has been disbursed to support former SDP claimants, including the recurring payments that have now commenced.</p><p> </p><p>Positive progress has been made and caseload growth has now slowed, however, in the event a new case is discovered payments will be in place quickly. It is not possible to estimate when we will have paid everyone who is entitled as some people become entitled to these payments retrospectively, and therefore the caseload is not a fixed number.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p /> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson grouped question UIN 14695 question first answered 17/02/2020 17:35:49 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	3952 label Biography information for Mr Toby Perkins

1177415

	registered interest
	date	10/02/2020
	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 the cost to the public purse was of legal challenges to her Department's policy to remove (a) severe disability premium and (b) enhanced disability premium payments from claimants transferring to universal credit.
	tabling member constituency	Chesterfield
	tabling member printed	Mr Toby Perkins
	uin	14697
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/02/2020 answer text <p>The Government remains committed to ensuring everyone receives the support they need, which is why we currently spend a record £55 billion a year to support people with disabilities. Universal Credit is a simpler system than its predecessor. By not replicating the SDP and other premiums, we have been able to target additional support to a wider group of claimants and create a more streamlined system. It is important that the Government can design policy and challenge court decisions, where appropriate, that seek to change that policy.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>As at 13 February 2020, the Department has spent £215,846.89 on legal costs defending and appealing the cases in relation to people formerly in receipt of Severe Disability premium that have transferred to Universal Credit. These figures include Government Legal Department litigation fees, counsel’s fees and other disbursements, as well as VAT where payable.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 18/02/2020 16:14:56 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	3952 label Biography information for Mr Toby Perkins

385418

	registered interest
	date	24/06/2015
	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	Workplace Pensions
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if his Department will develop a single and clear set of guidelines for micro-businesses who will be required to automatically enrol their employees with a pension scheme for the first time to ensure that they can access the information they require cost-effectively.
	tabling member constituency	Chesterfield
	tabling member printed	Toby Perkins
	uin	3931
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/07/2015 answer text <p /> <p>The Department continues to work with The Pensions Regulator to support micro employers in meeting their automatic enrolment duties as simply and cost effectively as possible. This includes working with accountants, bookkeepers, payroll bureaus and other intermediaries to ensure they are ready to support smaller employers effectively.</p><p> </p><p>The first cohort of the smallest employers began to comply with their automatic enrolment duties from 1 June this year. We continue to receive feedback about the experience of employers. We are learning all the time and have adapted and improved the process and the support available.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson grouped question UIN 3932 question first answered 02/07/2015 13:29:47 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	3952 label Biography information for Mr Toby Perkins

385419

	registered interest
	date	24/06/2015
	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	Workplace Pensions
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what support his Department plans to offer micro-businesses in adapting to new automatic enrolment pension provisions; and if he will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	Chesterfield
	tabling member printed	Toby Perkins
	uin	3932
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/07/2015 answer text <p>The Department continues to work with The Pensions Regulator to support micro employers in meeting their automatic enrolment duties as simply and cost effectively as possible. This includes working with accountants, bookkeepers, payroll bureaus and other intermediaries to ensure they are ready to support smaller employers effectively.</p><p> </p><p>The first cohort of the smallest employers began to comply with their automatic enrolment duties from 1 June this year. We continue to receive feedback about the experience of employers. We are learning all the time and have adapted and improved the process and the support available.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson grouped question UIN 3931 question first answered 02/07/2015 13:29:47 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	3952 label Biography information for Mr Toby Perkins

385420

	registered interest
	date	24/06/2015
	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	Workplace Pensions
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what representations he has received on the potential risk of pensions auto-enrolment packages and products being mis-sold to micro-businesses.
	tabling member constituency	Chesterfield
	tabling member printed	Toby Perkins
	uin	3933
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/07/2015 answer text <p /> <p>The Department continues to work with The Pensions Regulator to support the smallest employers in meeting their automatic enrolment duties as simply and cost effectively as possible. The Regulator has provided guidance for employers on choosing a pension scheme and is continuing to consider how best to support employers in this important decision.</p><p> </p><p>The Government introduced a package of measures in April to strengthen governance in schemes used for automatic enrolment and protect members from high or inappropriate charges. This includes the introduction of a 0.75 per cent cap on charges in the default funds of schemes used for automatic enrolment.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 02/07/2015 13:41:09 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	3952 label Biography information for Mr Toby Perkins

