Asked by: Paul Monaghan (Scottish National Party - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to ensure that older people with disabilities are adequately supported to meet their higher costs through nationally-administered disability benefits.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department has a range of GB-wide, “extra costs” benefits intended to provide a contribution towards the extra costs faced by people with long-term health conditions and disabilities. Attendance Allowance (AA) is available to those who have long term care or supervision needs that arise from age 65 onwards; and Disability Living Allowance (DLA) or Personal Independence Payment (PIP) to those who develop care, daily living or mobility needs prior to age 65. Where the entitlement conditions for DLA or PIP continue to be met after age 65 these benefits can continue to be paid.
Executive and legislative competence for these benefits will be devolved to Scotland once the Scotland Bill currently passing through Parliament receives Royal Assent and the powers are commenced.
The Department is committed to encouraging older people to take up the benefits they are entitled to and uses a range of channels to communicate with claimants and advisers ‒ including leaflets, and the government information website GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/browse/benefits/disability
Asked by: Paul Monaghan (Scottish National Party - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
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 effect of the closure of the Independent Living Fund on people previously in receipt of that funding who used it to pay for assistance required to live in the community.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The potential implications of closing the Independent Living Fund are set out clearly in the Equality Analysis published on 6 March 2014.
Asked by: Paul Monaghan (Scottish National Party - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he plans to take to ensure that planned changes in entitlement to housing benefit for people aged under 22 do not adversely affect the (a) income and (b) access to housing of young adults.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on the 15 June 2015 to Question UIN 1696.
Asked by: Paul Monaghan (Scottish National Party - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the benefit cap will be lowered to for individual (a) young adults, (b) pregnant women, (c) veterans, (d) disabled people and (e) other vulnerable adults who have dependents who are not children.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Details of the policy will be announced in due course.
Asked by: Paul Monaghan (Scottish National Party - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of households affected by the under-occupancy penalty have received payments to mitigate in full deductions from claims for (a) housing benefit and (b) local housing allowance in (i) England, (ii) Northern Ireland, (iii) Scotland and (iv) Wales.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
No information is held on the proportion of households affected by the removal of the spare room subsidy that have received payments to mitigate in full the deductions from their housing benefit.
Asked by: Paul Monaghan (Scottish National Party - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in the UK are not claiming what value of each benefit and pension entitlement; and what proportion of each benefit and pension entitlement is unclaimed.
Answered by Priti Patel
In February 2012 the Department for Work and Pensions published the report “Income Related Benefits: Estimates of Take-up in 2009-10”. The full report can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/income-related-benefits-estimates-of-take-up
Asked by: Paul Monaghan (Scottish National Party - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
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 of the two year freeze on benefit levels on (a) young adults, (b) pregnant women, (c) couples with children, (d) formerly looked after children, (e) veterans and (f) disabled people; and what estimate he has made of the real terms effect on the levels of each type of benefit of that freeze.
Answered by Priti Patel
The Government takes into account likely impacts as part of its policy development process and will publish an impact assessment in due course.
Asked by: Paul Monaghan (Scottish National Party - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will take steps to ensure planned changes to entitlements to housing benefit and local housing allowance do not adversely affect (a) young adults, (b) formerly looked after children, (c) pregnant women, (d) couples with children, (e) veterans and (f) disabled people.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Any changes to Housing Benefit policy will be subject to a full policy equality assessment to ascertain the impacts on protected groups and ensure compliance with the Public Sector Equality Duty.
Asked by: Paul Monaghan (Scottish National Party - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in Scotland are not claiming what value of each benefit and pension entitlement; what proportion of each benefit and pension entitlement is unclaimed by claimants in Scotland; and if he will take steps to transfer the value of unclaimed benefits and pension entitlements to the Scottish Government.
Answered by Priti Patel
Estimates of benefit take-up are not available at geographies below Great Britain. This is due to the size of the survey sample they are based on and methods used to generate robust national figures.
Following a consultation at July 2012 on the future on the “Income Related Benefits: Estimates for Take-Up” National Statistics series, DWP are planning to publish Experimental Statistics on benefit take-up rates. Further details are available here:
In February 2012 the Department for Work and Pensions published the report “Income Related Benefits: Estimates of Take-up in 2009-10”. The full report can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/income-related-benefits-estimates-of-take-up
Asked by: Paul Monaghan (Scottish National Party - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
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 of reducing the benefits cap to £23,000 per annum on (a) young adults, (b) pregnant women, (c) couples with children, (d) veterans and (e) disabled people; and how many households in each of those groups will be affected by that reduction.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
We will publish a full Impact Assessment in due course.