Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what support is available for claimants unable to complete her Department's forms.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department is committed to pursuing a just, equal and inclusive society, ensuring independence and control for all customers, including all disabled people and those with complex needs. This means we need to ensure that our customers have access to reasonable adjustments or additional support, to enable them to access benefits and our services.
If a customer is unable to manage their own affairs, an appointee may be appropriate. For customers without an appointee, and unable to complete forms through other channels, the DWP Visiting service can conduct home visits to provide support. Some benefits also offer a telephony option.
Universal Credit customers can access the UC Helpline or the Help to Claim Universal Credit service, offered by the Citizens Advice Bureau. Support is also offered within our Jobcentres.
We aim to provide a tailored service, producing forms in alternative formats such as Braille, large print, coloured paper, as well as screen-readable formats such as word and web-accessible PDF. The Department’s forms are designed to be accessible for people who use assistive technology. Our online PDFs are compliant with Work Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 accessible standards and claim form design and standards are regularly tested to ensure they continue to meet user needs.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will have discussions with local authorities on ensuring that older people living in poverty in County Durham receive financial support for which they are eligible.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The State Pension is the foundation of income in retirement. Immediate support for pensioners includes our commitment to the Triple Lock, with over 12 million pensioners set to benefit through the course of this parliament, with the full yearly rate of the new State Pensions forecast to increase by around £1700.
Pension Credit provides financial support to pensioners on a low income. We know there are low-income pensioners who aren’t claiming Pension Credit, and we urge those people to apply. This will passport them to receive a Winter Fuel Payment alongside other benefits – hundreds of pounds that could really help them. We will ensure that the poorest pensioners get the support they need.
The Secretary of State and Deputy Prime Minister wrote to all Local Authorities in late August, asking them to redouble their efforts to reach those pensioners who could benefit from Pension Credit. We will be working closely with charities and Local Authorities to encourage pensioners to check their eligibility and apply.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Answer of 21 February 2024 to Question 14064 on Universal Credit: Disqualification, if she will direct her Department to begin collecting statistics on the number of children living in households subject to a Universal Credit sanction.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
In line with the Code of Practice for Statistics, the Chief Statistician determines the need for new official statistics, and the development of existing statistics. User engagement is at the heart of our considerations for future statistics. These development priorities are regularly updated and published as part of the DWP Statistical Work Programme.
Whilst a full appraisal of the resources needed to enable the development and publication of statistics on the number of children living in households subject to a Universal Credit sanction has not been made, our data on sanctions is for individuals and it is not possible to identify children in the households of individuals receiving a sanction without significant development of the data we hold.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
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 allow the sharing of relevant information with police forces to help identify potentially fraudulent benefit claims.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
DWP has a close working relationship with the police and other law enforcement agencies to enable the Department to investigate fraud. This joint working allows full exchange of information from the police to DWP and the DWP to police, under data sharing legislation.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
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 potential mental health impact of benefit sanctions.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Under the previous administration, no assessment was made of the mental health impacts of benefits sanctions. The new government will reform labour market policy and operations with the aim of increasing employment and integrating work and health support.
Sanctions are not applied to those with a severe medical health condition or disability where they have been found to have Limited Capability for Work and Work-Related Activity following their Work Capability Assessment (WCA), or where they have a specified condition or are undergoing certain treatments ahead of their WCA.
Those subject to work-related requirements will only be sanctioned if they fail to meet the labour market requirements that they’ve agreed to with their work coach without demonstrating good reason for doing so. To ensure these requirements are realistic and achievable, they are discussed and agreed with the claimant and based on their individual capabilities and household circumstances, including any health issues, caring responsibilities, earnings, and ongoing work or volunteering.
We acknowledge that there will be times when a claimant’s circumstances are such that there their ability to carry out their labour market requirements is disrupted due to their personal circumstances. In these cases, an easement can be applied to lift these requirements completely for an agreed period of time.
