Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an estimate of the number of workers that are regularly exposed to silica dust in the workplace.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
In November 2023, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) published its annual report entitled “Silicosis and coal workers’ pneumoconiosis statistics in Great Britain, 2023”.
In October 2023 HSE published the second Post Implementation Review (PIR) of RIDDOR, with a view to expanding it to include areas where HSE regulatory intervention can add value. Of the five recommendations, work is already underway on the first two, regarding guidance and online reporting.
HSE will start the process of reviewing the remaining recommendations, including the inclusion of Pneumoconiosis (e.g., silicosis), within the next business year.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to support women who are physically unable to work to state pension age.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We know that older people are more likely to develop a disability or health condition that impacts on their ability to work, and the Department has initiatives to support them as part of the core Jobcentre Plus offer, as well as through specialist provision.
This Government is committed to providing a financial safety net for those who need it, including when they near or reach retirement. Support is available through the welfare system to those who are unable to work, are on a low income or have additional costs as a consequence of a long-term health condition or disability but are not eligible to pensioner benefits because of their age. Good work is generally good for health. Therefore, where possible and appropriate, the Government supports disabled people and people with health conditions to start, stay and succeed in work through an ambitious programme of initiatives.
These include: the Work and Health Programme; Access to Work grants; Disability Confident; a digital information service for employers; Disability Employment Advisers in Jobcentres; Employment Advice in NHS Talking Therapies and Individual Placement and Support in Primary Care. Building on existing provision and the £2 billion investment announced at the Spring Budget, we announced a new package of support in Autumn Statement 2023 including to explore new ways of providing individuals receiving a fit note with timely access to support; and establish an expert group to advice on a voluntary national baseline for Occupational Health provision. Access to the right work and health support, in the right place, at the right time, is key. This can support people to find work they can do, and the appropriate adjustments to allow them to work successfully with their disability or health condition.
The principle of having a State Pension age that is the same for everybody is fundamental in the UK. Unlike a personal or workplace pension, which can potentially be drawn earlier, it has always been the case that nobody can claim their State Pension early, before they reach their State Pension age. We have no current plans to change this principle.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of trends in the level of claims for (a) personal independence payments and (b) employment and support allowance being allowed for (i) mental and (ii) physical health conditions in the last five years.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We continue to keep all aspects of Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) and Personal Independence Payment (PIP), including the outcome of claims by main disabling condition, under review to ensure the benefits are working as intended. Information on the number of claims cleared at assessment by condition is available on Stat-Xplore (Stat-Xplore - Log in (dwp.gov.uk)). You can log in or access Stat-Xplore as a guest user and, if needed, you can access guidance (User Guide (dwp.gov.uk)) on how to extract the information required.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
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 effectiveness of (a) PIP and (b) Employment and Support Allowance medical consultations.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Personal Independence Payment and Employment and Support Allowance assessments are not medical consultations requiring a health professional (HP) to diagnose a condition, its severity or recommend treatment options. They are functional assessments, which require an HP to look at the impact of conditions and impairments on an individual’s daily life.
All assessment providers (APs) have set standards regarding the quality of assessments. The department closely monitors all aspects of the process including the performance of the APs.
Independent audit, a team comprising of experienced HPs, continually monitors performance and provides feedback to providers. Audit refers to a comprehensive check of the elements of the assessment, including the evidence collection, further evidence provided, and the assessment report completed by the HP. The check is completed against a set of guidelines to ensure a consistent approach is taken. This ensures that assessment reports are fit for purpose, clinically justified and sound, and provide sufficient information for the department to make an informed decision on entitlement to benefit.
In addition, the department’s Health Transformation Programme (HTP) is modernising health and disability benefit services. It will create a more efficient service, an improved claimant experience and help increase trust in decision making. Furthermore, an ongoing programme of engagement and research has been established to ensure that the design and delivery of the HTP is rooted in evidence.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
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 adequacy of the role of informal observations made by PIP assessors in mandatory reconsiderations for PIP where the claimant has a diagnosis of Parkinson’s.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
Entitlement to PIP is assessed based on the needs arising from a long-term health condition or disability, not the health condition or disability itself. The PIP Assessment Guide, used by health professionals who conduct PIP assessments, sets out how informal observations of functional limitations should be used.
Informal observations can be a way to reveal abilities and limitations not mentioned in the claimant questionnaire, supporting evidence, or history taking during the consultation. However, they are only part of the suite of evidence considered by health professionals during an assessment. They must also consider the invisible nature of some symptoms, such as fatigue and pain which may be less easy to identify through observation.
Informal observations included in a health professional’s advice to DWP are not viewed in isolation; they are considered alongside all other available evidence to determine PIP entitlement.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to support people who wish to continue working over state pension age.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Since the abolishment of the Default Retirement Age, most people can work for as long as they want and are able to. We know that age diversity within a workforce is the right thing and can bring benefits to business. Therefore, we are working across government, with employers, and with the Business Champion for Older Workers, Andy Briggs, to advocate for more diverse, inclusive and multigenerational workforces.
