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1306902

registered interest
date	12/04/2021
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	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 she will prioritise personal independence payment reassessments in cases where the applicant has a known mental health issue.
tabling member constituency	Leeds Central
tabling member printed	Hilary Benn
uin	178630
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/04/2021 answer text <p>Eligible Disability Living Allowance (DLA) claimants are invited to claim Personal Independence Payment (PIP) – “reassessment claims” – in one of four ways:</p><p> </p><ul><li>On reaching age 16;</li><li>When reporting a change of circumstances which might result in a change in their DLA award;</li><li>Shortly before an existing DLA fixed term award comes to an end; or</li><li>Through random selection for those with long-term or indefinite DLA awards where none of the triggers above apply.</li></ul><p><strong> </strong></p><p>No invitations to claim PIP are prioritised by the DLA claimant’s health condition or disability.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 15/04/2021 12:30:26 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	413 label Biography information for Hilary Benn

1306913

registered interest
date	12/04/2021
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	Disability: 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 he is taking to consult (a) people with disabilities and (b) representative groups on any developments of her Department's strategic objectives following the covid-19 outbreak.
tabling member constituency	Bosworth
tabling member printed	Dr Luke Evans
uin	178551
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/04/2021 answer text <p>I refer the Hon Member to the answer I gave on 23<sup>rd</sup> March 2021 to question number <a href="https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2021-03-16/169969" target="_blank">169969</a>.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 16/04/2021 13:52:01 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	4781 label Biography information for Dr Luke Evans

1306917

registered interest
date	12/04/2021
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	Social Security Benefits: Complaints
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 time was for a complaint submitted to her Department for the (a) case to be assigned to an Independent Case Examiner, (b) investigation to commence and (c) decision to be provided to the complainant in the most recent period for which figures are available.
tabling member constituency	Newport East
tabling member printed	Jessica Morden
uin	178556
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/04/2021 answer text <p>At the point the Independent Case Examiner (ICE) Office accept a complaint for investigation, they will initially try to broker a solution between the complainant and the Department or supplier, without having to undertake an investigation – this is known as “resolution”. If the complaint cannot be resolved the evidence will be requested and the case will await allocation to an Investigation Case Manager (ICM). Cases are usually brought into investigation in strict date order. Following a review of the evidence, it may be possible to “settle” the complaint, if agreement can be reached which satisfies the complainant. If the complaint cannot be settled, ICE will issue a report detailing findings and any recommendations for redress. The majority of the complaints that are referred to ICE are complex and require a full investigation.</p><p> </p><p>The Unit received additional resource during 2020/21 financial year to help reduce the time complaints wait to be brought into investigation, but Covid has adversely affected the unit with staff re-deployed to priority front-line activities at the outset of the pandemic and recruitment plans delayed. It has also been affected by Covid-related sickness, self-isolation and bereavement.</p><p> </p><p>For the 2020/21 reporting year, the average Resolution clearance time, from acceptance to case closure, was 6.2 weeks. The average time taken to allocate complaints that required investigation to an ICM, from acceptance to allocation, was 63.8 weeks. The average clearance time for complaints that required investigation (Settlements and ICE Reports), from allocation to an ICM to case closure, was 20.1 weeks.</p><p> </p><p>For the reporting years 2018/19, 2019/20 and 2020/21 the average waiting times from case acceptance to case clearance (for all cleared cases) were: 65; 69; and 73 weeks respectively.</p><p> </p><p>For the same reporting years, the single longest waiting times from case acceptance to case clearance in each reporting year were: 134; 153; and 160 weeks respectively. These cases are among the most complex and contentious and in addition may be subject to scrutiny and consideration by the Department before recommendations for redress are settled.</p><p> </p><p>It should be noted that Customer satisfaction with the service is high with 82.6 per cent of customers who respond to the ICE survey stating that they were satisfied with the service they received.</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman grouped question UIN 178958 question first answered 20/04/2021 13:27:23 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	1548 label Biography information for Jessica Morden

1306928

registered interest
date	12/04/2021
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	Social Security Benefits: Disqualification
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 her Department's Official Statistics entitled Benefit sanctions statistics to October 2020 (experimental), published on 23 February 2021, what assessment her Department has made of the effect of the reduction in the use of benefit sanctions since March 2020 on trends in the number of social security benefit claimants seeking help from food banks in that time period.
tabling member constituency	Stalybridge and Hyde
tabling member printed	Jonathan Reynolds
uin	178578
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/04/2021 answer text <p>We have not made any assessment of the effect of the reduction in use of benefit sanctions since March 2020 and have no plans to do so.</p><p> </p><p>We cannot isolate the effect of the reduction in the use of benefit sanctions as this has coincided with other changes to conditionality that took place over the same period, for example the three-month suspension of work search and availability requirements and the suspension of face-to-face claimant appointments. Together with the highly atypical economic circumstances we have experienced over this period, this would make any such assessment unreliable.</p><p> </p><p>Work Coaches will continue to work with claimants to ensure claimant commitments are reasonable for claimants’ circumstances.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies grouped question UIN 178579 178581 179104 question first answered 20/04/2021 13:40:24 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	4119 label Biography information for Jonathan Reynolds

1306929

registered interest
date	12/04/2021
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	Social Security Benefits: Disqualification
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 her Department's Official Statistics entitled Benefit sanctions statistics to October 2020 (experimental), published on 23 February 2021, what assessment her Department has made of the effect of the reduction in the use of benefit sanctions since March 2020 on social security benefit claimants' (a) work search activity and (b) willingness to take up employment in that time period.
tabling member constituency	Stalybridge and Hyde
tabling member printed	Jonathan Reynolds
uin	178579
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/04/2021 answer text <p>We have not made any assessment of the effect of the reduction in use of benefit sanctions since March 2020 and have no plans to do so.</p><p> </p><p>We cannot isolate the effect of the reduction in the use of benefit sanctions as this has coincided with other changes to conditionality that took place over the same period, for example the three-month suspension of work search and availability requirements and the suspension of face-to-face claimant appointments. Together with the highly atypical economic circumstances we have experienced over this period, this would make any such assessment unreliable.</p><p> </p><p>Work Coaches will continue to work with claimants to ensure claimant commitments are reasonable for claimants’ circumstances.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies grouped question UIN 178578 178581 179104 question first answered 20/04/2021 13:40:24 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	4119 label Biography information for Jonathan Reynolds

1306930

registered interest
date	12/04/2021
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	Social Security Benefits: Disqualification
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 her Department's Official Statistics entitled Benefit sanctions statistics to October 2020 (experimental), published on 23 February 2021, what plans her Department has to conduct a full evaluation of the lessons that can be learnt from the period of running the social security system with little use of such sanctions.
tabling member constituency	Stalybridge and Hyde
tabling member printed	Jonathan Reynolds
uin	178581
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/04/2021 answer text <p>We have not made any assessment of the effect of the reduction in use of benefit sanctions since March 2020 and have no plans to do so.</p><p> </p><p>We cannot isolate the effect of the reduction in the use of benefit sanctions as this has coincided with other changes to conditionality that took place over the same period, for example the three-month suspension of work search and availability requirements and the suspension of face-to-face claimant appointments. Together with the highly atypical economic circumstances we have experienced over this period, this would make any such assessment unreliable.</p><p> </p><p>Work Coaches will continue to work with claimants to ensure claimant commitments are reasonable for claimants’ circumstances.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies grouped question UIN 178578 178579 179104 question first answered 20/04/2021 13:40:24 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	4119 label Biography information for Jonathan Reynolds

1306932

registered interest
date	12/04/2021
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	Universal Credit: Remote Working
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the additional costs of working from home are taken into account when calculating universal credit payments for claimants who are working from home during covid-19 restrictions.
tabling member constituency	Stockton North
tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
uin	178584
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/04/2021 answer text <p>A Universal Credit award is calculated on the basis of the set benefit rate against money coming in, to ensure fairness of treatment for all claimants against the money that they have available. This is a long-standing principle of means-tested benefits.</p><p> </p><p>Universal Credit rules align closely to tax legislation (Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003 (ITEPA)). Amounts that are taken into account for a Universal Credit award include those that are general earnings, as defined in section 7(3) of ITEPA. Amounts paid as expenses that are exempt from Income tax under Part 4 of ITEPA are not taken into account for a Universal Credit award.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 15/04/2021 14:38:00 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

1306933

registered interest
date	12/04/2021
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: Epilepsy
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 increase the number of people with epilepsy entering employment.
tabling member constituency	Denton and Reddish
tabling member printed	Andrew Gwynne
uin	178586
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/04/2021 answer text <p>Government’s Plan for Jobs provides new funding to ensure more people, including those with health conditions get tailored Jobcentre Plus support to help them find work and to build the skills they need to get into work. This includes £895m for 13,500 additional Work Coaches who have been successfully recruited. The Restart Programme will support individuals who have been unemployed for over 12 months and through regular, personalised support providers will work with participants to identify the best way to support them into sustained employment.</p><p>From April 2021, the Disability Employment Advisors (DEA) Direct Support will be strengthened to include an element of Direct Support to customers with health condition or disability who require additional support over and above the ESA and Universal Credit core offer. DEA Direct Support will deliver work focussed bespoke support to move individuals with a disability or health condition towards a work outcome.</p><p> </p><p>If employees with epilepsy need workplace support beyond the cost of reasonable adjustment, Access to Work can help. Access to Work is supporting thousands more people with disabilities and health conditions than ever before. In 2019, Access to Work funded tailored and flexible support for 43,000 people, a 20% increase on the previous year.</p><p> </p><p>We also, through Disability Confident, provide employers with the knowledge, skills and confidence they need to attract, recruit, retain and develop disabled people in the workplace.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 16/04/2021 13:41:14 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	1506 label Biography information for Andrew Gwynne

1306940

registered interest
date	12/04/2021
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	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, what the average waiting time is for a personal independence payment (PIP) renewal assessment to be undertaken; and what comparative assessment she has made of that waiting time with waiting times in April (a) 2020 and (b) 2019.
tabling member constituency	Leeds Central
tabling member printed	Hilary Benn
uin	178599
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/04/2021 answer text <p>The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 15/04/2021 12:28:22 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	413 label Biography information for Hilary Benn

1307008

registered interest
date	12/04/2021
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: Epilepsy
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 employees with epilepsy working in Government departments.
tabling member constituency	Exeter
tabling member printed	Mr Ben Bradshaw
uin	178748
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/04/2021 answer text <p>We do not hold information for other Government departments and can only answer in relation to the Department for Work and Pension’s staff.</p><p> </p><p>I refer the Right Honourable Member to the answer given to the Honourable Member for East Renfrewshire to Question 132962 on 11 January 2021. <a href="https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2020-12-30/132962" target="_blank">https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2020-12-30/132962</a></p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 15/04/2021 13:12:46 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	230 label Biography information for Mr Ben Bradshaw