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712528

registered interest
date	20/03/2017
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	Workplace Pensions
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what progress his Department has made on behalf of DEC, Compaq and Hewlett Packard pensioners with pre-1997 pension contributions in resolving their case.
tabling member constituency	Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock
tabling member printed	Corri Wilson
uin	68483
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/03/2017 answer text <p>I have met senior representatives from the company to present the pensioners’ arguments and make clear my interest in the matter.</p><p> </p><p>However, the company is meeting its legal obligations.</p><p> </p><p>Any increases to pensions in payment are likely to mean significant additional expenditure for any scheme and its sponsoring employer. Therefore, the Government has no plans to require all schemes to pay increases on pre-1997 pensions.</p> answering member constituency Watford answering member printed Richard Harrington question first answered 23/03/2017 15:45:31 answering member 4068 label Biography information for Lord Harrington of Watford
tabling member	4448 label Biography information for Corri Wilson

712529

registered interest
date	20/03/2017
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	Swine Flu: Vaccination
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much his Department spent on legal fees in all stages of legal proceedings related to Pandemrix.
tabling member constituency	Batley and Spen
tabling member printed	Tracy Brabin
uin	68578
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/03/2017 answer text <p>The Department has spent £33,255.39 on legal fees in all stages of legal proceedings related to Pandemrix. This figure represents the costs of external Counsel and services provided by the Government Legal Department’s Litigation team. In addition, the Department has received support from the Government Legal Department’s Advisory team but this was provided as part of a broader fee arrangement and it is therefore not possible to separately identify the fee element relating to any particular case or group of cases.</p> answering member constituency Portsmouth North answering member printed Penny Mordaunt question first answered 23/03/2017 16:37:08 answering member 4017 label Biography information for Penny Mordaunt
tabling member	4588 label Biography information for Tracy Brabin

712135

registered interest
date	17/03/2017
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 personal independence payment assessment decisions have been overturned at mandatory reconsideration stage since 1 January 2017.
tabling member constituency	Alyn and Deeside
tabling member printed	Mark Tami
uin	68374
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/03/2017 answer text <p>Statistics on Personal Independence Payment Mandatory Reconsiderations can be found in published statistics in data tables 7A and 7B of:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/personal-independence-payment-statistics" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/personal-independence-payment-statistics</a></p><p>These statistics relate to normal rules claims (i.e. excluding special rules cases for the terminally ill), and are for both new claims and Disability Living Allowance (DLA) reassessment claims.</p> answering member constituency Portsmouth North answering member printed Penny Mordaunt question first answered 24/03/2017 14:34:25 answering member 4017 label Biography information for Penny Mordaunt
tabling member	1383 label Biography information for Mark Tami

712137

registered interest
date	17/03/2017
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 improve the ratio of personal independence payment cases that reach the appeal stage due to inaccurate assessments.
tabling member constituency	Alyn and Deeside
tabling member printed	Mark Tami
uin	68371
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/03/2017 answer text <p>The system of assessing claimants’ eligibility for Personal Independent Payment (PIP) has been continually reviewed and refined in order to improve its efficiency and effectiveness. We continue to work extensively with PIP assessment providers and disability representatives to make improvements to guidance, training and audit procedures in order to ensure a quality service is maintained.</p><p> </p><p>Furthermore, as part of on-going review and improvement of PIP, we are continuing to make efforts to ensure that all decisions, whether made initially or at Mandatory Reconsideration, are the best informed decisions. For example, the department is running a series of tests which explores the different ways we can improve evidence gathering and the quality of our decision making.</p><p> </p><p>However, it is important that claimants can appeal their award decision if they are unhappy with it. Moreover, a request for an appeal does not mean that the decisions taken initially and as part of Mandatory Reconsideration were inaccurate. Claimants often provide new, relevant evidence at the tribunal stage.</p> answering member constituency Portsmouth North answering member printed Penny Mordaunt question first answered 24/03/2017 14:40:42 answering member 4017 label Biography information for Penny Mordaunt
tabling member	1383 label Biography information for Mark Tami

