Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department plans to publish a timeline for its proposed changes to the Work Capability Assessment.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Work Capability Assessment is not working and needs to be reformed or replaced. This needs to come alongside a proper plan to support disabled people into work.
We are taking the time to review this in the round before setting out next steps on our approach, and the timescale, in the coming months.
Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how the Connect to Work scheme will support people living with arthritis to remain in employment.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 12 November 2024 to PQ12617
Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 15 October 2024 to Question 6049 on Pension Credit: Gosport, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of expanding the survey sample sizes for entitled non-recipients of Pension Credit.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The take-up statistics which include the estimated number of entitled non-recipients for Pension Credit, are based on survey data from the Family Resources Survey. The Family Resources Survey is designed to produce robust regional estimates and does not include all local authorities each year so is not suitable for analysis at, or below, the Local Authority level [PQ 74999, Emma Lewell-Buck]. There is not currently an intention to increase the achieved sample size.
Further detail on the upcoming sample size of the Family Resources Survey can be found here: Family Resources Survey: release strategy - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 11 September 2024 to Question 2857 on Pension Credit: Gosport, if she will make it her policy to collect that data at constituency level.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Estimates of the number of Pension Credit entitled non-recipients (ENRs) are based on survey data. The survey sample sizes for ENRs are too small to calculate take-up rates in smaller geographical areas. This means that we are unable to collect data at constituency level using this methodology. Further information around the take-up statistics can be found at: Background information and methodology for financial year ending 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will take steps to review the minimum reduction in the level of income that is required to trigger a review of a parent's child maintenance payments.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
When a parent’s income has changed by at least 25%, their calculation can be updated. The 25% income change tolerance was set to offer a stable maintenance liability, to provide greater certainty to both parents, whilst also remaining fair in dealing with unexpected and major changes in circumstances; and, to set the threshold at a level which supports operational efficiency.
The Department is conducting a review of the child maintenance calculation, and the 25% income change tolerance falls within the scope of this review.
Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate her Department has made of the number of households in Gosport constituency who will lose their winter fuel payment.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The estimated number of pensioner households in Gosport constituency who will lose Winter Fuel Payments is 13,577. This is based on Feb-24 Pension Credit statistics and 22/23 Winter Fuel Payment statistics, (sources below).
The estimation is calculated by subtracting the number of Pension Credit recipients for Gosport Constituency from the number of Winter Fuel Payment recipients for Gosport constituency. Please note that Pension Credit claimants are the majority of those that will be eligible for Winter Fuel Payments, not all. There are other pensioners who are eligible for Winter Fuel Payments (as they claim other means tested benefits) but they are not considered in these figures as it is not possible to do so.
Please note that the Pension Credit data is based on the 2010 Westminster Parliamentary constituencies, not 2024 in order to be comparable with the Winter Fuel Payments statistics.
Furthermore, the above does not take into account any potential increase in Pension Credit take-up we might see as a result of the Governments Pension Credit Campaign. We do not have data on those additional Pension Credit claims by Parliamentary constituencies or local authorities.
Sources used:
winter-fuel-payments-household-2022-to-2023.ods (live.com)
Stat-Xplore - Table View (dwp.gov.uk) (Feb-24 data)
Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate her Department has made of the number of households in Gosport constituency who are (a) eligible for and (b) not in receipt of pension credit.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Information relating to Pension Credit eligibility is only available via take-up statistics. The latest available Pension Credit take-up statistics for Great Britain cover the financial year 2021 to 2022 and are available at: Income-related benefits: estimates of take-up: financial year ending 2022 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). However, these statistics are only available at Great Britain level and cannot be broken down to smaller geographical areas.
Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how his Department determines Attendance Allowance rates for people of state pension age or over who have long-term medical conditions such as Parkinson’s.
