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1111033

registered interest
date	10/04/2019
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
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 the 192 shared accommodation rates of local housing allowance have been uprated as a result of the targeted affordability fund in each year since this was introduced.
tabling member constituency	Westminster North
tabling member printed	Ms Karen Buck
uin	243316
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/04/2019 answer text <p><strong>The information requested is in the table below.</strong></p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Year</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Shared Accommodation Rates</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Proportion</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2017/2018</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>22 </strong></p></td><td><p><strong>11%</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2018/2019</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>60</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>31%</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2019/2020</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>87</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>45%</strong></p></td></tr></tbody></table> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 15/04/2019 14:47:10 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	199 label Biography information for Ms Karen Buck

1111043

registered interest
date	10/04/2019
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
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 Impact Assessment for the extension of the Shared Accommodation Rate to 25-34 year-olds, how many claimants were affected; and what assessment she has made of the effect of that extension on the average weekly income since January 2012.
tabling member constituency	Westminster North
tabling member printed	Ms Karen Buck
uin	243318
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/04/2019 answer text <p>The number of households aged 25-34 who are entitled to the Shared Accommodation Rate is available on Stat-Xplore from January 2013 onwards.</p><p> </p><p>An independent evaluation of the 2011/12 Local Housing Allowance reforms including the changes to the Shared Accommodation Rate was published in 2014 - <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-housing-allowance-monitoring-the-impact-of-changes" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-housing-allowance-monitoring-the-impact-of-changes</a></p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 23/04/2019 12:13:52 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	199 label Biography information for Ms Karen Buck

1111215

registered interest
date	10/04/2019
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
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent estimate she has made of the number of people with a disability living in poverty.
tabling member constituency	Vale of Clwyd
tabling member printed	Chris Ruane
uin	243357
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/04/2019 answer text <p>National statistics on the number of people with a disability living in poverty, are published annually in the “Households Below Average Income” publication.</p><p> </p><p>Latest figures can be found using the link below, in table 7b, in the file “summary-hbai-1994-95-2017-18-tables.ods”.</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/789816/hbai-2017-2018-tables-ods-files.zip" target="_blank">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/789816/hbai-2017-2018-tables-ods-files.zip</a></p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 15/04/2019 15:21:42 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	534 label Biography information for Chris Ruane

1121962

registered interest
date	18/04/2019
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, if it remains the Government’s ambition to provide access to work support to over 60,000 people per year by 2020 as set out in the Work, Health and Disability Green Paper published in November 2017.
tabling member constituency	East Ham
tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
uin	245556
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/04/2019 answer text <p>The ‘60,000 people per year’ ambition was proposed in the ‘Work, health and disability green paper: improving lives’ consultation document, which was published in October 2016, but it was not repeated in the Government’s response ‘Improving Lives: The Future of Work, Health and Disability’, published 30 November 2017.</p><p> </p><p>The figure of ‘60,000 people per year’ was developed using data from the old Access to Work statistics series. These were withdrawn and replaced by the new experimental Access to Work Statistics, first published on 10 October 2017 and available here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/access-to-work-statistics" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/access-to-work-statistics</a></p><p> </p><p>We explained the reasons for the changes to our methodology for calculating Access to Work statistics in the Statistical Notice that we published on 12 September 2017: <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/643401/statistical-notice-access-to-work-statistics.pdf" target="_blank">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/643401/statistical-notice-access-to-work-statistics.pdf</a></p><p> </p><p>We are committed to improving Access to Work’s reach, as well as the support it offers. In 2017/18 expenditure rose to £110.8 million, a 4% increase in real terms on 2016/17, and support was provided to nearly 34,000 disabled people, an increase of 13% on 16/17. Record numbers of people with learning disabilities (up 22%) and mental health conditions (up 34%) were supported by the scheme. We have also expanded the eligibility criteria for the scheme to include a broader range of customers, such as people who have a drug and alcohol addiction and are in a treatment programme.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 25/04/2019 12:44:32 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

