Asked by: Baroness Jolly (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when recipients of the Adult Dependency Increase (ADI) were notified of the removal of the ADI on 6 April; and how was such notice communicated.
Answered by Baroness Stedman-Scott
As at May 2019, the latest data available, the numbers of people in receipt of State Pension Adult Dependency Increases, and the average weekly amount of Adult Dependency Increase they were in receipt of, is shown in the table below.
| Caseload | Average Weekly Amount |
Under 75 years | 1,180 | £61.60 |
75 to 84 years | 8,330 | £57.34 |
85 to 94 years | 1,260 | £53.83 |
95 years and above | 40 | £46.69 |
Total | 10,810 | £57.36 |
By April 2020 this number will already have decreased further as, for example, some adult dependents will reach their State Pension age before then.
As at autumn 2019, 6,440 people were in receipt of, or had an underlying entitlement to, an Adult Dependency Increases for Carer’s Allowance.
Those who lose their Adult Dependency Increase, either in April 2020 or before then, may be able to access income-related benefits to top up their household income, depending on their circumstances. For those already in receipt of income-related benefits, their awards will be adjusted to take account of the removal of the Adult Dependency Increase. Claimants who receive income-related benefits may also be entitled to 'passported' benefits to help with, for example, housing costs or heating costs. Income-related benefits are an important protection for the incomes of some of our most vulnerable people.
We are encouraging people who live overseas to consider if they may be entitled to any additional benefits or support from the country where they reside.
State Pension Adult Dependency Increases were abolished by the Pensions Act 2007 from April 2010. Carer’s Allowance Adult Dependency Increases were abolished by the Welfare Reform Act 2009 from April 2010. However, transitional provisions were included for both benefits which allow existing claimants from April 2010 to continue receiving Adult Dependency Increases until April 2020.
Information about the ending of State Pension Adult Dependency Increases has been available on the Government website at www.gov.uk. Furthermore, State Pension recipients in the UK have also been informed about the changes to State Pension Adult Dependency Increases within the annual uprating notifications, which have been sent to them since 2010. We have also included this information in annual uprating notifications sent to overseas State Pension recipients since 2018.
We sent specific letters to those affected by the State Pension and Carer Allowance changes during May/June 2019, and a further letter was sent out in October 2019.
The ending of State Pension Adult Dependency Increases was part of a package of reforms contained in the Pensions Act 2007 that improved the State Pension position for both women and carers.
The savings from ending the provision of State Pension Adult Dependency Increases are estimated to be £125m between 2020/21 and 2024/25, based on analysis from 2018. This only reflects savings on ADI expenditure and does not take into account any offsetting impacts on other benefits.
We have not done a detailed costing of the costs of tapering provision for Adult Dependency Increases. However, we estimate that the cost of continuing to pay State Pension Adult Dependency Increases until all dependents reach their State Pension age would be in the region of £200m to £250m
Asked by: Baroness Jolly (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how much money they will save by ending the provision of the Adult Dependency Increase on 6 April; and what estimate they have made, if any, of the costs of tapering off such provision.
Answered by Baroness Stedman-Scott
As at May 2019, the latest data available, the numbers of people in receipt of State Pension Adult Dependency Increases, and the average weekly amount of Adult Dependency Increase they were in receipt of, is shown in the table below.
| Caseload | Average Weekly Amount |
Under 75 years | 1,180 | £61.60 |
75 to 84 years | 8,330 | £57.34 |
85 to 94 years | 1,260 | £53.83 |
95 years and above | 40 | £46.69 |
Total | 10,810 | £57.36 |
By April 2020 this number will already have decreased further as, for example, some adult dependents will reach their State Pension age before then.
As at autumn 2019, 6,440 people were in receipt of, or had an underlying entitlement to, an Adult Dependency Increases for Carer’s Allowance.
Those who lose their Adult Dependency Increase, either in April 2020 or before then, may be able to access income-related benefits to top up their household income, depending on their circumstances. For those already in receipt of income-related benefits, their awards will be adjusted to take account of the removal of the Adult Dependency Increase. Claimants who receive income-related benefits may also be entitled to 'passported' benefits to help with, for example, housing costs or heating costs. Income-related benefits are an important protection for the incomes of some of our most vulnerable people.
We are encouraging people who live overseas to consider if they may be entitled to any additional benefits or support from the country where they reside.
State Pension Adult Dependency Increases were abolished by the Pensions Act 2007 from April 2010. Carer’s Allowance Adult Dependency Increases were abolished by the Welfare Reform Act 2009 from April 2010. However, transitional provisions were included for both benefits which allow existing claimants from April 2010 to continue receiving Adult Dependency Increases until April 2020.