Answered by Laura Trott - Shadow Secretary of State for Education
Attendance Allowance is intended to help those with a severe disability who have long term care or supervision needs after they reach State Pension age. It provides a contribution towards the extra costs they face because of those care or supervision needs. It is also paid in addition to other support they may receive, whether that be through benefits, the NHS or Local Authorities.
Recipients will include people who have long-term health conditions, such as Parkinson’s disease. Entitlement to Attendance Allowance is based upon the care needs that the person may have as a result of their disability and is not specifically linked to the disability itself. Attendance Allowance is paid at different rates, with the higher rate paid to those who need help or supervision throughout both day and night. Most awards are made for an indefinite period, recognising it is a benefit intended to help those with long term care needs. Those getting the higher rate are receiving around £5300 a year, tax free, which can be paid in addition to other support a pensioner may receive such as the State Pension and Pension Credit. Attendance Allowance is increased each April in line with inflation as measured by the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) for the previous September. The September 2022 CPI was 10.1 per cent which means that the rates of Attendance Allowance are due to be increased from April 2023 by this amount.
The lower rate of Attendance Allowance will increase from £61.85 to £68.10 and the higher rate will increase from £92.40 to £101.75. This is around an additional £1050 and £1600 a year respectively for disabled pensioners since 2010.
In addition, in 2022/23 and 2023/24 people in receipt of Attendance Allowance are entitled to a £150 disability cost of living payment, in addition to the pensioner cost of living payment of £300 per household. If they are in receipt of Pension Credit, they will also receive further cost of living payments worth up to £650 in 2022/23 and up to £900 in 2023/24. This is in addition to other measures announced during the Autumn Statement, such as the amended Energy Price Guarantee from April 2023 which will save also the average UK household £500 in 2023-24
Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make it his policy to assess the adequacy of Attendance Allowance payments in providing support to people of state pension age or over, who have long-term conditions such as Parkinson’s.
Answered by Laura Trott - Shadow Secretary of State for Education
Attendance Allowance is intended to help those with a severe disability who have long term care or supervision needs after they reach State Pension age. It provides a contribution towards the extra costs they face because of those care or supervision needs. It is also paid in addition to other support they may receive, whether that be through benefits, the NHS or Local Authorities.
Recipients will include people who have long-term health conditions, such as Parkinson’s disease. Entitlement to Attendance Allowance is based upon the care needs that the person may have as a result of their disability and is not specifically linked to the disability itself. Attendance Allowance is paid at different rates, with the higher rate paid to those who need help or supervision throughout both day and night. Most awards are made for an indefinite period, recognising it is a benefit intended to help those with long term care needs. Those getting the higher rate are receiving around £5300 a year, tax free, which can be paid in addition to other support a pensioner may receive such as the State Pension and Pension Credit. Attendance Allowance is increased each April in line with inflation as measured by the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) for the previous September. The September 2022 CPI was 10.1 per cent which means that the rates of Attendance Allowance are due to be increased from April 2023 by this amount.
The lower rate of Attendance Allowance will increase from £61.85 to £68.10 and the higher rate will increase from £92.40 to £101.75. This is around an additional £1050 and £1600 a year respectively for disabled pensioners since 2010.
In addition, in 2022/23 and 2023/24 people in receipt of Attendance Allowance are entitled to a £150 disability cost of living payment, in addition to the pensioner cost of living payment of £300 per household. If they are in receipt of Pension Credit, they will also receive further cost of living payments worth up to £650 in 2022/23 and up to £900 in 2023/24. This is in addition to other measures announced during the Autumn Statement, such as the amended Energy Price Guarantee from April 2023 which will save also the average UK household £500 in 2023-24
Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether recipients of the Christmas Bonus may pay it back.
Answered by Steve Webb
The Christmas bonus is a payment of £10 made to people who receive State Pension and other qualifying benefits during the relevant week, normally the first week in December.
People are entitled to do what they wish with this payment and so they can repay it if that is their preference.
The Christmas bonus is generally not a separate payment but is combined with other pensions or benefits in a single payment.