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1087149

	registered interest
	date	12/03/2019
	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	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, what steps his Department is taking to improve information for (a) job seekers and (b) employees on the support available through Access to Work.
	tabling member constituency	Newcastle-under-Lyme
	tabling member printed	Paul Farrelly
	uin	231374
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/03/2019 answer text <p>Access to Work continues to undertake targeted marketing and awareness raising activities. For example, the scheme is promoted to benefit claimants through Jobcentre Plus and to a range of business leaders through the Disability Confident scheme. We have also worked with a variety of stakeholder organisations to market Access to Work to their clients, including sharing information about how individuals can apply for support.</p><p> </p><p>We are currently testing a number of communication activities to raise awareness of Access to Work among Jobcentre Plus staff in Greater Manchester, in order to equip work coaches with the knowledge to have conversations with customers who may require in work support. We will evaluate the most successful methods before a national roll-out.</p><p> </p><p>Access to Work is also reviewing the content and formats of its existing information channels, including considering how to achieve more effective use of alternative formats such as British Sign Language videos.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 15/03/2019 14:38:03 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	1436 label Biography information for Paul Farrelly

1087208

	registered interest
	date	12/03/2019
	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	Christmas Bonus
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in receipt of (a) personal independence payment and (b) disability living allowance were (i) entitled to the £10 Christmas bonus and (ii) received that Christmas bonus in 2018.
	tabling member constituency	Oldham East and Saddleworth
	tabling member printed	Debbie Abrahams
	uin	231471
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/03/2019 answer text <p>The Christmas Bonus is a one-off tax-free £10 payment paid to claimants who receive certain qualifying benefits including Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and Disability Living Allowance (DLA). To qualify, the claimant must be in receipt of the qualifying benefit in the qualifying week which is normally the first full week of December. If a DLA or PIP claimant receives another qualifying benefit their bonus may be attached to that benefit rather than to their PIP or DLA award.</p><p> </p><p>The Department publishes a range of detailed statistics for PIP and DLA on Stat-Xplore: <a href="https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/" target="_blank">https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/</a>. These statistics include monthly caseloads (claims in payment) to August 2018 for DLA and to October 2018 for PIP. Caseloads for December 2018 have not yet been published.</p><p> </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><p> </p><p>The number of claimants, regardless of qualifying benefit, who received the Christmas Bonus in 2017/18 can be found in Table 1c of the “Outturn and forecast: Autumn Budget 2018 (XLS)” spreadsheet in the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/benefit-expenditure-and-caseload-tables-2018" target="_blank">2018 Benefit Expenditure and Caseload tables. </a> Outturn figures for 2018/19 will be published in due course.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 15/03/2019 13:47:16 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	4212 label Biography information for Debbie Abrahams

1087269

	registered interest
	date	12/03/2019
	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	Down's Syndrome
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what research her Department has conducted on life for people with Down's Syndrome in the 21st century.
	tabling member constituency	Congleton
	tabling member printed	Fiona Bruce
	uin	231432
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/03/2019 answer text <p>This department undertakes research into people’s experience of support into work schemes, including the experiences of disabled people. The Department has not conducted or commissioned research on life experiences for people with Down’s Syndrome in the 21<sup>st</sup> Century.</p><p> </p><p>Equal rights for disabled people, including people with Down’s Syndrome, are provided for under the reasonable adjustments provisions in the Equality Act and the Public Sector Equality duty. Each Government Department and public authority is under a duty to make adequate provision for disabled people including people with Down’s Syndrome.</p><p> </p><p>Disability in the UK is mainstreamed. This means that every department is ultimately responsible for considering disability in the development and implementation of its policies and services.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 19/03/2019 14:57:51 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	3958 label Biography information for Fiona Bruce

1087162

	registered interest
	date	12/03/2019
	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
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, which budget is being used to rectify underpayments of employment and support allowance is being drawn.
	tabling member constituency	Airdrie and Shotts
	tabling member printed	Neil Gray
	uin	231501
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/03/2019 answer text <p>The cost of administrative activity is drawn from the Resource Departmental Expenditure Limit budget and payment of arrears from the Resource Annually Managed Expenditure budget.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 19/03/2019 10:40:37 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	4365 label Biography information for Neil Gray

1087040

	registered interest
	date	12/03/2019
	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: Autism
	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 made an assessment of trends in the level of (a) bullying and (b) harassment of people with autism in the workplace.
	tabling member constituency	Bristol West
	tabling member printed	Thangam Debbonaire
	uin	231511
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/03/2019 answer text <p>We currently have no plans to assess trends in bullying and harassment in the workplace of people with autism.</p><p> </p><p>However, we are committed to supporting people with disabilities or health conditions, including those with autism, to manage issues they may face in employment by offering both them and their employers appropriate support. For example:</p><p> </p><ul><li>Access to Work has put in place a Hidden Impairment Specialist Team (HIST) that aims to offer advice and guidance to help employers support employees with conditions such as autism, Learning Disability and/or Mental Health conditions. HIST also offers eligible people an assessment to find out their needs at work and help to develop a support plan.</li></ul><p> </p><ul><li>Through the Disability Confident scheme, DWP is engaging with employers and helping to promote the skills, talents and abilities of disabled people, including those with autism and associated conditions. Disability Confident offers advice and support to help employers feel more confident about employing disabled people.</li></ul><p> </p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 19/03/2019 14:56:16 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	4433 label Biography information for Thangam Debbonaire