In addition, the DWP has signed the Age-friendly Employer Pledge, a nationwide programme run by the Centre for Ageing Better to promote age inclusive working practices. The Help to Grow site on gov.uk also provides advice and guidance to businesses on employing older workers.
The government wants to encourage people to plan more actively for later life and provide support to help them make important decisions about extending their working lives and reducing the risk of pensioner poverty. An enhanced digital Mid-life MOT offer went live on 5th July 2023 to ensure more people can access targeted online guidance regarding their finances, health and career.
At Spring Budget 2023, the Government also announced that it would make changes to the limits on tax-relieved pension savings, abolishing the lifetime allowance and increasing the annual allowance from £40,000 to £60,000. These changes will help incentivise highly skilled and highly experienced individuals at the top of their professions to remain in the labour market which will help grow the economy while increasing the knowledge and experience of the UK’s labour force.
The New State Pension was introduced in April 2016 with the aim of providing a clearer, sustainable foundation for private saving. The full rate of £203.85 per week (2023/24) was set above the Standard Minimum Guarantee level of Pension Credit, removing disincentives to working beyond State Pension Age. In addition, once over State Pension Age, people are exempt from paying National Insurance contributions if they carry on working as an employee.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to page 10 of Parkinson's UK's publication entitled Nowhere near enough, published in April 2023, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his Department’s policies of the finding on the proportion of PIP claims made by people with Parkinson's that were initially assessed incorrectly compared with the general PIP claimant population.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
We are working hard to make the right decision, first time, every time. We continue to review our processes and decision-making and work closely with the assessment providers who carry out the assessments and provide feedback to ensure that they provide decision-makers with the highest quality reports.
Condition Insight Reports are also available to PIP assessors to gain a better understanding of a condition and its impact, including Parkinson’s disease. This insight report highlights the importance of exploration of the fluctuation of the condition and was completed in collaboration with relevant charities.
The Mandatory Reconsideration process is a key element of the department’s decision-making process for all benefits and offers claimants an early opportunity to challenge decisions and get them changed quickly. It offers the department an equally timely remedy for correcting decisions and means that fewer decisions progress to appeal, which is stressful and time consuming for claimants and costly for government. It is worth highlighting that in many cases, decisions can be changed as a result of new evidence or information being made available.
We published Transforming Support: The Health and Disability White Paper on 15 March 2023. Changes set out in the White Paper include those aiming to improve our assessment of fluctuating conditions, such as the way we use medical evidence, and developing the capability of our assessors. We will also explore options for introducing a new way of gathering evidence of fluctuation in a person’s condition before their assessment. The department continues to closely monitor all aspects of the assessment process, including how we assess fluctuating conditions.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will take steps to ensure that PIP assessors receive adequate training relating to (a) Parkinson’s disease, (b) multiple sclerosis, (c) Crohn’s disease and (d) colitis.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
Personal Independence Payment assessments are carried out by qualified health professionals (HPs), who receive comprehensive training in assessing functional capability relating to both physical and mental health conditions, including Parkinson’s disease, Multiple Sclerosis, Crohn’s disease, and Colitis.
HPs have access to a range of resources and experienced clinicians to support them in assessing individuals with specific conditions. Assessment providers engage with medical experts, charities, and relevant stakeholders to strengthen their training programmes.
This year’s Health & Disability White Paper committed to developing the skills of HPs. As a result, the department began a proof of concept to match an individual’s primary health condition to a HP who has professional experience in their condition. In addition to their professional experience, HPs will also take part in training to specialise in the functional impacts of specific health conditions.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will provide additional funding to help support pensioners with the cost of living in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Support for pensioners is a transferred matter in Northern Ireland and the responsibility of the Department for Communities.
However, in the absence of a fully functioning Northern Ireland Assembly, the UK Government has taken decisive action to ensure that the means tested and disability Cost of Living payments are made to households in Northern Ireland on exactly the same terms as the rest of the UK.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
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 adequacy of initial PIP assessments.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
Assessment quality is a priority for both the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) providers and the department. The department works extensively with providers to make improvements to guidance, training, and audit procedures, to ensure a quality service. A high standard is maintained by having an independent audit function that continually monitors performance and provides feedback to providers.
DWP monitors providers against a range of measures and monthly performance meetings are in place to support delivery of the contracts and ensure that where action is required, it can be focused and targeted. Improvements in the PIP assessment process have been supported by two independent reviews and DWP has also taken on board recommendations from the Work and Pensions Committee.
In addition, the department’s Health Transformation Programme (HTP) is modernising Health and Disability benefit services. It will create a more efficient service and a vastly improved claimant experience, reducing journey times and improving trust in our services and decisions. Furthermore, an ongoing programme of engagement and research has been established to ensure that the design and delivery of the HTP is rooted in evidence.