Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of enabling people over 64 years old to claim the state pension during the covid-19 outbreak in order to limit the use of public transport among that age group to reach their place of work.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Secretary of State will make no such assessment.
We have no plans to reverse changes to State Pension age. Changes to State Pension age were made over a series of Acts by successive governments from 1995 onwards, following public consultations and extensive debates in both Houses of Parliament.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to Procurement Policy Note 04/20: Recovery and Transition from COVID-19, published on 9 June 2020, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of maintaining the provision of contractual relief as a result of covid-19 in line with Procurement Policy Notice 02/20; which (a) companies and (b) work areas will be affected by changes to that contractual relief; and what the timeframe is for proposals to change that contractual relief.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Procurement Policy Notice 04/20 came in to force on the 1st of July effectively replacing PPN 02/20 which provided for payment of suppliers to ensure service continuity during and after the current coronavirus, COVID-19, outbreak. Following publication of PPN 02/20 the commercial team acted immediately to review the Department’s supply chain and, on a case-by-case basis, identify suppliers at risk and agreed a number of payments under this PPN, to ensure suppliers identified as at risk would be in a position to resume normal contract delivery once the outbreak is over.
PPN 04/20 enables payments made under PPN 02/20 to continue until the 31st of October 2020 as well as for new relief payments to be made where a new need to provide support to at risk suppliers is identified and enables the Department to make alternative relief arrangements such as easing of certain service levels. It also requires the Department to work transparently in partnership with suppliers to plan an eventual exit from these relief measures. As such, the commercial team continue to work with colleagues throughout the Department to monitor individual suppliers within our supply chain, understand the changing position of those suppliers in receipt of relief payments and identify any additional suppliers who may require support. Again, the assessment of relief is made on a case-by-case basis depending on the particular circumstances of each supplier impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak.
Whenever a relief payment has been considered under PPN 02/20, or will be considered under PPN 04/20, this follows a rigorous approval process assessing the particular circumstances of the supplier, the market and the need, and is subject to both commercial and Departmental approval prior to any payment being made. This ensures that the merits of making or continuing the relief payments or easing of service levels are considered at all stages of the process
As we move in to the effective period of PPN 04/20 we do not anticipate the immediate cessation of any relief payments but the existing relief provided (as detailed below) will be monitored closely and we will proactively discuss and make appropriate arrangements with each of the suppliers in receipt of relief to move towards a sustainable position by the end of October 2020. This will involve an assessment of the new or continuing circumstances and challenges that the supplier might be facing, which may in fact be exacerbated by the resumption of some services, and the mutual agreement of appropriate relief measures as well as a plan to transition to steady state.
In cases where a return to a pre-COVID state might not be viable, discussions with the supplier will extend to agreeing appropriate contractual arrangements for a new, sustainable position.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the pay (a) minimum and (b) maximum is for each civil service grade in her Department below the Senior Civil Service (i) inside and (ii) outside the London area.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The tables below provide the generalist pay ranges, which cover the vast majority of DWP employees.
DWP Generalist pay scales
April 2020 Pay Scales AA - HEO | |||||
Generalist Scales | Employee Deal |
| Legacy (Opt out) | ||
| Min | Max |
| Min | Max |
AA London Inner | £20,984 | £20,984 |
| £19,662 | £19,682 |
AA London Outer | £20,984 | £20,984 |
| £19,118 | £19,118 |
AA National | £19,732 | £19,732 |
| £19,118 | £19,118 |
AA Specialist Pay Zone | £19,732 | £19,732 |
| £19,118 | £19,118 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
AO London Inner | £24,498 | £24,498 |
| £21,011 | £22,643 |
AO London Outer | £23,587 | £24,498 |
| £19,601 | £22,414 |
AO National | £20,499 | £20,499 |
| £19,118 | £19,682 |
AO Specialist Pay Zone | £20,499 | £22,635 |
| £19,118 | £21,885 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
EO London Inner | £30,303 | £31,099 |
| £25,182 | £29,586 |
EO London Outer | £28,570 | £31,099 |
| £23,743 | £28,344 |
EO National | £26,892 | £26,892 |
| £22,424 | £25,486 |
EO Specialist Pay Zone | £26,892 | £28,809 |
| £23,425 | £27,854 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
HEO London Inner | £35,754 | £38,045 |
| £29,712 | £35,262 |
HEO London Outer | £34,265 | £38,045 |
| £28,475 | £34,025 |
HEO National | £31,208 | £33,448 |
| £25,935 | £31,343 |
HEO Specialist Pay Zone | £31,208 | £34,665 |
| £27,925 | £33,515 |
April 2020 Pay Scales SEO – Grade 6 | ||
Generalist Scales | Min | Max |
|
|
|
SEO London Inner | £38,982 | £43,920 |
SEO London Outer | £38,342 | £42,641 |
SEO National | £34,448 | £39,674 |
SEO Specialist Pay Zone | £36,672 | £42,139 |
|
|
|
Grade 7 London Inner | £52,748 | £63,079 |
Grade 7 London Outer | £51,528 | £61,898 |
Grade 7 National | £47,971 | £58,135 |
Grade 7 Specialist Pay Zone | £50,922 | £61,386 |
|
|
|
Grade 6 London Inner | £64,636 | £76,843 |
Grade 6 London Outer | £63,238 | £75,797 |
Grade 6 National | £59,258 | £71,154 |
Grade 6 Specialist Pay Zone | £62,662 | £75,274 |
Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether changes to Access to Work support are planned for staff employed by non-ministerial government departments.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Since 2006, employees of ministerial government departments have had their support funded directly by their Departments rather than through Access to Work, with the exception of Ministry of Defence employees working outside of London.