To support those who demonstrates that they cannot meet their most immediate and essential needs as a result of receiving a sanction, we have a system of recoverable hardship payments. These needs can include heating, food, and hygiene.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
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 not including military compensation as an income on means-tested benefit applications.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
There are already special rules in place for how War Pensions and Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS) awards interact with State Pensions and benefits. These payments are already fully ignored in the State Pension and in Universal Credit.
The first £10 per week of a War Pension or AFCS award is disregarded in: income-related Employment and Support allowance; income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance; and Income Support. Armed Forces Independence Payments are fully disregarded in these benefits and can also allow the recipient to qualify for an additional disability amount. Furthermore, these are legacy benefits, in the process of being replaced by Universal Credit, in which War Pensions and AFCS are ignored.
By default, the first £10 per week of a War Pension or Armed Forces Compensation Scheme is disregarded in Housing Benefit. Furthermore, a discretionary scheme allows local authorities to fully disregard them.
In relation to Pension Credit, the first £10 of any War Pension payments or AFCS award made due to injury or disablement is disregarded. Four additions to the War Disablement Pension are completely disregarded: Constant Attendance Allowance; Mobility Supplement; Severe Disablement Occupational Allowance; and dependency increases for anyone other than the applicant or her/his partner. War Pensions and AFCS awards are a qualifying income for the Savings Credit element of Pension Credit, which is available to those who reached State Pension age before April 2016. Armed Forces Independence Payments are fully disregarded in Pension Credit and can also allow the recipient to qualify for an additional disability amount.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she plans to (a) reform or (b) replace the Work Capability Assessment.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The government is committed to reforming or replacing the Work Capability Assessment, alongside putting in place a proper plan to support disabled people into work.
We will also give disabled people the confidence to start working without fear of an immediate benefit reassessment if it does not work out. More disabled people and those with health conditions will be supported to enter and stay in work, by devolving more power to local areas so they can shape a joined-up work, health, and skills offer that suits the needs of the people they serve. These plans are central to our missions of kickstarting economic growth and breaking down barriers to opportunity.
This government is committed to championing the rights of disabled people and to the principle of working with them, so that their views and voices will be at the heart of all that we do.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
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 health impact of the two-child benefit cap on children's (a) mental and (b) physical health.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
No formal assessment has been made.
We recognise the wide-ranging causes of child poverty, and we will explore how we can use all the available levers we have across government and wider society to drive forward the change our children need.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department plans to meet with representatives from the Women Against State Pension Inequality campaign.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
As a newly formed Government, we need time to review the Ombudsman’s report along with the evidence provided during the investigation. We will listen to all views, including those of 1950s-born women as we take this work forward.
The WASPI organisation has written to me and I intend to meet with their representatives in due course.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
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 help improve the support provided by Jobcentre Plus centres in County Durham.
Answered by Jo Churchill
There are 10 Jobcentres within County Durham, all of which have teams who actively collaborate with a range of partners to support people into work and, help employers to fill vacancies.
The Jobcentres are working with partners such as Durham New College, Derwentside College, East Durham College, Durham County Council, Barclays, the NHS, Community Hubs, National Careers Service, and Mental Health Matters to provide a wraparound employment and skills offer for customers. This offer is designed to support customers and help them find work and, help meet the recruitment needs of local employers.
We take a sector-based approach to recruitment and our Jobcentres have been working closely with employers to run Job Fairs for various sectors including manufacturing, Civil Service, hospitality, logistics, health care, construction, retail, security, adult social care and telecoms. As an example, Durham Jobcentre recently hosted a Care focussed event with employers including Care Academy, Embracing Care, HC One, Kelly Park and the NHS.
Disability Employment Advisers (DEA’s) offer advice and expertise on how to help disabled people and those with health conditions into work. the Embracing Employment and Healthcare trial is currently being piloted within Durham City Jobcentre. Employment and Healthcare Practitioners (EHPs) are co located within the Jobcentre working with customers who apply for Employment Support Allowance and Universal Credit and who have declared a health condition or disability. EHP’s work with them to understand the impact their health condition has on their daily lives, identifying their individual barriers and support them in addressing those barriers.