Asked by: Beccy Cooper (Labour - Worthing West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment they have made of the adequacy of Statutory Sick Pay in meeting essential living costs for low-income workers.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) is designed to provide a minimum level of support and financial security for employees when they are unable to work due to sickness whilst also balancing the cost to employers.
The government has made key changes to SSP, which came into force last month. Through the Employment Rights Act, we have removed the Lower Earnings Limit for SSP. Previously employees had to earn at least £125 per to week to be eligible to receive SSP from their employer, the removal of the Lower Earnings Limit has meant this threshold no longer applies.
This means up to 1.3 million more employees will be covered, supporting low-income workers and those who work for more than one employer. We have also removed the waiting period, so people can access sick pay from their first day of sickness absence.
These changes will mean that employees receive around an extra £400 million a year in sick pay.
Asked by: Beccy Cooper (Labour - Worthing West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of (a) the number and (b) cost of clinical negligence claims associated with the use of corridor care in hospitals.
Answered by Preet Kaur Gill - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS Resolution (NHSR) manages clinical negligence and other claims against the National Health Service in England. NHSR does not hold the information in the format requested.
Asked by: Beccy Cooper (Labour - Worthing West)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will review the decision not to permit close relatives of deceased members of the Women’s Land Army to apply for and receive the Women’s Land Army and Women’s Timber Corps commemorative badge on their behalf.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Women’s Land Army and Women’s Timber Corps Scheme, announced to Parliament on 6 December 2007, recognises the women who served in the Land Army and Timber Corps during the Second World War making a critical contribution to the war effort.
The Scheme was designed so that medals could be worn by surviving veterans and the families of deceased veterans as a visible reminder of the significant role these women played in the war effort.
Applications are welcome from family members for posthumous awards for those veterans who died on or after 6 December 2007 (the opening of the Scheme).