Asked by: Baroness Thomas of Winchester (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Buscombe on 29 April (HL15269), what existing forums they were engaged with on the design of the feasibility test for a single assessment for Employment and Support Allowance/Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment.
Answered by Baroness Buscombe
We committed to working with stakeholders to inform our approach to Work Capability Assessment (WCA) reform in the Improving Lives Command Paper published in 2017 and have been engaging on this broader issue through a number of forums. This has included our Policy Forum, a small group involving academics, think tanks and a number of disability charities.
Specifically, on the single assessment, we are currently gathering evidence to support the design of the feasibility test and will be involving stakeholders to inform this in the coming months. The outcomes from the feasibility test will enable us to establish if a single assessment would improve the customer journey and deliver quality and accurate outcomes.
Asked by: Baroness Thomas of Winchester (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have opened consultation on merging Personal Independence Payment and Employment and Support Allowance assessments; and if not, when they intend to do so.
Answered by Baroness Buscombe
In their responses to the 2016 Improving Lives: Work, Health and Disability Green Paper consultation and through several other forums, stakeholders have raised concerns about the feeling of duplication across the current assessment processes. We have therefore been exploring options to reduce this, and make improvements to the customer experience. By testing the feasibility of a single assessment for Employment and Support Allowance/Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment we can seek to understand if it will improve the assessment process for our customers, and ensure that they still get the right decision.
The design of the feasibility test will be informed by existing evidence and through our continued engagement with external stakeholders and disabled people themselves using existing forums, between now and over the course of Summer 2019. Beyond this we are continuing to work with stakeholders on other improvements to the assessment process, including the introduction of an integrated service, and reform of the Work Capability Assessment.
Asked by: Baroness Thomas of Winchester (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether Jobseeker's Allowance claimants are sanctioned if they do not accept a job offer because of low pay and conditions.
Answered by Baroness Buscombe
Employers should comply with employment law on pay and conditions. Claimants will have good reason for refusing employment if they do so because the national minimum wage applies to them and the employment does not pay at least the national minimum wage. In such a case a sanction would not be applied. Jobseeker's Allowance claimants are not required to apply for zero hours contract jobs and will not be sanctioned if they refuse an offer of a job on a zero hours contract.
If a claimant has doubts about the terms and conditions of employment (other than the level of pay) which they consider makes the employment unsuitable, they are encouraged to discuss this in advance with their Work Coach. Sanctions are only used in a small percentage of cases, and that is when people fail to meet their agreed commitments without good reason. 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 cause, into account before deciding whether a sanction is warranted.
Guidance for decision makers can be found in the Decision Makers Guide (DMG) and Advice for Decision Making Guide (ADM) available at Gov.uk. This guidance is supplemented from time to time with updates to reflect legal and procedural changes.
Asked by: Baroness Thomas of Winchester (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the average waiting time for Personal Independence Payment appeals to be heard in England.
Answered by Baroness Buscombe
Information on the average waiting time to a first tribunal hearing is not collated centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
The Ministry of Justice publish statistics on the average (mean) age of a case at disposal. In the period July to September 2018 the mean age at disposal for Personal Independence Payment appeals in Great Britain was 30 weeks. This is the average number of weeks from receipt in Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) to the final outcome within the period. It will include cases cleared at hearing and cases cleared without a hearing which include strike outs, superseded and withdrawals prior to a hearing. An appeal may not necessarily be cleared at its first hearing.