Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of trends in the level of time spent by police officers completing paperwork as part of the requirements set out in the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
It is important for the investigation of offences, as well as for ensuring transparency and accountability in policing, that effective records are kept, and data is recorded. But it is vital that these processes are proportionate and do not get in the way of everyday police work.
This Government is committed to tackling unnecessary bureaucracy and will work with police forces to build on the foundation of the Policing Productivity Review, working with the College of Policing to support forces to ensure officers are able to use their time more productively.
The Home Office’s Annual Data Requirement (ADR) is a list of all requests for data made to chief officers of police forces in England and Wales under the Home Secretary’s statutory powers. There is a robust and stringent process underpinning the ADR to review existing requests and consider new or amended requests.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what financial support is available to carers who incur additional living costs supporting people whose Personal Independence Payments are stopped upon entering hospital as long-term in-patients.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The primary purpose of Carer’s Allowance (CA) is to provide a measure of support and recognition to those whose caring responsibilities mean they are unable to work full time. In order to receive CA, the person being cared for must be in receipt of a disability benefit at the appropriate rate, this is one of the ways we establish that care is required.
Where the adult disability benefit ceases as a result of the cared for person entering a hospital for more than four weeks, CA will also cease. This is to avoid a double provision of public funds to provide care for this individual. A period of 28 days is allowed to determine whether this situation is long term before the relevant benefit payments stop.
However, carers may be entitled to further support. Local Authorities have duties to support people caring for their family and friends. The Care Act 2014 requires local authorities to deliver a wide range of sustainable, high-quality care and support services, including support for carers.
Local authorities are also required to undertake Carer’s Assessments to support people caring for their family and friends who appear to have a need for support and to meet their eligible needs on request from them.
I would encourage carers who are not receiving a means-tested benefit already to check on Gov.UK to see whether they may be entitled to any other benefits, which may include support with the additional costs of caring. Advice can also be sought from organisations such as Carers UK and Citizens Advice.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 15 November 2024 to Question 13503 on Personal Independence Payment: Patients, how many individuals have had personal independence payments withdrawn after entering (a) hospital, (b) hospice and (c) residential care for more than 28 days in the last four years.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
As explained in the Answer of 15 November 2024 to Question 13503 on Personal Independence Payment: Patients, found here, the information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
Suspensions of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) after entering (a) hospital, (b) hospice, (c) residential care, and other accommodation types, are combined in the PIP Computer System under a single category.
To distinguish between the specific types of accommodation as requested would require manual investigation of each individual claimant record. We could provide, within cost, the combined figure for all suspensions due to “hospitalisation and other accommodation types”.