Asked by: Baroness Browning (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to address the Access to Work scheme backlog.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We are committed to reducing waiting times for Access to Work and are considering the best way to deliver that for customers. We have increased the number of staff processing Access to Work claims and applications from customers who are about to start a job or who are renewing are prioritised.
The Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to get Britain Working’ Green Paper was published on 18 March. Alongside the Access to Work reform proposals introduced in the Green Paper, we are considering further options to reduce the waiting time for customers.
Asked by: Baroness Browning (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the Royal National Institute of Blind People's "Visibly Better Employer" quality standard.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We welcome the Royal National Institute of Blind People’s initiative to encourage employers to create inclusive workplaces through the Visibly Better Employer standard to attract and retain more blind and partially sighted individuals in the workforce.
Through the Department’s Disability Confident Scheme newsletter, we have made members aware of the quality standard. The Disability Confident Scheme provides employers with the skills and knowledge to remove barriers that might be preventing disabled people and those with long term health conditions from accessing employment and allows them opportunities to fulfil their potential and realise their aspirations.
Asked by: Baroness Browning (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether employers will be required to produce action plans for tacking disability pay gaps under the draft Equality (Race and Disability) Bill, as is the case for gender pay gap reporting.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
On 18 March 2025, the Government launched a consultation on mandatory pay gap reporting for both disability and ethnicity. Responses to the consultation will help to shape proposals which will be included in the Equality (Race and Disability) Bill, which was announced in the King’s Speech in July 2024. One of the questions we are consulting on is the potential role that action plans might play in reducing the disability pay gap. We will use the consultation responses to develop the proposed legislation, which will include considering whether there should be a requirement for large employers to produce action plans.
Asked by: Baroness Browning (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the average time taken to process applications to Access to Work from applicants in employment.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We are committed to reducing waiting times for new applications for Access to Work and are considering the best way to deliver that for customers. We have increased the number of staff processing Access to Work claims, applications from customers who are about to start a job or who are renewing claims are prioritised.
The Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to get Britain Working’ Green Paper was published on 18 March. Alongside the Access to Work reform proposals introduced in the Green Paper, we are considering further options to reduce the waiting time for customers.
From April 2024 to February 2025, the average waiting time from initial date of contact to a decision being made stands at 56.9 days.
Please note that the data supplied is derived from unpublished management information, which was collected for internal Departmental use only, and have not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standard. They should therefore be treated with caution.
Asked by: Baroness Browning (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the role of Access to Work in supporting people with disabilities and long-term health conditions to enter and stay in work.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
To assess the role of Access to Work in supporting people with disabilities and long-term health conditions to enter and stay in work, the Department commissioned qualitative evaluations of Access to Work in 2018 and 2009.
The 2018 evaluation ‘Access to Work: Qualitative research with applicants, employers and delivery staff’ gathered evidence on the value of Access to Work to employers and employees.
The 2009 evaluation: ‘Evaluation of Access to Work: Core Evaluation’ explored customer, employer, assessor and other views relating to: marketing and awareness, application process, assessments, outcomes, impact and areas for improvement.
Also in 2018, the Department commissioned NatCen to explore the feasibility of evaluating the impacts of AtW: ‘Feasibility of evaluating the impact of the Access to Work programme' . The report uncovered several challenges, mainly around identifying an appropriate counterfactual and the difficulties in constructing a comparison group. We therefore face challenges with conducting an impact evaluation of AtW.
We are consulting on the future of the AtW scheme in the Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper - GOV.UK,
Asked by: Baroness Browning (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made in establishing the "Get Britain Working" disability panel; and whether it will include representation from people with a range of disabilities, including sight loss.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
This Government is committed to championing the voices of disabled people and taking an open and collaborative approach to engagement. As part of wider efforts to put disabled voices at the heart of policy, the Get Britain Working White Paper announced a commitment to establishing a panel to consult disabled people.
We are working to establish the Disability Advisory Panel and are undertaking the due process required to ensure the panel is set up in the most accessible and inclusive way. The panel will consist of people who have lived experience of disability, and it will include representation from people with a range of disabilities.
Asked by: Baroness Browning (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether people with disabilities who are not in receipt of out of work benefits are eligible to receive support to return to work from Job Centre Plus coaches; if not, why not; and what plans they have to extend the provision of such support to those receiving disability related benefits including personal independence payments.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We want everyone who can work to get into and get on in work, and for all people with disabilities to enjoy independence, control and dignity.
This is why our new jobs and careers service will be open to all, not just claimants. The digital offer puts a Jobcentre in everybody’s pocket, offering tailored and personalised support which recognises that people are individuals with different support needs.
Access to the right work and health support in the right place and at the right time is key. Our Get Britain Working reforms will empower local areas to design a joined-up work, health and skills offer that meets the needs of local people whilst our Work Well pilots provide holistic support for those facing health-related barriers to employment that are open to all, regardless of whether they’re in receipt of benefits or not.
The Health Transformation Programme is modernising health and disability benefit services and aims to support individuals with a disability or health condition to move closer or into the labour market. The Programme is bringing a small number of job centre staff and health care professionals together to build evidence around what effective employment support looks like for people claiming Personal Independence Payments.
We look forward to working with stakeholders on the detailed policy development and implementation of these reforms, including through our new Disability Panel.
Asked by: Baroness Browning (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government to whom the Official Solicitor reports concerning (1) fee setting and (2) decisions to represent.
Answered by Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
In most cases, the decision to instruct the Official Solicitor is made by the Courts where no other suitable person has been identified. The Official Solicitor, Sarah Castle, can act as her own solicitor or instruct a private firm of solicitors to represent her.
The Official Solicitor does not charge for acting as a litigation friend, only for her Court of Protection and Trust work, with authority to do this provided via individual Court Orders.
Where the Official Solicitor instructs an external legal firm to represent, costs can be recovered from the client and/or legal aid when the eligibility criteria is met. In house Court of Protection work is charged based on hourly charge out rates which are set by Senior Courts Costs Office.
Asked by: Baroness Browning (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the current requirement for cases before the Court of Protection to receive representation from the Official Solicitor.
Answered by Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
There is no requirement for cases before the Court of Protection to receive representation from the Official Solicitor. Representation may be provided by a litigation friend other than the Official Solicitor, or by the appointment of another form of legal representative. In appropriate cases the Official Solicitor may agree to act as a representative of last resort.
Asked by: Baroness Browning (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the need for proceedings of the Court of Protection to continue to be conducted in private.
Answered by Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Attended hearings in the Court of Protection have ordinarily been held in public since 2016 with a ‘Transparency Order’ being made by the court to prohibit the publication of information that identifies, or is likely to identify, the vulnerable person concerned, their family, or any other person specified in the order. This allows the public and the media to attend hearings to observe how decisions are made whilst maintaining the privacy of the vulnerable person, their family, and any others involved.