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1673144

registered interest
date	27/11/2023
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	Employment: 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 the Government's consultation on Disability workforce reporting, published on 16 December 2021, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of requiring companies with more than 250 employees to publish annual data on the number of disabled people they employ as a proportion of their workforce; and when he plans to respond to that consultation.
tabling member constituency	Battersea
tabling member printed	Marsha De Cordova
uin	3939
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/11/2023 answer text <p>Following the judgement from the Court of Appeal that the National Disability Strategy is lawful, work has recommenced on disability workforce reporting. Analysis of the consultation is underway and we will publish the findings and next steps in 2024.</p> answering member constituency Corby answering member printed Tom Pursglove grouped question UIN 3940 question first answered 29/11/2023 12:54:08 answering member 4369 label Biography information for Tom Pursglove
tabling member	4676 label Biography information for Marsha De Cordova

1673146

registered interest
date	27/11/2023
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	Employment: Disability
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he plans to require companies with more than 250 employees to publish data annually on (a) their disability pay gap and (b) the proportion of disabled employees within each pay quartile.
tabling member constituency	Battersea
tabling member printed	Marsha De Cordova
uin	3940
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/11/2023 answer text <p>Following the judgement from the Court of Appeal that the National Disability Strategy is lawful, work has recommenced on disability workforce reporting. Analysis of the consultation is underway and we will publish the findings and next steps in 2024.</p> answering member constituency Corby answering member printed Tom Pursglove grouped question UIN 3939 question first answered 29/11/2023 12:54:08 answering member 4369 label Biography information for Tom Pursglove
tabling member	4676 label Biography information for Marsha De Cordova

1672597

registered interest
date	23/11/2023
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: Applications
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if his Department will make an assessment of the effectiveness of the application process for Pension Credit; and if he will take steps to help increase the accuracy of decisions made on Pensions Credit applications.
tabling member constituency	Glasgow North East
tabling member printed	Anne McLaughlin
uin	3498
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/11/2023 answer text <p>The Department regularly looks at the effectiveness of its Pension Credit claims processes. A Quality Framework is used to assess the accuracy of Pension Credit decisions and this informs operational learning and continuous improvement. Pension Credit is being modernised and user research is integral to our design for modernising the Pension Credit application processes to ensure the effectiveness and accuracy of Pension Credit application processes.</p> answering member constituency Blackpool North and Cleveleys answering member printed Paul Maynard question first answered 28/11/2023 11:36:51 answering member 3926 label Biography information for Paul Maynard
tabling member	4437 label Biography information for Anne McLaughlin

1672601

registered interest
date	23/11/2023
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	Pensioners: Low Incomes
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 his Department's press release entitled Trial encourages low-income pensioners to apply for extra financial support, published on 17 July 2023, what the priority objectives are of the invitation to claim trial.
tabling member constituency	East Londonderry
tabling member printed	Mr Gregory Campbell
uin	3444
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/11/2023 answer text <p>In addition to our ongoing Pension Credit communications campaign, in July we launched a more targeted ‘Invitation to Claim’ trial. Approximately 2,500 pensioner households across ten local authority areas in Great Britain were sent letters encouraging them to contact DWP and make a claim. The areas were chosen to be representative of urban, rural and coastal communities and target households were identified as most likely to be missing out because they were claiming Housing Benefit but not Pension Credit.</p><p> </p><p>The objectives of the trial are to learn whether using data in this way can help accurately identify eligible households; and whether directly contacting households in this way is an effective way of boosting Pension Credit applications.</p> answering member constituency Blackpool North and Cleveleys answering member printed Paul Maynard question first answered 28/11/2023 11:04:25 answering member 3926 label Biography information for Paul Maynard
tabling member	1409 label Biography information for Mr Gregory Campbell

1672639

registered interest
date	23/11/2023
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	Household Support Fund
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 oral contribution of 22 November 2023 by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Official Report, column 348, what the value of the Household Support Fund will be in 2024-25.
tabling member constituency	East Ham
tabling member printed	Sir Stephen Timms
uin	3412
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/11/2023 answer text <p>The Government has provided over £2 billion in funding for the Household Support Fund since October 2021.</p><p> </p><p>The current Household Support Fund runs from April 2023 until the end of March 2024.</p><p> </p><p>No further decisions have been taken on the Household Support Fund, and the government continues to keep all its existing programmes under review in the usual way.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 28/11/2023 16:18:01 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

1672703

registered interest
date	23/11/2023
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: 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 reduce waiting times to speak to the Disability Service Centre.
tabling member constituency	Nottingham East
tabling member printed	Nadia Whittome
uin	3560
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/11/2023 answer text <p>We have increased Case Worker resource and consequently wait times on the PIP enquiry line have significantly improved in recent weeks.</p><p> </p><p>It is not possible to increase performance further until the resource position improves further, because we have to deploy Case Workers on processing as well as telephony, to meet demand in both areas of work, which are equally important.</p><p> </p><p>DWP is continually developing new technological capability aimed at providing better information, tailored to customer needs, at the point of call. Going forward, this approach will also help to reduce waiting times for customers.</p> answering member constituency Corby answering member printed Tom Pursglove question first answered 29/11/2023 12:56:06 answering member 4369 label Biography information for Tom Pursglove
tabling member	4869 label Biography information for Nadia Whittome

