Asked by: Melanie Onn (Labour - Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to correspondence (reference MC2026/38057), if he will define the term 'appropriate transition' of the Access to Work scheme.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government) (Equalities)
By “appropriate transition” we mean that once the design of these improvements has been finalised, after incorporating feedback from stakeholders, they will be announced before they are implemented, helping to ensure customers are aware of any changes that may affect them.
The Department is making improvements to the Access to Work scheme to improve the help it gives disabled people to start and stay in work. To manage these improvements, we have engaged in extensive discussion with stakeholders to make sure the needs of customers are met.
We have already begun taking steps to improve the scheme, committing to recruiting and training nearly 500 additional staff to work on Access to Work. Recruitment has already begun, and new case managers will receive extensive training to handle complex applications with confidence. We also introduced a temporary dedicated Triage Team to look at cases prior to them being allocated to a Case Manager as well as a dedicated Change of Circumstances Team which has resulted in faster case resolution, reduced handling times and more consistent decision-making.
Work has commenced to align the communication processes so that Complaints and Reconsideration requests are aligned to wider DWP services, and we have strengthened the conversation between employer and employee around reasonable adjustments and removed routine email communication to ensure cases are dealt with efficiently and securely, so that contact is made within a set timeframe and decision outcomes are communicated timely.
The announcement delivered on 19 May set out our commitment to deliver an Access to Work that is efficient, is not prone to delay and can meet new levels of demand. It will help to restore confidence in the capability of the Scheme to award the right support at the right time and sets a pathway towards further improvements.
Asked by: Melanie Onn (Labour - Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions she has had with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency on maintaining operational readiness and emergency response capability following the introduction of the new Coastguard Rescue Officer operating model.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Public safety remains our priority. Contingency plans are in place to enable the continuation of maritime and coastal search and rescue.
Alongside the Coastguard Rescue Service, HM Coastguard will continue to draw upon the full UK Search and Rescue system, including HM Coastguard aviation assets, RNLI and independent lifeboats, independent rescue teams, lifeguards and other emergency services as they do today.
Asked by: Melanie Onn (Labour - Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the removal of glass products from the extended producer responsibility measures.
Answered by Mary Creagh
Glass packaging is in the scope of Extended Producer Responsibility for packaging, except where it falls within the scope of the Welsh Deposit Return Scheme, once that scheme is operational.
The Welsh Government’s Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) will include single-use glass drinks containers.
The Department, alongside PackUK and Devolved Governments, continues to engage with industry to monitor and support implementation of the Regulations.