Show Search Form

Search Results

registered interest	true false
date	exactly: or between: and
answering body
answering dept id
answering dept short name
answering dept sort name
hansard heading
house id
legislature	pref label
question text
tabling member constituency
tabling member printed
uin
answer	is ministerial correction true false date of answer exactly: or between: and answer text answering member constituency answering member printed grouped question UIN question first answered answering member label
tabling member	label

Search

1585305

registered interest
date	08/02/2023
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 he will take to reduce the backlog of people awaiting a Personal Independence Payment claim to be assessed.
tabling member constituency	Bristol South
tabling member printed	Karin Smyth
uin	142749
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/02/2023 answer text <p>We are committed to ensuring people can access financial support through Personal Independence Payment (PIP) in a timely manner. Reducing customer journey times for PIP claimants is a priority for the department, and we are working constantly to make improvements to our service.</p><p> </p><p>We always aim to make an award decision as quickly as possible, taking into account the need to review all the available evidence, including that from the claimant.</p><p> </p><p>We are continuing to see an improvement in PIP clearance times, with the latest statistics showing that the average end-to-end journey has reduced each quarter from 26 weeks in August 2021, to 16 weeks at the end of October 2022. This is because we are:</p><p> </p><ul><li>Using a blend of phone, video and face-to-face assessments to support customers and deliver a more efficient and user-centred service;</li><li>Increasing case manager and assessment provider health professional resource; and</li><li>Prioritising new claims, whilst safeguarding claimants awaiting award reviews, who have returned their information as required, to ensure their payments continue until their review can be completed.</li></ul><p> </p> answering member constituency Corby answering member printed Tom Pursglove question first answered 20/02/2023 13:03:31 answering member 4369 label Biography information for Tom Pursglove
tabling member	4444 label Biography information for Karin Smyth

1585306

registered interest
date	08/02/2023
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	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to paragraph 5 on page 2 of the Institute for Fiscal Studies report, The number of new disability benefit claimants has doubled in a year, published in December 2022, whether he will have discussions with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on the report's findings on trends in the number of people reporting that their health limits their daily activities.
tabling member constituency	Bristol South
tabling member printed	Karin Smyth
uin	142750
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/02/2023 answer text <p>I have frequent discussions with other members of the Government on a range of issues in my role as Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work.</p><p> </p><p>Entitlement to Personal Independence Payment is assessed on the basis of the needs arising from a health condition or disability, rather than the health condition or disability itself.</p><p> </p><p>Claim volumes vary over time and not all claims are successful. Between the year ending October 2021 and year ending October 2022, the overall increase of new claims was 18.2%.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Corby answering member printed Tom Pursglove question first answered 20/02/2023 13:15:07 answering member 4369 label Biography information for Tom Pursglove
tabling member	4444 label Biography information for Karin Smyth

1544839

registered interest
date	23/11/2022
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 estimate he has made of the number of Universal Credit claimants whose cases require a manual calculation each month.
tabling member constituency	Bristol South
tabling member printed	Karin Smyth
uin	94787
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/12/2022 answer text <p>The number of claimants who require a manual calculation of Universal Credit per month is approximately 0.48%.</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 01/12/2022 17:17:19 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	4444 label Biography information for Karin Smyth

1544840

registered interest
date	23/11/2022
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: National Insurance Contributions
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate his Department has made of the number of Universal Credit claimants who are entitled to receive but have not yet been credited with class 3 National Insurance contributions, since the introduction of the new computer system in March 2019.
tabling member constituency	Bristol South
tabling member printed	Karin Smyth
uin	94788
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/12/2022 answer text <p>All claimants in receipt of Universal Credit (UC) are entitled to receive Class 3 National Insurance credits and these are awarded automatically on an annual basis.</p><p>Any UC claimant not receiving these credits should contact HMRC.</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman grouped question UIN 94789 question first answered 01/12/2022 17:49:23 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	4444 label Biography information for Karin Smyth

1544841

registered interest
date	23/11/2022
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: National Insurance Contributions
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 make an estimate of the number of Universal Credit claimants whose class three national insurance credits have not been credited and who do not have 30 qualifying years of national insurance contributions or credits that will reach state retirement age in the next two years.
tabling member constituency	Bristol South
tabling member printed	Karin Smyth
uin	94789
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/12/2022 answer text <p>All claimants in receipt of Universal Credit (UC) are entitled to receive Class 3 National Insurance credits and these are awarded automatically on an annual basis.</p><p>Any UC claimant not receiving these credits should contact HMRC.</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman grouped question UIN 94788 question first answered 01/12/2022 17:49:23 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	4444 label Biography information for Karin Smyth

1544842

registered interest
date	23/11/2022
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, when he plans to update the Universal Credit computer system to automatically award National Insurance credits to claimants and to allow online predictions of State pension entitlement.
tabling member constituency	Bristol South
tabling member printed	Karin Smyth
uin	94790
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/12/2022 answer text <p>The UC system will gradually start broadcasting to the National Insurance system next month. This will be done automatically via an interface with HMRC systems. Since the cessation of manual record update in 2019 we have been developing, testing and refining the process of automation.</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 01/12/2022 17:45:15 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	4444 label Biography information for Karin Smyth