712138

registered interest
date	17/03/2017
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	Maternity benefits
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many days on average it takes between receipt of an application by his Department from an applicant habitually resident in the UK and the date of first payment of (a) maternity grant, (b) maternity allowance and (c) maternity pay.
tabling member constituency	Wolverhampton South West
tabling member printed	Rob Marris
uin	68414
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/03/2017 answer text <p>a) Average Actual Clearance Times (AACT) figures for Sure Start Maternity Grants (SSMGs) are published in Section 4.11 of the Annual Report by the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on the Social Fund 2015-16 <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/552482/social-fund-annual-report-2015-2016.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/552482/social-fund-annual-report-2015-2016.pdf</a></p><p> </p><p>These figures show the time from receipt of application to the payment being released. In 2015-16, this was 3.54 days. It then takes 3 working days to arrive in the claimant’s bank account.</p><p> </p><p>Before a person can qualify for SSMG they have to be in receipt of a qualifying benefit. In order for the qualifying benefit to be paid, the claimant would need to have passed the Habitual Residence test for that qualifying benefit. Therefore all claimants in receipt of SSMG are habitually resident.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>b) The Average Actual Clearance Time (AACT) for Maternity Allowance (MA) for 2015/16 was 9.76 days. This shows the average time between receipt of the MA1 claim form and the decision to entitlement. The time taken to payment will depend on the circumstances of each case. The mother can apply for MA once she is 26 weeks pregnant. Payment can start any time between 11 weeks before the baby is due and the day after the baby is born, and is made when the mother leaves work.</p><p> </p><p>c) Women wishing to claim Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) do so directly to their employer and are paid SMP as part of their pay. DWP does not deal with these cases, and holds no information on timescales for payment.</p><p> </p><p>Habitual residence is not a qualifying condition for SMP or MA, entitlement to which is based on employment, earnings and National Insurance Contributions.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency East Hampshire answering member printed Damian Hinds question first answered 22/03/2017 16:12:27 answering member 3969 label Biography information for Damian Hinds
tabling member	1468 label Biography information for Rob Marris

712139

registered interest
date	17/03/2017
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
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many applications for personal independence payments have been successful upon first assessment or reassessment since 2013.
tabling member constituency	Birkenhead
tabling member printed	Frank Field
uin	68421
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/03/2017 answer text <p>The latest available data on personal independence payment (PIP) including clearances split by clearance type indicator and Re-assessment indicator, can be found at <a href="https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/" target="_blank">https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/</a></p><p> </p><p>Guidance on how to use Stat-Xplore can be found here: <a href="https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/index.html" target="_blank">https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/index.html</a></p> answering member constituency Portsmouth North answering member printed Penny Mordaunt question first answered 22/03/2017 15:44:49 answering member 4017 label Biography information for Penny Mordaunt
tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead

711779

registered interest
date	16/03/2017
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
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 cumulative cost to date of the personal independence payments assessment programme on the NHS budget.
tabling member constituency	Bermondsey and Old Southwark
tabling member printed	Neil Coyle
uin	68310
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/03/2017 answer text <p>Personal Independence Payment (PIP), together with Disability Living Allowance and Attendance Allowance, are universal benefits that help with the extra costs arising from a long-term health condition or disability. Spending on these benefits increased by over £3 billion over the course of the last parliament and we expect to be spending nearly £23 billion in 2017/18. We would expect individuals to be accessing the relevant support services, regardless of benefit receipt and do not expect the introduction of PIP to impact health services.</p> answering member constituency Portsmouth North answering member printed Penny Mordaunt question first answered 24/03/2017 14:24:09 answering member 4017 label Biography information for Penny Mordaunt
tabling member	4368 label Biography information for Neil Coyle

