Asked by: Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to enable the long-term sick to return to work.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
A range of Government initiatives are supporting disabled people and the long-term sick to start, stay, and succeed in work. These include:
To tackle rising economic inactivity due to long-term sickness, we announced a wide-reaching package at the Spring Budget to support disabled people and people with health conditions to work. New investment will provide faster access to joined-up work and health support, including for mental health and musculoskeletal conditions, the two leading causes of economic inactivity due to long term sickness.
Asked by: Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they will take to ensure that disabled people entering employment are not financially disadvantaged.
Answered by Baroness Stedman-Scott
There are a range of DWP initiatives that support disabled people and people with health conditions to live independent lives and start, stay and succeed in employment. These include the Intensive Personalised Employment Support programme, Access to Work, Disability Confident and support in partnership with the health system, including Employment Advisers in NHS Improving Access to Psychological Therapy services.
The Green Paper explored how the benefits system can better meet the needs of claimants now and in the future, by improving claimant experience of our services, enabling independent living, and improving employment outcomes. We remain committed to responding to this Green Paper consultation with a White Paper later this year.
Asked by: Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the £20 increase in Universal Credit will be retained.
Answered by Baroness Stedman-Scott
Universal Credit has provided a vital safety net for six million people during the pandemic, and we announced the temporary uplift as part of a £400 billion package of measures put in place that will last well beyond the end of the roadmap. Our focus now is on our multi-billion Plan for Jobs, which will support people in the long-term by helping them learn new skills and increase their hours or find new work.
Asked by: Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent discussions he has had with the devolved administrations on the roll-out of universal credit.
Answered by Mark Harper - Secretary of State for Transport
We remain committed to a cross-Government approach to undertaking the most significant reform of the benefits system for a generation. The Devolved Administrations in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales are integral to this approach and there is regular contact between both Ministerial and official counterparts. Further, at a working level, officials from the Devolved Administrations are represented on a number of Universal Credit boards, taskforces and advisory groups.
Asked by: Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what change there has been in the level of unemployment in South Antrim constituency since 2010.
Answered by Mark Harper - Secretary of State for Transport
The Department for Work and Pensions is not responsible for such matters in Northern Ireland and the question should be referred to the Northern Ireland Executive.
Asked by: Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what support his Department offers to young people seeking employment across the UK; and what discussions he has had with the devolved administrations on that matter.
Answered by Esther McVey - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
Over the last year the number of young people in work in the UK has risen by more than in the rest of the European Union put together. Youth unemployment has fallen by nearly 200,000 since 2010 and the youth claimant count is at its lowest level since the 1970s.
Across Britain, all claimants are offered tailored support from day one of their claim. Through the Youth Contract, additional support is provided by Jobcentre Plus advisers to all 18-24 year olds. The Youth Contract has made available an extra 250,000 work experience and sector based work academy places. Those who require more focused or specialised training are supported through traineeships and apprenticeships.
Ministers and officials at the Department for Work and Pensions have regular contact with their counterparts in the devolved administrations to discuss a range of issues.
Asked by: Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent discussions he has had with the devolved administrations on the benefit cap.
Answered by Esther McVey - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
Ministers and officials at the Department for Work and Pensions have regular contact with their counterparts in the devolved administrations to discuss a range of issues.
Asked by: Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in Northern Ireland have moved from benefits into work in each of the last three years.
Answered by Esther McVey - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
The Department for Work and Pensions is not responsible for such matters in Northern Ireland and the question should be referred to the Northern Ireland Executive.
Asked by: Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the effect of the abolition of the Independent Living Fund on previous claimants of that fund in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Mark Harper - Secretary of State for Transport
The potential implications of closing the Independent Living Fund on 30 June 2015 are set out clearly in the Equality Analysis published on 6 March 2014.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/closure-of-the-independent-living-fund-equality-analysis
The Northern Ireland Executive is consulting on future arrangements for supporting Independent Living Fund users in Northern Ireland.
Asked by: Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of each transaction for benefit payments paid into a Post Office card account in Northern Ireland; and what that cost is in other regions of the UK.
Answered by Steve Webb
The cost to Government for making benefit payments into a Post Office Card Account is around £0.50 for each transaction. The cost is the same for Northern Ireland and UK payments.
The contract is volume banded so this cost will vary according to the number of transactions.