Access to Work is an important enabler in the delivery of the Government’s pledge to see a million more disabled people into work. As leaders in disability employment, and Disability Confident Level 3 Leaders, government departments should not be reliant on external grants to provide the necessary support for their employees.
We have consulted with Ministerial and Non-Ministerial government departments, as well as their arms lengths bodies, to understand what any change could mean. We are currently reviewing this information and considering options for the future.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he has taken to ensure that employers comply with legislation and guidance on controlling excessively high temperatures in the workplace.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and Local Authorities regulate workplaces to assess compliance with health & safety legislation. They also investigate complaints about working conditions, including excessive high (or low) temperatures. HSE targets its interventions on workplaces in higher risk sectors that include foundries and bakeries where high temperatures can be a concern. Inspectors can take enforcement action to improve conditions where they find problems.
There is extensive guidance on the HSE website on this topic, including heat stress, and the practical steps that employers can take to manage risk. HSE is also simplifying this guidance to make it easier to use by small and medium sized enterprises. Guidance on various aspects of excessive high or low temperatures in the workplace can be found at:
http://www.hse.gov.uk/temperature/index.htm
Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many fit for work decisions were overturned by mandatory reconsideration in each month since October 2008.
Answered by Mark Harper - Secretary of State for Transport
The information requested is not available.
DWP plans to look into what it might be possible to publish on mandatory reconsiderations in the existing regular statistical publications, including information on outcomes. Before decisions are made DWP statisticians need to make sure that the data is accurate and fit for purpose. When a decision has been made and as each publication is ready, we will pre-announce the improvements in 2015 in accordance with the UKSA release protocols.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many fit for work decisions overturned by mandatory reconsideration or appeal related to claimants with mental health difficulties in each month since October 2008.
Answered by Mark Harper - Secretary of State for Transport
The information requested is not available.
DWP plans to look into what it might be possible to publish on mandatory reconsiderations in the existing regular statistical publications, including information on outcomes. Before decisions are made DWP statisticians need to make sure that the data is accurate and fit for purpose. When a decision has been made and as each publication is ready, we will pre-announce the improvements in 2015 in accordance with the UKSA release protocols.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many employment and support allowance claimants have received payment of that benefit pending an appeal since October 2008.
Answered by Mark Harper - Secretary of State for Transport
Published statistics show that between Q1 2009/10 (the earliest period statistics are available) and Q3 2014/15 (the latest period statistics are available), Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) received 1,096,732 Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) appeals. Whilst the vast majority of these claimants would have chosen to continue to receive a payment of ESA pending their appeal, some did choose to remain on Jobseeker’s Allowance. As the latter information is not available it is not possible to provide an exact answer.
Historical information on the average length of time for appeals is not readily available. The most recently published HMCTS statistics state the average (mean) clearance time for Judge and Member ESA/Incapacity Benefit appeals was 22 weeks. Accordingly this would also be the average length of time of payment of ESA pending appeal.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average length of time was that a claimant received payment of employment and support allowance pending appeal in the most recent period for which figures are available.
Answered by Mark Harper - Secretary of State for Transport
Published statistics show that between Q1 2009/10 (the earliest period statistics are available) and Q3 2014/15 (the latest period statistics are available), Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) received 1,096,732 Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) appeals. Whilst the vast majority of these claimants would have chosen to continue to receive a payment of ESA pending their appeal, some did choose to remain on Jobseeker’s Allowance. As the latter information is not available it is not possible to provide an exact answer.
Historical information on the average length of time for appeals is not readily available. The most recently published HMCTS statistics state the average (mean) clearance time for Judge and Member ESA/Incapacity Benefit appeals was 22 weeks. Accordingly this would also be the average length of time of payment of ESA pending appeal.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what investigations his Department undertook into the work of Maximus before the award of the work capability assessment contract.
Answered by Mark Harper - Secretary of State for Transport
We are confident in MAXIMUS’s ability to deliver this contract after a thorough evaluation process of their performance on major contracts.