Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps the Government is taking to reduce the number of people dying in poverty in Lambeth.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department has noted the recommendations made in the report, and values Marie Curie as a key stakeholder which engages with us constructively in this area. The primary way the Department supports people nearing the end of life is through special benefit rules which are known as the Special Rules for End of Life (SREL). These enable people who are nearing the end of their lives to get faster, easier access to certain benefits, without needing to attend a medical assessment or serve waiting periods and in most cases, receive the highest rate of benefit.
For many years, the Special Rules applied to people who have 6 months or less to live, they have now been changed so they apply to people who have 12 months or less to live. Changes to the Special Rules mean that thousands of people nearing the end of life are now able to claim fast-tracked financial support from the benefits system six months earlier than they were able to previously.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will amend guidance on homelessness hostel exemption to recognise asylum accommodation as an exemption from the shared accommodation rate.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We are aware of the challenge some people face in finding shared accommodation, and we are working across government to find appropriate solutions including engaging with the newly formed Inter-Ministerial Group on tackling homelessness and rough sleeping.
The Shared Accommodation Rate (SAR) of the Local Housing Allowance (LHA) applies to those claiming Housing Benefit or Universal Credit who are under 35 years of age, living on their own, and renting privately. These individuals will be entitled to the SAR regardless of the size of property they rent.
There are exemptions from the SAR for those who would find it difficult to share accommodation. The exemptions are not designed to tackle supply challenges and therefore we are not considering an exemption for those leaving asylum accommodation. Exempt individuals can claim the higher one-bedroom LHA rate, and these include former residents of homeless hostels and victims of modern slavery.
The homeless hostel exemption was introduced in 2012 to support former rough sleepers following the increase in the SAR from age 25 to 35. The exemption supports homeless people and former rough sleepers to find suitable, stable move on accommodation after receiving appropriate care, supervision and support for at least 3 months within a hostel for homeless people.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she is taking steps to reform the social security system to (a) support families on low incomes and (b) reduce related mental health issues.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
I am proud to have social security in my title and this government is prioritising providing security for the most vulnerable, and this includes low income families though Universal Credit, the Household Support Fund and the wider benefits system as well as our manifesto commitments to develop a child poverty strategy and roll out free breakfast clubs in every primary school.
We will be setting out our plans for social security in due course and will fulfil our continued commitment to work with disabled people and families so that their views and voices are at the heart of all that we do.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has made an assessment of the prevalence of discrimination towards young ethnic minorities seeking employment.
Answered by Mims Davies - Shadow Minister (Women)
Employment statistics show the ethnic minority employment rate at 68%, up 9.2 percentage points on the same quarter in 2010, with 5.4m people from an ethnic minority background in employment which is a record high.
The Department supports people to move into employment by providing access to a range of mainstream services and bespoke programmes that are designed to be flexible to individual needs. We also take targeted action where there is a high ethnic minority employment gap and work with partners, employers, and specific sectors to improve opportunities for all.
The Youth Offer provides individually tailored Work Coach support to young people aged 16 to 24 who are claiming Universal Credit. This support includes the Youth Employment Programme, Youth Employability Coaches for young people with additional barriers to finding work, and Youth Hubs across Great Britain. This was expanded in 2023 to include additional young people on Universal Credit not currently searching for work, including young parents and carers.
In April 2023, the Government's Equality Hub published updated guidance for employers on how to use the positive action provisions in the Equality Act 2010. This is to help people who share a particular protected characteristic overcome barriers and to level the playing field.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to provide benefit support to individuals with Long Covid.
Answered by Mims Davies - Shadow Minister (Women)
People living with a condition arising from exposure to the Covid-19 virus can access the financial support that is available through Statutory Sick Pay, Universal Credit, New Style ESA or Pension Credit depending on individual circumstances.
Disability benefits such as Personal Independence Payment or Attendance Allowance do not include or exclude by condition, instead they look at the needs arising from a long-term health condition or disability. Therefore people living with a condition arising from exposure to the Covid-19 virus are also able to access these benefits in the same way as other people with long-term conditions or disabilities.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of making the one-off civil servant cost-of-living payment available to retired civil servant staff who were employed in the civil service in the year 31 March 2022 to 1 April 2023.
