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694243

registered interest
date	24/02/2017
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 Leave
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what standards the Government has put in place to assess whether a patient is physically healthy enough to return to work after illness; and what mechanisms are in place for appeals related to such assessments.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
uin	65459
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/03/2017 answer text <p>Registered Medical Practitioners, usually General Practitioners, assess whether a patient’s health condition affects their fitness for work. If this is the case, they may issue a Statement of Fitness for Work (or fit note) from the eight day of sickness indicating whether the patient is ‘not fit for work’ or ‘maybe fit for work taking account of the following advice’. The fit note is provided to the patient’s employer for sick pay purposes or to this Department to support a claim to health related benefits. The period the advice covers is recorded although if the patient feels able to return to work before the end date suggested they may return to work with their employer’s agreement. The information contained in the fit note is treated as advice for employers. There is no appeals process. A doctor may also refer the patient to Fit for Work for an occupational health assessment if they are likely to be off work for four weeks or more.</p><p> </p><p>For Universal Credit and Employment Support Allowance claimants, the Work Capability Assessment is the functional assessment used to determine whether or not claimants are fit for work. People dissatisfied with the decision on their claim can ask for a mandatory reconsideration and, if they remain dissatisfied, can then appeal the decision at the First-tier Tribunal.</p><p> </p><p>The ‘Improving Lives’ Green Paper consultation sought views on how we can improve arrangements for supporting patient returns to work after illness and we are now considering the responses.</p> answering member constituency Portsmouth North answering member printed Penny Mordaunt question first answered 01/03/2017 16:29:31 answering member 4017 label Biography information for Penny Mordaunt
tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah

694287

registered interest
date	24/02/2017
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
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 personal support package in the Government's Improving Lives Green Paper, what the minimum number of minutes of support per year will be which people in the employment and support allowance work-related activity group will receive from their work coach.
tabling member constituency	East Ham
tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
uin	65533
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/03/2017 answer text <p>The amount of time Employment and Support Allowance work-related activity group claimants (and their equivalent in Universal Credit) are supported by their work coach will be tailored to their individual circumstances and support needs. This may include being invited to work focused interviews with their work coach and also offered appropriate support through external provision.</p> answering member constituency Portsmouth North answering member printed Penny Mordaunt question first answered 01/03/2017 15:36:46 answering member 4017 label Biography information for Penny Mordaunt
tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

692656

registered interest
date	21/02/2017
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 Schemes
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 his Department has taken to help people with long-term illness return to work.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	64843
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/03/2017 answer text <p>We are committed to building a society that works for everyone, where success in life is no longer defined by birth or circumstance. A disability or health condition should not dictate the path a person is able to take in life – or in the workplace. What should count is a person’s talents and their determination and aspiration to succeed.</p><p> </p><p>The Government offers a wide suite of programmes and initiatives to support disabled people and people with a long term health condition to enter and return to work, including the Work Programme, Work Choice and Specialist Employability Support, which all provide specialist support for long-term unemployed people and disabled people.</p><p> </p><p>We also already provide support to employers to help them recruit and retain disabled people and people with health conditions: for example, the Disability Confident campaign, the Access to Work scheme and the Fit for Work service. But we recognise more can be done to further drive and support employer action.</p><p> </p><p>But we know there is still more to be done to ensure that we have a system that works for everyone and is better tailored to the needs of the individual. This is why the Department for Work and Pensions and the Department of Health published ‘Improving Lives – the Work, Health and Disability Green Paper’ in October 2016, which sets out the Government’s proposals for improving work and health outcomes for disabled people and people with long-term health conditions.</p><p> </p><p>We held a public consultation on all proposals set out in the Green Paper between 31st October and 17th February, during which time we met with and heard from a wide range of stakeholders. We are now carefully evaluating all that we heard in this period as we consider next steps.</p> answering member constituency Portsmouth North answering member printed Penny Mordaunt question first answered 01/03/2017 15:49:58 answering member 4017 label Biography information for Penny Mordaunt
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