1473188

registered interest
date	24/06/2022
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	Carer's Allowance: Cost of Living
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 take steps to ensure that carers who are in receipt of Carer’s Allowance who do not live at the same address as the person they care for receive the £150 cost of living payment in recognition of the additional caring costs they face.
tabling member constituency	Bristol South
tabling member printed	Karin Smyth
uin	24614
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/06/2022 answer text <p>This Government recognises and values the vital contribution made by carers every day in providing significant care and continuity of support to family and friends, including pensioners and those with disabilities.</p><p> </p><p>The weekly rate of Carer’s Allowance increased to £69.70 in April 2022. This means that since 2010 it has increased from £53.90 to £69.70 a week, providing an additional £800 a year for carers through Carer’s Allowance. Real terms expenditure on Carer’s Allowance in 2022/23 is forecast to be £3.4bn and between 2022/23 and 2026/27 is forecast to increase by just over a third (around £1.2 billion). By 2026/27, the Government is forecast to spend just over £4.5 billion a year on Carer’s Allowance.</p><p> </p><p>Carers on low incomes can claim income-related benefits, such as Universal Credit and Pension Credit. These benefits can be paid to carers at a higher rate than those without caring responsibilities through the carer element and the additional amount for carers respectively. Currently, the Universal Credit carer element is £168.81 per monthly assessment period, and the additional amount for carers in Pension Credit is £38.85 per week.   Around 405,000 (Feb 2022 data) carer households on Universal Credit can already receive around an additional £2,000 a year through the Carer Element.</p><p> </p><p>Nearly 60% of carers on low incomes who are of working age and on Carer’s Allowance claim an income-related benefit through which they will be entitled to receive a £650 Cost of Living Payment (split over two instalments - the first one of £326 payable from 14 July). The £650 Cost of Living payment is being targeted at low income households who are in receipt of a means-tested income replacement benefit. There are no plans to amend the qualifying benefits for the Cost of Living Payment or to introduce payments for higher income households over and above what has already been announced.</p><p> </p><p>Six million people in receipt of an eligible disability benefit will also receive the £150 Disability Cost of Living Payment. This includes carers who are themselves in receipt of a qualifying benefit.</p><p> </p><p>All Carer’s Allowance recipients who are domestic energy customers will receive a £400 rebate through the Energy Bills Support Scheme.</p><p> </p><p>All Carer’s Allowance recipients in England who pay Council Tax should have received a £150 rebate.</p><p> </p><p>In addition to support people who need additional help, the Government is providing an extra £500 million of local support. In England this will be via the Household Support Fund, which will be extended from this October to March 2023 backed by £421m.</p><p> </p><p>The Household Support Fund helps those in most need with payments towards the rising cost of food, energy, and water bills. The government will issue additional guidance to Local Authorities to ensure support is targeted towards those most in need of support, including those not eligible for the Cost of Living Payments.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Norwich North answering member printed Chloe Smith grouped question UIN 24616 24617 question first answered 29/06/2022 14:18:53 answering member 1609 label Biography information for Chloe Smith
tabling member	4444 label Biography information for Karin Smyth

1473191

registered interest
date	24/06/2022
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: Cost of Living Payments
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she has plans to extend the £650 cost of living payment to carers who are in receipt of Carer’s Allowance but are under state pension age and do not receive a means tested benefit.
tabling member constituency	Bristol South
tabling member printed	Karin Smyth
uin	24616
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/06/2022 answer text <p>This Government recognises and values the vital contribution made by carers every day in providing significant care and continuity of support to family and friends, including pensioners and those with disabilities.</p><p> </p><p>The weekly rate of Carer’s Allowance increased to £69.70 in April 2022. This means that since 2010 it has increased from £53.90 to £69.70 a week, providing an additional £800 a year for carers through Carer’s Allowance. Real terms expenditure on Carer’s Allowance in 2022/23 is forecast to be £3.4bn and between 2022/23 and 2026/27 is forecast to increase by just over a third (around £1.2 billion). By 2026/27, the Government is forecast to spend just over £4.5 billion a year on Carer’s Allowance.</p><p> </p><p>Carers on low incomes can claim income-related benefits, such as Universal Credit and Pension Credit. These benefits can be paid to carers at a higher rate than those without caring responsibilities through the carer element and the additional amount for carers respectively. Currently, the Universal Credit carer element is £168.81 per monthly assessment period, and the additional amount for carers in Pension Credit is £38.85 per week.   Around 405,000 (Feb 2022 data) carer households on Universal Credit can already receive around an additional £2,000 a year through the Carer Element.</p><p> </p><p>Nearly 60% of carers on low incomes who are of working age and on Carer’s Allowance claim an income-related benefit through which they will be entitled to receive a £650 Cost of Living Payment (split over two instalments - the first one of £326 payable from 14 July). The £650 Cost of Living payment is being targeted at low income households who are in receipt of a means-tested income replacement benefit. There are no plans to amend the qualifying benefits for the Cost of Living Payment or to introduce payments for higher income households over and above what has already been announced.</p><p> </p><p>Six million people in receipt of an eligible disability benefit will also receive the £150 Disability Cost of Living Payment. This includes carers who are themselves in receipt of a qualifying benefit.</p><p> </p><p>All Carer’s Allowance recipients who are domestic energy customers will receive a £400 rebate through the Energy Bills Support Scheme.</p><p> </p><p>All Carer’s Allowance recipients in England who pay Council Tax should have received a £150 rebate.</p><p> </p><p>In addition to support people who need additional help, the Government is providing an extra £500 million of local support. In England this will be via the Household Support Fund, which will be extended from this October to March 2023 backed by £421m.</p><p> </p><p>The Household Support Fund helps those in most need with payments towards the rising cost of food, energy, and water bills. The government will issue additional guidance to Local Authorities to ensure support is targeted towards those most in need of support, including those not eligible for the Cost of Living Payments.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Norwich North answering member printed Chloe Smith grouped question UIN 24614 24617 question first answered 29/06/2022 14:18:53 answering member 1609 label Biography information for Chloe Smith
tabling member	4444 label Biography information for Karin Smyth

