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1672652

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	Chemicals: Regulation
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how often the Health and Safety Executive reviews and updates the UK REACH Candidate List of substances of very high concern for authorisation; and what estimate he has made of when the next update of that list will be published.
tabling member constituency	Stroud
tabling member printed	Siobhan Baillie
uin	3556
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/11/2023 answer text <p>Although the Health and Safety Executive annually reviews substances for potential inclusion in the UK REACH Candidate List of substances of very high concern for authorisation, it is not anticipating an update to the list before 2025.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 30/11/2023 17:03:09 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	4847 label Biography information for Siobhan Baillie

1672658

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	Winter Fuel Payment: Terminal Illnesses
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of extending the criteria for winter fuel payments to include people with a terminal illness.
tabling member constituency	Belfast South
tabling member printed	Claire Hanna
uin	3552
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/11/2023 answer text <p>Winter fuel payments are a transferred matter in Northern Ireland, although the Department for Communities there maintains parity with the Department for Work and Pensions.</p><p> </p><p>Winter fuel payments are made to people who have reached State Pension age and meet the relevant residence criteria in the third week of September each year. There are no plans to change these eligibility criteria. This winter, as last, the payments include the Pensioner Cost of Living Payment of £300 on top of the usual rate of £200 for a pensioner household with someone aged under 80, and £300 for households with someone aged 80 or over.</p><p> </p><p>More broadly, the Department is committed to supporting people with a terminal illness. The Special Rules for End of Life enable people with a terminal illness to get faster, easier access to certain benefits without needing to attend a medical assessment or serve waiting periods; and in most cases, receive the highest rate of benefit.</p><p> </p><p>For many years, the Special Rules for End of Life have applied to people who have six months or less to live, and now they have been changed so they apply to people who have 12 months or less to live. Changes to these rules means that thousands of people nearing the end of life will be able to claim fast-tracked financial support from the benefits system six months earlier than they were able to previously.</p> answering member constituency Blackpool North and Cleveleys answering member printed Paul Maynard question first answered 30/11/2023 14:44:57 answering member 3926 label Biography information for Paul Maynard
tabling member	4827 label Biography information for Claire Hanna

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

1672707

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: Children
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 paragraph 3.25 of the Autumn Statement 2023, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of removing parents' entitlement to benefits on their children.
tabling member constituency	York Central
tabling member printed	Rachael Maskell
uin	3512
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/11/2023 answer text <p>As part of the Autumn Statement, we announced the intention to close the claim of those who have been disengaged for 6-months or more, where they are in receipt of a nil Universal Credit award following a sanction decision.</p><p> </p><p>We will not be closing the claims of anyone who is in receipt of other Universal Credit elements, such as the child, housing, or disability element and no assessment has been made of the potential impact of removing a parents’ entitlement to benefits on their children.</p><p> </p><p>Where entitlement to passported benefits, such has help to pay for NHS prescriptions, is reliant solely on a Universal Credit claim to establish eligibility, that eligibility will cease if the Universal Credit claim is closed. Claimants may still be entitled to access passported benefits through other means.</p><p> </p><p>Safeguards will be put in place to ensure that any claimant vulnerabilities are taken into consideration and impacted claimants may still be able to access financial support for NHS services through other means.</p> answering member constituency Bury St Edmunds answering member printed Jo Churchill grouped question UIN 3513 3514 question first answered 30/11/2023 14:09:04 answering member 4380 label Biography information for Jo Churchill
tabling member	4471 label Biography information for Rachael Maskell