692659

registered interest
date	21/02/2017
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: 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, when he plans to introduce new rules which will not require reassessments for employment and support allowance for people with severe life-long conditions; and if he will publish the criteria by which severe life-long conditions are defined as such for the purposes of exemption from those assessments.
tabling member constituency	Sheffield South East
tabling member printed	Mr Clive Betts
uin	64797
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/02/2017 answer text <p>This change will come into effect in Autumn 2017 and will apply to those placed in Employment and Support Allowance’s Support Group and the Universal Credit equivalent.</p><p> </p><p>We are currently working with stakeholders to develop the new criteria and, when finalised, the amended guidance will be incorporated in to the next update to the Work Capability Assessment Handbook published on GOV.UK.</p> answering member constituency Portsmouth North answering member printed Penny Mordaunt question first answered 24/02/2017 12:53:24 answering member 4017 label Biography information for Penny Mordaunt
tabling member	394 label Biography information for Mr Clive Betts

692076

registered interest
date	20/02/2017
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 plans his Department has to extend the Access to Work programme to incorporate work experience and internships.
tabling member constituency	Poplar and Limehouse
tabling member printed	Jim Fitzpatrick
uin	64341
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/02/2017 answer text <p>The Access to Work scheme has already been extended to support self-arranged work experience and Supported Internships in line with guidance set out in paragraphs 123 – 140 which can be found here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/541858/access-to-work-staff-guide.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/541858/access-to-work-staff-guide.pdf</a></p><p> </p><p>This was announced by the then Minister for Disabled People, Esther McVey on 16 July 2013.</p> answering member constituency Portsmouth North answering member printed Penny Mordaunt question first answered 27/02/2017 12:22:31 answering member 4017 label Biography information for Penny Mordaunt
tabling member	197 label Biography information for Jim Fitzpatrick

692077

registered interest
date	20/02/2017
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 steps his Department is taking to extend the Access to Work programme so that disabled people have support plans in place before an employment offer.
tabling member constituency	Poplar and Limehouse
tabling member printed	Jim Fitzpatrick
uin	64342
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/02/2017 answer text <p>The Department has published an Access to Work pre-employment eligibility letter for individuals, their employers or potential employers in order to provide an indication of the help that people may be able to receive from the Access to Work scheme. This letter has been updated to include reference to both mental health support and coverage of apprentices, and can be found here. <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/access-to-work-eligibility-letter-for-employees-and-employers" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/access-to-work-eligibility-letter-for-employees-and-employers</a></p><p> </p><p>We are also promoting Access to Work and producing case studies to illustrate how the scheme can support people in a range of settings and how it makes a positive difference to disabled people’s working lives.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Portsmouth North answering member printed Penny Mordaunt question first answered 27/02/2017 12:07:17 answering member 4017 label Biography information for Penny Mordaunt
tabling member	197 label Biography information for Jim Fitzpatrick

692084

registered interest
date	20/02/2017
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: 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 and what proportion of unsuccessful mandatory reconsiderations of personal independence payments were overturned at the appeal stage in the last 12 months for which figures are available.
tabling member constituency	Garston and Halewood
tabling member printed	Maria Eagle
uin	64657
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/02/2017 answer text <p>The table below gives statistics on the number of PIP applications that led to a mandatory reconsideration (MR), appeals being heard and appeals resulting in an increase to the award level in England.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p><em>Table 1 – PIP disputes in England (data is not currently available for GB as a whole) </em></p><table><tbody><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p>PIP claims that led to an MR</p></td><td><p>PIP claims that led to an appeal that was heard</p></td><td><p>Successful appeals</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>April 2014- March 2015</p></td><td><p>66,000</p></td><td><p>5,100</p></td><td><p>3,200</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>April 2015- March 2016</p></td><td><p>117,900</p></td><td><p>32,400</p></td><td><p>20,800</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p><p>Notes:</p><ul><li>The figures in the table are the result of a complex data match across a number of data sets. They are taken from internal DWP management information and should be viewed as estimates. They may be subject to future revision.</li><li>Appeals that were lodged but not heard are excluded. Appeals ‘lapsed’ (which is where DWP decided not to contest the appeal) are included in appeals heard.</li><li>For the above reason the appeals heard cannot be represented as a % of the MRs registered.</li><li>Appeal data may differ from that held by Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) for various reasons such as delays in data recording and other methodological differences in collating and preparing statistics..</li></ul><p> </p> answering member constituency Portsmouth North answering member printed Penny Mordaunt question first answered 27/02/2017 11:54:20 answering member 4017 label Biography information for Penny Mordaunt
tabling member	483 label Biography information for Maria Eagle

