Asked by: Liz McInnes (Labour - Heywood and Middleton)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many recipients of disability benefits, including universal credit, with the limited capability for work element receive their payments into a Post Office account.
Answered by Sarah Newton
The information requested is not available
Asked by: Liz McInnes (Labour - Heywood and Middleton)
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 effect of recent changes in welfare provision on the number of children living in poverty in the Borough of Rochdale.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
National statistics on the number of children in relative low income are set out in the annual "Households Below Average Income" publication. The number and proportion of children in relative low income is not available at local authority or constituency level in this publication because the survey sample sizes are too small to support the production of robust estimates at this geography.
Latest 3-year estimates for the North West of the proportion and number of children in low income are available in Table 4.16ts and Table 4.17ts in the file “4_children_timeseries_risk” from this link:
Impact Assessments of policies in the Welfare Reform and Work Act of 2016 were published in 2015. Evidence shows work is the best route out of poverty; nearly three-quarters of children from workless families moved out of poverty when their parents entered into full-time work. Children in workless households are five time more likely to be in poverty than those in households where all adults were working. Welfare reforms are designed to incentivise parents to make the choice to move into and progress in work.
This Government is committed to action that tackles the root causes of poverty and disadvantage with policies that incentivise employment as the best route out of poverty. In Improving Lives: Helping Workless Families, we set out a framework for a continued focus on improving children’s long-term outcomes. This includes nine national indicators to track progress in tackling the disadvantages that affect families and children. Four of these measures are set out in primary legislation which places a duty on the Government report annually to Parliament on the parental worklessness and educational attainment indicators. Data on the non-statutory indicators will also be published each year.
Asked by: Liz McInnes (Labour - Heywood and Middleton)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to raise awareness among universal credit claimants that in addition to making an online application they must also arrange an appointment with the jobcentre and failure to do so invalidates their universal credit claim.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
During the online claiming process claimants are advised by the service of any follow up action necessary including any appointment booking requirement. They will then receive a follow up email within three hours if the required action has not been taken. If they log in to their online account there will be a prominent reminder.
We will soon be implementing the option of a text message reminder if the claimant has informed us that this is their preferred method of contact. We are also currently reviewing our online orientation process to make sure that all requirements are as clear as possible for claimants.
Asked by: Liz McInnes (Labour - Heywood and Middleton)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to enable people with no access to the internet to make a claim for universal credit.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
Claims for Universal Credit can be made over the phone and we have recently announced that the UC helpline will be a Freephone number.
All jobcentres across the country have Wi-Fi and computers available, including 6000 additional computers installed to support the introduction of Universal Credit. This provides access to digital channels in every Jobcentre for claimants to use when they do not have access at home. Face to face support is also available in the Jobcentre for claimants to make and manage a Universal Credit claim.
Asked by: Liz McInnes (Labour - Heywood and Middleton)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will take steps to include proposals related to musculoskeletal conditions in the planned Green Paper on disability employment.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
The Green Paper will explore a range of ways to improve the prospects and transform the lives of disabled people and people with musculoskeletal conditions and other long term health conditions so that their health needs and employment aspirations are met in the best possible way.
Asked by: Liz McInnes (Labour - Heywood and Middleton)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when the Government plans to publish its green paper on disability employment.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
We will publish a Green Paper later this year.
Asked by: Liz McInnes (Labour - Heywood and Middleton)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the Government's planned Green Paper on disability employment will include proposals related to people with musculoskeletal conditions.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
The Green Paper will be published later this year, and we welcome feedback.
Asked by: Liz McInnes (Labour - Heywood and Middleton)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what provision the Government has made for the long-term future of the Joint Work and Health Unit.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
Both the Department of Health and the Department for Work and Pensions continue to jointly sponsor the Work and Health Unit as an important part of this Government’s agenda to deliver long-term change to the work and health systems.
Asked by: Liz McInnes (Labour - Heywood and Middleton)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of people who qualify for personal independence payments on the basis of their need of use of aids and appliances have arthritis.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
For claimants with Arthritis who were awarded the Daily Living component of Personal Independence Payment between April 2013 and October 2015, 52% gained all of their points from Aids and Appliances.
The source of the data is the PIP computer system. This is unpublished data and, as such, it does not meet the quality standard required for official statistics publication. It should be used with caution and it may be subject to future revision.
Data is based on primary disabling condition as recorded on the PIP computer system. Claimants may often have multiple disabling conditions upon which the decision is based but only the primary condition is shown in these statistics.
Asked by: Liz McInnes (Labour - Heywood and Middleton)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department plans to take to collect data on the number of people with arthritis who qualify for personal independence payments on the basis of their need to use aids and appliances.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The department routinely collects management information on the descriptors awarded to each claimant when they have a PIP assessment.
In the PIP assessment, individuals are assessed on their ability to complete a number of key every day activities (for example, relating to the ability to dress and undress). Within each activity there are a number of descriptors, each representing a varying level of ability to carry out the activity. A descriptor may indicate the need to use an aid or appliance.
Data on the claimant’s primary disabling condition is recorded for those individuals who have a PIP assessment. Claimants may often have multiple disabling conditions upon which their decision is based, but only the primary condition is recorded.