1672708

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	Universal Credit
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 paragraph 3.25 of the Autumn Statement 2023, whether his Department is taking steps to inform social services before a parent loses their entitlement to Universal Credit.
tabling member constituency	York Central
tabling member printed	Rachael Maskell
uin	3513
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/11/2023 answer text <p>As part of the Autumn Statement, we announced the intention to close the claim of those who have been disengaged for 6-months or more, where they are in receipt of a nil Universal Credit award following a sanction decision.</p><p> </p><p>We will not be closing the claims of anyone who is in receipt of other Universal Credit elements, such as the child, housing, or disability element and no assessment has been made of the potential impact of removing a parents’ entitlement to benefits on their children.</p><p> </p><p>Where entitlement to passported benefits, such has help to pay for NHS prescriptions, is reliant solely on a Universal Credit claim to establish eligibility, that eligibility will cease if the Universal Credit claim is closed. Claimants may still be entitled to access passported benefits through other means.</p><p> </p><p>Safeguards will be put in place to ensure that any claimant vulnerabilities are taken into consideration and impacted claimants may still be able to access financial support for NHS services through other means.</p> answering member constituency Bury St Edmunds answering member printed Jo Churchill grouped question UIN 3512 3514 question first answered 30/11/2023 14:09:04 answering member 4380 label Biography information for Jo Churchill
tabling member	4471 label Biography information for Rachael Maskell

1672709

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	Universal Credit
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 paragraph 3.25 of the Autumn Statement 2023, if he will take steps to ensure that the children of parents who lose their entitlement to Universal Credit will not be taken into care.
tabling member constituency	York Central
tabling member printed	Rachael Maskell
uin	3514
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/11/2023 answer text <p>As part of the Autumn Statement, we announced the intention to close the claim of those who have been disengaged for 6-months or more, where they are in receipt of a nil Universal Credit award following a sanction decision.</p><p> </p><p>We will not be closing the claims of anyone who is in receipt of other Universal Credit elements, such as the child, housing, or disability element and no assessment has been made of the potential impact of removing a parents’ entitlement to benefits on their children.</p><p> </p><p>Where entitlement to passported benefits, such has help to pay for NHS prescriptions, is reliant solely on a Universal Credit claim to establish eligibility, that eligibility will cease if the Universal Credit claim is closed. Claimants may still be entitled to access passported benefits through other means.</p><p> </p><p>Safeguards will be put in place to ensure that any claimant vulnerabilities are taken into consideration and impacted claimants may still be able to access financial support for NHS services through other means.</p> answering member constituency Bury St Edmunds answering member printed Jo Churchill grouped question UIN 3512 3513 question first answered 30/11/2023 14:09:04 answering member 4380 label Biography information for Jo Churchill
tabling member	4471 label Biography information for Rachael Maskell

1672147

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	Employment: Pensioners
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to support people who wish to continue working over state pension age.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	3227
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/11/2023 answer text <p>Since the abolishment of the Default Retirement Age, most people can work for as long as they want and are able to. We know that age diversity within a workforce is the right thing and can bring benefits to business. Therefore, we are working across government, with employers, and with the Business Champion for Older Workers, Andy Briggs, to advocate for more diverse, inclusive and multigenerational workforces.</p><p> </p><p>In addition, the DWP has signed the Age-friendly Employer Pledge, a nationwide programme run by the Centre for Ageing Better to promote age inclusive working practices. The Help to Grow site on gov.uk also provides advice and guidance to businesses on employing older workers.</p><p> </p><p>The government wants to encourage people to plan more actively for later life and provide support to help them make important decisions about extending their working lives and reducing the risk of pensioner poverty. An enhanced digital Mid-life MOT offer went live on 5th July 2023 to ensure more people can access targeted online guidance regarding their finances, health and career.</p><p> </p><p>At Spring Budget 2023, the Government also announced that it would make changes to the limits on tax-relieved pension savings, abolishing the lifetime allowance and increasing the annual allowance from £40,000 to £60,000. These changes will help incentivise highly skilled and highly experienced individuals at the top of their professions to remain in the labour market which will help grow the economy while increasing the knowledge and experience of the UK’s labour force.</p><p> </p><p>The New State Pension was introduced in April 2016 with the aim of providing a clearer, sustainable foundation for private saving. The full rate of £203.85 per week (2023/24) was set above the Standard Minimum Guarantee level of Pension Credit, removing disincentives to working beyond State Pension Age. In addition, once over State Pension Age, people are exempt from paying National Insurance contributions if they carry on working as an employee.</p> answering member constituency Bury St Edmunds answering member printed Jo Churchill question first answered 30/11/2023 12:26:30 answering member 4380 label Biography information for Jo Churchill
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

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