Employment and Support Allowance: Underpayments
Debate between Chris Stephens and Sarah Newton(5 years, 10 months ago)
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Sarah Newton
We published ad hoc statistics last week so that we could very clearly respond to the question that the hon. Lady raised.
Chris Stephens (Glasgow South West) (SNP)
We know that many people who fall on hard times can go on and off the radar, and some who have been underpaid may since have become homeless. Will the Minister tell us what efforts the Government are making to find these people to give them the money that they are owed and that they will be in desperate need of?
Sarah Newton
I reassure the hon. Gentleman that people would have been on benefits, so it is not fair to say that—or to characterise the situation as one in which—people would not have had any benefits. Clearly, some people would have benefited from additional payments because we did not give them the right amount of money, but people did have those payments in the first place.
PIP Back Payments
Debate between Chris Stephens and Sarah Newton(6 years, 10 months ago)
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Sarah Newton
My hon. Friend asks a really good question because, as I have demonstrated with the numbers I have shared with the House, more people are benefiting from PIP than from DLA, its predecessor benefit. I do not want people to miss out on the opportunity that PIP affords them. We are absolutely determined to make sure that there will be no reduction in the quality of service that we provide for new applicants or, indeed, people transferring from DLA to PIP.
Chris Stephens (Glasgow South West) (SNP)
Given that the Court’s ruling has taken effect, what interim guidance has the Department provided to assessors pending revisions to the assessment guide?