Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps the Government will take protect shielding workers returning to the workplace.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) was involved in cross-government work, Safer Workplaces, coordinated by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), which produced guidance on the safety measures businesses will need to adopt as they reopen. It contains practical steps to achieve social distancing and hygiene in the workplace. The guidance also covers who should be at work; including those who are at high risk (also referred to as extremely clinically vulnerable in recent guidance) or those who live with people at high risk.
The guidance “Working Safely During Coronavirus COVID-19” was first published on 11 May 2020 and is available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/working-safely-during-coronavirus-covid-19.
Restrictions on people who had previously been shielded have been paused and Public Health England has published guidance to help those people to safely return to work: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-on-shielding-and-protecting-extremely-vulnerable-persons-from-covid-19/guidance-on-shielding-and-protecting-extremely-vulnerable-persons-from-covid-19
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans her Department has to up-rate legacy benefits in line with universal credit.
Answered by Will Quince
Employment and Support Allowance, Jobseeker’s Allowance and Income Support were increased by 1.7% in April 2020 following the Government’s announcement to end the benefit freeze.
It has always been the case that claimants on legacy benefits can make a claim for Universal Credit (UC) if they believe that they will be better off. There are special arrangements for those in receipt of the Severe Disability Premium, who will be able to make a new claim to Universal Credit from January 2021.
Claimants should check their eligibility before applying to UC as legacy benefits will end when they submit their claim and they will not be able to return to them in the future. For this reason, prospective claimants are signposted to independent benefits calculators on GOV.UK. Neither DWP nor HMRC can advise individual claimants whether they would be better off moving to UC or remaining on legacy benefits.
From 22 July 2020, a two-week run on of Income Support, Employment and Support Allowance (IR) and Jobseeker’s Allowance (IB) is available for all claimants whose claim to UC ends entitlement to these benefits, to provide additional support for claimants moving to UC.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans her Department has to permanently abolish (a) conditionality, (b) sanctioning and (c) the five-week wait for universal credit for disabled claimants.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We have no plans.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Labour - Coventry South)
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 rate of Statutory Sick Pay to in line with the National Minimum Wage.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) provides financial support to an employee when they are off work sick. Those on low pay can receive more help through the welfare system, depending on their personal circumstances. The Government published a consultation in which we sought views on the impact of the rate of SSP on employer and employee behaviours and decisions. A response to the consultation will be published later this year.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Labour - Coventry South)
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 allow health and disability benefit claimants with mental health illnesses to choose assessment types that are accessible to their needs during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
In March we suspended all face-to-face assessments for sickness and disability benefits in order to protect people from unnecessary risk of coronavirus at the outset of the pandemic. As has always been the case, our assessment providers will initially try to complete paper-based assessments, where there is sufficient evidence to make a recommendation. If this is not the case, providers will currently look to carry out a telephone assessment, where appropriate. We offer reasonable adjustments for claimants who may need additional support to engage in a telephone assessment. We continue to work closely with our assessment providers to ensure that claimants can be assessed as quickly as possible, by the most appropriate channel.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether additional funding has been allocated to the Health & Safety Executive to increase the Executive's level of staffing during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
I refer the hon. member to my response to question 41525.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans her Department has to align the universal credit standard allowance for claimants under the age of 25 living independently with the standard allowance for those over the age of twenty five.
Answered by Will Quince
We have increased the Universal Credit standard allowance for all claimants (including those Under 25) by £20 per week for the next 12 months – equivalent to up to £1,040 a year.
This is in addition to the 1.7% inflation increase (announced Nov 2019) as part of the Government’s decision to end the benefits freeze and means more financial support for millions of people across the UK.
There are no plans to further increase the Universal Credit standard allowance for Under 25s.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans she has for Local Housing Allowance (LHA) in the next Spending Review; whether she has plans to allocate additional funding to (a) mitigate the effect of the four-year freeze to LHA and (b) support renters facing financial difficulties as a result of the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Will Quince
In response to Covid-19 we increased Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates to the 30th percentile of local rents, providing additional financial support for private renters. This significant investment of almost £1 billion, ensures over 1 million households will see an increase, on average, of £600 per year.
For renters whose circumstances mean they may require more support, Discretionary Housing Payments are also available. We have already provided £180m in Discretionary Housing Payment funding to local authorities to support vulnerable claimants with housing costs in the private and social rented sector in England and Wales for 2020/21. This includes an extra £40m announced at the spending round.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to Centrepoint's Chance to Move On campaign, what plans her Department has to bring forward legislative proposals to include homeless people aged under 25 in (a) Coventry South constituency and (b) the UK in the Shared Accommodation Rate exemption for homeless people.
Answered by Will Quince
Currently those aged 25-34 who have spent 3 months in a homeless hostel for the purposes of rehabilitation/re-settlement are exempt from the shared accommodation rate throughout the UK. As announced in the Spring Budget earlier this year, the Government will amend legislation to extend this exemption to those under 25.
As well as legislation, the change to the shared accommodation rate exemption will require amendments to local authority and universal credit IT systems therefore it will take time to implement.
In the meantime, for individuals who may require more support and whose circumstances may make it difficult for them to share accommodation, Discretionary Housing Payments are available.
Since 2011 the Government has provided over £1bn to local authorities to help support vulnerable claimants with housing costs. In addition, at the spending round last year, we announced an extra £40 million for DHPs in 2020/21 in England and Wales, helping to tackle affordability pressures in the private rented sector.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she plans to suspend the 182 day entitlement limit to the new style Job Seeker's Allowance in response to the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Entitlement to contribution-based jobseeker’s allowance (JSA) is limited to a maximum of 182 days in any one jobseeking period. This is an absolute limit, provided for in primary legislation (section 5 of the Jobseekers Act 1995) and there are no plans to amend the primary legislation.
Universal credit, for those people who meet or continue to meet the conditions of entitlement, is available throughout any period of entitlement to contribution-based JSA.