Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Justin Tomlinson and Philip Hollobone(4 years, 8 months ago)
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Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)
The Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work (Justin Tomlinson)
The average time is 14 weeks. We continue to review the process. As I set out earlier, with the forthcoming Green Paper we will be looking to identify further ways to improve the claims experience and make it easier to get supportive evidence that increases the likelihood of a paper-based review without the need for a face-to-face assessment.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Justin Tomlinson and Philip Hollobone(4 years, 10 months ago)
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Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)
The Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work (Justin Tomlinson)
These are the figures for the most recent period for which data is available: DLA 69%; ESA 77%; and PIP 76%.
Mr Hollobone
These numbers are far too high, and I suspect that one of the reasons that they are so high is that requisite paperwork is not provided until it reaches the tribunal stage. What can the Minister do to ensure that the paperwork from the applicants is provided earlier ?
Justin Tomlinson
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. It is often the case that additional written and oral evidence is presented at the tribunal stage, which is why we have made significant changes to the mandatory reconsideration stage where we proactively contact claimants to try to assist in gathering that data. We rolled that out halfway through last year. It is now in all the mandatory reconsideration assessments, and we have seen a significant uplift in the number of appeals overturned at the MR stage, and that is a good thing.
Supporting Disabled People to Work
Debate between Justin Tomlinson and Philip Hollobone(5 years, 7 months ago)
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Urgent Questions are proposed each morning by backbench MPs, and up to two may be selected each day by the Speaker. Chosen Urgent Questions are announced 30 minutes before Parliament sits each day.
Each Urgent Question requires a Government Minister to give a response on the debate topic.
This information is provided by Parallel Parliament and does not comprise part of the offical record
Justin Tomlinson
That is very important because those with learning disabilities have about a 6% expectancy of finding work. Very early on in my time as a disability Minister, I met some young adults with a learning disability who desperately wanted that chance and that is what drove me to set up the Maynard review with my hon. Friend the Member for Blackpool North and Cleveleys (Paul Maynard), so we could unlock the potential of the apprenticeship programme. I am delighted that last year that came live and now people with learning disabilities who would not necessarily have got the grade C in maths and English are benefiting from apprenticeships, giving them a real, tangible chance of getting the work they so desperately want.
Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)
I commend my hon. Friend the Minister for his commitment and dedication to the role and particularly commend the speed of response to correspondence, which is an outstanding example that other Ministers should be encouraged to follow.
How many disabled people are employed in the DWP?
Justin Tomlinson
I thank my hon. Friend and I do understand the importance not just of responding to individual MPs’ correspondence but offering an opportunity to meet, particularly on the more complex cases, and there are many Members I can see here today whom I have met in recent weeks on a variety of issues. We are all first and foremost constituency MPs who are here to champion those in our communities who have challenges. On the question about how many disabled people are employed in the Department, I will have to write to my hon. Friend because I would not wish to give somebody of such experience anything other than the exact answer.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Justin Tomlinson and Philip Hollobone(9 years, 5 months ago)
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Justin Tomlinson
It is important to recognise that other benefits are backdated. We have made huge progress. The backlog has been falling month on month since August 2014, and we are now within where we would expect to be as part of usual business. We are looking at a median time, end to end, of 11 weeks. We will continue to monitor that important issue closely.
Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)
May I draw the Minister’s attention to a letter I received from a constituent last week? He says:
“I was recently contacted by DWP to be assessed for PIP…I sent the forms off and within 3 days had a medical assessment at my home…I have to tell you that the process from start to finish was 3 weeks. Is this a record?...Whilst we read a lot in the media I think my recent experience shows the system may at last be improving.”
Justin Tomlinson
I thank my hon. Friend for that. Claims are now cleared at four times the rate they were in January 2014. We have quadrupled the number of healthcare professionals, introduced more than 200 new assessment rooms, doubled the number of DWP decision-making staff, and improved IT systems and claimant communication. I am delighted that my hon. Friend’s constituent has benefited from those improvements.
New Roads (Adoption)
Debate between Justin Tomlinson and Philip Hollobone(14 years, 5 months ago)
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Mr Hollobone
My hon. Friend is spot on. He is absolutely right, and I am grateful to him for adding the East Riding of Yorkshire to my list. If he will encourage his colleagues there to reply to Tony Ciaburro at Northamptonshire county council, we can complete this list and send it to the Government. That was a most helpful intervention.
