Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what provision her Department makes for universal credit claimants who are held on restriction under the Mental Health Act 1983.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Entitlement to Universal Credit (UC) takes into account individual claimant circumstances, such as income, savings, assets and living arrangements. Should a claimant be held under the Mental Health Act 1983 they may not be eligible for UC.
All claimants, including those who with mental health conditions, receive continuous tailored support through their personal work coaches, and all Departmental staff working with claimants complete extensive training that prepares them for their role. Specific training is provided for working with different vulnerable groups, with guidance to signpost claimants to relevant support, and these circumstances will be recorded on a claimant’s online account.
Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will take steps to tackle the underemployment of people diagnosed with autism.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
DWP is committed to helping people with health conditions and disabilities, including autism move nearer to the labour market and, when ready, into work, by building more personalised tailored employment and health support.
The majority of DWP’s schemes and programmes are focused on helping people, including people diagnosed with autism, prepare for and enter work. For example:
Disabled people who are already working, or who are about to enter work, can apply for in-work support from Access to Work scheme. The scheme has a Hidden Impairment Support Team that provides advice and guidance to help employers support employees with conditions like autism, as well as offering eligible people an assessment to find out their needs at work and help to develop a support plan.
In addition, DWP is engaging with employers through the Disability Confident scheme - supporting them to feel more confident about both employing disabled people, including autistic people, and supporting disabled employees to realise their potential. Over 11,500 employers have signed up to the scheme so far.
Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans she has to assess the effectiveness of the local supported proof of concept initiative in closing the autism employment gap.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Proofs of Concept are not designed to provide evidence of impacts on national employment trends. Rather, they allow us to test whether a policy idea is deliverable.
The Local Supported Employment Proof of Concept is a relatively small scale programme exploring how combining central and local budgets enables Local Authorities to scale up delivery of Supported Employment. The initiative is designed to support people with a learning disability or autism who are known to adult social care, or who are in contact with secondary mental health services. By working with local authorities, there may be an opportunity for DWP to drive a much stronger focus on job outcomes and on evidence-based commissioning using the Supported Employment model.
We are currently considering our next steps to build on this Proof of Concept.
Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will take steps to collect and publish data on the employment status of adults diagnosed with autism.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Department for Work and Pensions officials are considering how to robustly measure the employment rate among autistic people, including whether it might be possible to collect this information through the Labour Force Survey.
Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what support her Department provides to families who have been reunited through refugee family reunion to access the social security system.
Answered by Will Quince
Those who have joined a family member in the UK through refugee family reunion are entitled to the same support as any other person. As with anyone else, they will be assessed to ascertain whether they have complex needs and whether they require additional support to access DWP services.
Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions she has had with the Home Secretary on collaboration between the Home Office and her Department to ensure that refugees are able to access the employment support and social security benefits that they are entitled to.
Answered by Will Quince
The Department for Work and Pensions is working in partnership with the Home Office to improve processes for refugees claiming benefits. In order to achieve this aim we have set up the Post Grant Appointment Scheme (PGAS).
The scheme involves contacting persons at the point when they are granted refugee status to see if they wish to apply for benefits and require assistance to do so. If they say they do, an appointment at a local DWP office is arranged for them.
Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will made an assessment of trends in the level of (a) bullying and (b) harassment of people with autism in the workplace.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
We currently have no plans to assess trends in bullying and harassment in the workplace of people with autism.
However, we are committed to supporting people with disabilities or health conditions, including those with autism, to manage issues they may face in employment by offering both them and their employers appropriate support. For example:
Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans she has to make an assessment of the effectiveness of the Autism and Hidden Impairment training for Jobcentre Plus staff in reducing the gap between national employment rates and rates of employment for people on the autistic spectrum.
Answered by Sarah Newton
There are currently no robust statistics on employment rates among autistic people, so we have not been able to make any assessment of the effectiveness of the Autism and Hidden Impairment training for Jobcentre Plus staff on employment levels among autistic people.
We are considering how to robustly measure the employment rate among autistic people, including whether it might be possible to collect this information through the Labour Force Survey.
Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what support her Department provides to refugees granted asylum that have made an application for universal credit.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
Asylum Support is available to newly recognised refugees through the Home Office whilst their status is under consideration. This support continues for 28 days after refugee status is granted. A claim to Universal Credit can be made immediately once refugee status is granted and Asylum Support is not deducted from their Universal Credit award during the 28 days run on period. Work coaches receive training to help them identify and support vulnerable claimants, including refugees, and build supportive relationships with claimants to encourage them to openly discuss any barriers, concerns or problems as they emerge.
Provided the eligibility criteria for Universal Credit is met, we will always offer an advance payment to a refugee when making a new claim, and staff have access to information on a range of services and support available in their local area for vulnerable claimants, including refugees. This includes Universal Support, which provides help with using online services and budgeting advice. We also have access to a range of translation services to assist, should a claimant need support to overcome any language barriers.
Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans her Department has to increase the number of languages available on the the universal credit online portal.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
There are not currently any plans to increase the number of languages available on the online portal above English and Welsh.
When we need to communicate with a claimant who cannot communicate adequately in English or Welsh we use interpreters: this can be a customer’s own interpreter; a local community based interpreting service; a telephone interpretation service or a contracted face to face interpretation service.