Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh and Atherton)
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 introducing veteran aware training for jobcentre plus staff.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Armed Forces Champions (AFCs) are available within each Jobcentre district, providing specialist support to veterans. They will have completed the full work coach learning and had the opportunity to embed their learning prior to becoming an Armed Forces Champion, and they are provided with point of need learning which covers the knowledge and skills to provide tailored support for armed forces leavers, including signposting to specialist organisations and charities.
As part of the Armed Forces Covenant the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has initiatives which help current and former Armed Forces personnel and their families. This includes the role of the Armed Forces Champion in every Jobcentre. Armed Forces Champions develop and maintain joint working relationships, provide specialist support to all Jobcentre staff and act as the first point of contact in communities for organisations and services.
All Jobcentre Plus staff new to DWP receive mandatory learning to support customers which includes learning for armed forces leavers. The learning provides an overview of armed forces leavers and assists colleagues in understanding what help is available to them, their spouse/partner when resettling into civilian life.
DWP Work Coaches receive comprehensive learning to support vulnerable customers. Their learning journey includes a module on armed forces leavers.
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh and Atherton)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the War Pension and Armed Forces Compensation Scheme will be categorised as income for means-tested benefits.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The receipt of War Pensions and Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS) awards is already fully ignored when calculating eligibility for Universal Credit.
The first £10 per week of a War Pension or AFCS award is disregarded in: income-related Employment and Support allowance, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance and Income Support. Armed Forces Independence Payments are fully disregarded in these benefits and can also allow the recipient to qualify for an additional disability amount.
By default, the first £10 per week of a War Pension or Armed Forces Compensation Scheme is disregarded in Housing Benefit. Furthermore, a discretionary scheme allows local authorities to disregard them fully. Furthermore, these are legacy benefits, in the process of being replaced by Universal Credit, in which War Pensions and AFCS are ignored.
There are no plans to change the ways in which War Pensions and Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS) awards interact with means tested benefits.
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh and Atherton)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether veterans receiving Armed Forces Independence Payment will still qualify for the health element of Universal Credit under the new system.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Green Paper, “Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working” announced that we would be scrapping the Work Capability Assessment and moving to a single assessment for financial support related to health and disability benefits. This single assessment will be the PIP assessment and those who are eligible for an award of Daily Living in PIP would also be able to access additional financial support in Universal Credit.
We recognise that claiming certain other benefits can impact whether or not a claimant applies for or can get PIP, including Armed Forces Independence Payment. We are currently considering how the future system will operate and will provide further information in the upcoming White Paper
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh and Atherton)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she plans to take to ensure that the reintroduction of face-to-face benefit assessments does not negatively impact veterans with PTSD or mobility impairments.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We already undertake a number of face-to-face benefit assessments. However, as announced in Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper, we intend to do more while preserving alternative health assessment channels to meet the specific needs of people who require a different channel, for example as a reasonable adjustment.
In all cases, the Healthcare Professional (HCP) aims to complete the assessment using the customer’s health questionnaire and any supporting medical evidence provided. Should this not be possible the customer is invited to a consultation. Before sending an invitation to a consultation, the HCP considers whether a specific assessment channel is needed due to the customer’s health or circumstances. Otherwise, customers are offered the next available appointment, which can be changed if they inform us that a reasonable adjustment is appropriate in their circumstances.
We are committed to ensuring equal access to our services, in line with the Equality Act 2010. Customers are encouraged to inform us of any reasonable adjustments at any stage. If notified, the assessment provider will consider an alternative assessment method.
On 25 June, I attended an online event with veterans, as one of the series of consultation events on the proposals in the Pathways to Work Green Paper.
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh and Atherton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to support supply teachers in (a) Leigh and Atherton constituency and (b) nationally.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
Supply teachers make an important contribution to the smooth running of schools across the country by filling posts on a temporary basis and covering teacher absences.
Schools and local authorities are currently responsible for the recruitment of their supply teachers. There are various approaches to providing supply teachers, such as using private supply teacher agencies.
The department, in conjunction with the Crown Commercial Service, has established the agency supply deal, which supports schools to obtain value for money when hiring agency supply teachers and other temporary school staff. Further information can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/deal-for-schools-hiring-supply-teachers-and-agency-workers.
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh and Atherton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to monitor private supply teacher agencies.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
Supply teachers make an important contribution to the smooth running of schools across the country by filling posts on a temporary basis and covering teacher absences.
Schools and local authorities are currently responsible for the recruitment of their supply teachers. There are various approaches to providing supply teachers, such as using private supply teacher agencies.
The department, in conjunction with the Crown Commercial Service, has established the agency supply deal, which supports schools to obtain value for money when hiring agency supply teachers and other temporary school staff. Further information can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/deal-for-schools-hiring-supply-teachers-and-agency-workers.
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh and Atherton)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that veterans with severe, long-term PTSD qualify for automatic exemptions from repeat disability assessments.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Currently, Work Capability Assessment reassessment referrals are prioritised for customers on Employment and Support Allowance and the health element of Universal Credit who report a change in their health condition. The frequency of when reassessments occur is determined by available capacity in our system.
Our wide-ranging package of reforms to health and disability benefits, set out in the Pathways to Work Green Paper, will improve experiences of the system for those who need it. This includes the resumption of reassessments initiated by the Department. These will initially prioritise people who are most likely to have had a change in their circumstances including those who have short-term prognoses, for which we can reasonably anticipate a change in health condition has occurred. Over time, we will then prioritise available reassessment capacity for other cohorts who are likely to change award.
The functional impact and severity of a condition can significantly vary across individuals, which is why we will continue to ensure that those with the most severe, life-long health conditions, who will never be able to work, will not need to be reassessed.
I have attended today an online event with veterans, as one of the series of consultation events on the proposals in the Pathways to Work Green Paper.