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1286438

registered interest
date	11/02/2021
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: Coronavirus
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what equalities impact assessment her Department has undertaken on the decision not to extend the £20 uplift to universal credit to employment support allowance.
tabling member constituency	Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey
tabling member printed	Drew Hendry
uin	153301
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/02/2021 answer text <p>The £20 per week uplift to Universal Credit was announced by the Chancellor as a temporary measure in March 2020 to support those facing the most financial disruption as a result of the public health emergency. This measure remains in place until March 2021. As the Government has done throughout this crisis, it will continue to assess how best to support people, which is why we will look at the economic and health context before making any decisions.</p><p>There are no plans to extend a benefit increase to legacy benefits. Claimants on legacy benefits can make a claim for UC if they believe that they will be better off. Claimants should check carefully their eligibility and entitlements under UC before applying as legacy benefits will end when claimants submit their claim and they will not be able to return to them in the future. For this reason, prospective claimants are signposted to independent benefits calculators on GOV.UK.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson grouped question UIN 153303 question first answered 22/02/2021 16:25:28 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	4467 label Biography information for Drew Hendry

1279847

registered interest
date	25/01/2021
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: Coronavirus
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of extending the 365 payment period for people affected by covid-19 and claiming new style or contributions based employment and support allowance and who have not had a decision made on their capability for work in that time.
tabling member constituency	Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale
tabling member printed	David Mundell
uin	142832
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/01/2021 answer text <p>The Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) temporary Coronavirus regulations mean that everyone infected with covid-19, or who is required to self-isolate in line with Government guidelines, will be treated as having Limited Capability for Work in ESA without the requirement for fit notes or a Work Capability Assessment (WCA). These measures also apply to clinically extremely vulnerable people who are unable to work from home and have been advised to shield in line with the relevant public health advice in England, Wales and Scotland.</p><p> </p><p>There are no plans to extend the time limit for people claiming contributory ESA who are affected by covid-19, and reach their 365-day limit. The majority of the covid-19 related claims will not reach this limit as they are for short periods.</p><p> </p><p>Where an individual requires further financial support, they may be able to claim Universal Credit, depending on their personal circumstances.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 28/01/2021 15:09:23 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	1512 label Biography information for David Mundell

1274967

registered interest
date	08/01/2021
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: Coronavirus
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 effect on claimants of the new employment and support allowance of having to wait for face-to-face work capability assessments in order to have their claim processed during the covid-19 outbreak.
tabling member constituency	Edinburgh South
tabling member printed	Ian Murray
uin	134409
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/01/2021 answer text <p>We are continuing to process claims for Employment and Support Allowance and refer them for a Work Capability Assessment (WCA). Claimants will receive the Assessment Rate of benefit for the first 13 weeks as normal. At present, claimants may stay on the assessment rate for longer than usual.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>The health and safety of our claimants and staff is our key priority. We suspended all face-to-face assessments for sickness and disability benefits in March. This temporary suspension, brought in to protect people from unnecessary risk of coronavirus at the outset of the pandemic, remains in place, and is being kept under review in line with the latest public health guidance. Any re-introduction of face-to-face assessments would involve stringent Covid-19 related safety measures, supported by guidance for claimants and assessment providers to ensure compliance with the relevant public health guidance.</p><p> </p><p>Throughout the pandemic we have continued to complete paper-based assessments wherever possible and telephone assessments have been in place since last summer with the number of claims being assessed through this channel increasing. If a claimant qualifies for an additional amount following their WCA, it will be backdated to ensure no long-term loss.</p><p> </p><p>Where an individual’s income is reduced because they cannot work due to disability or a health condition and they require further financial support, they may also be able to claim Universal Credit, depending on their personal circumstances.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson grouped question UIN 134410 question first answered 13/01/2021 14:30:10 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	3966 label Biography information for Ian Murray

