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1666852

registered interest
date	24/10/2023
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	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, what steps his Department is taking to help support people with increases in the cost of living.
tabling member constituency	Penrith and The Border
tabling member printed	Dr Neil Hudson
uin	204057
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/10/2023 answer text <p>The Government understands the pressures people are facing with the cost of living and is taking action to help. Overall, we are providing total support of over £94bn over 2022-23 and 2023- 24 to help households and individuals with the rising cost of bills.</p><p> </p><p>This includes up to £900 in Cost of Living Payments for households on eligible means-tested benefits. The next payment of £300 will be made between 31 October 2023 and 19 November 2023 for most people who are eligible, which follows on from the £301 payment issued in April 2023 to 8.3 million households. A further payment of £299 will be made by spring 2024 for those entitled. In addition, more than eight million pensioner households across the UK will receive an additional £300 Cost of Living Payment during winter 2023-24 paid as a top up to the winter fuel payment and 6.4 million individuals on eligible ‘extra-costs’ disability benefits have also received a further £150 Disability Cost of Living Payment.</p><p> </p><p>For people who require additional support, in England, the Household Support Fund will continue until March 2024. This year long extension allows Local Authorities in England to continue to provide discretionary support to those most in need with the significantly rising cost of living. Local Authorities are expected to support households in the most need, and in particular those who may not be eligible for the other support Government recently made available but are nevertheless in need of support. In the case of Westmorland and Furness, the local authority has been allocated £3,045,591 for this period. The Devolved Administrations will receive consequential funding as usual to spend at their discretion.</p><p> </p><p>From April, we uprated benefit rates and State Pensions by 10.1%, and in order to increase the number of households who can benefit from these uprating decisions the benefit cap levels also increased by the same amount.</p><p> </p><p>To support those who are in work, from 1 April, the National Living Wage (NLW) increased by 9.7% to £10.42 an hour for workers aged 23 and over - the largest ever cash increase for the NLW.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 26/10/2023 11:12:09 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	4853 label Biography information for Dr Neil Hudson

1666853

registered interest
date	24/10/2023
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	State Retirement Pensions
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the level of financial support provided to people on the State Pension.
tabling member constituency	Penrith and The Border
tabling member printed	Dr Neil Hudson
uin	204058
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/10/2023 answer text <p>The Government remains committed to ensuring that older people can live with the dignity and respect they deserve, and the State Pension is the foundation of state support for older people.</p><p> </p><p>In April, the State Pension saw its biggest ever rise, increasing by 10.1%. The full yearly amount of the basic State Pension will be over £3,050 higher, in cash terms, than in 2010. That’s £790 more than if it had been uprated by Prices, and £945 more than if it had been uprated by earnings (since 2010).</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The Government understands the pressures people including pensioners are facing with the cost of living and has put in place a significant package of measures. To ensure stability and certainty for households, the Government is providing a further £26bn in cost-of-living support for 2023/24. This is a substantial package of support which recognises the current additional costs faced by pensioners.</p> answering member constituency Sevenoaks answering member printed Laura Trott question first answered 26/10/2023 09:18:48 answering member 4780 label Biography information for Laura Trott
tabling member	4853 label Biography information for Dr Neil Hudson

1666893

registered interest
date	24/10/2023
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	Pension 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 and what proportion of people claiming Pension Credit were born on or after April 2016.
tabling member constituency	Ellesmere Port and Neston
tabling member printed	Justin Madders
uin	204041
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/10/2023 answer text <p>Pension Credit is only available to those of State Pension age. Therefore the number and proportion of people claiming Pension Credit who were born on or after April 2016, is zero. They are, at most, seven years old.</p> answering member constituency Sevenoaks answering member printed Laura Trott question first answered 26/10/2023 09:15:43 answering member 4780 label Biography information for Laura Trott
tabling member	4418 label Biography information for Justin Madders

