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1282082

registered interest
date	29/01/2021
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: Disability
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if her Department will collect data on the percentage of applicants who have reported that their employer refused to make reasonable adjustments for their disabilty to inform the proposed National Strategy for Disabled People.
tabling member constituency	Motherwell and Wishaw
tabling member printed	Marion Fellows
uin	145803
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/02/2021 answer text <p>The Equality Act 2010 makes it unlawful for an employer or potential employer to discriminate against a disabled employee or job applicant because of their disability. Specifically, the Equality Act requires employers to make reasonable adjustments in relation to the disabled employee’s job or application for a job.</p><p> </p><p>The Government plans to publish a National Strategy for Disabled People this year to ensure that all disabled people can play a full role in society. The strategy will focus on the issues that disabled people say affect them the most in all aspects of life, including employment.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson grouped question UIN 145804 question first answered 03/02/2021 13:39:14 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	4440 label Biography information for Marion Fellows

1282083

registered interest
date	29/01/2021
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: Disability
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 make an assessment of the percentage of employers that (a) have a disability leave policy, and (b) allow homeworking to their staff as a reasonable adjustment to inform the proposed National Strategy for Disabled People.
tabling member constituency	Motherwell and Wishaw
tabling member printed	Marion Fellows
uin	145804
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/02/2021 answer text <p>The Equality Act 2010 makes it unlawful for an employer or potential employer to discriminate against a disabled employee or job applicant because of their disability. Specifically, the Equality Act requires employers to make reasonable adjustments in relation to the disabled employee’s job or application for a job.</p><p> </p><p>The Government plans to publish a National Strategy for Disabled People this year to ensure that all disabled people can play a full role in society. The strategy will focus on the issues that disabled people say affect them the most in all aspects of life, including employment.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson grouped question UIN 145803 question first answered 03/02/2021 13:39:14 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	4440 label Biography information for Marion Fellows

1282084

registered interest
date	29/01/2021
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: Disability
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if her department make an assessment of the percentage of employers who publish the percentage of disabled staff (a) they employ, and (b) they employ by pay grade.
tabling member constituency	Motherwell and Wishaw
tabling member printed	Marion Fellows
uin	145805
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/02/2021 answer text <p>Government has worked with large employers and expert partners to develop a voluntary reporting framework (VRF) to support organisations to record and voluntarily report information on disability, mental health and wellbeing in the workplace; thereby encouraging employers to be more transparent and start having open conversations about disability and health at work. We continue to work with employers and expert partners to promote its usage, including requiring new and renewing Disability Confident Leaders (Level 3) to use it. However, there is no requirement for companies to notify Government if they have signed up to the framework and are publishing this data.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 03/02/2021 13:42:20 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	4440 label Biography information for Marion Fellows

1282085

registered interest
date	29/01/2021
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: Public Consultation
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she plans to consult on the National Strategy for Disabled People.
tabling member constituency	Motherwell and Wishaw
tabling member printed	Marion Fellows
uin	145806
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/02/2021 answer text <p>The Government is committed to transforming the lives of disabled people, and will publish the National Strategy for Disabled People this year.</p><p>It will be informed by insights from the lived experience of disabled people, and will focus on the issues that disabled people say are most important across all aspects of life, from transport to education, and housing to employment. On Friday 15th January, we launched the online UK Disability Survey, which complements the range of engagement already undertaken and ongoing, including lived experience research with disabled people, discussions with the Disabled Charities Consortium, the Regional Stakeholder Networks and others. Contributions to the survey will feed not only into the development of the strategy but also its delivery.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 03/02/2021 13:46:36 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	4440 label Biography information for Marion Fellows

1282086

registered interest
date	29/01/2021
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	Access to Work Programme
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the (a) average and (b) median response time is for disabled workers to receive a decision on their Access to Work application.
tabling member constituency	Motherwell and Wishaw
tabling member printed	Marion Fellows
uin	145807
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/02/2021 answer text <p>The information requested about average and median waiting times for decisions on applications for people who have applied for support from Access to Work is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 03/02/2021 13:48:40 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	4440 label Biography information for Marion Fellows

1281586

registered interest
date	28/01/2021
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	Sick Pay
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 guidance on claiming statutory sick pay.
tabling member constituency	Kingston upon Hull North
tabling member printed	Dame Diana Johnson
uin	144966
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/02/2021 answer text <p>Employers are legally required to pay Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) to employees who are sick or incapable of work, where employees meet the qualifying conditions. It is paid in the same way as an employee’s salary.</p><p>Throughout the pandemic we have ensured the pages on Gov.UK relating to SSP have been regularly updated in line with changes affecting eligibility for SSP.</p><p>The pages on Gov.UK provide extensive information and support to employees regarding the circumstances in which they may be eligible for SSP and what evidence they need to provide to their employer. Additionally there is specific guidance for employers explaining which employees may be eligible for SSP and when employers should start paying SSP. There is a calculator to support employers to understand how much SSP to pay. There is also clear guidance on how small and medium employers can reclaim up to two weeks of coronavirus-related SSP.</p><p>If individuals think their employer’s decision not to pay SSP is wrong, or that they’re not getting the right amount of SSP, they can raise a dispute with HMRC.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Background</strong></p><p>To be eligible for SSP, you must:</p><ul><li>be classed as an employee and have done some work for your employer;</li><li>earn an average of at least £120 per week;</li><li>have been ill, self-isolating or ‘shielding’ for at least 4 days in a row (including non-working days).</li></ul><p>To receive SSP employees must tell their employer that they are off sick before the deadline the employer has set (or within 7 days if they have not set one).</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 03/02/2021 13:35:29 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	1533 label Biography information for Dame Diana Johnson

