Asked by: Paul Bristow (Conservative - Peterborough)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what guidance his Department has issued on (a) equality and (b) inclusion in the workplace for people with syndactyly.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The Department for Work and Pensions does not issue guidance on equality and inclusion in the workplace. However, the Government has a range of initiatives to support disabled people and people with health conditions, including syndactyly, to start, stay and succeed in work. These include increasing Work Coach support in Jobcentres; Disability Employment Advisers in Jobcentres; the Work and Health Programme and Intensive Personalised Employment Support; Access to Work grants; Disability Confident; the Information and Advice Service; and work to further join up employment and health systems.
Asked by: Paul Bristow (Conservative - Peterborough)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what information his Department holds on the number of people with syndactyly that were awarded a personal independence payment in each of the last 5 years.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Paul Bristow (Conservative - Peterborough)
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 (a) administrative cost and (b) effectiveness of the 25 pence addition to the state pension for pensioners aged 80 and above.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Age addition payments are made automatically as part of the person’s ongoing State Pension entitlement. The administration costs are therefore negligible.
The age addition should be considered alongside the range of other measures and benefits that are available to pensioners over age 80. These include Pension Credit which can top up a pensioner’s income to a minimum of £177.10 a week for single pensioners and £270.30 for couples and provide access to a range of other benefits such as help with rent, council tax, energy bills and, for those aged 75 or over, a free television license. Moreover, households with a person aged 80 or over receive a Winter Fuel Payment of £300, instead of the standard Winter Fuel Payment of £200 for households with a pensioner below that age.
The age addition is only payable to those who reached State Pension age before 6 April 2016 – it is not paid to those receiving the new State Pension.
Asked by: Paul Bristow (Conservative - Peterborough)
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 ensure that people with (a) disabilities and (b) long-term conditions and (c) arthritis are supported (i) to work from home and (ii) when returning to work during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson
Recognising the additional challenges Covid-19 may produce for people who have a disability or health condition, Access to Work has introduced a number of measures to support disabled people and those with a health condition whether they are working in the workplace, working from home, or returning to work.
During the pandemic Access to Work has been keen to support the use of assistive technology and where necessary has adapted existing awards to meet new working environments. This could include switching from face to face British Sign Language Interpreting to Video Remote Interpreting services where possible as well as making greater use of assistive technology and software.
In addition, to reflect concerns raised by stakeholders Access to Work has introduced and following measures:
Asked by: Paul Bristow (Conservative - Peterborough)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many additional people with (a) a disability, (b) long-term health conditions and (c) arthritis have been supported by the Access to Work Scheme since the covid-19 lockdown.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson
Access to Work continues to provide practical and financial support for people who have a disability or a health condition and require reasonable adjustments which are beyond standard adjustments an employer is required to provide.
Information about Access to Work can be found in the Official Access to Work Statistics which are published annually and can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/access-to-work-statistics-april-2007-to-march-2019.
The figures which relate to number of people who received an Access to Work payment this year will be available in the future Access to Work publication. Under the Code of Practice for Statistics the figures for 2020/21 cannot be released ahead of the official publication of the Access to Work Statistics. For this reason, it is not possible to provide the aggregated figures you have requested. This year’s statistics are due to be published in September 2021, and when published can be found using the link provided.
The Access to Work Statistics report the number of people who have received at least one Access to Work payment in a given financial year. Table 8 of the statistics in particular shows the number of people who have received an Access to Work payment broken down by primary medical condition (PMC). Disability, long-term health conditions and arthritis are not classed as individual PMC’s, and these conditions are recorded under the PMC categories.
To support disabled people to retain, adapt and move into employment during the pandemic, Access to Work has introduced a package of measures. These are: