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1279755

registered interest
date	25/01/2021
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	What progress her Department is making on the publication of its review into access to benefits for people with a terminal illness, announced in July 2019.
tabling member constituency	Manchester, Withington
tabling member printed	Jeff Smith
uin	911289
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/01/2021 answer text <p>The Department is working across Government on proposals, including potential legislative options, following the evaluation. I remain committed to implementing the key areas identified in the evaluation, changing the 6-month wait, improving awareness and consistency.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 25/01/2021 17:00:08 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	4456 label Biography information for Jeff Smith

1279757

registered interest
date	25/01/2021
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: Disability
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	What assessment she has made of the adequacy of benefit rates for disabled people on legacy benefits.
tabling member constituency	Arfon
tabling member printed	Hywel Williams
uin	911294
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/01/2021 answer text <p>We will spend over £55 billion this year (2020/21) on benefits to support people with health conditions and disabilities. This will increase by £1.6 billion to £57 billion in 2021/22.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 25/01/2021 16:45:43 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	1397 label Biography information for Hywel Williams

1278752

registered interest
date	20/01/2021
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
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 publish the timetable for the National Disability Strategy, and whether that Strategy will be consulted on as a command paper.
tabling member constituency	East Ham
tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
uin	140734
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/01/2021 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> </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 a 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 25/01/2021 16:02:32 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

1278753

registered interest
date	20/01/2021
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: Musculoskeletal Disorders
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 modifications to Access to Work during the covid-19 outbreak on support for people with musculoskeletal conditions.
tabling member constituency	East Ham
tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
uin	140735
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/01/2021 answer text <p>Recognising the challenges Covid-19 has for employers and disabled people, Access to Work introduced a new more flexible offer to support disabled people to move into and retain employment. The new flexible offer complements support provided by employers and contains a combination of support that can be tailored to meet the needs of new Covid-19 working arrangements. The offer includes:</p><ul><li>support to work from more than one location,</li><li>a package of home working support which can be blended with workplace support,</li><li>mental health wellbeing support for people returning to work after a period of furlough or shielding,</li><li>travel-to-work support for those who may no longer be able to safely travel by public transport due to the nature of their disability, and</li><li>prioritising Access to Work applications from disabled people in the Clinically Extremely Vulnerable Group.</li></ul><p> </p><p>Recognising the benefits equipment/support within the workplace provides, Access to Work can contribute towards the costs of transferring that equipment or where working from both the office and home occurs Access to Work can consider providing funding for additional equipment/support to enable the disabled person to retain their job.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Background</strong></p><p> </p><p>Access to Work (ATW) is a demand-led, discretionary grant to de-risk the recruitment and retention of disabled people for employers. The grant contributes to the disability related extra costs of working faced by disabled people and those with a health condition that are beyond reasonable adjustment, but it does not replace an employer’s duty under the Equality Act to make reasonable adjustments. The grant provides personalised support and can provide workplace assessments, travel to/in work, support workers, specialist aids and equipment to enable disabled people and those with a health condition to move into or retain employment. And can fund up to £60,700 worth of flexible, personalised support per person per year.</p><p> </p><p>We have not carried out a formal assessment of the new offer, but following its immediate introduction telephone call to Access to Work increased by approximately 40%.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 25/01/2021 16:05:19 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

1278754

registered interest
date	20/01/2021
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: Finance
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 7 December 2020 to Question 123507, how much funding was allocated to promote the Access to Work scheme in the last financial year; and what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of that promotion in relation to the uptake of that scheme.
tabling member constituency	East Ham
tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
uin	140736
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/01/2021 answer text <p>In the context of the current lockdown restrictions we are currently reviewing our messaging on Access to Work and the most appropriate time to launch paid advertising to ensure optimum value for money. We will continue the already extensive no cost and stakeholder promotion of Access to Work and look to supplement with paid advertising at the most appropriate point. Within this context, we are unable to provide a final spend estimate for the 20/21 financial year.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 25/01/2021 16:17:59 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

1278755

registered interest
date	20/01/2021
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	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 her Department's policy is on automatically extending personal independence payment awards.
tabling member constituency	East Ham
tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
uin	140737
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/01/2021 answer text <p>In normal circumstances, PIP awards are time-limited with regular review dates to ensure the benefit best meets<br>claimants’ needs and there are no automatic extensions to PIP awards. However, on the limited occasions when it is not possible to review claimants in a timely manner, we may extend a claimant’s award until the point that we can<br>complete the review.</p><p>As part of its response to the Covid-19 situation, in Spring 2020 the Department extended award dates for existing<br>PIP claims. We restarted the PIP award review process in July. New decisions made since then will not have had their awards extended – reflecting these claims will on average not be subject to review until 2022 and beyond.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 25/01/2021 16:21:21 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

1278759

registered interest
date	20/01/2021
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: Appeals
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many mandatory reconsideration applications her Department has received from claimants disputing the application of the benefit cap in each of the last 24 months; and in how many cases a decision has been (a) made and (b) overturned.
tabling member constituency	Feltham and Heston
tabling member printed	Seema Malhotra
uin	140819
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/01/2021 answer text <p>The information requested 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 25/01/2021 16:12:16 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	4253 label Biography information for Seema Malhotra

1278838

registered interest
date	20/01/2021
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	Personal Independence Payment: Terminal Illnesses
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans her Department has to ensure that personal independence payment claimants with incurable illnesses are only reassessed when there is a change in their condition.
tabling member constituency	Barnsley Central
tabling member printed	Dan Jarvis
uin	140815
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/01/2021 answer text <p>Once someone has been awarded Personal Independence Payment (PIP), which can be paid at one of eight rates, that award will usually be reviewed. Regular reviews are a key feature of the benefit and ensure that payments accurately match the current needs of claimants. 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>In 2018 we introduced updated guidance for case managers and an updated PIP Assessment Guide in 2018 which ensures 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 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> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 25/01/2021 16:09:07 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	4243 label Biography information for Dan Jarvis

1278270

registered interest
date	19/01/2021
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, what assessment she has made of the feasibility of restarting face-to-face work capability assessments.
tabling member constituency	Stalybridge and Hyde
tabling member printed	Jonathan Reynolds
uin	140071
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/01/2021 answer text <p>The health and safety of our claimants and staff is our key priority. We suspended all face-to-face assessments for sickness and disability benefits in March. This temporary suspension, brought in to protect people from unnecessary risk of coronavirus at the outset of the pandemic, remains in place, and is being kept under review in line with the latest public health guidance. We are continuing to assess as many people as we are able to on paper evidence or via telephone assessments.</p><p> </p><p>We have worked closely with our assessment providers to ensure appropriate arrangements will be in place for resuming face-to-face assessments as soon as it is possible to do so. We are working with Public Health England, the Health and Safety Executive, and the Department of Health and Social Care to ensure we have appropriate guidance in place, and that assessment centres are Covid-secure before reopening.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 25/01/2021 15:48:00 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	4119 label Biography information for Jonathan Reynolds

1278272

registered interest
date	19/01/2021
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, what steps she is taking to ensure that claimants whose work capability assessments have been delayed due to a need for a face-to-face assessment do not have their universal credit payment reduced or delayed while face-to-face assessments are suspended.
tabling member constituency	Stalybridge and Hyde
tabling member printed	Jonathan Reynolds
uin	140072
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/01/2021 answer text <p>Due to Covid-19 restrictions, claimants may experience a longer wait for their Work Capability Assessment (WCA) and may be asked to attend a telephone assessment while face-to-face assessments remain suspended.</p><p> </p><p>Subject to meeting overall Universal Credit (UC) entitlement conditions, claimants will continue to receive UC whilst they await the outcome of their WCA. If the decision is that the claimant is entitled to extra benefit, we will pay any arrears that are due.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 25/01/2021 16:23:19 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	4119 label Biography information for Jonathan Reynolds