Information about the ending of State Pension Adult Dependency Increases has been available on the Government website at www.gov.uk. Furthermore, State Pension recipients in the UK have also been informed about the changes to State Pension Adult Dependency Increases within the annual uprating notifications, which have been sent to them since 2010. We have also included this information in annual uprating notifications sent to overseas State Pension recipients since 2018.
We sent specific letters to those affected by the State Pension and Carer Allowance changes during May/June 2019, and a further letter was sent out in October 2019.
The ending of State Pension Adult Dependency Increases was part of a package of reforms contained in the Pensions Act 2007 that improved the State Pension position for both women and carers.
The savings from ending the provision of State Pension Adult Dependency Increases are estimated to be £125m between 2020/21 and 2024/25, based on analysis from 2018. This only reflects savings on ADI expenditure and does not take into account any offsetting impacts on other benefits.
We have not done a detailed costing of the costs of tapering provision for Adult Dependency Increases. However, we estimate that the cost of continuing to pay State Pension Adult Dependency Increases until all dependents reach their State Pension age would be in the region of £200m to £250m
Asked by: Baroness Jolly (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many carers registered with the Department of Work and Pensions are (1) over 18 years, (2) 13–18 years, and (3) under 13 years old, in each (a) London borough, and (b) English local authority area.
Answered by Baroness Stedman-Scott
The Department does not hold information on carers unless they claim a benefit related to their role as a carer, such as Carer’s Allowance (CA). Carers may be receiving broader support through other DWP benefits, or through other sources, in addition to or instead of CA.
Carer’s Allowance is a benefit available to those carers providing support to a disabled or seriously ill family member or friend for 35 hours or more a week. To be eligible for CA, the carer must also care for someone claiming Disability Living Allowance (middle or highest care rate), Personal Independence Payment (daily living component) or Attendance Allowance, must earn no more than £123 a week after tax, national insurance and expenses, and be aged 16 or over.
The attached table shows the number of CA claimants in each London Borough and English Local Authority area (ranked by total number of CA claimants) as of February 2019 (the latest data available). This includes those who are in receipt of CA and those who are entitled to but do not receive CA. The data is available publicly at stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk.
Asked by: Baroness Jolly (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Care Quality Commission has published a specific inspection framework for Child and Adolescent Mental Health (CAMHS) Tier 4 inpatient services; what is the maximum time allowed between inspections of CAMHS inpatient services; and in what ways the views and experiences of child patients and their parents are elicited.
Answered by Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford
Tier 4 inspections are covered as part of the child and adolescent mental health wards core service. The definition for this core service is as follows:
Child and adolescent mental health services may assess and treat children and young people as an inpatient in hospital. This may be when community-based services cannot meet their needs safely and effectively because of their level of risk and/or complexity and where they need 24-hour nursing and medical care.
If providers are registering with the CQC as a new provider, the CQC will normally aim to inspect within 12 months of registration. For services that are rated, providers will receive their initial rating at this inspection. The CQC use this initial rating to determine when next to inspect the service.
For both National Health Service trusts and independent providers, the following principles apply regarding re-inspection (for NHS trusts since June 2017 and for independent providers since April 2018):
- Inadequate – Normally within 12 months of publishing the last comprehensive inspection report;
- Requires improvement - Normally within two years of publishing the last comprehensive inspection report;
- Good - Normally within three and a half years of publishing the last comprehensive inspection report; and
- Outstanding - Normally within five years of publishing the last comprehensive inspection report.
These are maximum inspection intervals, therefore the CQC may inspect more frequently, particularly if there is a risk.
The CQC encourages people to share their experience to ensure it is acted upon, including through the national Tell Us About Your Care partner charities.
The CQC aim to speak to children and young people and their families/carers during the inspection (depending on their availability) and have specific inspection tools to enable this.
This information is published as part of the inspection framework for NHS acute hospitals.
Asked by: Baroness Jolly (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government on what dates each of the registered Child and Adolescent Mental Health Tier 4 inpatient services were last inspected; and what is the schedule for future inspections for each service.
Answered by Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has provided the following response.
The dates each of the registered Child and Adolescent Mental Health Tier 4 inpatient services were last inspected are attached, due to the size of the data.
The CQC carry out either comprehensive or focused inspections. For National Health Service trusts, these inspections will usually be unannounced.
In a few instances, where there are very good reasons, the CQC may let a service know it is coming. For example, the CQC may contact a trust to make sure senior management are present to answer its questions.
To enable the CQC to observe normal practice in a service, it has introduced more unannounced inspections as part of its comprehensive inspection methodology.
Because the CQC requests information from providers beforehand, it will carry out the inspection within three months of the provider submitting its provider information request. However, the CQC will not announce the day on which it intends to inspect.
