Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking with the Secretary of State for Education to ensure that care leavers have adequate financial support, in the context of the cost of living.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
There are already a number of easements in place within the benefit system to support particular groups – including care leavers. To support the additional challenges care leavers face, care leavers benefit from an exemption to the Shared Accommodation Rate (SAR) until the age of 25.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Universal Credit Migration Notice letters he plans to send to people in (a) Liverpool, Walton constituency and (b) the UK by 31 March 2025.
Answered by Jo Churchill
The Department plans to send Migration Notices to over 1 million households by 31 March 2025.
We intend to publish constituency level data at a future date.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of (a) stress and (b) burnout on the rate of absence due to sickness.
Answered by Mims Davies - Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities
We have not made an assessment of the potential impact of a) stress and b) burnout on the rate of absence due to sickness.
The ONS publish annual statistics on sickness absence in the UK labour market, which includes the reasons for sickness absence. However, neither stress or burnout are listed as reasons given for sickness absences in this data.
The latest statistics for sickness absence in the UK labour market can be found here.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his Department's policies of the report entitled Without access to justice published by Feeding Liverpool and the University of Liverpool School of Law and Social Justice in January 2024.
Answered by Jo Churchill
No assessment has been made. The Department continues to monitor the impact of its policies and keeps them under review.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Chancellor of the Exchequer's oral answer of 22 November 2023, Official Report column 348, when he plans to provide details of the (a) determination and (b) grant conditions of the household support fund.
Answered by Mims Davies - Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to PQ3412.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the level of the age additions to the State Pension.
Answered by Paul Maynard
No such assessment has been made.
There is a range of support for pensioners aged over 80. These include Pension Credit which can top up a pensioner’s income to a minimum of £201.05 a week for single pensioners and £306.85 for couples and provides a gateway to other benefits that help with rent, council tax reduction schemes, heating costs and, for the over 75s, a free television license. Households with people aged 80 and over receive a Winter Fuel Payment of £300 instead of the standard £200 for households with pensioners below that age. Additionally, in April 2023 the basic State Pension saw its biggest ever rise of 10.1% to £156.20 per week.
The age addition is not part of the new State Pension for those who reach State Pension age on or after 6 April 2016.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many officials in his Department in (a) Liverpool, Walton constituency and (b) the UK have been awarded (i) upper and (ii) lower tier level ill-health retirement when applying as a result of long covid in each of the last three years.
Answered by Paul Maynard
DWP does not request nor obtain evidence to assess applications for ill health retirement due to long covid.
The Department does monitor levels and trends in short- and long-term sickness absence across all types of sickness absence recorded on DWP’s own HR data system, including short- and long-term sickness absence generally that may be attributed to Covid, but we do not receive any personal data that will help assess IHR applications.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many officials in his Department in (a) Liverpool, Walton constituency and (b) the UK have applied for ill-health retirement as a result of long covid in each of the last three years.
Answered by Paul Maynard
DWP does not request nor obtain evidence to assess applications for ill health retirement due to long covid.
The Department does monitor levels and trends in short- and long-term sickness absence across all types of sickness absence recorded on DWP’s own HR data system, including short- and long-term sickness absence generally that may be attributed to Covid, but we do not receive any personal data that will help assess IHR applications.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what evidence his Department requests in order to assess applications for ill health retirement due to long covid.
Answered by Paul Maynard
DWP does not request nor obtain evidence to assess applications for ill health retirement due to long covid.
The Department does monitor levels and trends in short- and long-term sickness absence across all types of sickness absence recorded on DWP’s own HR data system, including short- and long-term sickness absence generally that may be attributed to Covid, but we do not receive any personal data that will help assess IHR applications.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the level of the over 80 pension.
Answered by Paul Maynard
No such assessment has been made.
In April 2023 the over 80, Category D, non-contributory State Pension, saw its biggest ever rise of 10.1%. The full weekly Category D State Pension is now £93.60 per week. In addition, a range of other measures and benefits are available to pensioners aged 80 and over. These include Pension Credit which can top up a pensioner’s income to a minimum of £201.05 a week for single pensioners and £306.85 for couples and provide access to a range of other benefits such as help with rent and council tax. Moreover, households with a person aged 80 or over receive a Winter Fuel Payment of £300, which is more than the standard Winter Fuel Payment of £200 for pensioners below that age.