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Written Question
Work Capability Assessment
Tuesday 4th April 2023

Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the proposal in the Health and Disability White Paper, CP 807, published in March 2023, to remove the Work Capability Assessment, whether he plans to amend the Personal Independence Payment assessment.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

We want the system to continue to support people who need it most, without the requirement to have limited capability for work or work-related activity to access additional support, as is the case with the Work Capability Assessment. Instead, we want to encourage people to start, stay and succeed in work where they are able to, without the worry that they will lose financial support.

For the group that receive the UC health element as a result of being determined to have LCWRA, but do not receive PIP, we will carefully consider whether they meet the PIP assessment and eligibility criteria.


Written Question
Social Security Benefits
Thursday 1st December 2022

Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the annual review of benefits will take into account the real term reduction in benefits claimants’ incomes since April 2022 due to the gap between the rate at which benefits are paid and the accelerating rate of inflation.

Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

CPI has been the default inflation measure for the Secretary or State’s statutory annual review of benefit rates since 2011. The relevant index for 2022 was 10.1%. This is the latest available figure confirmed by the Office for National Statistics prior to the annual review and allows sufficient time for the complex delivery process to take place.

Using the same benchmark every year ensures consistency over time, allowing Up-rating to balance out over a number of years.

The Government understands the pressures people are facing with the cost of living, which is why, in addition to the £37 billion of support we have provided for cost-of-living pressures in 2022/23, we are acting now to ensure support continues throughout 2023/24.

To ensure stability and certainty for households, in the Autumn Statement the Government has announced £26 billion in cost-of-living support for 2023/24. In 2023/24, households on eligible means-tested benefits will get up to a further £900 in Cost-of-Living Payments. A £300 payment will be made to pensioner households and individuals in receipt of eligible disability benefits will receive a £150 payment. Also included is the amended Energy Price Guarantee which will save the average UK household £500 in 2023/24 and raising the benefit cap by 10.1% in line with inflation.


Written Question
Access to Work Programme: Self-employed
Tuesday 24th May 2022

Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what support the Access to Work scheme offers those working as freelancers.

Answered by Chloe Smith

To enable greater flexibility for disabled freelances and contractors Access to Work has introduced a flexible application, providing greater flexibility for disabled people taking up time limited contracts and freelance opportunities. The flexible application will reduce the bureaucracy of re-applying for Access to Work when starting a new period of employment and the need for repeated Holistic Assessments where the needs remain the same.

To complement the flexible application, an Adjustments Passport is being piloted with contractors and freelancers to empower the passport holder to have confident conversations with future employers about their workplace adjustments.


Written Question
Access to Work Programme
Tuesday 24th May 2022

Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)

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 reduce delays in processing Access to Work claims.

Answered by Chloe Smith

DWP are in the process of recruiting and training extra staff for Access to Work, and using overtime working to process outstanding claim volumes.

Applications with a job start within the next four weeks are being prioritised. In addition, we are now treating applications that are classified as renewal applications for on-going support as a priority group and contact will be made as soon as possible.


Written Question
Department for Work and Pensions: Coronavirus
Wednesday 12th January 2022

Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to ensure that staff working in (a) Jobcentres and (b) other offices of her Department are protected from covid-19 transmission.

Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

DWP takes the safety of colleagues and customers very seriously and all of our offices are COVID secure. We have a suite of Health & Safety risk assessments in place developed following extensive consultation with departmental trade union representatives that cover all of the measures in place to protect staff and customers. These risk assessments are regularly reviewed, for example following changes to government guidance, including that from the respective governments in the devolved nations.


Written Question
Job Centres: Coronavirus
Wednesday 12th January 2022

Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she has made an assessment of the risk to job centre staff of covid-19 transmission as a result of continuing face-to-face services for all appointments during the covid-19 outbreak.

Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

DWP takes the safety of colleagues and customers very seriously and all of our offices are COVID secure. We have a suite of Health & Safety risk assessments in place developed following extensive consultation with departmental trade union representatives that cover all of the measures in place to protect staff and customers. These risk assessments are regularly reviewed, for example following changes to government guidance, including that from the respective governments in the devolved nations.


Written Question
Personal Independence Payment: Medical Examinations
Monday 15th November 2021

Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of personal independent payment assessment criteria for renal patients in the UK; and if she will make a statement.