1127200

registered interest
date	16/05/2019
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	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 recent discussions she has had with (a) disabled people and (b) disabled people's organisations on the Access to Work scheme.
tabling member constituency	Battersea
tabling member printed	Marsha De Cordova
uin	255394
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/05/2019 answer text <p>I am committed to ensuring that disabled people and disabled people’s organisations are engaged with and listened to. My diary for this year is filling up with meetings with disabled people and stakeholders, ranging from individual Access to Work customers to larger organisations such as Action on Hearing Loss.</p><p> </p><p>Access to Work has a regular stakeholder forum which brings together disabled people and disabled people’s organisations to discuss how the Access to Work offer works for our customers. This group includes representatives from organisations such as the Thomas Pocklington Trust, Versus Arthritis and the National Deaf Children’s Association. The group is due to meet next month and will discuss plans for future improvements for the Access to Work scheme.</p><p> </p><p>DWP also undertakes regular engagement with stakeholders on specific issues. For example, this week officials held a stakeholder workshop on Access to Work’s Tech Fund policy, exploring strategies for encouraging the take-up of assistive technology to meet support needs. Next week, we are hosting the latest in a series of stakeholder workshops to discuss the Access to Work offer for self-employed people.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 24/05/2019 12:10:30 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	4676 label Biography information for Marsha De Cordova

1127195

registered interest
date	16/05/2019
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	Access to Work Programme: Self-employed
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 ensure that the Access to Work scheme supports disabled people who are self-employed.
tabling member constituency	Battersea
tabling member printed	Marsha De Cordova
uin	255393
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/05/2019 answer text <p>We have undertaken significant reform of Access to Work, but there are still further opportunities for improvements and we are committed to listening to our customers and stakeholders.</p><p> </p><p>For example, to address points raised about the Access to Work self-employment customer journey in the DWP research report ‘Access to Work: Qualitative research with applicants, employers and delivery staff’, published in November 2018, we worked closely with customers and stakeholders to identify the issues and develop a new self-employment customer journey for freelancers and contractors.</p><p> </p><p>To support this work, we are also developing an Access to Work ‘Workplace Adjustments Passport’, comprising a current record of an Access to Work customer’s support needs. This ‘passport’ is designed to be shared with new employers and commissioners, so that Access to Work customers who change jobs or move between contracts can be sure that their support needs are known in advance and adjustments may be put in place swiftly.</p><p>We will be announcing the detail of these new reforms later in the year.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 24/05/2019 12:40:20 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	4676 label Biography information for Marsha De Cordova

1122166

registered interest
date	18/04/2019
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	Age: Discrimination
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 his Department has taken to reduce ageism in the workplace.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle-under-Lyme
tabling member printed	Paul Farrelly
uin	245681
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/04/2019 answer text <p>The Equality Act 2010, provides strong protection against direct and indirect age discrimination in employment and makes it unlawful for an employer to discriminate against an employee or a job applicant because of their age, unless the employer can justify it as a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim.</p><p> </p><p>Government has put in place a number of measures to support people of all ages to enter and remain in a workplace.</p><p> </p><p>We have taken steps to support younger workers by introducing the Youth Obligation Support Programme, an intensive package of labour market support for 18-21 year-olds looking to get (back) into work. We are committed to providing targeted support for young people, so that everyone, no matter what their start in life, is given the very best chance of getting into work. In April 2019, Mentoring circles were rolled out nationally, which involve national employers offering specialised support to unemployed, young jobseekers to help build their confidence and raise their aspirations.</p><p>To support older workers to remain in or return to the labour market, the Government has removed the Default Retirement Age meaning most people can choose when to retire, and extended the right to request flexible working to all employees with 26 weeks’ continuous service with their employer.</p><p>In February 2017, the UK Government published “Fuller Working Lives: a partnership approach” to set out the role employers, individuals and Government can play in supporting fuller working lives. <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/587654/fuller-working-lives-a-partnership-approach.pdf" target="_blank">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/587654/fuller-working-lives-a-partnership-approach.pdf</a></p><p>The Government has also appointed the Business In The Community (BITC) Age at Work leadership team as Business Champion for Older Workers. The BITC team of employers spearhead the Government’s work to support employers to retain, retrain and recruit older workers. They actively promote the benefits of older workers to employers across England.</p><p>The number of older workers in employment is at a record high. There are now 10.4 million people aged 50 and over in the workforce.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 30/04/2019 11:19:34 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Lord Sharma
tabling member	1436 label Biography information for Paul Farrelly

