Asked by: Jessica Toale (Labour - Bournemouth West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of equalising the (a) basic and (b) new State Pension.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
We are absolutely committed to supporting pensioners and giving them the dignity and security they deserve in retirement.
We have made no such assessment. It is not possible to make direct, like for like comparisons between State Pension amounts received under the pre 2016 State Pension system and the new State Pension. Under both systems, the amount people are entitled to varies according to their National Insurance record. It is not the case that everyone in the new system receives more than everyone in the pre 2016 system.
Asked by: Jessica Toale (Labour - Bournemouth West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reason her Department has set a limit for the amount of income that someone in receipt of carer's allowance can earn.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The primary purpose of Carer’s Allowance is to provide a measure of financial support to those who’s ability to work is constrained by providing care for someone else for at least thirty-five hours per week. The eligibility conditions for the benefit use income as a proxy for ability to work.
We know that some carers are keen to maintain contact with the labour market, so we want to encourage carers to combine some paid work with their caring duties wherever possible.
This is why the Government has announced that from April 2025 the weekly Carer’s Allowance earnings limit will be pegged to the level of 16 hours work at the National Living Wage (NLW) and in future it will increase when the NLW increases. This means that unpaid carers will be able to earn up to £196 per week net earnings and still receive Carer’s Allowance compared to £151 now.
Asked by: Jessica Toale (Labour - Bournemouth West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what training her Department provides to its staff on supporting people who have experienced trauma.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The DWP has a dedicated Trauma Informed Approach Integration Programme and we are at the start of an ambitious journey. Our integration programme applies the six core pillars of the approach; safety, trustworthiness, choice, empowerment, collaboration and cultural consideration within the framework of, our colleagues, our customers, our culture and the context of our interactions (whether that is physical, telephony, digital or postal). Alongside internal and external experts, we have established an eight-stage roadmap for implementation. We anticipate we will have completed the eight stages of design by 2030, making trauma informed approaches fundamental to our business-as-usual approach.
With response to the query around what training is provided, as part of a wider trauma informed training framework we have piloted an introductory module for all colleagues to develop awareness of the pervasive impacts of trauma and to develop the skills required for trauma informed interactions with customers. This product is currently in iteration to align with the wider trauma informed framework of learning that becomes more intensive depending on the colleague’s role. This module is part of a wider roll out within the framework which will be coproduced with customers, colleagues and experts. Supplementary learning products will also be made available to support embedding trauma informed principles into our business-as-usual approach.
Asked by: Jessica Toale (Labour - Bournemouth West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department is implementing a trauma-informed approach across all its services.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Trauma Informed Approach recognises the pervasive impacts that trauma may have on an individual’s life; these impacts can span social, emotional, physiological, neurological and spiritual functioning. The impacts of trauma can make interacting with services a difficult and potentially retraumatising experience, the trauma informed approach is a way of trying to avoid and mitigate this risk whilst creating a safe and empowering environment for all colleagues and customers. The approach has six core pillars: safety, trustworthiness, choice, empowerment, collaboration and cultural consideration (Office for Health Improvements and Disparities, 2022).
The DWP has a dedicated Trauma Informed Approach Integration Programme and we are at the start of an ambitious journey. Our integration programme applies the six core pillars of the approach within the framework of, our colleagues, our customers, our culture and the context of our interactions (whether that is physical, telephony, digital or postal). The design of the programme has been informed by close working with operational teams across the department and is being tested in our Trauma Informed ‘Pulse points’ and innovation hubs. Alongside internal and external experts, we have established an eight-stage roadmap for implementation across the DWP with a core focus on co-production with colleagues, customers and stakeholders. We anticipate we will have completed the eight stages of design by 2030, making trauma informed approaches fundamental to our business-as-usual approach.
Asked by: Jessica Toale (Labour - Bournemouth West)
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 impact of the assessment process for Personal Independent Payment on the mental health of those assessed; and if she will reform that process.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
DWP and our assessment providers are committed to providing a quality, sensitive and respectful service, with an approach aimed at continual improvement.
We recognise that attending a consultation can be a stressful experience for some people, which is why where there is sufficient available evidence, Personal Independence Payment assessments are carried out via a paper-based review. Where an assessment is required, claimants are encouraged to include another person where they would find this helpful, for example, by reassuring them or helping them during the consultation. The person chosen is at the discretion of the claimant and might be, but is not limited to, a parent, family member, friend, carer or advocate.
The Department’s Health Transformation Programme (HTP) is modernising benefit services to improve customer experience, build trust in our services and the decisions we make, and create a more efficient service.
The Government believes there is a strong case to change the system of health and disability benefits across Great Britain so that it better enables people to enter and remain in work, and to respond to the complex and fluctuating nature of the health conditions many people live with today.
We will bring forward a Green Paper in spring 2025. We will listen to and engage with disabled people as we develop proposals for reform in this area and across the employment support system.
Asked by: Jessica Toale (Labour - Bournemouth West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what progress she has made on reforming the welfare system for people with mental ill-health.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government believes there is a strong case to change the system of health and disability benefits across Great Britain so that it better enables people to enter and remain in work, and to respond to the complex and fluctuating nature of the health conditions many people live with today.
We will be working to develop proposals for reform in the months ahead and will set them out for consultation and engagement in a Green Paper in spring 2025.
This Government is committed to putting the views and voices of disabled people at the heart of all that we do, so we will consult on these proposals with disabled people and representative organisations.
Asked by: Jessica Toale (Labour - Bournemouth West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the Personal Independence Payment assessment process for people with recognised long-term mental health conditions.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Research is in progress seeking to understand more about the experience of claiming Personal Independence Payment (PIP) for those with a mental health condition or neurodiversity.
Entitlement to Personal Independence Payment (PIP) depends on the effects that severe disability has on an individual with a long-term health condition or disability and not on a particular disability or diagnosis. The needs arising from mental health conditions are assessed in the same way as for all other health conditions or disabilities.