I shall continue with the list. Lincolnshire county council said:
“We have had some problems over the years.”
Dorset county council said:
“Confirm this is an issue in Dorset”.
Northumberland county council said:
“NCC and most other Highway Authorities experience exactly the same difficulties.”
Essex county council said that
“we certainly have our fair share of these in Essex.”
Cambridgeshire county council said:
“It is certainly a problem in Cambridgeshire.”
Derbyshire county council said:
“The Highways Act is out of date.”
Staffordshire county council said:
“Similar problems in Staffs together with another issue related to roads constructed by developers that are not intended for adoption.”
Wiltshire county council said:
“Wiltshire certainly has its share of problems.”
Oxfordshire county council said:
“I agree that the legislation as currently set out is well out of date and needs to be re-written”.
Flintshire county council said:
“The problem with unadopted roads that you have highlighted are being experienced throughout Wales…Winter maintenance was a major issue on these roads this last winter, particularly on parts of housing estates which appear to be completed but weren’t obviously adopted.”
That last point is very helpful.
Justin Tomlinson (North Swindon) (Con)
As my hon. Friend has provided a detailed list, perhaps I could add my local authority of Swindon. Earlier today I delivered my maiden speech, which touched on road adoption, which was nicely timed for this Adjournment debate. I want to echo 100% the sentiments he has expressed so far, and to add some comments about my experience of the issue. In particular, he has highlighted the problems with the lack of maintenance, and with street lighting and parking, which we cannot administer owing to the lack of double yellow lines, which causes problems of access for accident and emergency vehicles. The only practical way to solve the problem is to introduce a bond scheme for developers, whereby money is put into a pot on the commencement of building. I would therefore support the Government in introducing such a scheme. I also agree that residents are frustrated about council tax.
Mr Hollobone
I congratulate my hon. Friend not only on delivering an excellent maiden speech, but on making a most helpful intervention. If Swindon council would like to get in touch with Northamptonshire county council, that would help to complete the national picture.
My hon. Friend mentioned a bond scheme, which is one of the ways in which the Government think the problem can be addressed, but actually does not work. That is because local authorities cannot access the funds held in any bond made by the developer unless the developer agrees. The developer therefore has to go bust before the local authorities can use that money. The idea is one of those things that sounds good in principle, but which, in effect, is toothless.
After our helpful meeting at the Department for Transport, we basically came to the following conclusions. There should be revisions to the Department for Communities and Local Government’s circular 11/95 to include model planning conditions focusing on road standards, with a view to giving a clearer basis for planning conditions to be used in this area. It was noted at the meeting that there would need to be discussions with the Department, and that transport considerations would need to be balanced against wider objectives for the planning system. We also concluded that there would need to be refinements to the section 38 arrangements. Perhaps there could be a timing mechanism, so that, for instance, we would not have to wait for an estate to be completed before the roads were adopted. Perhaps there could be a phased introduction of adopted roads.
There would also need to be changes to the building commencement notification requirements, which is an issue that touches on the advanced payment code mechanism, whereby payments could be advanced by developers once building regulation permission was granted. However, all too often local authorities are not advised when building regulations are commenced. It was also suggested that there could be some innovative funding mechanisms aimed at providing a stronger financial incentive for developers to make roads up to an adoptable standard.
What I want to do in this debate, at the start of the new Parliament, with a new Government and a new Transport Minister, is to say, first: this is a big problem, and it is not going to go away. Unless the Government do something about it, millions of our citizens will be living on new housing estates on substandard roads, with substandard pavements and so on. Secondly, we are talking about an issue that can be tackled effectively through relatively simple Government involvement. Thirdly, on behalf of Kettering borough council, Northamptonshire county council and myself, let me say that we are willing to do anything at any time, and to speak to anyone in the Government to try to make progress on the issue. As the MP for Kettering, I certainly do not want a third of my residents living on unadopted roads in 10 or 15 years.
Fourthly, I invite the Minister to visit Mawsley in Kettering, which is a good example of where, despite the best efforts of everyone involved, the roads remain unadopted. Mawsley is a village—a model village in many senses—that is now 10 years old in parts, but where the roads have still not been brought up to standard.
I welcome the Minister to his post. He has a formidable reputation and knowledge of transport and local government issues. We very much look to him to take up this baton and change lives for the better for thousands of residents in my constituency and millions of our citizens across the country.