Asked by: Conor McGinn (Independent - St Helens North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what (a) guidance and (b) support her Department is providing to gateway organisations to assist them in helping small and medium-sized businesses make effective use of the Kickstart scheme.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Guidance for Kickstart gateways and small employers has been provided through the Kickstart site and related gov.uk pages. Material is also available online to help employers advertise that they are active participants of Kickstart.
There has been active engagement with public, private and voluntary sector organisations to encourage their participation as Kickstart gateways and over 400 have stepped forward indicating their interest in the role. Their details have been published on gov.uk.
Asked by: Conor McGinn (Independent - St Helens North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to raise awareness among small and medium-sized businesses in St Helens North constituency of the different local and national gateway organisations helping to facilitate Kickstart scheme access.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The department has published a list of organisations willing to act as gateway organisations, nationally and by region, to better allow small and medium-sized employers to find a Kickstart gateway. This list is available, online, through the gov.uk pages.
Officials have held a number of discussions with representatives from the Liverpool Local Enterprise Partnership, which represents businesses in the St Helens area. And local JobCentre Plus staff are also meeting with employers and organisations in their area. This engagement will promote and encourage participation in the Kickstart Scheme.
Asked by: Conor McGinn (Independent - St Helens North)
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 effect on levels of food poverty in (a) St Helens (b) Merseyside and (c) England of the UK leaving the EU without a deal.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government has been clear that leaving the EU with a deal is its preferred option.
The Government has put in place contingency plans for a range of exit scenarios. These contingencies ensure that DWP can continue to provide our vital services and that individuals will continue to be able to access DWP benefits and services on the same basis as they do now.
The Government is committed to providing a strong safety-net through the welfare system. We continue to spend over £95 billion a year on benefits for people of working age. DWP continues to monitor the effects of EU exit on the economy. Rates of benefits continue to be reviewed in line with the relevant legislation for uprating.
Asked by: Conor McGinn (Independent - St Helens North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions her Department has had with representatives of St Helens Council on preparations for the UK leaving the EU without a deal.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government has been clear that leaving the EU with a deal is its preferred option. The Government is, however, continuing to plan for a range of scenarios, including a no deal exit from the EU. These contingencies ensure that DWP can continue to provide our vital services and that individuals will continue to be able to access DWP benefits and services on the same basis as they do now.
MHCLG are the department responsible for EU exit preparedness for Local Authorities.
Asked by: Conor McGinn (Independent - St Helens North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the number of women affected by changes to the stage pension age, in (a) St Helens, (b) Liverpool City Region and (c) the UK in each year until 2029-30.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Information on the numbers affected, by constituent country and further regional breakdowns, is not held by the Department for Work and Pensions. However, the most recent population breakdowns for the UK and by region can be found here:
https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/populationprojections
Asked by: Conor McGinn (Independent - St Helens North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 19 June 2018 to Question 153188, Common Travel Area, whether the Government's commitment to reciprocal Common Travel Area rights to social welfare entitlements and benefits for Irish nationals will encompass all social security provision currently accessible to Irish nationals in the UK under EU free movement rights.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
This Government is committed to preserving the reciprocal social security rights of UK and Irish nationals established through the Common Travel Area arrangements and currently provided under EU law. The Government signed an agreement on social security with Ireland on 1 February which, subject to ratification, will ensure that Irish and UK nationals residing and/or working in the UK or Ireland do not lose their rights to social security benefits as a result of the UK’s exit from the EU.
The agreement was laid for consideration by Parliament on 12 February as Command Paper 49, in accordance with section 20 of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010.
Asked by: Conor McGinn (Independent - St Helens North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 3 November 2017 to Question 110692, whether his Department uses a medical assessment as evidence when the claimant disputes the accuracy of that assessment; whether medical evidence from health care professionals not involved in the medical assessment can be used to overturn an assessment; and whether it is his Department's policy that a claimant may ask for a second medical assessment in the event that the claimant believes that the assessment has not accurately reported their condition.
Answered by Sarah Newton
When disputing a Personal Independence Payment (PIP) decision, claimants can provide whatever additional evidence from whatever source they think will best help their application. There are no restrictions. The case manager will look at all evidence during the reconsideration process applying relevant weight to each piece of evidence on an individual basis.
Claimants cannot demand a second assessment. Instead, and based on evidence provided by the claimant and/or where the case manager (decision maker) requires answers to his own questions, the assessment provider may be approached to provide additional advice – see para 1.13 in the PIP Assessment Guide:
Asked by: Conor McGinn (Independent - St Helens North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what criteria must be met to deem a medical assessment unfit for purpose during a personal independence payment dispute process; and whether it is his Department's policy that a medical assessment can be used to form a judgement if the (a) claimant has requested a mandatory reconsideration and (b) medical assessment is being disputed by the claimant on the grounds of additional medical evidence.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
When considering a Mandatory Reconsideration application, a decision maker may consider the assessment report to be unsatisfactory where they consider the overall conclusion is not fair and impartial and is likely to have compromised the quality of the initial decision. For example, it is not comprehensive, it doesn’t clearly explain the medical issues raised by the claimant, it doesn’t fully explain any contradictions in evidence, it is not complete, it is not in accordance with the relevant legislation.
In considering an MR application, a decision maker will take into account both the assessment report and all other evidence held on the case, irrespective of when it has been received or who has provided it.
Asked by: Conor McGinn (Independent - St Helens North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the (a) number of families in receipt of universal credit in St Helens North from April 2018 and (b) proportion who will receive their full payment within six weeks of universal credit rollout.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
A) The information is not currently available as it will be new claims only.
B) The data published on 15 September 2017 shows that, nationally, 81% of new full service claims received their first payment in full and on time. The published data can be found here. https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/universal-credit-payment-timeliness-january-to-june-2017
Asked by: Conor McGinn (Independent - St Helens North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many job centres will close to the public before the lease on their premises expires in the next three years.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
This information is commercially sensitive.
However the Word document attached lists the jobcentres that are due to move their services to other sites and to close by 31 March 2018. Exact dates for these sites are still being agreed but closures will be through a phased approach.
We are taking a phased approach to the closure of these Jobcentres because there are a significant number of activities that need to take place to move people, our customers and caseloads to the importing Jobcentre. In phasing this work in this way, we can minimise the risk of any disruption to vital services. For the vast majority of DWP offices there will be no change in location. Where we are closing a site, we will take all possible precautions to minimise disruption for customers.
This will mean that the DWP will be able to offer a more efficient service, while delivering good value for the taxpayer and saving over £140 million a year for the next 10 years.