Answered by Paul Maynard
DWP must abide by the Civil Service Pay Remit Guidance. This is the published by the Cabinet Office and HM Treasury.
The Addendum to the Civil Service Pay Remit Guidance for 2023/24 guidance states; ‘for 2023/24, departments covered by the Pay Remit Guidance have flexibility to make a fixed non-consolidated payment of £1,500 per full-time employee for those in delegated grades, subject to eligibility’.
The Addendum guidance stipulated that civil servants ‘need to have been in post both on 31 March 2023 and still in post on the date of payment.’
For DWP employees, the payment was made in July 2023, and our guidance stated: ‘you must have been employed within the Civil Service on 31st March 2023 and employed by DWP 1st July 2023.’
It is not possible for DWP to confer eligibility to employees who were not in post on these dates, as this would be outside of the parameters of the Remit Guidance.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department are taking to support people over the age of 66 with mobility issues to lease a motor vehicle.
Answered by Tom Pursglove
The Motability Scheme is open to anyone who qualifies for the higher-rate mobility component for Disability Living Allowance (DLA), the enhanced rate of the mobility component for Personal Independence Payment (PIP), the Armed Forces Independence Payment or the War Pensioners Mobility Supplement. Where claimants have an existing entitlement to a qualifying benefit when they reach pension age, this can continue for as long as that individual remains entitled and this would allow them to retain their Motability vehicle.
Attendance Allowance (AA) is intended to help those with a severe disability who have long term care or supervision needs which arise after reaching State Pension Age. It has never included a mobility component, and so cannot be used in payment for a leased Motability Scheme vehicle. Government mobility support is focused on people who are disabled earlier in life, as developing mobility needs in older life is a normal consequence of ageing. While the intention is for AA to cover the need for care or supervision that an individual may face as a result of their disability, there is no constraint on what the benefit can be used for, and individual recipients can choose to use their AA to fund mobility aids.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will review the criteria used to determine whether cancer survivors are fit for work under the Work Capability Assessment for Universal Credit.
Answered by Tom Pursglove
It is important to ensure that those affected by cancer receive the most appropriate support, and we have worked closely with representative organisations to improve the Work Capability Assessment (WCA) process for those affected by cancer.
In 2013, the categories of cancer treatments under which a claimant can be treated as having limited capability for work-related activity (LCWRA) were expanded to include individuals awaiting, receiving, or recovering from treatment by way of chemotherapy and radiotherapy, irrespective of route. Although there is no automatic award, in these cases, there is a presumption that the claimant will be treated as having LCWRA, subject to suitable evidence being provided by a professional, such as a GP, oncologist, or clinical nurse specialist.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of amending legislation to allow (a) midwives, (b) allied health professionals, (c) nurse practitioners and (d) other health care professionals to complete fit notes for patients.
Answered by Chloe Smith
In July 2021, the government set out plans to deliver transformation of the fit note including removing the requirement to sign in ink (from April 2022) and committing to amending regulations to allow a wider range of eligible professionals to sign fit notes (planned for Summer 2022).
In order to assess which healthcare professions are in scope to complete fit notes we have engaged, and will continue to engage, with DHSC and clinical experts. Additionally, as part of the planned policy changes, we will subsequently undertake relevant monitoring.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions she has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the potential merits of introducing a £20 a week supplement for carers with an entitlement to carer’s allowance as part of Budget 2021.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson
DWP Ministers and officials regularly discuss support for carers with their counterparts across Government. The proposed table of benefits / pension rates for 2021/22, including Carer’s Allowance, was published on 4 December 2020 in the House Library, following the Secretary of State’s annual review of benefit rates. Since 2010, the rate of Carer’s Allowance has increased from £53.90 to £67.25 a week, meaning around an additional £700 a year for carers. Between 2020/21 and 2025/26 real terms expenditure on Carer’s Allowance is forecast to increase by nearly a third (around £1 billion). By 2025/26, the Government is forecast to spend just over £4bn a year on Carer’s Allowance.