1666894

registered interest
date	24/10/2023
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	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 steps the Government is taking to support employers to encourage good musculoskeletal health in the workplace, in the context of levels of musculoskeletal-related economic inactivity in the workforce.
tabling member constituency	East Antrim
tabling member printed	Sammy Wilson
uin	204006
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/10/2023 answer text <p>The Government is taking several steps to help support employers to encourage good musculoskeletal (MSK) health in the workplace and reduce MSK-related economic inactivity.</p><p> </p><p>In October 2022, we published the <a href="https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.som.org.uk%2Fsites%2Fsom.org.uk%2Ffiles%2FMSK_Health_Toolkit_for_employers_and_further_education_institutions.pdf&amp;data=05|01|Manuel.Ramos27%40dhsc.gov.uk|46179b1e03eb4329a05b08dab1eef870|61278c3091a84c318c1fef4de8973a1c|1|0|638017937164151338|Unknown|TWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D|3000|||&amp;sdata=2JT4Zdo8eJA43ZQopeH%2FcvyEfTnkf4GN2W7cZ8lOKFo%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">Musculoskeletal (MSK) Health Toolkit for employers and further education institutions</a> which encourages employers to support adolescents and young adults with MSK conditions. The Musculoskeletal health toolkit for employers was developed in partnership with Business in the Community and provides practical information for employers of all sizes to address MSK conditions in the workplace for the working age population.</p><p> </p><p>On the 24 January 2023, the Government announced plans to publish the Major Conditions Strategy (MCS). The Strategy will focus on six major groups of conditions including musculoskeletal disorders such as arthritis. It will explore how we can tackle the key drivers of ill-health in England, reduce pressure on the NHS and reduce ill-health related labour market inactivity. MSK is one of six key focuses of the MCS, which will be published early next year.</p><p> </p><p>In the Spring Budget of 15 March 2023, the Government also set out a package of measures to tackle the leading health-related causes keeping people out of work, including people with MSK conditions:</p><p> </p><ul><li>Introducing employment advisors within MSK services, including to support people with MSK conditions to thrive in work;</li><li>Piloting the WorkWell Partnerships Programme to support disabled people and people with health conditions who want help to work;</li><li>Undertaking two consultations to understand how best to increase employer use of occupational health services;</li><li>New investment to broaden access to additional Work Coach support for disabled people and people with health conditions; and</li><li>Introducing a new supported employment programme (Universal Support) for disabled people and people with long-term health conditions, matching participants with open market jobs and funding support and training.</li></ul><p> </p><p>The Government also has a range of initiatives to provide expert and tailored support for disabled people and people with health conditions, including people with MSK conditions, to start, stay and succeed in work. These include:</p><ul><li>Access to Work grants helping towards extra costs of working beyond standard reasonable adjustments;</li><li>Disability Confident, encouraging employers to think differently about disability and health, and to take positive action to address the issues disabled employees face in the workplace; and</li><li>An online Information Service called providing better integrated and tailored guidance on supporting health and disability in the workplace.</li></ul> answering member constituency Corby answering member printed Tom Pursglove question first answered 26/10/2023 11:10:23 answering member 4369 label Biography information for Tom Pursglove
tabling member	1593 label Biography information for Sammy Wilson

1666895

registered interest
date	24/10/2023
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	Arthritis
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps the Government is taking to assess which workplace interventions are suitable to help ensure that people with arthritis are able to remain in work.
tabling member constituency	East Antrim
tabling member printed	Sammy Wilson
uin	204007
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/10/2023 answer text <p>The Government has a range of initiatives to provide expert and tailored support for disabled people and people with health conditions, including people with arthritis, to start, stay and succeed in work. These focus on providing suitable interventions for each individual and helping employers to support their employees’ needs:</p><ul><li>Access to Work grants helping towards extra costs of working beyond standard reasonable adjustments;</li><li>Disability Confident, encouraging employers to think differently about disability and health, and to take positive action to address the issues disabled employees face in the workplace;</li><li>An online Information Service called <a href="https://www.support-with-employee-health-and-disability.dwp.gov.uk/support-with-employee-health-and-disability" target="_blank">“Support with Employee Health and Disability”,</a> providing better integrated and tailored guidance on supporting health and disability in the workplace;</li><li>Increasing access to occupational health, including the testing of financial incentives for small and medium-sized enterprises and the self-employed;</li></ul><p>Work in partnership between the DWP and the health system, including the Individual Placement and Support in Primary Care (IPSPC) programme, a Supported Employment model (place, train and maintain) delivered in health settings, aimed at people with physical or common mental health conditions to support them to access paid jobs in the open labour market.</p> answering member constituency Corby answering member printed Tom Pursglove question first answered 26/10/2023 11:04:57 answering member 4369 label Biography information for Tom Pursglove
tabling member	1593 label Biography information for Sammy Wilson

