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1005789

registered interest
date	12/11/2018
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	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, with reference to page 53 of the Government's White Paper entitled Improving lives: the future of work, health and disability, in November 2017, what progress her Department has made with Initiative No.5 on reform of the work capability assessment; and if she will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow
tabling member printed	Dr Lisa Cameron
uin	190483
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/11/2018 answer text <p>We are committed to assessing people with health conditions and disabilities fairly and accurately, helping people to access the right support. We made a clear commitment in <em>Improving Lives</em>: The Future of Work, Health and Disability to reform the Work Capability Assessment and recognise the importance of getting this right. We are therefore testing new approaches to build the evidence base for what works, and working with external stakeholders to inform future changes to the WCA. We have established a policy forum, with a focused group of academics, think tanks and disability charities to bring together evidence for reform options and will also gather views from wider stakeholder groups, including individuals with lived experience of disability.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Truro and Falmouth answering member printed Sarah Newton question first answered 20/11/2018 17:42:09 answering member 4071 label Biography information for Sarah Newton
tabling member	4412 label Biography information for Dr Lisa Cameron

1005790

registered interest
date	12/11/2018
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, if her Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of reintroducing a disability employment target that measures progress against employment levels of non-disabled people.
tabling member constituency	East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow
tabling member printed	Dr Lisa Cameron
uin	190484
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/11/2018 answer text <p>We set out our continued commitment to improving employment rates for disabled people and people with long-term health conditions in <em>Improving Lives: the Future of Work, Health and Disability</em>. We believe people should get the support they need whatever their health condition or disability, whether that’s from their employer, from the health system or from the welfare system.</p><p> </p><p>Too many people are missing the opportunity to develop their talents and connect with the world of work, which is why<em> Improving Lives</em> also set out our ambitious, specific and time-bound goal to see 1 million more disabled people in work by 2027.</p><p> </p><p>However, no single measure can capture everything that we want to achieve. <em>Improving Lives</em> made it clear that “alongside monitoring the number of disabled people in work, we will also consider other useful statistical indicators which give more information about how disability and employment change over this time period, and inform our actions”.</p><p> </p><p>For example, the ad hoc statistical update released on 1 November 2018, by the Department for Work and Pensions and the Department of Health and Social Care, included estimates of the number of disabled people in employment, their employment rate, and the gap between the employment rates of disabled and non-disabled people.</p> answering member constituency Truro and Falmouth answering member printed Sarah Newton question first answered 20/11/2018 17:35:49 answering member 4071 label Biography information for Sarah Newton
tabling member	4412 label Biography information for Dr Lisa Cameron

1005795

registered interest
date	12/11/2018
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: Disability
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 help ensure that disabled people have fair and equal opportunities to become successful business leaders.
tabling member constituency	East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow
tabling member printed	Dr Lisa Cameron
uin	190489
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/11/2018 answer text <p>The Government is committed to seeing a million more disabled people in work by 2027 and ensuring that disabled people have fair and equal opportunities to become successful business leaders. The latest figures (published Tuesday 13 Nov) show that disability employment has increased by 973,000 in the last five years.</p><p> </p><p>The Equality Act 2010 legally protects disabled people from discrimination in the workplace and in wider society. It replaced previous anti-discrimination laws with a single Act, making the law easier to understand and strengthening protection in some situations.</p><p> </p><p>We actively support disabled people to enter employment through initiatives like the Work and Health Programme, which is expected to support 220,000 disabled people over 5 years; and the Personal Support Package for those on ESA and Universal Credit equivalents.</p><p> </p><p>We also support new and existing disabled workers with Access to Work, which approved support for 27,730 disabled workers in 2017/18, an increase of 11% on 2016/17. The support Access to Work offers includes a discretionary grant of up to £57,200 pa, without which many disabled business leaders might not be able to achieve their employment goals.</p><p> </p><p>We engage with employers through Disability Confident. Over 9,500 employers are currently signed up to Disability Confident and that number grows weekly.</p><p> </p><p>We are integrating Access to Work communications into Disability Confident promotions so employers can easily understand how they can receive support with the costs of making workplace adjustments.</p><p> </p><p>Potential disabled entrepreneurs who are claiming benefits such as ESA or UC equivalents may receive specialist self-employment support through Work and Health Programme and Personal Support Package. The Work and Health Programme includes integrated access to specialist support networks at a local level. In addition, claimants who wish to start their own businesses and become entrepreneurs may be able to receive start up support through the New Enterprise Allowance (NEA). Around 1 in 4 people who start on the NEA have a self-declared disability.</p> answering member constituency Truro and Falmouth answering member printed Sarah Newton question first answered 20/11/2018 15:21:20 answering member 4071 label Biography information for Sarah Newton
tabling member	4412 label Biography information for Dr Lisa Cameron

