Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
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 potential merits of occupational therapy-led vocational rehabilitation services in helping people to remain in work.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Evidence shows that expert support such as Occupational Health services (including vocational rehabilitation services) can be a critical component in helping individuals remain in and return to work, reducing unnecessary sickness absence, increasing productivity and enabling individuals to live better for longer. This Government set out our plans to tackle economic inactivity driven by ill health and increase participation in the labour market in the Get Britain Working White Paper last year. These included an independent review which is considering how to support and enable employers to recruit and retain more people with a health condition or disability, promote healthy workplaces and support more people to stay in or return to work from periods of sickness absence.
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
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 consult (a) disabled people and (b) relevant organisations on the future of disability benefits.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We are working to develop proposals for health and disability reform in the months ahead and will set them out in a Green Paper ahead of the Spring Statement later this year. This will launch a public consultation on the proposals.
This Government is committed to putting the views and voices of disabled people at the heart of all that we do, so we will consult on these proposals, with disabled people and representative organisations.
Ahead of the formal consultation for the Green Paper, we have already started to explore ways of engaging with disabled people and their representatives, including through stakeholder roundtables and public visits. We look forward to progressing these initiatives over the coming months.
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will (a) lower the Housing Benefit taper rate and (b) increase the applicable amount to help young homeless people into work.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
People in receipt of Housing Benefit are always better off in work than someone wholly reliant on benefits. In addition to any financial advantage, there are important non-financial benefits of working. These benefits include learning new skills, improved confidence and independence as well as a positive effect on an individual's mental and physical health.
The Department acknowledges the challenge presented by the interaction between Universal Credit and Housing Benefit for those residing in Supported Housing and Temporary Accommodation and will consider the issue carefully in partnership with stakeholders.