Asked by: Tristan Osborne (Labour - Chatham and Aylesford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of 30 hours free childcare on (a) Job Centre operations and (b) levels of returns to employment.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department for Education 30 hours free childcare is one of several government childcare offers, including the Tax-Free Childcare and Universal Credit childcare.
DWP has not made an assessment of the impact of the Department for Education’s 30 hours free childcare on job centre operations or returns to employment. In March 2023, when the government announced the extension of 30 hours of free childcare for working age parents of nine-month to two-year-olds, the OBR assessed as a result they would expect around 60,000 parents of young children to enter employment by 2027/28.
Economic and fiscal outlook - March 2023
Asked by: Tristan Osborne (Labour - Chatham and Aylesford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of the early release of prisoners on Job Centre operations.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
To date, Jobcentres have been supporting customers through the early release schemes. We will continue to monitor, liaising closely with His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service and the Ministry of Justice.
The Department deploys specialist resources to support individuals both in custody and upon release into employment. This includes around 200 Prison Work Coaches based in prisons, as well as additional specialist Work Coaches located in Jobcentres.
Asked by: Tristan Osborne (Labour - Chatham and Aylesford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that the revised Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessment criteria accounts for (a) fluctuating and (b) hidden symptoms of multiple sclerosis; and if she will make an assessment of the accuracy of the PIP assessment process.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We have committed to introduce a new requirement that claimants must score a minimum of four points in at least one daily living activity to be eligible for the daily living component of Personal Independence Payment (PIP).
The PIP assessment considers the needs arising from a long-term health condition or disability, not the health condition or disability itself. Therefore, the impact in each case will depend on an individual’s circumstances. For those already on PIP, the changes will only apply from November 2026 at their next award review, subject to parliamentary approval. People will be reviewed by a trained assessor or healthcare professional and assessed on individual needs and circumstance. More information on the impacts and equality analysis for these changes published on 26 March can be found: Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper - GOV.UK .
In the Green Paper, Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working, we have committed to exploring ways to improve the PIP assessment. We are exploring digitalising transfer of medical information, using evidence from eligibility for other services to reduce the need for people with very severe health conditions to undergo functional assessments, and improving communication with people receiving awards who are expected to remain on disability benefits for life. We have also committed to a full review of the PIP assessment.
Alongside this, the Green Paper also includes plans to improve trust in the process. These plans include reviewing our approach to safeguarding, recording assessments to increase transparency, and moving back to having more face-to-face assessments while continuing to meet the needs of people who may require different methods of assessment.