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1128976

registered interest
date	03/06/2019
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	Small Businesses: Occupational Health
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 increase access for small businesses to occupational health advice.
tabling member constituency	Houghton and Sunderland South
tabling member printed	Bridget Phillipson
uin	259191
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/06/2019 answer text <p>Under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 employers are legally required to assess the risk of ill health that may result from activities undertaken in the workplace, and act on that assessment. The approach applies to all employers and directs them to take preventative action. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) sets standards and provides a range of resources and guidance for employers. As part of this work, the HSE is undertaking a programme of targeted activity with employers to help them put in place suitable and proportionate preventative measures designed to address three key work-related ill health issues; musculoskeletal disease, work-related stress and occupational lung disease. This programme involves a substantial body of cross-cutting interventions (including publicity and awareness-raising activities, sector-specific initiatives, and regulatory interventions) and forms part of HSE’s contribution to the health and safety strategy – <em>Helping Great Britain Work Well – </em>launched in 2016<em>.</em></p><p>We plan to consult later this year on measures to encourage and support all employers, including small and medium enterprises (SMEs), to play their part in retaining and reintegrating employees who are struggling with their health or who are off sick. This includes measures to improve access to cost effective and high quality occupational health services.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 06/06/2019 15:45:02 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	4046 label Biography information for Bridget Phillipson

1128257

registered interest
date	24/05/2019
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	Winter Fuel Payment: Maladministration
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, on how many occasions the winter fuel payment has been incorrectly paid; and what steps he has taken to recover those payments in each of the last three years.
tabling member constituency	Moray
tabling member printed	Douglas Ross
uin	257526
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/06/2019 answer text <p>The DWP makes around 12 million Winter Fuel payments each year.</p><p>The DWP is working hard to prevent overpayments from occurring in the first place. However, these do sometimes occur due to a claimant failing to inform DWP of a change of household composition, or that they have moved abroad. Winter Fuel staff annually undertake an extensive Data Matching exercise to identify if any overpayments have occurred, and reduce the possibility of incorrect payments.</p><p>The table below shows the volume of Winter Fuel payments that were overpaid in the last 3 financial years rounded to the nearest 100. This represents less than 0.05% of the total Winter Fuel payments made.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Year</p></td><td><p>Volume Of Winter Fuel Payments Overpaid</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2016-17</p></td><td><p>3,600</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2017-18</p></td><td><p>5,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2018-19</p></td><td><p>5,200</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p><em>*The data in this response has been sourced from internal management information. It should therefore not be compared to any other similar data subsequently released by the Department.</em></p><p /><p>The DWP has an obligation to ensure that public money is administered responsibly. Therefore, where permitted under Social Security legislation, the DWP seeks to recover any overpaid benefit. Where possible, the DWP will recover through on-going deductions from a claimant’s benefit.</p><p>The DWP ensures that appropriate safeguards are in place to protect claimants who have deductions from their benefit to repay overpayments. There are maximum rates of deduction that are set out in legislation, and if a claimant is struggling they can contact the DWP’s Debt Management Team to discuss lowering their repayment rate.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 10/06/2019 15:06:10 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	4627 label Biography information for Douglas Ross

1128541

registered interest
date	23/05/2019
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 the administrative cost is of processing a new application for personal independence payment under normal rules.
tabling member constituency	Bridgend
tabling member printed	Mrs Madeleine Moon
uin	257684
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/06/2019 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 07/06/2019 14:52:40 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	1490 label Biography information for Mrs Madeleine Moon

1128574

registered interest
date	23/05/2019
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	Department for Work and Pensions: Market Research
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions her Department had with charities and third sector organisations on ensuring market research on her Department's polices was accessible for people with that disabilities.
tabling member constituency	Inverclyde
tabling member printed	Ronnie Cowan
uin	257775
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/06/2019 answer text <p>All social research the Department undertakes complies with the principles laid out in the Government Social Research ‘<a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/515296/ethics_guidance_tcm6-5782.pdf" target="_blank">Ethical Assurance for Social Research in Government’</a> framework. This includes Principle 3 (Enabling participation), which states that:</p><p> </p><p>‘The potential impact of choices in research design (such as sample design, data collection method and so on) on participation should be considered. In particular, the effect of research design on such groups as ethnic minorities, those with caring responsibilities, and those with physical or mental impairment should be considered. Consideration should be given to issues likely to act as a barrier to participation, and reasonable steps taken to address these.’</p><p> </p><p>Accessibility requirements are therefore considered on a project by project basis in accordance with this Principle.</p><p> </p><p>No record has been kept of any specific discussions with charities and third sector organisations on ensuring that research undertaken by the Department for Work and Pensions is accessible for people with disabilities.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 07/06/2019 14:27:55 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	4465 label Biography information for Ronnie Cowan