993612

registered interest
date	23/10/2018
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, pursuant to the Answer of 2 July 2018 to Question 165609 on Employment: disability, when the research will be published; and whether that research will consider actual employment outcomes for disabled people as a target and reference point for the success of Disability Confident.
tabling member constituency	East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow
tabling member printed	Dr Lisa Cameron
uin	182830
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/10/2018 answer text <p>As stated in the Answer of 23 July 2018 to Question 165609, we have commissioned external research which explores whether employers who sign up to the Disability Confident scheme change their attitudes and behaviours in relation to disability employment, including whether they report increases in their employment of disabled people as a result of signing up.</p><p> </p><p>We expect to publish results from this research later this year.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Truro and Falmouth answering member printed Sarah Newton question first answered 30/10/2018 17:19:23 answering member 4071 label Biography information for Sarah Newton
tabling member	4412 label Biography information for Dr Lisa Cameron

993614

registered interest
date	23/10/2018
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: Mental Health
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department has made an assessment of the implications for her policies of the report entitled, Where your mental health just disappears overnight, published by Inclusion London.
tabling member constituency	East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow
tabling member printed	Dr Lisa Cameron
uin	182832
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/10/2018 answer text <p>The Department recognises that many of those claiming benefits are particularly vulnerable and we continue to explore ways to improve the customer journey, especially for those with mental health conditions, and have safeguards in place to ensure people are supported throughout the claiming and sanctions processes.</p><p> </p><p>Over half of Employment and Support Allowance claimants - 1.2 million people – have a mental health or behavioural-related condition<em>.</em></p><p><em> </em></p> answering member constituency Truro and Falmouth answering member printed Sarah Newton question first answered 30/10/2018 10:12:10 answering member 4071 label Biography information for Sarah Newton
tabling member	4412 label Biography information for Dr Lisa Cameron

988681

registered interest
date	16/10/2018
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	Disability Living Allowance: Children
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department has plans to allocate additional funding for mobility payments to children under the age of three in 2019; and if she will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow
tabling member printed	Dr Lisa Cameron
uin	180219
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/10/2018 answer text <p>There are no proposals to change the age restrictions for the mobility component of Child DLA. Only children over the age of three can claim the mobility component of Disability Living Allowance (DLA). This is because entitlement to the higher rate mobility component of DLA depends primarily on an inability to walk. All young children have substantial mobility needs up until the age of three years old.</p><p> </p><p>However, the Department does understand the difficulties that some families with severely disabled children under the age of three may face, particularly those who have a reliance on bulky medical equipment which makes transportation difficult.</p><p> </p><p>After being introduced by the Department, the Motability charity and Family Fund have begun a pilot to support families with their mobility needs.</p> answering member constituency Truro and Falmouth answering member printed Sarah Newton question first answered 23/10/2018 13:11:51 answering member 4071 label Biography information for Sarah Newton
tabling member	4412 label Biography information for Dr Lisa Cameron

983179

registered interest
date	08/10/2018
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 her Department is taking to reduce the delay in (a) self-employed and (b) freelance applicants being granted Access to Work payments.
tabling member constituency	East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow
tabling member printed	Dr Lisa Cameron
uin	176352
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/10/2018 answer text <p>The Access to Work processing team has consistently been achieving its processing performance targets. While some individual cases may take longer to process than others, there is no evidence of any systemic delay in processing applications, including those from self-employed or freelance applicants.</p><p> </p><p>Access to Work has a specialist self-employment team to help self-employed customers with their applications.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Truro and Falmouth answering member printed Sarah Newton question first answered 16/10/2018 13:28:26 answering member 4071 label Biography information for Sarah Newton
tabling member	4412 label Biography information for Dr Lisa Cameron

983180

registered interest
date	08/10/2018
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, what steps her Department is taking to support people to (a) disclose a disability and (b) ask for reasonable adjustments in the workplace.
tabling member constituency	East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow
tabling member printed	Dr Lisa Cameron
uin	176353
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/10/2018 answer text <p>The Equality Act 2010 legally protects disabled people from discrimination in the workplace and in wider society and requires employers to make reasonable adjustments to make sure workers with disabilities, or physical or mental health conditions aren’t substantially disadvantaged when doing their jobs.</p><p> </p><p>Disability Confident emphasises to employers the importance of implementing reasonable adjustments and signposts them to further sources of information and guidance. By providing guidance, best practice advice and access to case studies, DC helps to support managers and HR professionals to build a positive culture. This means that managers and disabled staff can have productive conversations in the workplace, creating the right environment for people to share their disability at work.</p><p> </p><p>Access to Work is a demand-led scheme that provides support for disabled workers over and above the level of reasonable adjustments, up to a maximum of £57,200 per year per person. Access to Work provision was approved for 25,020 individuals in 2016/17 – an 8% increase on 2015/16, at a cost of £104m.</p><p> </p><p>In addition, we are working with Council for Work and Health to develop Reasonable Adjustments Clinical Guidance in relation to 5 conditions which commonly lead to absence from work. We expect the guidance to be published in 2019.</p><p> </p><p>Finally, we are working with partners including employers, to establish a voluntary reporting framework on disability and mental health for large employers. In the supporting guidance we will provide advice on disclosure issues.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Truro and Falmouth answering member printed Sarah Newton question first answered 17/10/2018 15:43:01 answering member 4071 label Biography information for Sarah Newton
tabling member	4412 label Biography information for Dr Lisa Cameron

943897

registered interest
date	18/07/2018
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
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what provision her Department makes for people who when making a benefit application are unable to respond with bank documentation and other relevant paperwork within the requested 10 days.
tabling member constituency	East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow
tabling member printed	Dr Lisa Cameron
uin	165608
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/07/2018 answer text <p>DWP administers a number of benefits with different eligibility requirements. In order to ensure that we pay people their correct benefit in a timely way, we may need to ask for information or documentation from a claimant to support their application within a particular timeframe. We will prompt claimants using a variety of methods such as SMS, phone call or a message on claimants’ UC journal. Where information is not received, we can consider extending the timeframe.</p><p>If a claimant does not have a bank account, DWP does have other methods of payment which can be used in these circumstances, for example, a Post Office card account (POca). In certain circumstances a claimant can request to be paid by the Payment Exception Service. This is a way for people who do not have a bank account to collect benefit or pension payments. Further detail is on gov.uk at <a href="https://www.gov.uk/payment-exception-service" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/payment-exception-service</a>.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 23/07/2018 15:15:38 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
tabling member	4412 label Biography information for Dr Lisa Cameron

943965

registered interest
date	18/07/2018
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, pursuant to the Answer of 10 July 2018 to Questions 161189, 161190 and 161191 on employment: disability, how her Department is evaluating the success of the Disability Confident scheme if job outcomes attributable to the scheme are not recorded.
tabling member constituency	East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow
tabling member printed	Dr Lisa Cameron
uin	165609
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/07/2018 answer text <p>We have commissioned external research which will assess the extent to which employers who sign up to Disability Confident scheme change their attitudes and behaviours in relation to disability employment, including offering more employment opportunities, supporting existing employees who have or acquire disabilities, changing recruitment practices to encourage more disabled applicants and making workplace adjustments to retain existing employees. We expect to publish results from this research later this year.</p> answering member constituency Truro and Falmouth answering member printed Sarah Newton question first answered 23/07/2018 16:59:10 answering member 4071 label Biography information for Sarah Newton
tabling member	4412 label Biography information for Dr Lisa Cameron