1672749

registered interest
date	23/11/2023
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	Prescriptions: Wales
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 Back to Work plan, published on 16 November 2023, what discussions he has had with the Welsh Government on whether measures to restrict the eligibility to free prescriptions of benefit claimants who are subject to sanctions will apply to claimants in Wales.
tabling member constituency	Arfon
tabling member printed	Hywel Williams
uin	3442
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/11/2023 answer text <p>We are not restricting eligibility to free prescriptions of benefit claimants who are subject to sanctions. Claimants may still be entitled to access those passported benefits through other means.</p><p> </p><p>At Autumn Statement the Chancellor announced that we will be closing claims for people who refuse to engage in employment support following a sanction decision and in receipt of a nil award for a period of 6 months or longer. As always, if entitlement to passported benefits is reliant solely on a Universal Credit claim to establish eligibility, that will cease if the claim is closed.</p><p> </p><p>DWP has a well-established relationship with the Welsh Government, ensuring that we work together on devolved and reserved areas effectively. Universal Credit is reserved, and as such once the proposal is in legislation it will apply in England, Scotland and Wales.</p> answering member constituency Bury St Edmunds answering member printed Jo Churchill question first answered 28/11/2023 16:58:13 answering member 4380 label Biography information for Jo Churchill
tabling member	1397 label Biography information for Hywel Williams

1672148

registered interest
date	22/11/2023
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: Parkinson's Disease
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 page 10 of Parkinson's UK's publication entitled Nowhere near enough, published in April 2023, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his Department’s policies of the finding on the proportion of PIP claims made by people with Parkinson's that were initially assessed incorrectly compared with the general PIP claimant population.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	3228
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/11/2023 answer text <p>We are working hard to make the right decision, first time, every time. We continue to review our processes and decision-making and work closely with the assessment providers who carry out the assessments and provide feedback to ensure that they provide decision-makers with the highest quality reports.</p><p> </p><p>Condition Insight Reports are also available to PIP assessors to gain a better understanding of a condition and its impact, including Parkinson’s disease. This insight report highlights the importance of exploration of the fluctuation of the condition and was completed in collaboration with relevant charities.</p><p> </p><p>The Mandatory Reconsideration process is a key element of the department’s decision-making process for all benefits and offers claimants an early opportunity to challenge decisions and get them changed quickly. It offers the department an equally timely remedy for correcting decisions and means that fewer decisions progress to appeal, which is stressful and time consuming for claimants and costly for government. It is worth highlighting that in many cases, decisions can be changed as a result of new evidence or information being made available.</p><p> </p><p>We published <em>Transforming Support: The Health and Disability White Paper</em> on 15 March 2023. Changes set out in the White Paper include those aiming to improve our assessment of fluctuating conditions, such as the way we use medical evidence, and developing the capability of our assessors. We will also explore options for introducing a new way of gathering evidence of fluctuation in a person’s condition before their assessment. The department continues to closely monitor all aspects of the assessment process, including how we assess fluctuating conditions.</p> answering member constituency Corby answering member printed Tom Pursglove question first answered 28/11/2023 16:51:38 answering member 4369 label Biography information for Tom Pursglove
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1672149

registered interest
date	22/11/2023
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, if he will take steps to ensure that PIP assessors receive adequate training relating to (a) Parkinson’s disease, (b) multiple sclerosis, (c) Crohn’s disease and (d) colitis.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	3229
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/11/2023 answer text <p>Personal Independence Payment assessments are carried out by qualified health professionals (HPs), who receive comprehensive training in assessing functional capability relating to both physical and mental health conditions, including Parkinson’s disease, Multiple Sclerosis, Crohn’s disease, and Colitis.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>HPs have access to a range of resources and experienced clinicians to support them in assessing individuals with specific conditions. Assessment providers engage with medical experts, charities, and relevant stakeholders to strengthen their training programmes.</p><p> </p><p>This year’s Health &amp; Disability White Paper committed to developing the skills of HPs. As a result, the department began a proof of concept to match an individual’s primary health condition to a HP who has professional experience in their condition. In addition to their professional experience, HPs will also take part in training to specialise in the functional impacts of specific health conditions.</p> answering member constituency Corby answering member printed Tom Pursglove question first answered 27/11/2023 16:59:19 answering member 4369 label Biography information for Tom Pursglove
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1672178

registered interest
date	22/11/2023
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	Workplace Pensions
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 assessment of the potential merits of requiring (a) pension companies to hold a consultation when considering closing a defined benefit pension scheme and (b) independent assessment of the potential closure of such a scheme.
tabling member constituency	South Leicestershire
tabling member printed	Alberto Costa
uin	3263
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/11/2023 answer text <p>The legal requirements for employers on certain changes to occupational pension schemes are detailed in The Pensions Act of 2004. This states that larger employers with 50 or more workers are required to consult with affected members or their representatives about proposed significant changes to their pension scheme, including closure, before implementing the change.</p><p> </p><p>These requirements ensure that scheme members are aware of the change and the impact on their future pension, and that they have an opportunity to comment. The Pensions Regulator provides information for employers on closing a pension scheme to new members or future accruals and winding up a scheme at their website including detailed regulatory guidance and can be found at <a href="https://www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/en/employers/managing-a-scheme/closing-your-scheme" target="_blank">https://www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/en/employers/managing-a-scheme/closing-your-scheme</a>.</p> answering member constituency Blackpool North and Cleveleys answering member printed Paul Maynard question first answered 27/11/2023 16:44:21 answering member 3926 label Biography information for Paul Maynard
tabling member	4439 label Biography information for Alberto Costa