Asked by: Nicholas Brown (Independent - Newcastle upon Tyne East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the effect on people on the autism spectrum of removal of the additional payment in the employment and support allowance's work related activity group.
Answered by Priti Patel
The Government set out its assessment of the impacts of the policies in the Welfare Reform and Work Bill on 20th July. These are available on the Parliament website: http://services.parliament.uk/bills/2015-16/welfarereformandwork/documents.html
Asked by: Nicholas Brown (Independent - Newcastle upon Tyne East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will review the increase in the state pension age to mitigate the effects of that change on women born between April 1953 and April 1960.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government will not be revisiting the State Pension age timetable for women affected by the Pensions Act 2011.
Of the approximately five million individuals affected, two point four million are men. For women, the maximum increase in State Pension age relative to the previous timetable is 18 months and for men it is 12 months.
As analysis by the Institute for Fiscal Studies has shown, the rise in women’s State Pension age since 2010 has been accompanied by increases in employment rates for the women affected. Those unable to work because of health problems may be able to claim Employment and Support Allowance, whilst those who are unemployed may be able to receive Jobseeker's Allowance.
All those affected by faster equalisation of pensionable ages for men and women will reach State Pension age after the introduction of the new State Pension. The new State Pension will be more generous for many women who have done poorly under the current system, largely as a result of lower average earnings and part-time working. Around 650,000 women reaching State Pension age in the first ten years will receive an average of £8 per week (in 2014/15 earnings terms) more due to the new State Pension valuation of their National Insurance record.
Regular consideration of State Pension age is necessary to ensure the pensions system remains sustainable as life expectancy grows. The 2014 Act provides for a 6-yearly review, to take into account up-to-date life expectancy data and the findings of an independently-led review. The first review will conclude by May 2017 and will consider, amongst a number of other factors, the impact of State Pension age change on women.
Asked by: Nicholas Brown (Independent - Newcastle upon Tyne East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what his policy is on the UK's membership of the International Labour Organisation.
Answered by Priti Patel
We continue to support the ILO’s work and actively engage with the ILO to ensure that it can offer effective policy solutions that address the employment issues and challenges of an increasingly globalised economy.
Asked by: Nicholas Brown (Independent - Newcastle upon Tyne East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what his policy is on limits to progression pay increases for civil servants in his Department.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
DWP does not have contractual pay progression. The value and method of any progression forms part of the annual pay review and must be affordable within the terms set out in the annual civil service pay guidance issued by Treasury.
Asked by: Nicholas Brown (Independent - Newcastle upon Tyne East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans he has for implementation of universal credit.
Answered by Priti Patel
The national roll out of Universal Credit is on track and I enclose a link to the overall roll out and expansion plans:
Asked by: Nicholas Brown (Independent - Newcastle upon Tyne East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent steps he has taken to assist pensioners in the use of communication technology.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Currently, DWP provide access to State Pension (Statements and Claim) through telephony, digital and postal methods. For customers who use State Pension Online and State Pension Statement there is a dedicated DWP online helpdesk which is available to provide support to anyone who needs it to complete their claim or enquiry online.
The Department is aware that not everyone who uses its services will have access to or be able to use digital services independently. As the Department builds more digital services we will provide support to access them, where necessary, in the appropriate non-digital way such as over the phone or face to face.
The Department also works closely with partners in a number of ways to increase the digital skills of elderly people or to better understand the barriers. This includes a network of Partner Support Managers, based in DWP Work Services Districts, who work closely with partners in the community supporting the most disadvantaged or vulnerable customers to access the full range of DWP services. The types of activities include digital demonstrations of how to utilise Carer’s On-line or State Pension On-Line.
DWP is a member of the Age Action Alliance. The work of the Alliance is taken forward through themed working groups. One of these groups leads on digital inclusion, working in partnership with a range of accessibility and technology based companies and organisations. Barclays is one such member and through its Digital Eagles Programme provides practical and helpful advice on all online issues. Members also include Local Authorities who provide digital training and practical support for older people.
DWP has also been undertaking research with local customer representative organisations to understand the barriers to older people using the digital State Pension Online service to claim their State Pension. Additionally DWP has consulted with customer representative organisations on plans to introduce digital self-service channels for older people wanting to trace lost pensions.
Asked by: Nicholas Brown (Independent - Newcastle upon Tyne East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential benefits of devolving the Work Programme to Metro Mayors and Combined Authorities.
Answered by Priti Patel
We have committed to explore joint commissioning for next round of Work Programme contracts with Greater Manchester, London, Sheffield and Leeds. We are working with these areas to assess the feasibility for this approach.
Asked by: Nicholas Brown (Independent - Newcastle upon Tyne East)
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 feasibility of paying winter fuel allowance payments directly to energy providers; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Last year the Department undertook an initial feasibility assessment of a voucher scheme to pay Winter Fuel Payments directly to energy providers. It showed that there would be significant additional administrative complexities and costs to the energy providers which were likely to directly increase the fuel bills for all customers and we expected that a significant number of the most vulnerable pensioners would lose out by not redeeming their voucher.
Asked by: Nicholas Brown (Independent - Newcastle upon Tyne East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many national insurance numbers are currently issued in the UK.
Answered by Esther McVey - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
The latest available figures (Feb 2015) show approximately 89.2 million National Insurance number (NINo) records on the Department’s Customer Information System (CIS). These consist of:
· 67.1 million – Live Adult NINo records
· 22.1 million – Deceased Adult NINo records
The number of National Insurance numbers held on CIS is always higher than the UK population. This is because once allocated, a National Insurance number remains on the Department’s computer system. This includes both deceased records and where an individual who has been allocated a National Insurance number leaves this country. This is because the National Insurance number provides a permanent numerical link between the individual and their National Insurance Contribution Record which determines entitlement to contributory benefits and State Pension.
Asked by: Nicholas Brown (Independent - Newcastle upon Tyne East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the accessibility to his Department and its agencies to deaf people and people who use British Sign Language.
Answered by Mark Harper - Secretary of State for Transport
Under the Equality Act 2010, DWP provide suitable services to enable claimants and customers to access benefits and use our services fully, including individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing or speech impaired. To support DWP customers who have a specific communication barrier and need a reasonable adjustment we assess their needs and provide tailored support. We have a variety of communication methods: face to face contact on our premises; home visits; telephony; online services; and written communications.
The Department can also provide British sign language (BSL) or non-spoken language interpreters; induction loops; E-mail; Lip reading; use of representatives and we do provide textphones. We are committed to supporting deaf customers to access our services and have recently provided guidance to staff on the use of email communication to disabled customers as a reasonable adjustment. In addition, DWP is currently investigating the benefits of a video relay service.
DWP is also committed to providing a high level of support to our own employees. Access is provided to specialist software and equipment and our dedicated internal reasonable adjustment support team offer help with arranging specialist services such as BSL interpreters.