Asked by: Laura Kyrke-Smith (Labour - Aylesbury)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to help ensure that guide dog owners are not refused access to (a) businesses and (b) other services.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Equality Act 2010 places a general duty on businesses and service providers to make reasonable adjustments to allow disabled people, including people with assistance dogs, access to goods and services so they are not placed at a substantial disadvantage compared to non-disabled people.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is responsible for enforcing the Equality Act. It has published guidance - ‘Assistance Dogs: a guide for businesses and service providers’ - to help businesses understand what they can do to meet their legal duties to assistance dog owners.
Duties and protections under the Equality Act are ultimately enforceable through the courts, and anybody who thinks that they have been discriminated against - including where access to an assistance dog has been refused - can take legal action to seek to resolve the issue. The EHRC will support people who have experienced discrimination through that process.
Over the years, Ministers have held discussions with Guide Dogs UK about their ‘Open Doors’ campaign which aims to achieve the fullest possible access for owners of guide dogs and assistance dogs. I fully support that campaign and the principle that Guide Dogs and assistance dogs should always be allowed access, except in the most exceptional circumstances.
Asked by: Laura Kyrke-Smith (Labour - Aylesbury)
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 launching a digital version of the Disability Living Allowance for Children claim form that can be submitted online.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
DLA Child is currently undergoing transformation as part of DWP’s Service Modernisation Programme. Work is underway to explore options including how to apply, with the aim of providing a sustainable, simplified and accessible service and the ability for customers to self-serve.
Asked by: Laura Kyrke-Smith (Labour - Aylesbury)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will review the current set of questions on the Disability Living Allowance for children claim form.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
There are currently no plans to review the Disability Living Allowance claim form (DLA1).
The questions on the claim form are intended to gather sufficient information from parents/guardians to accurately award children and young people the appropriate Disability Living Allowance award.
Asked by: Laura Kyrke-Smith (Labour - Aylesbury)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to support pensioners with increases in the cost of living in Aylesbury constituency.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The State Pension is the foundation of income in retirement and will remain so, protecting 12 million pensioners through the triple lock. Based on current forecasts, the full rate of the new state pension is set to increase by £1,700 over the course of this Parliament.
The Warm Home Discount scheme in England and Wales provides eligible low-income households across Great Britain with a £150 rebate on their electricity bill. This winter, we expect over three million households, including over one million pensioners, to benefit under the scheme.
We are also providing support for pensioners through our Warm Homes Plan which will support investment in insulation and low carbon heating – upgrading millions of homes over this Parliament. Our long-term plan will protect billpayers permanently, reduce fuel poverty, and get the UK back on track to meet our climate goals.
The Household Support Fund is also being extended for a further six months, from 1 October 2024 until 31 March 2025. An additional £421 million will be provided to enable the extension of the HSF in England, plus funding for the Devolved Governments through the Barnett formula to be spent at their discretion, as usual.
Winter Fuel Payments will continue to be paid to pensioner households with someone receiving Pension Credit or certain other income-related benefits. They will continue to be worth £200 for eligible households, or £300 for eligible households with someone aged 80 and over.
We know there are low-income pensioners who aren’t claiming Pension Credit, and we urge those people to apply. This will passport them to receive Winter Fuel Payment alongside other benefits – hundreds of pounds that could really help them. We will ensure that the poorest pensioners get the support they need.
Asked by: Laura Kyrke-Smith (Labour - Aylesbury)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent estimate she has made of the number of pensioners eligible for Pension Credit in Aylesbury constituency; and what steps she is taking to encourage the take-up of Pension Credit in that constituency.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The latest available Pension Credit take-up statistics, which includes estimates of the number of households eligible for but not claiming Pension Credit, cover the financial year 2021 to 2022 and are available at: Income-related benefits: estimates of take-up: financial year ending 2022 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). However, these statistics are only available at Great Britain level and cannot be broken down to smaller geographical areas.
Last week we held a Pension Credit Awareness Week of Action – joining forces with a range of partners such as Age UK, Citizens Advice, local authorities and organisations such as British Gas to promote Pension Credit and encourage take-up. The “Week of Action” had widespread national and regional media coverage.
From 16 September we will be running a national marketing campaign on a range of channels. The campaign will target potential pension-age customers, as well as friends and family who can encourage and support them to apply.
Our campaign messaging will also focus on encouraging pensioners to apply for Pension Credit before 21 December 2024, which is the last date for making a successful backdated claim for Pension Credit in order to receive a Winter Fuel Payment.
We are working with external partners, local authorities, and the Devolved Governments to boost the take-up of Pension Credit.