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1137155

registered interest
date	05/07/2019
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	Employment and Support Allowance: Appeals
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 29 April 2019 Health Select Committee news item, Committee publishes doctors’ views on Fit Notes and ESA appeals, what estimate her Department has made of the number of claimants who challenged their work capability assessment decisions but were refused employment support allowance while their appeal was pending due to her Department sending ambiguous ESA65B letters to claimants’ GPs.
tabling member constituency	Carshalton and Wallington
tabling member printed	Tom Brake
uin	273727
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/07/2019 answer text <p>The information requested is not available.</p><p> </p><p>We have revised the ESA65B letter, which went live from 3rd June 2019. The letter gives clear clinical discretion to GPs to continue issuing fit notes in appropriate circumstances, such as when an appeal against a Department for Work and Pensions decision is being undertaken, where a claimant’s condition has worsened or if the claimant has developed a new health condition or disability.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 10/07/2019 12:55:12 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	151 label Biography information for Tom Brake

1137167

registered interest
date	05/07/2019
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	Buildings: Asbestos
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what her Department's policy is on mandatory asbestos testing in public sector buildings.
tabling member constituency	Feltham and Heston
tabling member printed	Seema Malhotra
uin	273788
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/07/2019 answer text <p>Regulation 4 of the Control of Asbestos Regulation 2012 requires duty holders (normally the owner or person responsible for maintenance of the building) in all public sector buildings to identify and record the presence and condition of asbestos-containing materials. In practice, this will require a survey of the building and, if necessary, the testing of any material suspected of containing asbestos.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 10/07/2019 12:18:47 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	4253 label Biography information for Seema Malhotra

1137179

registered interest
date	05/07/2019
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	Courts: Safety
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many court buildings were referred to the Health and Safety Executive because of (a) the presence of asbestos and (b) other concerns in each year since 2010.
tabling member constituency	Leeds East
tabling member printed	Richard Burgon
uin	273814
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/07/2019 answer text <p>The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) receives circa 26,000 health and safety concerns a year. HSE does not receive this information in a format which enables customisable searching (e.g. type of business, premises, or subject matter), as most of the data is provided in a free-text format to make it as easy as possible for members of the public, and employees to report health and safety matters.</p><p> </p><p>HSE’s Corporate Intelligence System holds data about our interactions with employers and details about any enforcement action taken. We have identified 21 health and safety concerns about UK Courts</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong> </strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Year</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Asbestos</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Other concerns </strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong> </strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2012/13</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>1</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong> </strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2013/14</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>0</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>3</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong> </strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2014/15</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>0</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>5</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong> </strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2015/16</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>0</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>5</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong> </strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2016/17</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>0</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong> </strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2017/18</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>0</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>1</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong> </strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2018/19</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>0</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Total</strong></p></td><td><p><strong> </strong></p></td><td><p><strong>1</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>20</strong></p></td></tr></tbody></table> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 10/07/2019 12:46:40 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	4493 label Biography information for Richard Burgon

1137206

registered interest
date	05/07/2019
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	Television Licences: Peterborough
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 free television licences issued to residents in (a) Peterborough City Council and (b) Peterborough constituency in each of the last three years; and what the total annual value was of those licences.
tabling member constituency	Peterborough
tabling member printed	Ms Lisa Forbes
uin	273836
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/07/2019 answer text <p>In the 2015 funding settlement, the Government agreed with the BBC that responsibility for the concession will transfer to the BBC in June 2020.</p><p> </p><p>The Government and the BBC agreed this is a fair deal for the BBC - in return we closed the iPlayer loophole and committed to increase the licence fee in line with inflation. And to help with financial planning, we agreed to provide phased transitional funding over 2 years to gradually introduce the cost to the BBC.</p><p> </p><p>This reform was subject to public discussion and debated extensively during the passage of the Digital Economy Act 2017 through Parliament. On 10 June 2019, the BBC announced that the current scheme will end. From 1 June 2020, a free TV licence will only be available to a household with someone aged over 75 who receives Pension Credit.</p><p> </p><p>The table below provides estimates of the costs for providing free TV licences to people aged 75 years and over in the geographical areas requested, in nominal prices. The figures for 2018/19 will be available in September.</p><p /><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong> </strong></p></td><td colspan="3"><p><strong>Caseloads (thousands)</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong> </strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2015-16</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2016-17</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2017-18</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>(a) Peterborough Local Authority</strong></p></td><td><p>11.0</p></td><td><p>11.3</p></td><td><p>11.2</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>(a) Peterborough constituency</strong></p></td><td><p>7.1</p></td><td><p>7.3</p></td><td><p>7.2</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p> </p></td><td colspan="3"><p><strong>Expenditure (£m) (Nominal)</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p><strong>2015-16</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2016-17</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2017-18</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>(a) Peterborough Local Authority</strong></p></td><td><p>£1.56</p></td><td><p>£1.57</p></td><td><p>£1.62</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>(a) Peterborough constituency</strong></p></td><td><p>£1.01</p></td><td><p>£1.02</p></td><td><p>£1.03</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 10/07/2019 13:55:21 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	4717 label Biography information for Ms Lisa Forbes

