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Written Question
Hazardous Substances: Planning Authorities
Tuesday 11th October 2022

Asked by: Peter Grant (Scottish National Party - Glenrothes)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what is the target time frame for the Health and Safety Executive to respond to hazardous substances consent enquiries from planning authorities; (a) how many and (b) what proportion of such enquiries were responded to within that time frame in the last 12 months; and of the enquiries that were not responded to within that time frame in the last 12 months, what was the average length of wait for a response.

Answered by Claire Coutinho - Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is a statutory consultee for Hazardous Substances Consent Applications. The assessments undertaken by HSE for each Hazardous Substance Consent Application are complex and underpin HSE’s statutory advice to Hazardous Substances Authorities. This advice is aimed at mitigating the effects of a major accident on the population around a major hazard site. In July 2012, as part of the government’s response to the Penfold Review, HSE agreed to deliver its Hazardous Substance Consent statutory advice to Hazardous Substance Authorities within 13-26 weeks of receiving a valid application. HSE continues to work to these agreed timeframes, which reflect the detailed assessment work needed.

HSE processes between 60 and 80 Hazardous Substance Consent applications a year. In 2020/21 (the last full year where data is available) HSE provided advice for 67% of the 61 Hazardous Substance Consent applications received within the 26 week deadline.

HSE meets regularly with Hazardous Substances Consent policy leads from England, Scotland and Wales. HSE understands that there are no current plans for the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) or Devolved Administrations to amend Hazardous Substance Consent legislation to reflect the timescales agreed through the Penfold Review, however HSE will be publishing information on its website to advise applicants on the timescales involved. HSE has also produced a smart form to aid the submission of valid applications and is also recruiting to maintain its current numbers of specialist risk assessors, who undertake this expert assessment work.


Written Question
Children: Maintenance
Tuesday 11th October 2022

Asked by: Peter Grant (Scottish National Party - Glenrothes)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of the calculation formula for child maintenance special expenses travel cost claims.

Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General

A parent may apply for a contact cost variation for certain travel and accommodation expenses that would reasonably be expected to incur in order to maintain regular contact with a qualifying child, provided they are at least £10.00 per week. This threshold avoids the administrative burden of handling applications that would have little or no effect on the maintenance calculation and the whole amount of the claim can be considered.


Written Question
Children: Maintenance
Tuesday 11th October 2022

Asked by: Peter Grant (Scottish National Party - Glenrothes)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many applications for travel costs under the child maintenance special expenses system were (a) made and (b) awarded in the last 12 months.

Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General

The Child Maintenance system collates Special Expense variation data, however there are 7 categories, of which Contact Costs is one. Regrettably this dataset does not breakdown the 7 categories individually but is only provided as a total volume.


Written Question
Bereavement Support Payment
Wednesday 7th September 2022

Asked by: Peter Grant (Scottish National Party - Glenrothes)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when her Department plans to publish the remedial order on the eligibility criteria for bereavement support payments.

Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

This issue remains an absolute priority for this department, and we are working at pace to lay the Order as soon after the return to Parliament as possible.


Written Question
Members: Correspondence
Monday 13th June 2022

Asked by: Peter Grant (Scottish National Party - Glenrothes)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when she plans to respond to the correspondence dated 9 March 2022 from the hon. Member for Glenrothes and Central Fife regarding delays with state pensions in summer 2021, reference PG5490.

Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

A reply was sent to the hon. Member on the 10 June.


Written Question
Members: Correspondence
Tuesday 17th May 2022

Asked by: Peter Grant (Scottish National Party - Glenrothes)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when she will respond to the correspondence dated 9 March 2022 from the hon. Member for Glenrothes on delays with state pensions in summer 2021, reference PG5490.

Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

We are seeking to provide the hon. Member with a substantive response to the issue he raised in his correspondence and will provide an update as soon as possible.


Written Question
Members: Correspondence
Thursday 28th April 2022

Asked by: Peter Grant (Scottish National Party - Glenrothes)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when she will respond to the correspondence dated 9 March 2022 from the hon. Member for Glenrothes on delays with state pensions in summer 2021, reference PG5490.

Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.


Written Question
Social Security Benefits: Homes for Ukraine Scheme
Monday 21st March 2022

Asked by: Peter Grant (Scottish National Party - Glenrothes)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether payments to hosts in the Homes for Ukraine scheme will be treated as income for the purposes of those in receipt of universal credit and other income-related benefits.

Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The Government is grateful to individuals who wish to play their part in supporting Homes for Ukraine. DWP is working at pace with DLUHC and the Home Office to ensure benefit claimants who feel they can support the scheme are able to do so, and will be no worse off.


Written Question
Employment and Support Allowance: Work Capability Assessment
Thursday 4th November 2021

Asked by: Peter Grant (Scottish National Party - Glenrothes)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to support claimants who are awaiting a work capability assessment for contributions based employment and support allowance and whose assessment will not be able to take place before their award ends.

Answered by Chloe Smith

We are committed to assessing people as quickly as possible in order that they receive the benefit they are entitled to. Unfortunately, some Work Capability Assessments (WCAs) for contributory Employment and Support Allowance (ESA(C) claimants were not completed as quickly as we would have liked due to the the Covid-19 pandemic. The resumption of face-to-face assessments, together with enhanced telephony assessment processes, now allow us to assess all cases. We are prioritising assessments for contributory Employment and Support Allowance claims that have exhausted or are at risk of exhausting.

Furthermore, the measures we implemented during the pandemic remain in place to support ESA(C) claimants at risk of exhausting before a WCA. This includes a dedicated operational team to identify contributory ESA claims that we can progress without face-to-face assessment – for instance, those where further evidence might exist on other DWP benefit systems. If claimants have further evidence they think might help progress their claim, they should contact the Department.

Claimants whose ESA(C) exhausts before they have had a WCA should continue to supply medical evidence (i.e. Fit Notes). This will ensure that their claim can be reinstated if they are found to have limited capability for work and work-related activity (LCWRA) at a future WCA, with any arrears of the LCWRA component paid in full.

Where an individual’s contributory ESA ends, they may be able to claim Universal Credit, depending on their personal circumstances.


Written Question
Employment and Support Allowance
Thursday 4th November 2021

Asked by: Peter Grant (Scottish National Party - Glenrothes)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the number of claimants who have reached the end of their 12 month entitlement to contributions-based employment and support allowance before the Centre for Health and Disability Assessments has completed its work capability assessment to determine whether their entitlement remains after the initial 12 month period.

Answered by Chloe Smith

The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.