1274969

registered interest
date	08/01/2021
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: Coronavirus
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 financial effect on claimants with (a) Parkinson's disease and (b) other degenerative and incurable diseases of the new employment and support allowance who will not have their claims processed without a face-to-face interview due to postponed interviews during the covid-19 outbreak; and what arrangements are being put in place to ensure that those claimants can have their applications assessed in a timely manner.
tabling member constituency	Edinburgh South
tabling member printed	Ian Murray
uin	134410
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/01/2021 answer text <p>We are continuing to process claims for Employment and Support Allowance and refer them for a Work Capability Assessment (WCA). Claimants will receive the Assessment Rate of benefit for the first 13 weeks as normal. At present, claimants may stay on the assessment rate for longer than usual.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>The health and safety of our claimants and staff is our key priority. We suspended all face-to-face assessments for sickness and disability benefits in March. This temporary suspension, brought in to protect people from unnecessary risk of coronavirus at the outset of the pandemic, remains in place, and is being kept under review in line with the latest public health guidance. Any re-introduction of face-to-face assessments would involve stringent Covid-19 related safety measures, supported by guidance for claimants and assessment providers to ensure compliance with the relevant public health guidance.</p><p> </p><p>Throughout the pandemic we have continued to complete paper-based assessments wherever possible and telephone assessments have been in place since last summer with the number of claims being assessed through this channel increasing. If a claimant qualifies for an additional amount following their WCA, it will be backdated to ensure no long-term loss.</p><p> </p><p>Where an individual’s income is reduced because they cannot work due to disability or a health condition and they require further financial support, they may also be able to claim Universal Credit, depending on their personal circumstances.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson grouped question UIN 134409 question first answered 13/01/2021 14:30:10 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	3966 label Biography information for Ian Murray

1252651

registered interest
date	17/11/2020
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: Coronavirus
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of claimants have been kept on the assessment rate of new style employment and support allowance because they cannot access a telephone assessment; and what conditions those claimants have.
tabling member constituency	Airdrie and Shotts
tabling member printed	Neil Gray
uin	116495
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/11/2020 answer text <p>The information requested is not held.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 23/11/2020 13:58:09 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	4365 label Biography information for Neil Gray

1249204

registered interest
date	05/11/2020
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: Coronavirus
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 have (a) failed to attend or (b) failed to participate in a telephone assessment for employment and support allowance since March 2020.
tabling member constituency	Oldham East and Saddleworth
tabling member printed	Debbie Abrahams
uin	112059
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/11/2020 answer text <p>We have interpreted your question (a) as being failed to attend and the case returned to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). From the introduction of telephony Work Capability Assessments to 6 November 2020, 18 Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) cases have been returned to the DWP due to failure of the customer to attend their telephone assessment.</p><p>We are unable to provide a figure for how many people have failed to participate in a telephone assessment because the information requested is not available.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 10/11/2020 16:52:52 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	4212 label Biography information for Debbie Abrahams

1194994

registered interest
date	12/05/2020
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: Coronavirus
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 make it her policy to (a) waive the six week penalty and (b) enable the backdating of claims in relation to new-style employment support allowance for people with a shortfall in contributions who have paid a lump sum during the covid-19 outbreak.
tabling member constituency	Belfast South
tabling member printed	Claire Hanna
uin	46190
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/05/2020 answer text <p>We have made a number of changes to working age benefits in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, including increasing certain entitlements. The COVID-19 outbreak continues to be a rapidly evolving situation and we consider whether further action is appropriate on an ongoing basis.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 18/05/2020 09:49:25 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	4827 label Biography information for Claire Hanna