1136048

registered interest
date	04/07/2019
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	Local Housing Allowance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of increasing local housing allowance to the 30th percentile point for current market rents in each size category of dwelling.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle-under-Lyme
tabling member printed	Paul Farrelly
uin	271443
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/07/2019 answer text <p>There are no current plans to extend or maintain the Benefit Freeze after March 2020. Specific decisions on how to uprate the Local Housing Allowance from April 2020 will form part of the discussions in support of fiscal events later this year.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 08/07/2019 16:40:08 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	1436 label Biography information for Paul Farrelly

1136405

registered interest
date	04/07/2019
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	Disability
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 her Department has taken to increase public understanding of invisible disabilities.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle-under-Lyme
tabling member printed	Paul Farrelly
uin	272164
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/07/2019 answer text <p>On Tuesday 25 June, the Government launched a new cross-government approach on disability which is guided by a vision that recognises the contributions that disabled people make and where disabled people can participate fully in society. To drive forward this approach, government will establish a new cross-departmental disability team in the Cabinet Office, and the Office for Disability Issues (ODI) will be incorporated into the team. This move recognises that disabled people, including those with hidden disabilities, face barriers across the life course and a wide range of aspects of their lives and coordinated cross-government action is therefore vital.</p><p>The British Standards Institution, and others involved in supporting the “Grace’s Sign” campaign, are currently exploring the potential for developing a symbol for hidden disabilities. The project is in an early scoping phase, but its intended aim is that the symbol would be recognised by the International Organization for Standardization. Achieving this involves a multi-stage process, which can take time, but if successful, greatly enhances the chances of its sustained future use in public signage. If successful, greater use and public acceptance of such a symbol would increase awareness of hidden disabilities, and help promote an understanding of the possible access and support needs of people with hidden disabilities.</p><p>Various Sector Champions appointed by the Minister for Disabled People are working within their sectors to support all disabled people, raise awareness of their needs and drive improvements in how these are met. Examples relating to hidden disabilities include: railway franchises thinking about supporting people with a wider range of disabilities, including through quiet areas at stations; a lanyard to identify those with hidden disabilities at airports, with staff trained to recognise this and offer help; and within the retail sector, many large stores holding quiet hours (no music and dimmed lighting) to improve the shopping experience for those with some hidden disabilities (such as autism or ADHD).</p><p> </p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 08/07/2019 15:56:14 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	1436 label Biography information for Paul Farrelly

1136912

registered interest
date	04/07/2019
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	Jobcentre Plus: Closures
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the (a) financial implications and (b) net effect on jobs of the closure of benefit processing centres in London.
tabling member constituency	Twickenham
tabling member printed	Sir Vince Cable
uin	273307
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/07/2019 answer text <p>The Government Estate Strategy sets out an ambition to rebalance the economy, creating regional growth and locating jobs outside of London. This, along with the considerable increases in rental costs in London, and the commercial challenges in retaining property of any size, means that the Department’s strategy is to gradually migrate processing work out of London. While there will be no impact to public facing Jobcentre services, it does mean that a number of central London processing sites will close by 2023.</p><p> </p><p>As we look to close these offices, we will redistribute the work to other processing hubs across the UK and, wherever possible, seek to redeploy London based staff to other areas of DWP or other Government Departments. We will not be in a position to assess the net impact on jobs until this activity has completed.</p><p> </p><p>Finally, despite these closures, the Department will continue to be a significant employer in London.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 09/07/2019 13:33:16 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	207 label Biography information for Sir Vince Cable