1127442

registered interest
date	20/05/2019
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	Poverty: Children
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Agnew of Oulton on 16 May (HL15606), whether they will now answer the question put.
tabling member printed	Baroness Primarolo
uin	HL15853
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/06/2019 answer text <p>The information on numbers of children entering and exiting poverty is not available. However, figures for percentages of children moving in and out of poverty are collected in the Income Dynamics publication. These are available in Table 8.1, and in the table below:</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p>2010-2011 to 2011-2012</p></td><td><p>2011-2012 to 2012-2013</p></td><td><p>2012-2013 to 2013-2014</p></td><td><p>2013-2014 to 2014-2015</p></td><td><p>2014-2015 to 2015-2016</p></td><td><p>2015-2016 to 2016-2017</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>% children entering poverty</strong></p></td><td><p>6</p></td><td><p>6</p></td><td><p>6</p></td><td><p>7</p></td><td><p>6</p></td><td><p>7</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>% children exiting poverty</strong></p></td><td><p>34</p></td><td><p>35</p></td><td><p>37</p></td><td><p>33</p></td><td><p>33</p></td><td><p>35</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>The percentage of children entering poverty is the percentage of only those children who were <em>not in poverty</em> in the earlier year but who were in poverty the following year. The percentage of children exiting poverty is the percentage of only those children who were <em>in poverty </em>in the earlier year but who were out of poverty the following year. Entry and exit rates are very different (since entry / exit rates are expressed as a percentage of only those not previously in poverty / previously in poverty respectively).</p><p /><p>The threshold used is 60 per cent of median equivalised household income Before Housing Costs (BHC). Since household incomes are subject to measurement error, and the threshold is subject to sampling and measurement error, the analysis only includes ‘clear’ transitions. For an entry/exit to count, household incomes must cross the 60 per cent of median income threshold and be at least 10 per cent higher / lower than the threshold in the following year.</p> answering member printed Baroness Buscombe question first answered 04/06/2019 16:27:01 answering member 3349 label Biography information for Baroness Buscombe
tabling member	217 label Biography information for Baroness Primarolo

1127463

registered interest
date	20/05/2019
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	Homelessness
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 report entitled The Homelessness Monitor: England 2019 published by Crisis and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, what recent assessment he has made of the correlation between the freeze in local housing allowance and the increase in homelessness.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle-under-Lyme
tabling member printed	Paul Farrelly
uin	256221
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/05/2019 answer text <p>No such assessment has been made. There are many factors that contribute to homelessness, and these factors are varied and complex.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 28/05/2019 15:13:17 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	1436 label Biography information for Paul Farrelly

1127524

registered interest
date	20/05/2019
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	Severe Disability Premium
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the timeframe is for compensation to be made available to people who were entitled to a severe disability premium payment and who claimed universal credit before 16 January 2019.
tabling member constituency	Warrington South
tabling member printed	Faisal Rashid
uin	256335
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/05/2019 answer text <p>Since the introduction of The Universal Credit (Transitional Provisions) (SDP Gateway) Amendment Regulations 2019, which came into force on 16th January 2019, claimants who are entitled, or have been within the last month, to an award of an existing benefit that includes SDP have not been required to move to Universal Credit; even if they have experienced a relevant change in their circumstances. The draft Universal Credit (Managed Migration Pilot and Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2019, which are currently before Parliament, make provision for SDP transitional payments for those eligible claimants who have already moved to UC and for moving existing legacy claimants onto Universal Credit and implementing transitional protection.</p><p> </p><p>We are currently considering the court judgment handed down on 3 May 2019.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 29/05/2019 09:53:12 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	4670 label Biography information for Faisal Rashid