Answered by Chloe Smith

Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is based on the daily living and mobility needs arising from a long-term health condition or disability, rather than being based on the condition or disability itself. People with renal conditions are able to access support with additional costs through PIP in the same way as other people with long-term health conditions or disabilities.


Written Question
Universal Credit
Wednesday 10th November 2021

Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential effect of the change to the universal credit taper rate on families with children who are less able to take on additional work.

Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

No assessments have been made on the effect of the change to Universal Credit taper rates on families who are less able to take on additional work.

Universal Credit recipients in work will soon benefit from a reduction in the Universal Credit taper rate from 63% to 55%, and increasing the work allowance by £500 per year means that 1.9m working households will be able to keep substantially more of what they earn. These changes represent an effective tax cut for low income working households in receipt of Universal Credit worth £2.2 billion a year in 2022-23, for the lowest paid in society, and are combined with a rise in the National Living Wage to £9.50 per hour.

Many of those who are unable to increase their hours as a result of family commitments will also benefit from the increase in Work Allowance by £500 a year, and under new rules from 24th November, they can earn, in some cases, over £550 each month before their benefits begin to be withdrawn.

The Department is fully committed to supporting parents moving into work and improving their earnings once employed. Eligible Universal Credit claimants can claim back up to 85 per cent of eligible childcare costs each month, up to the maximum amount of £646.35 per month for one child and £1,108.04 per month for two or more children, regardless of the number of hours they work.

In Universal Credit, childcare costs can be claimed up to a month before starting a job. In cases where people need to pay for childcare upfront, prior to starting work, Work Coaches can use the Flexible Support Fund for eligible claimants, to meet these costs until their first wage is received. Budgeting advances are also available to those who are eligible and who require help with upfront costs, for example when altering hours worked or changing childcare providers.


Written Question
Universal Credit: Mental Health
Friday 9th July 2021

Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the findings by the Money and Mental Health Policy Institute, published May 2021, on the design of the universal credit journal and the ability of people with mental health problems to use third party support to help manage their universal credit account.

Answered by Will Quince

No assessment has been made. Universal Credit (UC) provides personalised and tailored support for all claimants and Work Coaches are available to discuss any queries they may have about their online journals. Claimants can also provide authority for a third party to discuss aspects of their claim on their behalf.

The Department provides mental health training for staff who have direct contact with claimants, including all Work Coaches, to equip them to identify mental wellbeing issues or vulnerabilities, and to take appropriate action to support individuals. Work Coaches will tailor support to the needs of the individual and work closely with local organisations that provide additional specialist support. To enable Work Coaches to provide that tailored experience, with the permission of the claimant, they are able to record, in a free text format, through the use of ‘pinned notes’ in the UC system, information which supports staff in identifying and managing relevant experiences and circumstances of individual claimants.

The Department is committed to providing the best possible support for all our claimants, including the most vulnerable in society, in both making and maintaining their claim. Help to Claim, delivered through Citizens Advice and Citizens Advice Scotland, offers tailored and practical support to help people make a Universal Credit claim.


Written Question
Universal Credit: Internet
Thursday 24th June 2021

Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if the Government will take urgent steps to remove barriers within the universal credit online system to ensure that people who need help to maintain their universal credit account are able to receive it.

Answered by Will Quince

There are no barriers to claiming Universal Credit, as there is already assistance available to make and maintain their Universal Credit claim using the Freephone Universal Credit helpline.

Throughout the pandemic, Jobcentres have remained open for anyone who needed face-to-face support and could not be helped in any other way. Since 12 April 2021, Jobcentres in England and Wales have resumed full face to face services, returning to normal opening hours from 9am to 5pm. Jobcentres in Scotland have restarted the same full face to face service since 26 April 2021. All Jobcentre Plus offices across the country have Wi-Fi and computers available for claimants to access the internet. Work Coaches will continue to support those maintain their Universal Credit claim. To support our ongoing commitment in helping claimants, we have recruited an additional 13,500 Work Coaches in our Jobcentres.

The Department is committed to providing the best possible support for all our claimants, including the most vulnerable in society, in both making and maintaining their claim. Help to Claim delivered through Citizens Advice and Citizens Advice Scotland offers tailored, practical support to help people make a Universal Credit claim up to receiving their first full correct payment on time. This support has been bolstered by the announcement of a further 12 months of funding this year for Help to Claim.