1281820

registered interest
date	28/01/2021
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	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, how many eligible claimants since March 2020 have had their (a) employment and support allowance or (b) limited capability for work-related activity component of universal credit payments delayed due to being required to attend face-to-face assessments to process their claim.
tabling member constituency	Arfon
tabling member printed	Hywel Williams
uin	144943
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/02/2021 answer text <p>Claimants do not have to wait for a Work Capability Assessment (WCA) before they can be awarded Employment Support Allowance (ESA) or awarded Universal Credit (UC) on the grounds of having a health condition or disability, as they receive an assessment rate for ESA or Standard Allowance of UC while their claim is being assessed. Depending on the outcome of the WCA, some claimants may then be entitled to an additional amount.</p><p> </p><p>For both ESA and UC, claimants will remain on their current award until we gather the evidence needed to make a recommendation or are able to conduct a face to face assessment (or until their benefit is due to end in contributory ESA). Any additional amounts the claimant may qualify for after their assessment will be backdated to ensure no long-term loss.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 02/02/2021 14:46:25 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	1397 label Biography information for Hywel Williams

1281832

registered interest
date	28/01/2021
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	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, whether eligible claimants of (a) employment and support allowance and (b) the Limited Capability for Work-Related Activity component of universal credit are potentially being required to attend face-to-face assessments to process a claim despite the suspension of such assessments for sickness and disability benefits since March 2020.
tabling member constituency	Arfon
tabling member printed	Hywel Williams
uin	144944
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/02/2021 answer text <p>The department’s key priorities are the health and safety of our claimants and our staff and that claimants receive the support they are entitled to as soon as possible. As a result, all face to face assessments for health and disability benefits have remained suspended since March 2020. During the pandemic we have continued to assess claimants based on paper evidence where we can, using this route as often as we are able to. We have introduced telephone assessments and are working hard to increase the number of these assessments so that we can make the right decision for as many claimants as possible, while keeping them safe. We are currently in the early stages of testing Work Capability Assessment (WCA) video assessments.</p><p> </p><p>Telephone assessments will not be appropriate for all claimants. We are aware that some claimants, particularly those with certain health conditions or disabilities, will have difficulty being assessed over the telephone. We are currently developing ways in which we can safely assess these claimants. For both Employment Support Allowance (ESA) and Universal Credit (UC), claimants will remain on their current award until we gather the evidence needed to make a recommendation or are able to conduct a face to face assessment, (or until their benefit is due to end in contributory ESA). Any additional amounts the claimant may qualify for after their assessment will be backdated to ensure no long-term loss.</p><p> </p><p>The suspension of face to face assessments is regularly reviewed in line with the latest public health guidance and will recommence as soon as it is safe to do so. The department remains committed to increasing the number of claimants able to participate in a non-face to face assessment by moving towards a wider range of channels. We are closely monitoring all new assessment processes and are working with our supplier to ensure claimants are assessed as quickly as possible.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson grouped question UIN 144945 question first answered 02/02/2021 14:56:04 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	1397 label Biography information for Hywel Williams

1281836

registered interest
date	28/01/2021
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	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, whether the use of only non face-to-face forms of assessments for (a) employment and support allowance and (b) the Limited Capability for Work-Related Activity component of universal credit are viable methods for all eligible claimants to have their claims processed given the suspension of face-to-face assessments for sickness and disability benefits since March 2020.
tabling member constituency	Arfon
tabling member printed	Hywel Williams
uin	144945
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/02/2021 answer text <p>The department’s key priorities are the health and safety of our claimants and our staff and that claimants receive the support they are entitled to as soon as possible. As a result, all face to face assessments for health and disability benefits have remained suspended since March 2020. During the pandemic we have continued to assess claimants based on paper evidence where we can, using this route as often as we are able to. We have introduced telephone assessments and are working hard to increase the number of these assessments so that we can make the right decision for as many claimants as possible, while keeping them safe. We are currently in the early stages of testing Work Capability Assessment (WCA) video assessments.</p><p> </p><p>Telephone assessments will not be appropriate for all claimants. We are aware that some claimants, particularly those with certain health conditions or disabilities, will have difficulty being assessed over the telephone. We are currently developing ways in which we can safely assess these claimants. For both Employment Support Allowance (ESA) and Universal Credit (UC), claimants will remain on their current award until we gather the evidence needed to make a recommendation or are able to conduct a face to face assessment, (or until their benefit is due to end in contributory ESA). Any additional amounts the claimant may qualify for after their assessment will be backdated to ensure no long-term loss.</p><p> </p><p>The suspension of face to face assessments is regularly reviewed in line with the latest public health guidance and will recommence as soon as it is safe to do so. The department remains committed to increasing the number of claimants able to participate in a non-face to face assessment by moving towards a wider range of channels. We are closely monitoring all new assessment processes and are working with our supplier to ensure claimants are assessed as quickly as possible.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson grouped question UIN 144944 question first answered 02/02/2021 14:56:04 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	1397 label Biography information for Hywel Williams

1281837

registered interest
date	28/01/2021
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	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, when she plans to publish her Department's review of the benefits system for terminally ill people.
tabling member constituency	Arfon
tabling member printed	Hywel Williams
uin	144946
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/02/2021 answer text <p>The Department is committed to delivering an improved system for claimants that are nearing the end of their lives and is working across Government to bring forward proposals following the evaluation. I remain committed to implementing the key areas identified in the evaluation; the desire to change the six-month rule; improving ​consistency with other services used by people nearing the end of their lives; and raising awareness of the support that is available.</p><p /> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 02/02/2021 14:59:42 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	1397 label Biography information for Hywel Williams