692085

registered interest
date	20/02/2017
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: Appeals
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to ensure that people appealing unsuccessful mandatory reconsiderations following a reassessment for the enhanced mobility component of personal independence payments do not have their vehicles rescinded before a decision on appeal is reached.
tabling member constituency	Garston and Halewood
tabling member printed	Maria Eagle
uin	64658
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/02/2017 answer text <p>The Motability charity provides a one-off package of transitional support and advice to support customers who no longer meet the eligibility criteria for the Motability scheme. For the majority of these customers, Motability provides transitional support of £2,000 in order to help support their mobility needs, including those who choose to appeal during this period. If an appeal is successful, PIP arrears are paid in full to the claimant and they can re-join the Motability scheme immediately, if they repay their transitional support money, or else within 6 months of the date they left the scheme.</p><p> </p><p>However, we recognise that the appeals process can be challenging and the current seven-week return period does not fully mitigate this. We are looking at options to support disabled people better, which include on-going discussions with Motability. In addition, we are also looking to improve the quality of our decision making at all stages, and working closely with HM Courts and Tribunals Service to reduce appeals times.</p> answering member constituency Portsmouth North answering member printed Penny Mordaunt question first answered 27/02/2017 12:14:23 answering member 4017 label Biography information for Penny Mordaunt
tabling member	483 label Biography information for Maria Eagle

690482

registered interest
date	17/02/2017
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 Leave: Musculoskeletal Disorders
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many fit notes were issued to people as a result of musculoskeletal conditions in (a) England and (b) Leeds in (i) 2015 and (ii) 2016.
tabling member constituency	Leeds West
tabling member printed	Rachel Reeves
uin	64195
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/02/2017 answer text <p>At present we do not hold any data relating to fit notes so are unable to provide the information requested. We are working with NHS Digital towards making anonymised fit note statistics available. These statistics will include information on the main diagnosed condition (ICD-10) and the location of the Clinical Commissioning Group which will allow the number of fit notes issued for both England and Leeds to be identified.</p> answering member constituency Portsmouth North answering member printed Penny Mordaunt question first answered 27/02/2017 12:37:24 answering member 4017 label Biography information for Penny Mordaunt
tabling member	4031 label Biography information for Rachel Reeves

690484

registered interest
date	17/02/2017
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	Carers' Benefits
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will assess the merits of introducing a care costs payment for all carers, including those over state pension age.
tabling member constituency	Linlithgow and East Falkirk
tabling member printed	Martyn Day
uin	64222
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/02/2017 answer text <p>The Government is spending record amounts on supporting carers, including those in Scotland, through the benefit system. Carer’s Allowance itself provides a measure of financial support and recognition for people who give up the opportunity of full-time employment in order to provide regular and substantial care for a severely disabled person.</p><p> </p><p>Means tested benefits such as Income Support and Pension Credit include additional amounts for carers and are available to low income carers of working age and over state pension age respectively. The additional amounts mean that lower-income carers can be better off than others who receive these benefits.</p><p> </p><p>Both Carer’s Allowance, and the additional amounts for carers, are paid in addition to the extra costs disability benefits (such as Attendance Allowance), which are designed to provide a contribution towards the extra costs that people with long-term health conditions and disabilities can face.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Portsmouth North answering member printed Penny Mordaunt question first answered 22/02/2017 11:50:37 answering member 4017 label Biography information for Penny Mordaunt
tabling member	4488 label Biography information for Martyn Day