Asked by: Baroness Jolly (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how much funding they provided to charities that work with older people to support the take-up of Pension Credit in (1) 2015–16,(2) 2016–17, and (3) 2017–18.
Answered by Baroness Buscombe
The Government is committed to ensuring that older people receive the support they are entitled to. We work with a wide range of stakeholders, including charities to ensure that accurate information about benefits including Pension Credit is available in the places where people are most likely to go to seek information.
The DWP knows that one of the best ways to reach eligible claimants is through trusted stakeholder organisations working in the community and that is why we have developed and resourced the Pension Credit on line toolkit, as an on-line tool for agencies and welfare rights organisations to use in order to encourage Pension Credit take-up.
The toolkit contains resources for anyone working with pensioners and includes guides to Pension Credit. It also contains publicity material and guidance designed to help older people understand how they could get Pension Credit and help organisations support someone applying for Pension Credit as well as ideas for encouraging take-up. The toolkit also provides links to information about disability and carers benefits.
Stakeholders and potential claimants alike can use the online Pension Credit calculator to check if they are likely to be eligible and get an estimate of what they may receive. Most recently we have provided to relevant stakeholders a fact sheet about Pension Credit and the changes introduced on 15 May for mixed age couples to ensure they are able to communicate the most up-to-date information to potential claimants.
DWP staff in Pension Centres and Jobcentres including visiting officers are able to provide help and advice about entitlement to benefits, as are staff in Local Authorities who administer Housing Benefit.
Asked by: Baroness Jolly (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that those who are entitled to claim (1) pension credit, and (2) a TV licence from June 2020, but currently do not, take up those benefits.
Answered by Baroness Buscombe
In the 2015 funding settlement, the Government agreed with the BBC that responsibility for the concession would transfer to the BBC. The implementation of the licence fee and the concession from June 2020 is a matter for the BBC and TV Licensing, which are independent of Government.
However, we expect the BBC to put in place robust plans to support those who might be affected. The BBC has said it will write to all over 75 TV licence holders advising them of how the new policy will work and when they need to act.
Irrespective of this, the Government is committed to ensuring that older people receive the support they are entitled to and the DWP targets activity on engaging with people who may be eligible to benefits at pivotal stages, such as when they claim State Pension or report a change in their circumstances. The DWP uses a wide range of channels to communicate information about benefits to potential claimants; including information on gov.uk, in leaflets and by telephone. DWP staff in Pension Centres and Jobcentres including visiting officers are able to provide help and advice about entitlement to benefits, as are staff in Local Authorities who administer Housing Benefit.
Potential claimants can use the Pension Credit calculator to check if they are likely to be eligible and get an estimate of what they may receive. People wishing to claim Pension Credit can do so by calling 0800 99 1234.
One of the best ways to reach eligible claimants is through trusted stakeholder working in the community and we have developed the Pension Credit toolkit, as an on-line tool for agencies and welfare rights organisations to use in order to encourage Pension Credit take-up.
The toolkit contains resources for anyone working with pensioners and includes guides to Pension Credit. It also contains publicity material and guidance designed to help older people understand how they could get Pension Credit and help organisations support someone applying for Pension Credit as well as ideas for encouraging take-up. The toolkit also provides links to information about disability and carers benefits.
Most recently we have provided to relevant stakeholders a fact sheet about Pension Credit and the changes introduced on 15 May for mixed age couples to ensure that accurate information is available in the places where people are most likely to seek information.
Asked by: Baroness Jolly (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have made any estimate of the number of prosecutions of people over the age of 75 that may arise from non-payment of TV licences from June 2020.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie
No estimate has been made as to the potential increase in prosecutions for non-payment of TV licences from June 2020.
Asked by: Baroness Jolly (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to provide additional support to the court service in order to deal with any increase in cases of non-payment of TV licences by vulnerable defendants over the age of 75 from June 2020.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie
Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service has not made any specific arrangements for any potential increase in non-payment prosecutions for TV licences from June 2020. If required, to meet any emerging demand, Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service will deploy its planning and allocation processes which allow for resource adjustment or reallocation.
Asked by: Baroness Jolly (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the compatibility of the BBC's decision to change the TV licence concession for people over the age of 75 from June 2020 with the Government's strategy to combat loneliness.
Answered by Lord Ashton of Hyde
The future of the over 75 licence fee concession is a matter for the BBC. Parliament transferred responsibility in passing the Digital Economy Act in 2017. On loneliness, the Government is taking steps to address the effects of isolation and loneliness on the elderly. These include appointing a minister to lead work on tackling loneliness; publishing the world’s first government strategy on loneliness; and securing £20 million of new grant-funding for projects run by charities and community groups to bring people together.