1125881

registered interest
date	10/05/2019
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	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 make it her policy to provide autism awareness training for staff in (a) her Department and (b) Jobcentres.
tabling member constituency	Bristol West
tabling member printed	Thangam Debbonaire
uin	252854
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/05/2019 answer text <p>DWP has a Diversity and Equality Policy Statement. Every person working for the Department has a personal responsibility for implementing and promoting these commitments in their day-to-day dealings with customers, with each other and with employers and partners. Inappropriate behaviour is not acceptable.</p><p> </p><p>DWP have developed Autism Awareness training for all DWP operational staff, using information from the National Autistic Society. This training explains what Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) are and how they may impact on a claimants’ daily life, including how this impacts individuals differently. This helps DWP staff be aware of how they can offer appropriate support. The training also focuses on what support DWP can provide to help customers with ASD secure employment, highlighting the tailored support available and focusing on what positive strengths customers with ASD can offer a prospective employer.</p><p> </p><p>Within the Fundamental Learning Journey for all DWP Operational roles, we have learning for Supporting Vulnerable Adults (hosted by Civil Service Learning), Safeguarding children and for Adults and Equality and Diversity.</p><p> </p><p>There is DWP technical learning specifically for staff who need to look at medical evidence for particular medical conditions as part of their job role. This covers the likely care needs for more common medical conditions and signposts to more detailed guidance.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 20/05/2019 16:41:15 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	4433 label Biography information for Thangam Debbonaire

1123361

registered interest
date	26/04/2019
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	Business: Asbestos and Carcinogens
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 with businesses to prevent employee's exposure to (a) asbestos and (b) carcinogens in the workplace.
tabling member constituency	Preston
tabling member printed	Sir Mark Hendrick
uin	247982
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/05/2019 answer text <p>All businesses must prevent, or if this is not reasonably practicable minimise, exposure of employees to carcinogens, including asbestos, in the workplace. Businesses must comply with the requirements of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 and the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002, both of which are regulated by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). HSE also produces free guidance to assist businesses to comply with their legal duties: <a href="http://www.hse.gov.uk/asbestos/index.htm" target="_blank">http://www.hse.gov.uk/asbestos/index.htm</a> &amp; <a href="http://www.hse.gov.uk/coshh/" target="_blank">http://www.hse.gov.uk/coshh/</a>.</p><p> </p><p>HSE also works in partnership with businesses and others to raise awareness of workplace ill health. For example, occupational lung disease, including that caused by exposure to carcinogens, is one of three health priorities that form HSE’s Health and Work strategy to prevent workplace ill health. This work includes the national campaign ‘Go Home Healthy’ to promote HSE’s commitment to tackling ill health.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 03/05/2019 13:43:59 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	473 label Biography information for Sir Mark Hendrick

1111024

registered interest
date	10/04/2019
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	Carbon Monoxide: Alarms
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 encourage festivals with glamping accommodation to ensure that carbon monoxide alarms are fitted to those facilities.
tabling member constituency	Huddersfield
tabling member printed	Mr Barry Sheerman
uin	243347
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/04/2019 answer text <p><strong> </strong></p><p>The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) leads on national occupational health and safety policy for the entertainments and leisure sector, whilst Local Authorities are responsible for enforcing the law at individual events, such as festivals, in their geographical area.</p><p> </p><p>Festival organisers have responsibilities under Section 3 of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 (HSWA) to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the safety and health of members of the public affected by their business. These responsibilities extend to ensuring that equipment provided for use by those attending festivals is maintained and operated in a safe condition.</p><p> </p><p>Fatalities arising from exposure to carbon monoxide (CO) have occurred due to BBQs being taken into tents for cooking or as a source of heat. Where accommodation is provided, festival organisers are expected to take reasonably practicable measures to prevent these items being used in enclosed areas and raise awareness of the potential dangers.</p><p> </p><p>There is no legal requirement to provide CO alarms in temporary festival accommodation. However, where there is a risk of CO being produced, HSE strongly recommends the use of suitable alarms as a useful precaution.</p><p> </p><p>HSE has published event safety guidance to help event organisers comply with their legal duties (<a href="http://www.hse.gov.uk/event-safety/index.htm" target="_blank">http://www.hse.gov.uk/event-safety/index.htm</a>) and continues to work closely with industry stakeholders to remind them of the risks from CO and the precautions to be taken. The Events Industry Forum also produces a guide, known as the Purple Guide, for the live event industry.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 23/04/2019 16:12:17 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	411 label Biography information for Mr Barry Sheerman