711827

registered interest
date	16/03/2017
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 plans to take to reduce the (a) number of appeals against decisions on personal independence payments and (b) success rate of such appeals.
tabling member constituency	Poplar and Limehouse
tabling member printed	Jim Fitzpatrick
uin	68243
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/03/2017 answer text <p>7%, of all Personal Independence Payment (PIP) decisions have been appealed and 3% have been overturned.</p><p> </p><p>As part of on-going review and improvement of PIP, we are continuing to make efforts to ensure that all decisions, whether made initially or at Mandatory Reconsideration (MR), are the best informed decisions. For example, the department is running a series of trials which looks at the end to end PIP decision making process with a particular focus on MR and explores the different ways we can improve the quality of our decision making.</p><p> </p><p>However, it is important that claimants can appeal their award decision if they are unhappy with it. Moreover, a request for an appeal does not mean that the decisions taken initially and as part of Mandatory Reconsideration were not right. Claimants often provide new, relevant evidence at the tribunal stage.</p> answering member constituency Portsmouth North answering member printed Penny Mordaunt question first answered 24/03/2017 14:27:52 answering member 4017 label Biography information for Penny Mordaunt
tabling member	197 label Biography information for Jim Fitzpatrick

711828

registered interest
date	16/03/2017
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	Child Support Agency: Telephone Services
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 resolve the faults with the Child Support Agency's automated telephone system.
tabling member constituency	West Lancashire
tabling member printed	Rosie Cooper
uin	68251
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/03/2017 answer text <p>During the 2016/2017 operating year 97.4% of calls were answered within 60 seconds. During this period, there have been two issues with the Child Support Agency telephone system which impacted client calls. These were (1) Monday 07 November 2016 from 16:30 to 20:00 with some client calls cut off; and (2) Monday 20 February 2017 from around 11:00 to 19:30 an issue with the IT system meant we needed to deploy a telephone call plan requesting clients call back the following day.</p><p> </p><p>These faults were resolved quickly minimising impacts on our clients</p> answering member constituency Romsey and Southampton North answering member printed Caroline Nokes question first answered 21/03/2017 16:58:12 answering member 4048 label Biography information for Caroline Nokes
tabling member	1538 label Biography information for Rosie Cooper

711829

registered interest
date	16/03/2017
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	Child Support Agency: Telephone Services
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what monitoring and reporting mechanisms are in place for identifying operational issues at the Child Support Agency, including faults with the automated telephone system; and when the problem with the operation of that automated telephone system was first identified.
tabling member constituency	West Lancashire
tabling member printed	Rosie Cooper
uin	68252
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/03/2017 answer text <p>The Child Support Agency has a number of steps in place to help identify any telephony system issues. Including:</p><p> </p><p>(1) Technical Monitoring - There is extensive monitoring and assessment of the overall Child Support Agency with a full incident and problem management process in place.</p><p> </p><p>(2) Business call monitoring – we have real time management information to helps us identify:</p><p> </p><ul><li>Numbers of our Caseworkers available to take calls from clients</li><li>If queues are starting to build up on any of our lines</li><li>Average waiting time for client calls</li><li>Call abandonment rates from clients hanging up</li></ul><p> </p><p>This information helps our telephony performance and Network Management Teams to monitor the service being provided to clients and urgently respond to any issues</p><p> </p><p>(3) CSA Operational colleagues will raise incidents when they become aware of issues they are experiencing, or if clients report any difficulties when their call is answered.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>During the 2016/2017 operating year 97.4% of calls were answered within 60 seconds. During this period, there have been two issues with the Child Support Agency telephone system which impacted client calls. These were (1) Monday 07 November 2016 from 16:30 to 20:00 with some client calls cut off; and (2) Monday 20 February 2017 from around 11:00 to 19:30 an issue with the IT system meant we needed to deploy a telephone call plan requesting clients call back the following day.</p><p> </p><p>These faults were resolved quickly minimising impacts on our clients</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Romsey and Southampton North answering member printed Caroline Nokes question first answered 21/03/2017 17:08:32 answering member 4048 label Biography information for Caroline Nokes
tabling member	1538 label Biography information for Rosie Cooper