Asked by: John Milne (Liberal Democrat - Horsham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of changes to the eligibility criteria for carers allowance on local authority care services.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
From 7 April 2025 the weekly earnings limit in Carer's Allowance increased to £196 net earnings, the largest cash increase ever. All things being equal, the earnings rule change will result in more people being entitled to Carer’s Allowance. There are no other planned changes to the entitlement conditions. Local authorities are responsible for their own "care service" arrangements and these may differ between authorities.
In our recent Pathways to Work Green Paper we announced a broad package of reforms to the health and disability benefit and support system, including changes to Personal Independence Payment. For those who are affected by the new eligibility changes, including for linked entitlements such as Carer’s Allowance, we are consulting on how best to support this group, including how to make sure health and eligible care needs are met.
Asked by: John Milne (Liberal Democrat - Horsham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department plans to make an assessment of the potential impact of making access to work schemes the responsibility of employers on the employability of people with disabilities.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
As outlined in the Pathways to Work Green Paper published on 18 March, we need to get the balance right between supporting employers to understand and provide reasonable adjustments as part of their legal duties, and interventions that go beyond this this to enable employment. There are no plans to require employers to provide measures beyond a reasonable adjustment.
We will assess any new intervention through evaluation, ensuring its impact and value for money.
Asked by: John Milne (Liberal Democrat - Horsham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate her Department has made of the number of under 22 year olds who will no longer receive limited capability to work payments.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Information on the impacts of the “Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper” will be published in due course, with some information already published alongside the Spring Statement.
A further programme of analysis to support development of the proposals in the Green Paper will be developed and undertaken in the coming months.
Asked by: John Milne (Liberal Democrat - Horsham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of planned reforms to Personal Independence Payment on people that receive (a) housing allowances and (b) higher rate housing allowances.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
No such assessment has yet been made.
Information on the impacts of the Pathways to Work Green Paper will be published in due course, and some information was published alongside the Spring Statement. These publications can be found in ‘Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper’.
A further programme of analysis to support development of the proposals in the Green Paper will be developed and undertaken in the coming months.
Asked by: John Milne (Liberal Democrat - Horsham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of making access to work schemes the responsibility of employers on small and medium-sized businesses.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
As outlined in the Pathways to Work Green Paper published on 18 March, we need to get the balance right between supporting employers to understand and provide reasonable adjustments as part of their legal duties, and interventions that go beyond this this to enable employment. There are no plans to require employers to provide measures beyond a reasonable adjustment.
We will assess any new intervention through evaluation, ensuring its impact and value for money.
Asked by: John Milne (Liberal Democrat - Horsham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department plans to introduce a substantial risk element into the PIP assessment process.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
In our Green Paper, Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working, we announced our plans to scrap the Work Capability Assessment and use the single Personal Independence Payment assessment to assess entitlement for the Universal Credit health element. We are considering how change of this kind could affect individuals who currently meet limited capability for work and work-related activity criteria due to non-functional special circumstances; including those currently classed as having substantial risk.
We also announced plans to launch a process to review the PIP assessment. We will bring together a range of experts, stakeholders and people with lived experience to consider how best to do this and to start the process as part of preparing for a review. Any changes to the PIP assessment will need to work alongside the reforms set out in the Green Paper.
Asked by: John Milne (Liberal Democrat - Horsham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of people claiming (a) disability and (b) incapacity benefits with a mental health condition are eligible for those benefits due solely to a mental health condition.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
Asked by: John Milne (Liberal Democrat - Horsham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she has made an estimate of the level Universal Credit Standard Allowance should sit at per week in order to enable households to afford the essentials.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
No assessment has been made at this point. The Government recognises the critical role Universal Credit has to play in tackling poverty and making work pay and has already taken steps to help those in need.
Benefit rates are reviewed each year, increasing by 6.7% in April 2024 and by a further 1.7% from April 2025, in line with inflation.
Around 5.7 million Universal Credit families are forecast to benefit from uprating in financial year 2025 to 2026, with an average annual gain for a family estimated to be £150.
The Fair Repayment Rate, to be introduced from April, will reduce the Universal Credit overall cap on deductions from 25% to 15%. This measure will help approximately 1.2 million of the poorest households benefit by an average of £420 a year.
Asked by: John Milne (Liberal Democrat - Horsham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the upcoming review into Universal Credit will consult directly with groups of people who have lived experience of receiving Universal Credit.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department has been regularly engaging with stakeholders since the election and is committed to continuing to do so, on Universal Credit and other issues. We recognise the important role of people with a lived experience of receiving Universal Credit in the review process.
We plan to engage with a multitude of groups and people and will continue to use existing forums as well as set up new sessions. In addition, we have also created a mailbox where any customer can express their views on how Universal Credit could be improved to support them, and we will be launching a survey covering customer’s circumstances, knowledge of Universal Credit and their labour market aspirations.
Asked by: John Milne (Liberal Democrat - Horsham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the upcoming review into Universal Credit will be required to regularly report to Parliament on its progress.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government is fulfilling its manifesto commitment to review Universal Credit in a range of ways. The Universal Credit review process is working alongside the child poverty taskforce and others to consider how the full range of Universal Credit policy areas contribute to our objectives to tackle poverty, make work pay and boost growth. We are not expecting to produce a formal report but as part of the review, Parliament will be regularly updated on progress and any future changes.