1127607

registered interest
date	20/05/2019
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: Highlands of Scotland
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many former disability living allowance claimants living in the Highland local authority area receive (a) a reduced or (b) no mobility element under personal independence payment.
tabling member constituency	Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross
tabling member printed	Jamie Stone
uin	256380
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/05/2019 answer text <p>The table below shows the number and proportion of Disability Living Allowance (DLA) claimants who were in receipt of the DLA mobility component and whom on reassessment to Personal Independence Payment (PIP) received (a) a reduced mobility element or (b) a zero mobility element at the first DWP decision. Figures are prior to any mandatory reconsideration, appeal or award review.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Mobility award under PIP compared to mobility award under DLA for those who were in receipt of the mobility component on DLA</p></td><td><p>GB</p></td><td><p>Highland Local Authority</p></td><td><p>Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>(a) Reduced Mobility</p></td><td><p>144,350 (13%)</p></td><td><p>680 (14%)</p></td><td><p>180 (14%)</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>(b) Mobility stopped</p></td><td><p>430,730 (39%)</p></td><td><p>1,690 (34%)</p></td><td><p>420 (31%)</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>(c) Mobility the same</p></td><td><p>407,290 (37%)</p></td><td><p>1,980 (40%)</p></td><td><p>560 (42%)</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>(d) Increased mobility</p></td><td><p>128,410 (12%)</p></td><td><p>630 (13%)</p></td><td><p>180 (14%)</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Total number who were in receipt of DLA mobility</p></td><td><p>1,110,770</p></td><td><p>4,970</p></td><td><p>1,340</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p><p><strong>Notes:</strong></p><ul><li>Data excludes claimants who did not previously receive a mobility component on DLA.</li><li>PIP mobility award shows the mobility award at the first DWP decision on each reassessment claim (i.e. they reflect outcomes prior to any reconsideration, appeal action and award review), where that decision was made between 8<sup>th</sup> April 2013 and 31<sup>st</sup> October 2018.</li><li>“Mobility stopped” includes claims disallowed prior to assessment, claims disallowed post-assessment and claims withdrawn by the claimant as well as claimants who were awarded PIP Daily Living but received no PIP Mobility award component.</li><li>Figures exclude rising 16s and claimants who did not respond to the invitation. Rising 16s are claimants who reach 16 years of age and so cease to be eligible for DLA but may be eligible for PIP.</li><li>Figures include reassessment outcomes for individuals who were aged between 16 and 64 on 8<sup>th</sup> April 2013, and include both PIP Normal Rules and Special Rules for the Terminally Ill claims.</li><li>Totals have been rounded to the nearest 10 and may not sum due to rounding.</li><li>Percentages are calculated using actual figures rather than rounded figures and have been rounded to the nearest 1%.</li><li>This is unpublished data. It should be used with caution and it may be subject to future revision.</li></ul> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson grouped question UIN 256379 256381 question first answered 23/05/2019 09:29:49 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	4612 label Biography information for Jamie Stone

1127667

registered interest
date	20/05/2019
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	Pensioners: Fuel Poverty
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 proportion of pensioners who forewent heating as a result of a lack of funds in the last four months of 2018.
tabling member constituency	Cardiff Central
tabling member printed	Jo Stevens
uin	256409
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/05/2019 answer text <p>The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy administers the warm home discount scheme which provides assistance to around 2 million low income and vulnerable households (including 1.21m pensioners) with their energy costs. Further details can be found at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/the-warm-home-discount-scheme" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/the-warm-home-discount-scheme</a></p><p /><p>In 2018/19 the DWP is estimated to have spent £122bn on pensioner benefits which included £2bn on winter fuel payments to 12 million pensioners, the majority of whom received their payment before Christmas 2018.</p><p> </p><p>In addition, the DWP also administers the cold weather payment scheme. For the period from the 1 November 2018 to the 31 March 2019, we estimate 438,000 payments were made to Pension Credit customers. Further details about the cold weather payment scheme can be found at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/cold-weather-payment" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/cold-weather-payment</a></p><p> </p><p>The DWP does not hold the specific information requested.</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 23/05/2019 09:59:21 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	4425 label Biography information for Jo Stevens

1126837

registered interest
date	15/05/2019
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	Working Links
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions officials in her Department have had with their counterparts in the Ministry of Justice on the Working Links: Ministerial direction correspondence published on 8 May 2019; and if she will introduce similar financial protections to her Department’s Working Links subcontractors.
tabling member constituency	Easington
tabling member printed	Grahame Morris
uin	254799
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/05/2019 answer text <p>DWP Commercial have had discussions recently with MOJ colleagues to clarify the MOJ Ministerial direction correspondence published on 8 May 2019.</p><p>The MOJ are making payments to a small number of Permitted Sub Contractors on the basis of a) the unique nature of their services (statutory services) and b) the structure of their current market in the context of the transformation announced yesterday.</p><p>The Department considered the impact on stakeholders and sub-contractors, based on the Administrator’s statement of affairs at the point of Working Links going into administration, and has worked with both the Administrator and Fedcap, who have taken over a number of Working Links contracts, to minimise the impact on those supply chain partners owed monies by Working Links at the point of administration.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 21/05/2019 16:43:14 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	3973 label Biography information for Grahame Morris