Asked by: Andy McDonald (Labour - Middlesbrough and Thornaby East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the green paper entitled Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working, if she will publish the criteria for membership of the panel to ensure that the views of (a) disabled people and (b) people with health conditions are used in the (i) design and (ii) delivery of reforms.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
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 in the process of establishing this panel, which will also consider the reforms set out in the Pathways to Work Green Paper.
We also committed to the establishment of ‘collaboration committees’ in the Pathways to Work Green Paper to further develop our welfare reforms. These will involve bringing together groups of disabled people and other experts for specific work areas to collaborate and provide discussion, challenge, and recommendations.
Both initiatives will include people who have lived experience of disability and representation of a range of disabilities. Further information about both initiatives will be announced soon.
Asked by: Andy McDonald (Labour - Middlesbrough and Thornaby East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the green paper entitled Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working, if she will publish the membership of the panel to ensure that the views of (a) disabled people and (b) people with health conditions are used in the (i) design and (ii) delivery of reforms.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
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 in the process of establishing this panel, which will also consider the reforms set out in the Pathways to Work Green Paper.
We also committed to the establishment of ‘collaboration committees’ in the Pathways to Work Green Paper to further develop our welfare reforms. These will involve bringing together groups of disabled people and other experts for specific work areas to collaborate and provide discussion, challenge, and recommendations.
Both initiatives will include people who have lived experience of disability and representation of a range of disabilities. Further information about both initiatives will be announced soon.
Asked by: Andy McDonald (Labour - Middlesbrough and Thornaby East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will launch a consultation on proposals to introduce an additional requirement for people to score at least four points in one daily living activity to be eligible for the daily living part of PIP.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We have committed to introduce a new requirement that, in addition to the existing eligibility criteria, claimants must score a minimum of four points in at least one daily living activity to be eligible for the daily living component of Personal Independence Payment. Our intention is that – subject to parliamentary approval – the changes will apply to new claims and award reviews from November 2026.
We will bring forward this change this session via primary legislation, which will enable Parliament to provide full scrutiny of these plans.
Asked by: Andy McDonald (Labour - Middlesbrough and Thornaby East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reason the (a) equality and (b) poverty impact analysis were not published with the green paper entitled Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The equalities analysis and poverty analysis includes detailed information which would have pre-empted the OBR forecast. That forecast is market sensitive until the Spring Statement. The analysis was published alongside the Spring Statement this week.
Asked by: Andy McDonald (Labour - Middlesbrough and Thornaby East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will launch a consultation on proposals to (a) end the Work Capability Assessment and (b) use the single Personal Independence Payment assessment to assess entitlement for the Universal Credit health element.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We urgently need reform to stop people from falling into inactivity, restore trust and fairness in the system and protect disabled people. Therefore, there are some measures announced in the Pathways to Work Green Paper on the 18th March 2025, that we will not be consulting on.
Urgently needed changes to PIP will be brought forward via Primary Legislation so that Parliament can fully debate and vote on them. Spending on PIP has increased by £2 billion per year above inflation on average in each of the last five years. We need to take decisive action to make the benefit financially sustainable, so that it can continue to provide vitally needed support. In the Green Paper, we are however consulting on how best to support those who lose benefit as a result of this change.
We will launch a wider review of the PIP assessment, which I shall lead. We will bring together a range of experts, stakeholders and people with lived experience to consider how best to do this. We will provide further details as plans progress.
Asked by: Andy McDonald (Labour - Middlesbrough and Thornaby East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will launch a consultation on proposals to rebalance Universal Credit (a) standard allowance, (b) health element and (c) new payment rates.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We urgently need reform to stop people from falling into inactivity, restore trust and fairness in the system and promote the interests of disabled people. Therefore, there are some measures announced in the Pathways to Work Green Paper on the 18 March 2025, that we will not be consulting on.
The Pathways to Work Green Paper sets out our wider plan to reform the system by rebalancing the levels of the Universal Credit (UC) standard allowance and the UC health element. Our objective is a social security system which is pro-work but provides adequate financial support for people when they are not working, regardless of the reason. The changes to UC payment rates will be introduced in primary legislation, and so will be fully debated in Parliament, and are not subject to consultation.
Asked by: Andy McDonald (Labour - Middlesbrough and Thornaby East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an estimate of the change in number of recipients of personal independent payments in Middlesbrough and Thornaby East constituency as a result of the green paper entitled Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
No such estimate has been made.
Information on the impacts of the Pathways to Work Green Paper will be published in due course with some information published this week alongside the Spring Statement.
A further programme of analysis to support development of the proposals in the Green Paper will be developed and undertaken in the coming months.
Asked by: Andy McDonald (Labour - Middlesbrough and Thornaby East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an estimate of the number of future (a) applicants and (b) recipients of personal independence payments in Middlesbrough and Thornaby East constituency as a result of the green paper entitled Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
No such estimates have been made.
Information on the impacts of the Pathways to Work Green Paper will be published in due course with some information published this week alongside the Spring Statement.
A further programme of analysis to support development of the proposals in the Green Paper will be developed and undertaken in the coming months.
Asked by: Andy McDonald (Labour - Middlesbrough and Thornaby East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an estimate of the number of future (a) applicants and (b) recipients for the health element of universal credit in Middlesbrough and Thornaby East constituency as a result of the green paper entitled Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Information on the impacts of the Pathways to Work Green Paper will be published alongside the Spring Statement.
A further programme of analysis to support development of the proposals in the Green Paper will be developed and undertaken in the coming months.
Asked by: Andy McDonald (Labour - Middlesbrough and Thornaby East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an estimate of the change in number of recipients of the health element of universal credit in Middlesbrough and Thornaby East constituency as a result of the green paper entitled Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Information on the impacts of the Pathways to Work Green Paper will be published alongside the Spring Statement.
A further programme of analysis to support development of the proposals in the Green Paper will be developed and undertaken in the coming months.