Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many cases relating to (a) Universal Credit, (b) Employment and Support Allowance and (c) Personal Independence Payments were taken to the (i) High Court, (ii) Court of Appeal and (ii) Supreme Court since 2017; and in how many of those cases was the judgment in favour of his Department.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The Department for Work and Pensions does not hold the information in a readily accessible format and it could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much his Department has spent on legal cases relating to (a) Universal Credit, (b) Employment and Support Allowance, and (c) Personal Independence Payment financial support since 2017.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The Department for Work and Pensions does not hold the information in a readily accessible format and it could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the Disability Cost of Living Payment.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
We continually monitor Cost of Living Payments and have already published Management Information on the number of payments and the amount spent for each type of payment.
An evaluation of the Cost of Living Payments is underway. This will seek to understand their effectiveness as a means of support for low-income and vulnerable households.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he plans to take steps to remove online PIP pre-application questions.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The Health Transformation Programme is transforming the entire Personal Independence Payment (PIP) service, from finding out about benefits through to decisions, eligibility, and payments. We are developing the new service carefully and incrementally, designing the service around the needs of claimants.
We have begun by focussing on the initial application part of the process. Since Thursday 27 July, a limited number of claimants in selected postcode areas have been able to begin their claim for PIP entirely online, without needing to phone to make their claim.
As part of this new online option, an eligibility checker tool is built into the service. These pre-application eligibility questions are optional. They are intended to guide a user who may not be sure if PIP is right for them, and signpost them to other benefits as applicable. However, citizens in selected user groups and in areas where the service is operating can begin their online PIP claim without needing to use this tool. Information within these questions is already included on the GOV.UK PIP guidance pages. Everyone who completes the eligibility checker questions is signposted to claim online if they wish.
There are no current plans to remove the optional eligibility questions from the online service, but we will keep this under review as we develop the service.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the report by the Equality and Human Rights Commission entitled Progress on disability rights in the United Kingdom: 2023, published on 17 August 2023, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of the findings of that report on the rights and living conditions of disabled people; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
We note the report by the Equality and Human Rights Commission entitled “Progress on disability rights in the United Kingdom: 2023”, published on 17 August 2023.
This Government is committed to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and to improving the lives of disabled people.
We have implemented numerous policies and programmes to tackle the barriers faced by disabled people, including investing in employment support initiatives, improving social care support and the accessibility of homes and transport. In March, the Department for Work and Pensions published the Health and Disability White Paper, which sets out the Government’s plans to reform the welfare system and make it better meet the needs of disabled people in Great Britain.
The Government supported the passage of the British Sign Language Act 2022 which recognises BSL as a language of England, Wales and Scotland in its own right. To further improve accessible communication, we have appointed the non-statutory BSL Advisory Board.
In July, we launched an accessible 12-week consultation on our new Disability Action Plan, which is part of this Government’s commitment to create a society that works for everyone, where all can participate and be fully included. The Disability Action Plan will set out the immediate action the Government will take in 2023 and 2024 to improve disabled people’s lives, as well as laying the foundations for longer term change, and it complements the long-term vision set out in the National Disability Strategy.
We will be shortly setting out our plans for taking forward individual commitments in the National Disability Strategy, to make the greatest possible impact for disabled people.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of including policies to help tackle disability-motivated hate crime in the Disability Action Plan 2023 to 2024.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The Disability Action Plan Consultation asks for feedback on a number of specific proposals, as well as people's views on the plan as a whole and what alternative actions the Government might consider taking forward. We look forward to reviewing the results of this consultation, which will inform the final Disability Action Plan.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of using online PIP pre-application screening questions on the number of disabled people applying for PIP.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
On Thursday 27 July, we began testing the next phase of the new online service to apply for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) where a limited number of claimants in selected postcode areas have been able to begin their claim for PIP entirely online.
We have completed an equality assessment for this online service and tested it with a range of users to ensure the claimant journey is as easy as possible. Built into this service is an eligibility checker tool with a set of questions designed to help ensure people are aware of what is considered in the PIP application process. These are not screening questions. These pre-application eligibility questions are optional; they are intended to guide a user who may not be sure if PIP is right for them, and signpost them to other benefits applicable. However, citizens in selected user groups and areas where the service is operating can begin their online PIP claim without needing to use this tool. Information within these questions is already included on the GOV.UK PIP guidance pages. Everyone who completes the eligibility checker questions is signposted to claim online if they wish.
We are developing the online service carefully and incrementally. We will continually review the service as we develop it to ensure it meets the needs of claimants.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the impact Universal Credit migration will have on a claimant’s ability to meet rent costs; and what information his Department holds on the extent of rent arrears as a result of obligatory Universal Credit migration.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department is committed to monitoring and evaluating the impact of its policies.
The Department has introduced measures to minimise arrears due to migration:
People who receive Housing Benefit and then claim Universal Credit will receive a two-week Transition to UC Housing Payment, when that Universal Credit claim causes their Housing Benefit claim to cease.
A two-week Transition to UC Housing Payment will also be paid to those claimants who have been required to claim Universal Credit as part of the managed migration process but fail to do so by the deadline they have been given for making that claim.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many legacy benefit claimants have been migrated to Universal Credit (a) without appropriate notice; and (b) earlier than advised.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
There are no statistics available for those not given appropriate notice or claimed earlier than advised.
Claimants may migrate from legacy benefit to Universal Credit (UC) without notice, where they choose to claim UC, or a change of circumstances requires them to make a claim.
The remainder of legacy claimants that the Department is requiring to move to UC are sent a Migration Notice, which includes a deadline date of a minimum of three months and signposts the support available on how to claim. The Department also sends reminders to claim by the specified date.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions he had with London’s 15 largest Housing Associations on the potential impact of Universal Credit migration on a claimant’s ability to pay housing costs.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department ensures Social Rented Sector landlords are engaged with migration to Universal Credit. We use a number of channels, including hosting regular interactive forums, tailored for the Social Rented Sector, where we engage the National Housing Federation and a broad range of landlords, including multiple London landlords. Landlords can also subscribe to ‘Touchbase’ Sign Up Form (dwp.gov.uk) to receive DWP news about work, working age benefits, pensions and services.