Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool, West Derby)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what impact assessment her Department has conducted on removing the pensions triple lock; and what estimate her Department has made of how many more pensioners in the Liverpool, West Derby constituency will (a) be living in poverty and (b) unable to afford food, fuel and essentials as a result.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
We are not ending the Triple Lock for State Pensions up-rating. A full impact assessment is available in the House Library (Deposited paper DEP2021-0855 - Deposited papers - UK Parliament).
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool, West Derby)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will bring forward measures to remove the six-month rule, which forces terminally ill people to prove how long they have left to live in order to access fast-track support.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The DWP announced in July 2019 that it would consider how the benefit system supports people nearing the end of their life. The DWP has conducted a wide ranging evaluation which considered the views of claimants, stakeholders and clinicians on how it supports those nearing the end of their lives. The evaluation has shown that there are three key areas for the Department to consider: a consensus to change the six-month rule; improving consistency with other services used by people nearing the end of their lives; and raising awareness of the support that is available. The Department is committed to delivering an improved benefit system for claimants that are nearing the end of their lives and is working across Government to bring forward proposals following the evaluation.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool, West Derby)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many applications for universal credit lapsed or were withdrawn due to the death of the applicant in (a) Liverpool West Derby constituency, (b) Merseyside and (c) England since the introduction of universal credit.
Answered by Will Quince
The breakdown requested is not available and to provide it would incur disproportionate costs. However, in the 12 months to end of 2019, 2,300, or less than 0.07 per cent, applications were made to Universal Credit where the claimant passed away and the claims closed after the declaration, but prior to receiving the first payment.
Universal Credit can be claimed by a range of working age people, some of whom have health conditions or disabilities, which may be degenerative or life limiting. The decision to claim Universal Credit can be prompted by a range of a factors, including when someone is terminally ill, so mortality figures should not be viewed in isolation.