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 are being taken to limit the practice of sending successful PIP appeal cases back to the First-Tier Tribunal for a rerun.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
There are no circumstances in which an appeal outcome would be sent back to the Tribunals Service with a request that it should be re-heard. The Secretary of State would refer a tribunal decision back to the Tribunals Service, where for example the tribunal’s decision was for some reason unimplementable and clarification was needed so that payment could be made – this is not a request for the case to be re-heard. The Secretary of State can also ask for a decision to be set aside and can seek permission to appeal a decision to the Upper Tribunal – both could result in a re-hearing but the grounds for applying are strictly limited. And ultimately it is of course for the tribunal to decide how such requests should be handled.
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 merits of suspending the cap on Access to Work funding for disabled entrepreneurs in response to the disruption to business caused by the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Access to Work has not made an assessment of the merits of suspending the cap for disabled entrepreneurs as there are alternative options of support they can explore with their Access to Work adviser whilst retaining the cap. If the honourable member has any examples she could share where this has not worked, we will explore what more can be done.
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 information her Department holds on the proportion of employers that publish the percentage of (a) disabled staff they employ and (b) disabled staff they employ by pay grade.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
In November 2018, the DWP introduced the Voluntary Reporting Framework (VRF) to encourage employers to actively report on disability employment and mental health. DWP is promoting the use of the VRF to employers across the UK; thereby encouraging employers to be more transparent and to start having open conversations about disability and health at work. We continue to work with employers and expert partners to promote its usage, including requiring new and renewing Disability Confident Leaders (Level 3) to use it. However, there is no requirement for companies to notify Government if they have signed up to the framework and are publishing this data.
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 discussions her Department has had with relevant stakeholders on implementing mandatory reporting and action plans on the disability pay gap.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Government has worked with a large number of employers and expert partners to develop a Voluntary Reporting Framework (VRF) to support organisations to record and voluntarily report information on disability, mental health and wellbeing in the workplace. The aim of the VRF is to encourage employers to be more transparent and to start having open conversations about disability and health at work. There is no mandatory requirement for companies to notify Government if they have signed up to the framework and are publishing this data.
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 information her Department holds on the proportion of employers that (a) have a disability leave policy and (b) allow homeworking as a reasonable adjustment.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
DWP does not collate information about which employers have a disability leave policy and does not collate information on employers that allow homeworking as a reasonable adjustment. Through the Voluntary Reporting Framework, we are encouraging employers to become more transparent and to have open conversations about disability and health at work. The Access to Work scheme supports employers to provide workplace adjustments.
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 the timescale is for the consultation on the National Strategy for Disabled People; and when that process will include consultation with (a) disabled people’s organizations and representatives of disabled workers and (b) trade unions.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government is committed to transforming the lives of disabled people, and will publish the National Strategy for Disabled People this year.
It will be informed by insights from the lived experience of disabled people, and will focus on the issues that disabled people say are most important across all aspects of life, from transport to education, and housing to employment. On Friday 15th January, we launched the online UK Disability Survey, which complements the range of engagement already undertaken and ongoing, including lived experience research with disabled people, discussions with the Disabled Charities Consortium, the Regional Stakeholder Networks and others. Contributions to the survey will feed not only into the development of the strategy but also its delivery.
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 ensure that older people are aware of the passported benefits Pension Credit claimants are entitled to.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department looks to promote at every opportunity the message that even a small amount of Pension Credit can act as a passport to a wide range of other benefits and services, as we did in the February 2020 nationwide raising awareness campaign. We are currently sending letters to over 11 million pensioners in Great Britain informing them about the increase in their State Pension from April. In order to better promote Pension Credit and encourage eligible pensioners to make a claim, an accompanying leaflet includes specific information about Pension Credit, highlighting that an award of Pension Credit can mean being eligible for other benefits such as Housing Benefit or a free over-75 TV licence.
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 data the Government holds on the proportion of disabled workers who are turned down for reasonable adjustments by their employer; and what plans the Government has to use data on the proportion of disabled workers who are turned down for reasonable adjustments by their employer to inform the proposed National Strategy for Disabled People.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer I gave on 03 February to question number 145803.
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 her Department has made of the financial effect of the covid-19 outbreak on people on legacy benefits; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Legacy benefits were increased by 1.7% in April 2020 following the Government’s announcement to end the benefit freeze and 0.5% this coming year.
We increased the Local Housing Allowance rates for Universal Credit and Housing Benefit claimants, so they now cover the lowest 30% of local rents. This increase, costing almost £1 billion, will mean that 1.5 million households see an increase, on average, of £600 this year. We also increased the additional earnings disregard in Housing Benefit to ensure increases in the maximum rate of the basic element of Working Tax Credit did not impact on a claimant’s Housing Benefit award.
We legislated to allow access to Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) from day one of a claim for Covid-19 related cases and we have made it easier to access ESA by launching a portal for new style ESA online claims.
It has always been the case that claimants on legacy benefits can make a claim for UC if they believe that they will be better off. There are special arrangements for those in receipt of the Severe Disability Premium, who are now able to make a new claim to UC. Claimants should check their eligibility before applying to UC as legacy benefits will end when they submit their claim and they will not be able to return to them in the future.
From 22nd July 2020, a two-week run on of Income Support, Employment and Support Allowance (IR) and Jobseeker’s Allowance (IB) is available for all claimants whose claim to UC ends entitlement to these benefits to provide additional support for claimants moving to UC.
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 the Access to Work scheme is available to all disabled workers who need reasonable adjustments to be able to work during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
During Covid-19, Access to Work has continued to provide funding for people with a disability or health condition whether they have been working in the workplace or working from home. The changing working environment has meant some disabled people have adapted their support, for example switching from face-to-face British Sign Language Interpreting to Video Remote Interpreting services or making greater use of assistive technology and software. Access to Work has actively worked with employers during the pandemic. For example, Access to Work worked with employers to transport assistive technology from the workplace to the home to enable home working. And where the support cannot be removed from the workplace, Access to Work has put in place alternative adjustments or supported adaptations to standard equipment.
Covid-19 has impacted the way we work and where we work. Recognising the additional challenges the Covid-19 lockdown has produced for disabled people, Access to Work has put in place a series of measures to ensure disabled people were not adversely affected and were able to continue to receive support. The measures included:
As Covid-19 has continued to change working environments, employers have asked employees to work flexibly and work from home where possible. To enable disabled people to have the flexibility to adapt to new working arrangements Access to Work has introduced a new flexible offer to address concerns raised by Stakeholders. The new offer complements support provided by employers and contains a flexible mix of support that can be adapted to meet the needs of new Covid-19 working arrangements. The offer includes:
Background
Access to Work (ATW) is a demand-led, discretionary grant to de-risk the recruitment and retention of disabled people for employers. The grant contributes to the disability related extra costs of working faced by disabled people and those with a health condition that are beyond reasonable adjustment, but it does not replace an employer’s duty under the Equality Act to make reasonable adjustments. The grant provides personalised support and can provide workplace assessments, travel to/in work, support workers, specialist aids and equipment for individuals to enable disabled people and those with a health condition to move into or retain employment. And can fund up to £60,700 worth of flexible, personalised support per person per year.
Access to Work provides assurance for disabled people that they can access the support they need to overcome their barriers to employment. Knowing that support is available empowers disabled people, it provides confidence for both the disabled person and potential employers and works to remove any disadvantage in the labour market.