387137

	registered interest
	date	01/07/2015
	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	Housing Benefit: Young People
	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 15 June 2015 to Question 1696, what his timetable is for changing automatic entitlement to housing benefit for people aged 18 to 21.
	tabling member constituency	Chesterfield
	tabling member printed	Toby Perkins
	uin	5083
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/07/2015 answer text <p /> <p><strong> </strong></p><p>As set out in the 8<sup>th</sup> July’s budget, this policy will be introduced for certain new Universal Credit claims from April 2017. All claimants that are receiving Housing Benefit will not be affected by this policy.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 10/07/2015 10:07:29 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	3952 label Biography information for Mr Toby Perkins

522272

	registered interest
	date	26/05/2016
	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	Apprentices: Learning Disability
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people appointed to the taskforce to look at improving accessibility of apprenticeships for people with learning disabilities have learning difficulties.
	tabling member constituency	Chesterfield
	tabling member printed	Toby Perkins
	uin	38747
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/06/2016 answer text <p>The individuals invited to sit on the taskforce represent a range of organisations and specialisms, from employers and training providers to charities and educational experts. Organisations representing disabled people and those with learning disabilities have been invited to take part.</p><p> </p><p>It would not be appropriate for DWP to disclose personal information about taskforce members.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 06/06/2016 12:48:49 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	3952 label Biography information for Mr Toby Perkins

937885

	registered interest
	date	10/07/2018
	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	Funerals: Costs
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate her Department has made of the average cost of a funeral in each year since 2003.
	tabling member constituency	Chesterfield
	tabling member printed	Toby Perkins
	uin	162525
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/07/2018 answer text <p>The Department for Work and Pensions does not produce estimates for the average cost of a funeral.</p><p> </p><p>The average Funeral Expenses Payment (FEP) made in each year is published in the Social Fund Annual Report. Table 1 below provides the average FEP made in each year since 2003/04. Figures are rounded to the nearest £1.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p><strong>Table 1: Average FEP award, 2003/04 – 2017/18</strong></p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Year</p></td><td><p>Average FEP award</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2003/04</p></td><td><p>£1,019</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2004/05</p></td><td><p>£1,051</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2005/06</p></td><td><p>£1,081</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2006/07</p></td><td><p>£1,117</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2007/08</p></td><td><p>£1,162</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2008/09</p></td><td><p>£1,194</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2009/10</p></td><td><p>£1,208</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2010/11</p></td><td><p>£1,217</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2011/12</p></td><td><p>£1,241</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012/13</p></td><td><p>£1,225</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2013/14</p></td><td><p>£1,347</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014/15</p></td><td><p>£1,375</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015/16</p></td><td><p>£1,410</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2016/17</p></td><td><p>£1,427</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2017/18</p></td><td><p>£1,461</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>Source: Social Fund Annual Reports 2003/04 – 2016/17, Social Fund Policy Budget and Management Information System</p><p> </p><p>Notes</p><p> </p><ol><li>The figure for 2017/18 is drawn from the Social Fund Policy Budget and Management Information System as the Social Fund Annual Report 2017/18 is not yet published.</li><li>The average award is the average payment net of returned payments (including appeals). This is calculated by taking the total value of payments in a given year (net of returned payments) and dividing by the total number of payments in a given year, as recorded in the Policy, Budget and Management Information System.</li><li>These averages include awards made after review, reconsideration or appeal following an initial refusal.</li></ol> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson grouped question UIN 162526 question first answered 18/07/2018 12:32:53 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	3952 label Biography information for Mr Toby Perkins