1188276

registered interest
date	20/04/2020
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: Coronavirus
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans she has to increase Employment and Support Allowance during the covid-19 outbreak.
tabling member constituency	Paisley and Renfrewshire South
tabling member printed	Mhairi Black
uin	37759
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/04/2020 answer text <p>We currently have no plans to increase Employment and Support Allowance above its current rates.</p><p>We have announced a suite of measures that can be quickly and effectively operationalised to benefit those facing the most financial disruption, such as increasing the standard rate in Universal Credit by £86.67 per month (equivalent to £20 per week) on top of the planned annual uprating. This additional increase means claimants will be up to £1040 better off. We estimate 2.5m households on UC will benefit straight away, as well as new claimants who become unemployed or whose earnings or work hours decrease because of the outbreak. The Universal Credit IT system is significantly more flexible than our legacy systems and uses different technology from other DWP systems. The Department is experiencing significant increased demand and the Government has to prioritise the safety and stability of the benefits system overall.</p><p>We have also made a number of changes to legacy benefits like Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, including increases in entitlement. These new measures include:</p><p> </p><ul><li>Providing more support for benefit claimants in the Private Rented Sector by increasing Local Housing Allowance rates to the 30th percentile, helping to alleviate affordability challenges. Those receiving Housing Benefit and legacy benefits will benefit from this increase.</li></ul><p> </p><ul><li>Treating all ESA claimants who satisfy the conditions of entitlement and are suffering from COVID-19 or who are required to self-isolate in line with government guidance, including vulnerable individuals who have been advised by the NHS to ‘shield’ (stay at home for at least 12 weeks) because they are at high risk of severe illness, as having limited capability for work, without the requirement to undergo a Work Capability Assessment,</li></ul><p> </p><ul><li>Removing waiting days for ESA, so it will be payable from day one of the claim, subject to the claimant satisfying the normal conditions of entitlement; and,</li></ul><p> </p><ul><li>Allowing disabled and sick claimants who cannot attend a reassessment for Personal Independence Payments, Employment and Support Allowance or Universal Credit to continue to receive their payments while their assessment is rearranged.</li></ul> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 28/04/2020 14:50:21 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	4421 label Biography information for Mhairi Black

1187550

registered interest
date	24/03/2020
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: Coronavirus
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that employment support allowance and new style employment support allowance applications (a) can be made online and (b) are processed urgently during the covid-19 outbreak.
tabling member constituency	Weaver Vale
tabling member printed	Mike Amesbury
uin	34408
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/04/2020 answer text <p>On average we are processing ‘new style’ Employment and Support Allowance (NSESA) claims in 2.2 days but we recognise people will have found it difficult to speak to us given the volume of traffic, and so we have fast-tracked the development of an online application process for NSESA, which went live on 20 April. This will allow the majority of people who need to claim this benefit to do so online. The NSESA claim phone lines are still available for people who do not have access to, or who cannot, use the online system. DWP have prioritised the clearance of all benefit claims by moving colleagues to front line processing roles, which has significantly increased our capacity and we are endeavouring to clear claims received as quickly as possible.</p><p> </p><p>ESA is now closed as a means-tested benefit for new claimants in the majority of cases and working-age claimants with a disability or health condition should now make a claim to Universal Credit.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 21/04/2020 16:37:57 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	4667 label Biography information for Mike Amesbury

1185726

registered interest
date	17/03/2020
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: Coronavirus
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she has plans to pay employment and support allowance to claimants on the first day of application as a result of the covid-19 outbreak.
tabling member constituency	Westmorland and Lonsdale
tabling member printed	Tim Farron
uin	30722
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/03/2020 answer text <p><del class="ministerial">As both the Prime Minister and Chancellor have made clear, the Government will do whatever it takes to support people affected by COVID 19 and we have been clear in our intention that no one should be penalised for doing the right thing. These are rapidly developing circumstances, we continue to keep the situation under review and will keep Parliament updated accordingly.</del></p><p><ins class="ministerial">Those applying for Contributory ESA are able to claim from day 1 – as opposed to day 8. And we have removed the need for face-to-face assessment.</ins></p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 23/03/2020 16:39:53 question first ministerially corrected 15/04/2020 15:01:59 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson previous answer version 13995 answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	1591 label Biography information for Tim Farron