1087048

	registered interest
	date	12/03/2019
	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: 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 and what proportion of personal independence payment tribunal cases were attended by (a) presenting officers and (b) departmental staff in each year for which information is available.
	tabling member constituency	Wansbeck
	tabling member printed	Ian Lavery
	uin	231468
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/03/2019 answer text <p>Information on the number of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) appeals cleared at an oral hearing and the number where a Presenting Officer (PO) attended are shown in the table below.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td rowspan="2"><p><strong>Financial year of hearing</strong></p></td><td rowspan="2"><p><strong>Total</strong></p></td><td colspan="2"><p><strong>Presenting Officer attended</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Number</p></td><td><p>%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2016/17</p></td><td><p>61,430</p></td><td><p>6,710</p></td><td><p>11%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2017/18</p></td><td><p>71,390</p></td><td><p>19,870</p></td><td><p>28%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>April to December 2018</p></td><td><p>53,960</p></td><td><p>10,040</p></td><td><p>19%</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p><p>Apart from the PO, the only other departmental staff who are likely to attend would be either trainee POs or those whose work or role within the department is likely to benefit from seeing how tribunal hearings are conducted. Neither play any part in the proceedings on the day. Information on the number of other departmental staff attending tribunal hearings is not held centrally.</p><p>In 2016 DWP took the decision to expand its number of POs. The recruitment engaged additional POs from February 2017 with the last cohort of expansion programme being completed in October 2017.</p><p>The reduction in oral hearings attended by POs in recent months is due to a number of factors. This includes significant training and upskilling of POs affecting the number of hearings attended, and normal attrition rates leading to a reduction in the number of Presenting Officers in post. We expect that First-tier Tribunal (FtT) hearings attended by POs will increase once training and current recruitment activity has been completed and will be monitoring this regularly.</p><p>Data has been rounded to the nearest 10.</p><p>Great Britain only.</p><p>Appeals may have more than one hearing, including where hearings are adjourned. The figures in the table above only include oral hearings where the appeal was cleared. They also exclude paper hearings.</p><p>This data is unpublished data. It should be used with caution and it may be subject to future revision.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 19/03/2019 15:24:46 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	4139 label Biography information for Ian Lavery

1087143

	registered interest
	date	12/03/2019
	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: Leeds
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average waiting time was for a hearing for a claimant appealing a personal independence payment decision in Leeds in 2018.
	tabling member constituency	Leeds North West
	tabling member printed	Alex Sobel
	uin	231560
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/03/2019 answer text <p>Information on the average waiting time to a first tribunal hearing and to attend a tribunal hearing is not collated centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.</p><p> </p><p>The Ministry of Justice publish statistics on the average (mean) age of a case at disposal. This is the average number of weeks from receipt in Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) to the final outcome within the period. It will include cases cleared at hearing and cases cleared without a hearing which include strike outs, superseded and withdrawals prior to a hearing. An appeal may not necessarily be cleared at its first hearing.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>These statistics are available by Tribunal Venue in the Tribunal Statistics CSV files, available here:</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/tribunals-statistics" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/tribunals-statistics</a></p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson grouped question UIN 231561 question first answered 15/03/2019 14:34:31 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	4658 label Biography information for Alex Sobel

1087145

	registered interest
	date	12/03/2019
	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: Leeds
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average wait is for personal independence payment claimants in Leeds to attend a tribunal hearing.
	tabling member constituency	Leeds North West
	tabling member printed	Alex Sobel
	uin	231561
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/03/2019 answer text <p>Information on the average waiting time to a first tribunal hearing and to attend a tribunal hearing is not collated centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.</p><p> </p><p>The Ministry of Justice publish statistics on the average (mean) age of a case at disposal. This is the average number of weeks from receipt in Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) to the final outcome within the period. It will include cases cleared at hearing and cases cleared without a hearing which include strike outs, superseded and withdrawals prior to a hearing. An appeal may not necessarily be cleared at its first hearing.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>These statistics are available by Tribunal Venue in the Tribunal Statistics CSV files, available here:</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/tribunals-statistics" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/tribunals-statistics</a></p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson grouped question UIN 231560 question first answered 15/03/2019 14:34:31 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	4658 label Biography information for Alex Sobel

1087231

	registered interest
	date	12/03/2019
	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: Work Capability Assessment
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the oral contribution of the hon. Member for Oldham East and Saddleworth, Official Report column 969, how she plans to merge the personal independence payment and work capability assessment processes; who will take part in that merger; whether there will be (a) a pilot and (b) an independent evaluation of that merger; and who will provide that assessment service.
	tabling member constituency	Oldham East and Saddleworth
	tabling member printed	Debbie Abrahams
	uin	231473
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/03/2019 answer text <p>The Health Transformation Programme within DWP has been established to transform the currently separate Work Capability Assessment service for Employment Support Allowance and Universal Credit, and the Personal Independence Payment assessment service, into a single integrated service from 2021.</p><p>As with any major change, this will take time to design, and it will be rolled out carefully – learning as we go. We need to take time to get this right and we will be seeking input from a wide range of stakeholders to ensure that the new service is one that works for our customers and that we safely transition to the new arrangements. We will continue to keep the most appropriate method of delivery under review and we believe assessment providers will continue to play an important role. For any elements that are outsourced, we will run a procurement process compliant with the Public Contracts Regulations.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 15/03/2019 11:14:28 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	4212 label Biography information for Debbie Abrahams

1087197

	registered interest
	date	12/03/2019
	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	Social Security Benefits: 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 assessment she has made of the effect of benefit (a) sanctions and (b) conditionality on disabled people.
	tabling member constituency	Glasgow North East
	tabling member printed	Mr Paul Sweeney
	uin	231546
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/03/2019 answer text <p>The department has not made an assessment of the effect of imposing sanctions and conditionality on disabled claimants.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 15/03/2019 13:54:41 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	4642 label Biography information for Mr Paul Sweeney