Asked by: Gerald Jones (Labour - Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to ensure its telephone lines are accessible to the public without incurring undue delays.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
DWP plans resourcing according to forecasted telephony demand in an effort to keep wait times down. Wait time performance and forecasted demand is frequently reviewed, and where DWP’s telephony is delivered by an outsourced provider we use the Key Performance Indicator of percentage of calls answered which are published quarterly on gov.uk.
Asked by: Gerald Jones (Labour - Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when the technical issues that have been outstanding since 2018 to award National Insurance credits to Universal Credit claims will be resolved.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The technical issues referenced were identified, and DWP have taken the steps to correct them.
Asked by: Gerald Jones (Labour - Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney)
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 value for money of the Government’s funding of Motobilty in the context of waiting times for recipients entitled to Motability Allowance to be assessed for a licence renewal.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
The Department works closely with Motability, and is responsible for the disability benefits that provide a passport to the Motability Scheme. Motability is an independent charitable organisation that is wholly responsible for the terms and the administration of the Scheme, along with oversight of Motability Operations. Motability benefits from government support through tax concessions and the direct payment of mobility allowances.
There have been several external reports, including one by the National Audit Office (NAO) in December 2018, on the Motability Scheme. The Department agrees with the NAO’s finding that the Motability scheme provides an excellent service and that the Scheme is focused on delivering value for money. The Department continues to work with Motability the charity, who set the strategic policies and direction of the Scheme, to ensure that disabled people receive a value for money service with high standards for customer service.
The Department is unable to comment on waiting times for licence renewal as this is outside our remit.
Asked by: Gerald Jones (Labour - Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when she plans to respond to the correspondence of 11 July 2022 from the hon. Member for Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney, reference POSCMP2022/53996.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
DWP provided a telephone response to the office of Gerald Jones MP on 5 September 2022 in relation to his constituent’s enquiry and a full written response has also been issued today.
Asked by: Gerald Jones (Labour - Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Transport on the impact of delays in processing driving licence renewal applications on the quality of life of people with long-term medical conditions who have an entitlement to the Motability Scheme but are unable to drive while they await their licence.
Answered by Chloe Smith
I have regular discussions with colleagues across Government in my role as Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work.
The Department is responsible for the disability benefits that provide a passport to the Motability scheme. Motability is an independent charitable organisation that is wholly responsible for the contract for lease of a car and the administration of the Motability scheme.
Asked by: Gerald Jones (Labour - Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when she plans to respond to the enquiry of 7 June 2022 from the hon. Member for Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney, reference POSCMP2022/44277.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department aims to respond to Hon. Member’s correspondence within 20 working days where possible, although complex issues may mean it will take longer.
All complaints and enquiries are investigated fully. A member of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) Complaints team contacted your constituency office on 14th July 2022 to provide an update and details of their investigations. They aim to provide a full response by Friday 22nd July.
Asked by: Gerald Jones (Labour - Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when she plans to respond to the enquiry of 24 May 2022 from the hon. Member for Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney, reference POSCMP2022/40477.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
DWP provided a telephone response to the office of Gerald Jones MP on 14 July 2022 in relation to his constituent’s enquiry and a full written response has also been issued today.
Asked by: Gerald Jones (Labour - Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department has taken to promote the take up of pension credit to help tackle the cost of living crisis.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
We have already undertaken a range of actions to raise awareness of Pension Credit and increase take-up. We are now putting all our efforts into the substantial and sustained take-up campaign, which was launched on 3 April. This has included print advertising and promotion in the national press, across social media, via internet search engines and on screens in Post Offices and GP surgeries across Great Britain. Our digital toolkit has been updated with information and resources, as well as leaflets and posters which advice organisations, charities and other stakeholders working across local communities can use to help promote Pension Credit
Most recently, on 15 June DWP held another Pension Credit day of action with broadcasters, regional and national newspapers and other partners encouraged to reach out to pensioners, as well their family and friends, through their channels. Although not all claims can be directly attributed to the campaign, early indications are that the day of action has been highly effective. Our internal management information suggests there have been over 10,000 Pension Credit claims made during the week of the media day – an increase of 275% compared to the same week in 2021, which itself was an enhanced week due to the 2021 Pension Credit Action Day.
The impact of these claim volumes on numbers of successful awards and on Pension Credit take up will take longer to establish given the usual cycle involved in producing those statistics. However, the campaign is ongoing including a particular focus on getting the private sector to drive forward efforts to enhance claims, and specific effort to reach out to communities who have traditionally not claimed Pension Credit. That work is very much ongoing.
Asked by: Gerald Jones (Labour - Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney)
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 impact of the rise in the cost of living on levels of in-work poverty; and what steps the Government is taking to mitigate that impact.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The latest available statistics for in-work poverty are for 2019/20.
The Treasury published distributional analysis which shows that the full package of measures announced on May 26th is well targeted at households on low incomes.
Asked by: Gerald Jones (Labour - Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when she plans to respond to the enquiry of 12 April 2022 from the hon. Member for Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney, reference POSCMP2022/29080.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
A reply was sent to the hon. Member by the Director for Retirement Services, on behalf of the Secretary of State, on 8 June 2022.