1136941

registered interest
date	04/07/2019
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	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 plans the Government has in place to help people in receipt of universal credit with the cost of childcare over the summer holidays.
tabling member constituency	Coventry South
tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
uin	273325
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/07/2019 answer text <p>The Government recognises that childcare costs can affect parents’ decisions to both obtain and maintain employment and is committed to removing barriers that prevent parents moving into work.</p><p> </p><p>To overcome this barrier to employment, Universal Credit claimants are able to claim up to 85 per cent of their childcare costs, compared to 70 per cent on the legacy system. This can be worth up to £13,000 a year for families with two children.</p><p> </p><p>We recognise the difficulty that some claimants might have in paying childcare costs over the summer holidays and have undertaken significant work to increase work coach awareness, understanding and promotion of both the Universal Credit childcare offer and the wider government childcare offer. This is to ensure that parents who are eligible for the 15 hours of free childcare for disadvantaged families with 2-year-old children, and 30 hours of free childcare for working families, take these up. These free childcare offers can be used in combination with Universal Credit support for childcare.</p><p> </p><p>In addition to this, budgeting advances are available for eligible claimants that can be used to cover the cost of paying additional upfront childcare costs or a deposit that might be needed during the school holidays.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 09/07/2019 13:43:34 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

1136948

registered interest
date	04/07/2019
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	Older People: Finance
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 she has taken to ensure that older people receive the financial support they are entitled to.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle-under-Lyme
tabling member printed	Paul Farrelly
uin	273349
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/07/2019 answer text <p>The Government is committed to ensuring that older people receive the support they are entitled to and the DWP targets activity on engaging with people who may be eligible to benefits at pivotal stages, such as when they make a claim for State Pension or report a change in their circumstances.</p><p> </p><p>The DWP uses a wide range of channels including information on <a href="https://gov.uk/" target="_blank">https://gov.uk/</a>, in leaflets and by telephone to communicate information to potential customers about benefits, such as Pension Credit. Anyone wishing to claim Pension Credit can do so by calling 0800 99 1234 and DWP staff in Pension Centres and Jobcentres including visiting officers are able to provide help and advice about entitlement to benefits, as are staff in Local Authorities who administer Housing Benefit.</p><p> </p><p>Pension Credit is an important benefit specifically intended to help the poorest pensioners and there are over 1.6m pensioners already claiming over £5billion but we want to ensure that everyone eligible can claim what they are entitled to. One of the best ways to reach eligible customers is through trusted stakeholder working in the community and we have developed the Pension Credit toolkit, as an on-line tool for agencies and welfare rights organisations to use in order to encourage Pension Credit take-up. It can be found at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pension-credit-toolkit" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pension-credit-toolkit</a></p><p>The toolkit contains resources for anyone working with pensioners and includes guides to Pension Credit. It also contains publicity material and guidance designed to help older people understand how they could get Pension Credit and help organisations support someone applying for Pension Credit as well as ideas for encouraging take-up. The toolkit also provides links to information about disability and carers benefits.</p><p> </p><p>Most recently we have provided to relevant organisations a fact sheet about Pension Credit and forthcoming changes for couples to ensure that accurate information is available in the places where people are most likely to seek it.</p><p> </p><p>Finally, the Government’s commitment to the triple lock has meant that the full basic State Pension is now worth around £1600 a year more (in cash terms) than it was in 2010 and significantly, the majority of people of pension age in receipt of a State Pension or another social security benefit receive their annual winter fuel payment automatically without the need to make a claim.</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 09/07/2019 14:22:38 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	1436 label Biography information for Paul Farrelly

1136964

registered interest
date	04/07/2019
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	William Hill: Closures
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 support staff of William Hill following the announcement that 700 branches will close; and if she will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Motherwell and Wishaw
tabling member printed	Marion Fellows
uin	273427
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/07/2019 answer text <p>DWP stands ready to support any affected by the proposed closures, with our Rapid Response Service (RRS) offer. This is a redundancy service designed to give support and advice to employers and their employees when faced with the prospect of redundancy. It is coordinated nationally by the National Employer and Partnership Team (NEPT) and is managed by Jobcentre Plus.</p><p> </p><p>Each Jobcentre Plus district deploy resources according to the situation and the requirements of the workforce. This service is available to be deployed nationally should William Hill require support from Jobcentre Plus. The RRS is delivered in partnership with a range of national and local partners, including National Careers Service and local service providers.</p><p> </p><p>The range of support available from Jobcentre Plus and partners may include:</p><ul><li>Information advice and guidance.</li><li>Connecting people to jobs in the labour market.</li><li>Help with job search including CV writing, interview skills, where to find jobs and<br>how to apply for them.</li><li>Help to identify transferable skills and skills gaps (linked to the local labour<br>market).</li><li>Training to update skills, learn new ones and gain industry recognised<br>certification that will improve employability.</li><li>Help to overcome barriers to attending training or securing a job or <br>self-employment such as child care costs, necessary tools, work clothes, travel<br>costs etc.</li><li>On-site presentations to those affected.</li><li>Jobs Fairs and Job Clubs where appropriate.</li></ul> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 09/07/2019 09:34:57 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
tabling member	4440 label Biography information for Marion Fellows