1473194

registered interest
date	24/06/2022
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: Finance
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 help ensure that carers can meet their monthly expenses.
tabling member constituency	Bristol South
tabling member printed	Karin Smyth
uin	24617
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/06/2022 answer text <p>This Government recognises and values the vital contribution made by carers every day in providing significant care and continuity of support to family and friends, including pensioners and those with disabilities.</p><p> </p><p>The weekly rate of Carer’s Allowance increased to £69.70 in April 2022. This means that since 2010 it has increased from £53.90 to £69.70 a week, providing an additional £800 a year for carers through Carer’s Allowance. Real terms expenditure on Carer’s Allowance in 2022/23 is forecast to be £3.4bn and between 2022/23 and 2026/27 is forecast to increase by just over a third (around £1.2 billion). By 2026/27, the Government is forecast to spend just over £4.5 billion a year on Carer’s Allowance.</p><p> </p><p>Carers on low incomes can claim income-related benefits, such as Universal Credit and Pension Credit. These benefits can be paid to carers at a higher rate than those without caring responsibilities through the carer element and the additional amount for carers respectively. Currently, the Universal Credit carer element is £168.81 per monthly assessment period, and the additional amount for carers in Pension Credit is £38.85 per week.   Around 405,000 (Feb 2022 data) carer households on Universal Credit can already receive around an additional £2,000 a year through the Carer Element.</p><p> </p><p>Nearly 60% of carers on low incomes who are of working age and on Carer’s Allowance claim an income-related benefit through which they will be entitled to receive a £650 Cost of Living Payment (split over two instalments - the first one of £326 payable from 14 July). The £650 Cost of Living payment is being targeted at low income households who are in receipt of a means-tested income replacement benefit. There are no plans to amend the qualifying benefits for the Cost of Living Payment or to introduce payments for higher income households over and above what has already been announced.</p><p> </p><p>Six million people in receipt of an eligible disability benefit will also receive the £150 Disability Cost of Living Payment. This includes carers who are themselves in receipt of a qualifying benefit.</p><p> </p><p>All Carer’s Allowance recipients who are domestic energy customers will receive a £400 rebate through the Energy Bills Support Scheme.</p><p> </p><p>All Carer’s Allowance recipients in England who pay Council Tax should have received a £150 rebate.</p><p> </p><p>In addition to support people who need additional help, the Government is providing an extra £500 million of local support. In England this will be via the Household Support Fund, which will be extended from this October to March 2023 backed by £421m.</p><p> </p><p>The Household Support Fund helps those in most need with payments towards the rising cost of food, energy, and water bills. The government will issue additional guidance to Local Authorities to ensure support is targeted towards those most in need of support, including those not eligible for the Cost of Living Payments.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Norwich North answering member printed Chloe Smith grouped question UIN 24614 24616 question first answered 29/06/2022 14:18:53 answering member 1609 label Biography information for Chloe Smith
tabling member	4444 label Biography information for Karin Smyth

1462514

registered interest
date	12/05/2022
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	State Retirement Pensions: Widowed People
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 number of men and women who are eligible to inherit a deceased partner's Additional State Pension but who have yet to make a claim to do so.
tabling member constituency	Bristol South
tabling member printed	Karin Smyth
uin	1205
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/05/2022 answer text <p>No estimation has been made. Under current rules, State Pension recipients who become widowed do not need to make a separate claim to get any inherited additional State Pension they may be entitled to. Similarly, those widowed before State Pension age should receive any inherited additional State Pension they may be entitled to when they claim their State Pension.</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 18/05/2022 13:07:29 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	4444 label Biography information for Karin Smyth