Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what data her Department holds on the number of people eligible for child maintenance who are not claiming it.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
It is estimated that at the financial year ending 2023, there are 2.4 million separated families in Great Britain and 3.8 million children in those families. 41% of these did not have either a statutory arrangement with the Child Maintenance Service or a private arrangement.
At the end of June 2024, the Child Maintenance Service was managing 744,000 arrangements for 675,000 Paying Parents, the number of arrangements has increased by 10% since the end of June 2023.
Legislation to remove the £20 application fee was introduced in February 2024, removing a financial barrier to parents wishing to access the CMS.
Get Help Arranging Child Maintenance is an online service that provides free information and support to help parents make decisions about CM and make a CMS application if they choose to.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what progress her Department has made on reviewing the fairness of PIP assessments.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department is not currently undertaking a review of the fairness of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessments.
PIP is designed to treat all claimants fairly, focusing on the needs arising from a long-term health condition or disability, rather than the condition itself. Individuals can be impacted by their health conditions in different ways, so the PIP assessment considers the needs of each individual claimant against the assessment criteria set out in legislation, regardless of whether those needs relate to a physical or non-physical impairment.
DWP has set standards for the quality of assessments and closely monitors all aspects of the process including the performance of the assessment suppliers. Our audit process considers the initial review, evidence collection, further evidence provided, and the advice within the assessment report completed by a health professional (HP). The check is completed against a set of guidelines to ensure a consistent approach is taken. This ensures that assessment reports are fit for purpose, clinically justified and sound, and provide sufficient information for the department to make an informed decision on entitlement to benefit.
All assessment suppliers work with the department on plans to continuously improve assessment quality through a range of measures including audit procedures, clinical observations, tailored training and development plans, providing feedback and in the support available to HPs.
All claimants have the right to request a Mandatory Reconsideration (MR) if they disagree with their PIP decision. If they disagree with the outcome of their MR, they are able to appeal to an independent tribunal.
We are exploring potential changes to modernise the PIP service to improve claimants’ experience and trust in our services and decisions. We will set out the detail of any changes in due course.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to ensure that employers are supporting women managing menopause.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government believes in the vital importance of equality of opportunity and of treatment in the workplace. The plan to Make Work Pay includes clear action to place equality, diversity and inclusion issues on a statutory footing. This includes requiring large employers to publish plans detailing the action they're taking to improve gender equality and support employees during the menopause. Alongside this, the Government has appointed a Menopause Employment Ambassador who will work with employers to improve the support for women experiencing menopause symptoms at work.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the rate of Statutory Sick Pay to that of the National Living Wage.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
No one should be forced to choose between their health and financial hardship, which is why we plan to strengthen Statutory Sick Pay (SSP), so it provides a safety net for those who need it most. The Plan to Make Work Pay commits to remove the Lower Earnings Limit to make it available to all workers and remove the waiting period so that SSP is paid from the first day of sickness absence. Together these changes will ensure everyone receives fair earnings replacement when they have to take time off work.
The Government will continue to keep the rate of SSP under review as part of the annual uprating process.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to ensure that reforms to Statutory Sick Pay take account of (a) multiple sclerosis and (b) other fluctuating conditions.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
No one should be forced to choose between their health and financial hardship, which is why we plan to strengthen Statutory Sick Pay (SSP), so it provides a safety net for those who need it most. The Plan to Make Work Pay commits to remove the Lower Earnings Limit to make it available to all workers and remove the waiting period so that SSP is paid from the first day of sickness absence. Together these changes will ensure everyone receives fair earnings replacement when they have to take time off work.
Paying SSP for all days of work missed because of sickness will help support employees who have fluctuating conditions who may take frequent, shorter absences from work as part of managing their health condition, such as multiple sclerosis.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of paying Statutory Sick Pay at an hourly rate.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
No one should be forced to choose between their health and financial hardship, which is why we plan to strengthen Statutory Sick Pay (SSP), so it provides a safety net for those who need it most. The Plan to Make Work Pay commits to remove the Lower Earnings Limit to make it available to all workers and remove the waiting period so that SSP is paid from the first day of sickness absence. Together these changes will ensure everyone receives fair earnings replacement when they have to take time off work.
As part of these changes consideration will be given as to how to best structure the payment rate for individuals earning below the flat weekly rate of SSP.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she plans to implement the recommendations of the Fourth Report of the Work and Pensions Committee of Session 2023-24 on Statutory Sick Pay, HC148, published on 28 March 2024, in the Employment Rights Bill.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government will be providing a response to the Fourth Report of the Work and Pensions Committee of Session 2023-24 on Statutory Sick Pay in due course and once the Chair of the Work and Pensions Select Committee has been appointed.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she plans to take to encourage take up of Pension Credit.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is determined to ensure that the poorest pensioners get the support they need.
As part of the current Pension Credit Week of Action, we have joined forces with national charities, broadcasters and local authorities to encourage pensioners to check their eligibility and make a claim.
From 16 September, we will be running a national marketing campaign on a range of channels. The campaign will target potential pension-age customers, as well as friends and family who can encourage and support them to apply.
Our future campaign messaging will also focus on encouraging pensioners to apply for Pension Credit before the 21 December 2024, which is the last date for making a successful backdated claim for Pension Credit in order to receive a Winter Fuel Payment.
We will work with external partners, local authorities and the Devolved Governments to boost the take-up of Pension Credit.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
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 support women to stay in employment when managing menopausal symptoms.
Answered by Mims Davies - Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities
In March 2023, the Minister for Social Mobility, Youth and Progression announced the appointment of Helen Tomlinson, as the Government's first Menopause Employment Champion. Helen Tomlinson is driving awareness of issues surrounding the menopause and work; encouraging employers to develop policies that create a more supportive environment to help women stay in work and progress.
On International Women’s Day 2024, Helen Tomlinson published her 12-month report – “Shattering the Silence about Menopause” providing an update on progress and reflecting on her first year in the role.
The Government also recently launched the Menopause Resources Hub on the Help to Grow portal. This guidance provides businesses, large and small, with the resources they need to help educate their organisation and workers about the menopause.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
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 allow beneficiaries to claim two years of a deceased person's state pension contributions in the event that they die before state pension age.
Answered by Paul Maynard
Whilst recognising the emotive nature of this issue and having sympathy for people in this position, the Government does not have plans to make any changes in this area,
Where a spouse, civil partner or, where there is a dependent child, cohabiting partner, passes away, Bereavement Support Payment is available to help working age people through the difficult period following a bereavement. Bereavement Support Payment is a contributory benefit based on the National Insurance contributions of the deceased person.
Pension Credit provides a safety-net for those over the State Pension age on low-incomes.