1666896

registered interest
date	24/10/2023
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	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, whether his Department is taking steps to (a) recruit and (b) train more Access to Work advisors.
tabling member constituency	East Antrim
tabling member printed	Sammy Wilson
uin	204008
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/10/2023 answer text <p>There have been several recruitment and redeployment activities this year to increase the AtW Advisor staffing numbers. All of these staff will have comprehensive training when they join AtW to enable them to carry out their role.</p><p> </p><ul><li>In January 2023 we recruited and redeployed 68 staff.</li><li>During March and April 2023 an additional 25 case workers have been temporarily promoted to deliver the advisor role.</li><li>In November 2023 a further 24 advisors are being redeployed and trained as Access to Work advisors.</li><li>In November 2023 an external recruitment exercise will take place where an additional 25 advisors’ roles are expected to be recruited, where the planning assumption is that these staff will take up their posts by the end of March 2024.</li></ul> answering member constituency Corby answering member printed Tom Pursglove question first answered 26/10/2023 11:06:01 answering member 4369 label Biography information for Tom Pursglove
tabling member	1593 label Biography information for Sammy Wilson

1666897

registered interest
date	24/10/2023
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	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, if she will make an estimate of the number of people who lost job opportunities in the time between an Access to Work assessment and its implementation in the last 12 months.
tabling member constituency	East Antrim
tabling member printed	Sammy Wilson
uin	204009
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/10/2023 answer text <p>This data is not routinely collected.</p> answering member constituency Corby answering member printed Tom Pursglove question first answered 26/10/2023 11:03:13 answering member 4369 label Biography information for Tom Pursglove
tabling member	1593 label Biography information for Sammy Wilson

1666494

registered interest
date	23/10/2023
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: Medical Examinations
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of initial PIP assessments.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	203840
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/10/2023 answer text <p>Assessment quality is a priority for both the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) providers and the department. The department works extensively with providers to make improvements to guidance, training, and audit procedures, to ensure a quality service. A high standard is maintained by having an independent audit function that continually monitors performance and provides feedback to providers.</p><p> </p><p>DWP monitors providers against a range of measures and monthly performance meetings are in place to support delivery of the contracts and ensure that where action is required, it can be focused and targeted. Improvements in the PIP assessment process have been supported by two independent reviews and DWP has also taken on board recommendations from the Work and Pensions Committee.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>In addition, the department’s Health Transformation Programme (HTP) is modernising Health and Disability benefit services. It will create a more efficient service and a vastly improved claimant experience, reducing journey times and improving trust in our services and decisions. Furthermore, an ongoing programme of engagement and research has been established to ensure that the design and delivery of the HTP is rooted in evidence.</p> answering member constituency Corby answering member printed Tom Pursglove question first answered 25/10/2023 10:42:29 answering member 4369 label Biography information for Tom Pursglove
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1666534

registered interest
date	23/10/2023
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	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, when he plans to publish the findings of the consultation on the Disability Action Plan.
tabling member constituency	Lewisham, Deptford
tabling member printed	Vicky Foxcroft
uin	203879
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/10/2023 answer text <p>The consultation closed on 6 October. We are currently carefully analysing the responses received and revising proposals accordingly. We plan to publish the findings and final Disability Action Plan together, at the first appropriate opportunity.</p> answering member constituency Corby answering member printed Tom Pursglove question first answered 25/10/2023 11:48:20 answering member 4369 label Biography information for Tom Pursglove
tabling member	4491 label Biography information for Vicky Foxcroft

1666659

registered interest
date	23/10/2023
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	Pension Funds: Management
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the extent to which his Department’s Stewardship Guidance is being followed by pension scheme trustees.
tabling member constituency	East Ham
tabling member printed	Sir Stephen Timms
uin	203736
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/10/2023 answer text <p>We remain committed to reviewing the extent to which the Department’s Stewardship Guidance is being followed by pension scheme trustees to determine how far the guidance has helped trustees understand expectations around the Statement of Investment Principles (SIP) and Implementation Statement (IS), and whether improvements can be made.</p> answering member constituency Sevenoaks answering member printed Laura Trott question first answered 26/10/2023 09:11:59 answering member 4780 label Biography information for Laura Trott
tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms