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1421187

registered interest
date	09/02/2022
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, what steps she is taking to help avoid a gap in income for households whose single universal credit claims have been closed due to a change of circumstances and who are in the process of establishing a new joint claim with their partner.
tabling member constituency	Glasgow South West
tabling member printed	Chris Stephens
uin	121820
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/02/2022 answer text <p>When a single claimant becomes part of a couple, they form a benefit unit with their new partner. As the claimant(s) is now part of a benefit unit, their single claim becomes a joint claim as a change of circumstance has occurred.</p><p> </p><p>Support is available to claimants, through a ‘change of circumstances’ advance, for those who face short-term financial need, where a change of circumstances will significantly increase the amount of their benefit entitlement, i.e. from the single standard allowance to a couple’s standard allowance. This advance will be available to claimants in the same Assessment Period in which the change of circumstance occurs.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley question first answered 21/02/2022 14:08:22 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley
tabling member	4463 label Biography information for Chris Stephens

1421188

registered interest
date	09/02/2022
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
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what support is available to personal independence payment claimants who cannot afford the fees they are being asked to pay by GPs for medical evidence in support of their claim.
tabling member constituency	Glasgow South West
tabling member printed	Chris Stephens
uin	121821
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/02/2022 answer text <p>We ask claimants to provide evidence they already have available so they do not have to pay a charge which a General Practitioner (GP) may choose to impose. Where a claimant has provided details of their GP or other healthcare professional, the health professional working for our Assessment Providers can request additional evidence from them where they think that would provide helpful evidence of the claimant’s condition or functional needs.</p> answering member constituency Norwich North answering member printed Chloe Smith question first answered 21/02/2022 13:53:22 answering member 1609 label Biography information for Chloe Smith
tabling member	4463 label Biography information for Chris Stephens

1420809

registered interest
date	08/02/2022
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, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of exempting people from sanctions if there is evidence of severe mental health or associated risk of self harm.
tabling member constituency	Glasgow South West
tabling member printed	Chris Stephens
uin	120811
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/02/2022 answer text <p><del class="ministerial">We are fully committed to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which we ratified in 2009, and the progressive realisation of rights for disabled people that it sets out. The UK has some of the strongest equalities legislation in the world, including the Equality Act 2010, and we will continue to make sure that these rights are protected.The UK has a proud record of furthering the rights of disabled people. The principles of the UN Convention are at the heart of our approach. We continue to reform and modernise our public services and welfare system to ensure that disabled people are able to participate in every aspect of society.The UK’s 2021 report demonstrates our ongoing commitment across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to support disabled people, through legislation, policies and programmes that tackle the barriers faced by disabled people to realise their full participation and inclusion in society. The Government’s response was submitted to the UNCRPD Committee in 2021, and published on GOV.UK with accessible formats in December 2021 and can be found <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/disabled-peoples-rights-the-uks-2021-report-on-select-recommendations-from-the-uncrpd-periodic-review" target="_blank">here</a>.The UK Government’s recently published National Disability Strategy has been a milestone in this respect, with over 100 practical commitments which are being delivered to improve the everyday lives of disabled people.</del></p><p><ins class="ministerial">Those who are not expected to look for work, such as those with severe health conditions, including mental health, are not subject to work search or work availability requirements.</ins></p><p> </p><p><ins class="ministerial">Work Coaches engage at an individual level with them and are committed to tailoring support for specific individual needs, including agreeing realistic and structured steps to encourage claimants into or towards the labour market where conditionality requirements are regularly reviewed to ensure that they remain appropriate for the claimant. This would include tailoring to reflect any mental health or associated self-harm issues the claimant raised.</ins></p><p> </p><p><ins class="ministerial">Sanctions are only applied where a claimant fails to comply with a mandatory requirement set out in their claimant commitment such as a failure to attend an appointment. When considering whether a sanction is appropriate, a Decision Maker will take all the claimant’s individual circumstances, including any health conditions or disabilities and any evidence of good reason, into account before deciding whether a sanction is warranted.</ins></p><p> </p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 21/02/2022 13:31:54 question first ministerially corrected 21/02/2022 14:28:15 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies previous answer version 51832 answering member constituency Norwich North answering member printed Chloe Smith answering member 1609 label Biography information for Chloe Smith
tabling member	4463 label Biography information for Chris Stephens

1420810

registered interest
date	08/02/2022
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	Household Support Fund
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 for the Household Support Fund beyond March 2022.
tabling member constituency	Glasgow South West
tabling member printed	Chris Stephens
uin	120812
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/02/2022 answer text <p>The Household Support Fund covers the period 06 October 2021 to 31 March 2022 inclusive. Other support for those on low incomes will also still be available after this point. For example, we have increased the value of Healthy Start Food Vouchers to £4.25, helping eligible low-income households buy basic foods like milk, fruit and vitamins. In Scotland, similar support is provided through Best Start Foods.</p><p> </p><p>We are investing over £200m a year from 2022 to continue our Holiday Activities and Food programme which is already providing enriching activities and healthy meals to children in all English Local Authorities.</p><p> </p><p>The Government is also providing £12 billion of support to ease cost of living pressures, with help targeted at working families, low-income households and the most vulnerable. A further £9 billion has been announced to protect against the impact of rising global energy prices.</p><p><em> </em></p> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley question first answered 21/02/2022 18:10:00 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley
tabling member	4463 label Biography information for Chris Stephens

1420813

registered interest
date	08/02/2022
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, how many single universal credit claims have been closed following a claimant moving in with their partner and submitting a new joint claim in the last 12 months for which data is available.
tabling member constituency	Glasgow South West
tabling member printed	Chris Stephens
uin	120815
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/02/2022 answer text <p>When a single claimant becomes part of a couple, they form a benefit unit with their new partner. As the claimant(s) is now part of a benefit unit, their single claim becomes a joint claim as a change of circumstance has occurred. As a result, the claim continues with a partner being added to the household, without the need for a new claim.</p><p> </p><p>The information attached shows the number of single claims to Universal Credit where a joint claim change of circumstances had been submitted.</p> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley question first answered 21/02/2022 16:29:26 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley attachment 1 file name PQ120815 table.xlsx title Table 1
tabling member	4463 label Biography information for Chris Stephens

1420482

registered interest
date	07/02/2022
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: Medical Examinations
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, in the most recent 12 months for which data is available, what the average length of time applicants for (a) personal independence payment, (b) employment and support allowance, and (c) the limited capability for work assessment of universal credit, waited for (i) an assessment and (ii) a correct decision on their assessment.
tabling member constituency	Glasgow South West
tabling member printed	Chris Stephens
uin	119668
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/02/2022 answer text <p>We are committed to ensuring that disabled people get the full support that they need in a timely manner. We always aim to make an award decision as quickly as possible, taking into account the need to review all available evidence, including that from the claimant. Decisions are made following consideration of all the information provided by the claimant, including supporting evidence from their GP or medical specialist.</p><p> </p><p>(a) For Personal Independence Payment (PIP), between November 2020 and October 2021, the most recent 12 months for which data is available:</p><p>- The average (median) time between a PIP new claim being referred to the Assessment Provider (AP) and returned from the AP was 13 weeks.</p><p>- The average (median) time between a PIP new claim being returned from the AP and a DWP decision being made was 2 weeks.</p><p> </p><p>The length of time between Referral to AP and return from AP is used as a proxy for the length of time the claimant has waited for an assessment, because data on the dates that assessments took place is not held by DWP. Similarly, the length of time between return from the AP and a DWP decision being made is used as a proxy for the length of time for a decision to be made on the assessment.</p><p /><p>(b) The Department publishes Employment Support Allowance (ESA) Work Capability Assessment (WCA) statistics on gov.uk which can be found <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/employment-and-support-allowance-outcomes-of-work-capability-assessment" target="_blank">here</a>. The median ESA WCA customer journey processing times for initial claims can be found in section 10 of the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/esa-outcomes-of-work-capability-assessments-including-mandatory-reconsiderations-and-appeals-december-2021/esa-work-capability-assessments-mandatory-reconsiderations-and-appeals-december-2021#esa-wca-customer-journey-clearance-times-for-initial-claims-experimental-statistics" target="_blank">latest statistical bulletin</a>. The statistics include the average time taken for the full end-to-end process and also the time from WCA referral to AP recommendation and the time from the AP recommendation to the DWP decision, including those following a Mandatory Reconsideration.</p><p> </p><p>More details can also be found in Table 1 of the ‘Clearance Times for Initial Claims’ dataset in the ESA Work Capability Assessments section of <a href="https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/" target="_blank">Stat-Xplore</a>. Guidance for users is available <a href="https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started.html" target="_blank">here</a>.</p><p> </p><p>(c) The information for Universal Credit WCA processing times is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.</p><p> </p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>Notes</strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>Source part (a): PIP ADS</strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><ul><li>PIP data includes normal rules claimants only and is for new claims only.</li><li>Figures have been rounded to the nearest whole number of weeks.</li></ul><ul><li>The status of claims as 'normal rules' and 'new claim/reassessment' is shown as at the point of clearance of the stage of the journey concerned.</li><li>Processing times do not include claims that were withdrawn by the claimant during this phase or claims that were returned to DWP without an assessment report and disallowed because the claimant failed to attend the assessment without good reason.</li><li>Processing times are for initial decisions only, and do not include Mandatory Reconsiderations or Appeals.</li><li>The figures quoted are the median processing time of claims which cleared the specified part of the journey between 1<sup>st</sup> November 2020 and 31<sup>st</sup> October 2021.</li><li>The median time is the middle value if you were to order all the times within the distribution from lowest value to highest value. The median is presented here instead of the mean because the mean can be unduly affected by outlying cases (e.g. cases where the person has been hard to reach due to being in prison, hospital, failed to attend the assessment on numerous occasions etc.)</li><li>Great Britain only.</li></ul><ul><li>This is unpublished data. It should be used with caution and it may be subject to future revision.</li></ul><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Norwich North answering member printed Chloe Smith question first answered 10/02/2022 14:04:59 answering member 1609 label Biography information for Chloe Smith
tabling member	4463 label Biography information for Chris Stephens

1420483

registered interest
date	07/02/2022
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 proactive steps Jobcentre Plus is taking to ensure claimants are in receipt of their full entitlement.
tabling member constituency	Glasgow South West
tabling member printed	Chris Stephens
uin	119669
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/02/2022 answer text <p>The Department works hard to ensure that people are in receipt of their full entitlement, communicating with the public about benefits through paid advertising, stakeholder and employer engagement and no cost campaigns to help people understand their entitlement and the support we can provide as a safety net and in times of need.</p><p> </p><p>During the pandemic this has been of particular importance. We increased the frequency of our stakeholder engagement to effectively convey the rapidly changing environment particularly as many people needed to claim benefits for the first time. We have made additional use of digital media such as YouTube videos, particularly British Sign Language videos to widely promote DWP benefits.</p><p>DWP staff in Jobcentres provide support and advice about entitlement to benefits and will signpost citizens to appropriate information to help them. The Department provides telephone service lines that citizens can call to make their claims to benefit and to operate their claims as well as a visiting service which can help vulnerable customers with their claims. Jobcentres have internet terminals for use by the public, and staff will signpost citizens to other community resources (libraries and Citizens Advice) which can also provide advice and internet access points.</p><p>The Government’s website, GOV.UK provides guidance on individual’s rights and entitlements to benefits in the UK. In particular, the website provides links to independent benefits calculators that can be used to find out what benefits an individual could get, how to claim and how these benefits will be affected if an individual starts work.</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/benefits-calculators" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/benefits-calculators</a></p><p> </p><p>The independent benefits calculators we endorse are intended to provide useful estimations of what people could be entitled to in certain circumstances, based on the information that is entered on the calculators themselves.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 10/02/2022 14:25:34 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	4463 label Biography information for Chris Stephens

1420484

registered interest
date	07/02/2022
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: 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 all claimants for whom a DS1500 form has been submitted now have their claims fast-tracked; and if she will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Glasgow South West
tabling member printed	Chris Stephens
uin	119670
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/02/2022 answer text <p>The Special Rules recognise that when people are faced with the end of their life, their focus should, as far as possible, be on the time they have remaining. Through the Special Rules, the Department provides simple and fast access to benefits for those nearing the end of their lives so they do not have to claim under the normal processes.</p><p> </p><p>DS1500 forms have never been a requirement for a claim under the terminal illness rules but remain the quickest and most appropriate route to gather evidence to support entitlement in these cases. Where it is not possible to supply a DS1500 in support of a terminal illness claim, the Department considers alternative evidence and works flexibly and quickly with the claimant or their clinician to make a speedy determination.</p><p> </p><p>People with severe health conditions unable to claim under the Special Rules, will continue to be able to receive support from the benefits system through Personal Independence Payment, Disability Living Allowance, Attendance Allowance, Universal Credit and Employment and Support Allowance.</p> answering member constituency Norwich North answering member printed Chloe Smith question first answered 10/02/2022 16:34:17 answering member 1609 label Biography information for Chloe Smith
tabling member	4463 label Biography information for Chris Stephens

1420485

registered interest
date	07/02/2022
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, by what date all personal independence payment applicants will have the automatic choice of having their assessment audio-recorded.
tabling member constituency	Glasgow South West
tabling member printed	Chris Stephens
uin	119671
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/02/2022 answer text <p>The option for a claimant to request an audio recording of their Personal Independence Payment (PIP) telephone assessment is available with both assessment providers, Independent Assessment Services (IAS) and Capita. Claimants are required to make a request to the assessment provider to have their PIP assessment recorded, thereby opting-in to the recording of their assessment. The assessment provider will provide the equipment necessary to allow this service to proceed.</p><p> </p><p>IAS currently delivers the facility to audio record face to face assessments. The department is working with Capita to complete the roll out of audio recording across all assessment centres which removes the requirement for the claimant to provide the equipment.</p><p> </p><p>Work is also ongoing to introduce an audio recording facility for video assessments. This will bring the audio recording of face to face and video assessments in line with the recording of telephone assessments and the department aims to complete both as soon as it is practically possible.</p><p> </p><p>Currently, PIP claimants invited to a face to face assessment by Capita can record their assessment themselves, subject to the conditions set by the department. These are listed in the PIP Assessment Guide (PIPAG) and are contained within correspondence sent to claimants by the assessment providers.</p> answering member constituency Norwich North answering member printed Chloe Smith question first answered 10/02/2022 11:26:54 answering member 1609 label Biography information for Chloe Smith
tabling member	4463 label Biography information for Chris Stephens

1420486

registered interest
date	07/02/2022
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, what plans she has for a small scale pilot to test yellow card warning systems in place of immediate benefit sanctions.
tabling member constituency	Glasgow South West
tabling member printed	Chris Stephens
uin	119672
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/02/2022 answer text <p>The Department committed to look at processes to give claimants a written warning, instead of a sanction, for a first sanctionable failure to attend a Work-Search Review. We have completed one small proof of concept, and we plan to run another proof of concept this year.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 10/02/2022 14:20:07 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	4463 label Biography information for Chris Stephens