Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will hold discussions with the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport on the potential effect of the gambling review on the employment of women in retail betting shops.
Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Secretary of State regularly meets with Cabinet colleagues to discuss a range of policy issues and topics.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
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 homeless people who require a fixed address to access public services.
Answered by Will Quince
If a Universal Credit claimant doesn't have a permanent address, there are a number of options available to them. They can use a 'care of' address, like the address of a family member or trusted friend. There is also the option of using a hostel address if the claimant is staying there, or in exceptional circumstances, the claimant can use their local jobcentre address.
There are varied and complex reasons behind a person’s homelessness and that is why it is DWP’s priority to ensure homeless people get the appropriate support they need to move into work so they can succeed and move on with their lives. This support includes help for people to make a Universal Credit claim and to access the Jobcentre Plus employment offer, with priority access to the Work and Health Programme. Jobcentres in England are required to offer a voluntary referral to claimants who may be homeless or threatened with homelessness to a local housing authority of the claimant’s choice.
The Department is committed to tackling homelessness and is supporting the manifesto commitment to end the blight of rough sleeping by the end of the next Parliament. The Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has worked closely with local authorities and the sector to offer vulnerable people safe accommodation and support. The ‘Protect Programme’, provides targeted support to protect some of the most vulnerable people in our communities from Covid-19, and builds on the success of the still ongoing ‘Everyone In’ campaign - by September it had supported over 29,000 vulnerable people; with over 10,000 in emergency accommodation and nearly 19,000 moved on into settled accommodation.
The Next Steps Accommodation Programme makes available the financial resources needed to support local authorities and their partners to prevent people from returning to the streets.
Alongside this funding, the Government is also making available the expertise from MHCLG’s Rough Sleeping Initiative and Homelessness Advice and Support Adviser Teams to help coproduce accommodation provision and related support services.
For the most up to date information relating to the Government’s response to homelessness and rough sleeping please refer to the following link
https://www.gov.uk/housing-local-and-community/homelessness-rough-sleeping
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make it his policy to introduce a statutory workplace maximum temperature.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
The Government has no plans to introduce a statutory workplace maximum temperature. For information on the existing law and guidance on workplace temperature, I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 09 September 2016 to Question UIN 44106.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what provision his Department is making to improve employment outcomes for long-term unemployed people with deaf impairment for whom British Sign Language is their first language.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson
The Government is committed to ensuring that all disabled people have the opportunity to fulfil their potential and realise their aspirations. We offer a number of programmes and initiatives that successfully support disabled people into work, including deaf people or those with hearing loss who use British Sign Language.
Employment programmes such as Work Choice, Specialist Employability Support and Access to Work help disabled people, including BSL users, find, start and remain in work. Access to Work has a dedicated Deaf and Hearing Loss Team, which ensures that people with deafness or hearing loss receive specialist advice and support. Deaf people and those with hearing loss represent the largest group of people helped by Access to Work.
Last month, DWP took an important step in making Government services accessible to deaf people or those with hearing loss with the launch of the Video Relay Service (VRS), a six-month pilot which will ensure that BSL users can communicate with DWP staff quickly and easily. This service is available for Disability Living Allowance, Attendance Allowance and the Access to Work enquiry lines. VRS can be accessed on a laptop or PC, or through an app on iOS or Android devices.
On 4 January, DWP launched a call for evidence for its Market Review of Communications for people who are deaf or have hearing loss. More information can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/communications-for-people-who-are-deaf-or-have-hearing-loss-market-review
The Disability Confident campaign, launched in 2013, works to improve employer awareness and confidence in unlocking disabled people’s talents, including deaf people and those with hearing loss. We are encouraging employers to register their commitment to become more Disability Confident and receive an information pack and regular updates. More information can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/disability-confident
The Equality Act 2010 provides statutory protection against discrimination and sets out that employers must make reasonable adjustments for their disabled workers.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
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 support people over 50 seeking employment.
Answered by Esther McVey - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
We have a comprehensive menu of back to work support available, Jobcentre Plus’ use a range of innovative approaches to help older claimants. Local schemes include IT support aimed specifically at older people; dedicated advisers for those aged over 50; and help to convert dated qualifications into certifications that are relevant for modern employers.