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 assessment she has made of the adequacy of financial support available to individuals in hospital whose personal independence payments are paused.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Where an adult age 18 or over is maintained free of charge while undergoing medical or other treatment as an in-patient in a hospital or similar institution funded by the NHS, payment of (but not entitlement to) Personal Independence Payment (PIP) ceases after 28 days. This is on the basis that the NHS is responsible for not only the person’s medical care but also the entirety of their disability-related extra costs and to pay PIP in addition would be a duplication of public funds intended for the same purpose. Once someone is discharged from hospital, payment of PIP recommences from the date of discharge.
Entitlement and payment of the standard allowance of Universal Credit will not change if a customer goes into hospital for treatment and/ or care, regardless of the duration of the stay. If the customer has been found to have limited capacity for work or work-related activity, this element will continue to be paid alongside the Universal Credit standard allowance.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many individuals have had personal independence payments withdrawn after entering hospital care for more than 28 days in the last four years.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
Suspensions of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) for admission to hospital are combined in the PIP Computer System with admissions to hospices and care homes. To distinguish hospital care from the other types of accommodation would require manual investigation of individual claimant records.
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 steps the Child Poverty Taskforce will take to estimate levels of hygiene poverty in England.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Child Poverty Taskforce has started urgent work to publish the Child Poverty Strategy in Spring and will explore all available levers to drive forward short and long-term actions across government to reduce child poverty. The taskforce is exploring a range of metrics and will make decisions alongside the publication of the strategy in Spring 2025.
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 steps she is taking to reduce hygiene poverty in (a) London and (b) England.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Tackling poverty in all forms, from reducing mass dependence on emergency food parcels to ensuring people can afford essentials like hygiene products, is a priority for this government.
We know that good work can significantly reduce the chances of people falling into poverty, but too many people are being denied the security and dignity that comes with being in good work. The Get Britain Working White Paper, to be set out in the Autumn, will develop measures to reduce inactivity and help people to find better paid and more secure jobs.
We need a modern and effective social security system that is fit for purpose which is why we have committed to reviewing Universal Credit and listening to the full range of views on potential changes.
For those most in need, we have extended the Household Support Fund (HSF) for a further 6 months, from 1 October 2024 until 31 March 2025. An additional £421 million will be provided to enable the extension of the HSF in England, plus funding for the Devolved Governments through the Barnett formula to be spent at their discretion, as usual. As has been done for previous schemes, the Fund is available to County Councils and Unitary Authorities in England to provide discretionary support to those most in need with the cost of essentials. The Fund can be used to provide support with food, energy, water and wider essentials including hygiene products.
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, how many people were denied Bereavement Support Payments in (a) 2024 and (b) 2023 due to their deceased partner not having made the necessary national insurance contributions.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Table 1: Number of Bereavement Support Payment (BSP) claims disallowed due to the deceased partner having insufficient National Insurance Contributions during 2023 and 2024
| 2023 | 2024 |
Number of claims disallowed | 1660 | 530 |
Notes
- Figures for 2023 covers the period of January 2023 to December 2023
- Figures for 2024 only covers the period of January 2024 to March 2024
- The number of claims disallowed have been rounded to the nearest 10
Source: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/
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, how many people were denied Bereavement Support Payments in (a) 2024 and (b) 2023.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Table 1: Number of Bereavement Support Payment (BSP) claims disallowed during 2023 and 2024
| 2023 | 2024 |
Number of claims disallowed | 6240 | 2300 |
Notes
- Figures for 2023 covers the period of January 2023 to December 2023
- Figures for 2024 only covers the period of January 2024 to March 2024
- The number of claims disallowed have been rounded to the nearest 10
Source: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/
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 assessment he has made of the financial impact on people whose PIP payments have been paused as a result of them being in hospital for more than 28 days.
Answered by Mims Davies - Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities
We have no current plans of carrying out an assessment of the financial impact of those who have been in hospital for over 28 days.
Where an adult age 18 or over is maintained free of charge while undergoing medical or other treatment as an in-patient in a hospital or similar institution funded by the NHS, payment of (but not entitlement to) Personal Independence Payment (PIP) ceases after 28 days. This is on the basis that the NHS is responsible for not only the person’s medical care but also the entirety of their disability-related extra costs and to pay PIP in addition would be a duplication of public funds intended for the same purpose. Once someone is discharged from hospital, payment of PIP recommences from the date of discharge.
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 estimate he has made of the number of times PIP payments have been paused for individuals who are in hospital for more than 28 days.
Answered by Mims Davies - Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities
The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
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 communication channels are in place for deaf individuals to contact his department about Personal Independence Payments.
Answered by Tom Pursglove
People who are deaf or hearing impaired can use two ‘real-time’ communication channels to contact DWP to enquire about PIP. They can use Video Relay Service, a third-party text and talk solution. Alternatively, they can use Relay UK, a text relay service for people who cannot hear or speak on the phone.
In line with the requirements of the Equality Act 2010, we also offer e-mail as a reasonable adjustment when providing written communication to customers who require information in an alternative format. This is available to hearing impaired and deaf customers on request and is considered on a case-by-case basis due to individual needs.
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 steps he is taking to decrease the amount of time it takes for the outcome of tribunal cases to be placed on people's journal for Universal Credit.
Answered by Guy Opperman
Information on the average time to record tribunal outcomes on the UC journal is not collated centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Our aim is to implement UC tribunal decisions as quickly as possible, with some exceptions.
The main reason that a tribunal’s decision might not be implemented timeously, is if the Secretary of State considers that the decision may contain an error of law and suspends payment of the tribunal’s award whilst that is considered. In such a case the claimant must be notified that this is being done. If the claimant is not notified of a reason for the decision not being implemented, then they can contact the department: this can be done by using the telephone numbers on Gov.UK, on the decision letter they received, or by attending a Jobcentre; if it is a UC appeal they can use their journal.
If a decision is not implemented timeously, there is guidance published by HMCTS and available on Gov.UK, entitled ‘How to appeal against a decision made by the Department for Work and Pensions’.