Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 2 June 2021 to Question 6423, if she will publish (a) the conclusions of the two internal process reviews following receipt of a Prevention of Future Death Report, and (b) the steps her Department has taken in response to those reviews.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson
Internal Process Reviews are internal retrospective investigations, focussed on organisational learning. They are internal reviews that check if process was followed, in order to encourage learning and to drive change through the Department. We have no plans to publish any Internal Process Reviews or their conclusions, but will continue to follow our duties under the Freedom of Information Act, in line with the 2016 First Tier Tribunal ruling on what information can lawfully be disclosed.
The steps the Department has taken following the cases in question is outlined in our responses to the relevant Prevention of Future Deaths reports. The reports and responses can be found at the links below:
https://www.judiciary.uk/publications/michael-osullivan/
https://www.judiciary.uk/publications/alexander-boamah/
Asked by: Debbie Abrahams (Labour - Oldham East and Saddleworth)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will publish details of the Internal Process Reviews completed by her Department from April 2019 to November 2020.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson
Internal Process Reviews are internal retrospective investigations, focussed on organisational learning. They are internal reviews that check if process was followed, to encourage learning and to drive change through the Department. We have no plans to publish any Internal Process Reviews, but will continue to follow our duties under the Freedom of Information Act in line with the 2016 First Tier Tribunal ruling in relation to what information can lawfully be disclosed.
Our priority is that claimants get the benefits to which they are entitled promptly and receive a supportive and compassionate service. In the vast majority of cases this happens but when, sadly, there is a tragic case we take it very seriously and seek to learn any lessons as appropriate.
Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the (a) average and (b) longest waiting time for a response to be issued to a Freedom of Information request made to her Department was in the most recent period for which figures are available.
Answered by Guy Opperman
Departmental Freedom Of Information (FOI) performance is based on compliance against the statutory 20 working day time limit and these stats are captured for all Government departments on a quarterly and annual basis.
These statistics are accessible through the following link https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/government-foi-statistics
The next update to these statistics will be 28 April 2021 when Q4 2020 and 2020 annual statistics will be published.
Asked by: Lord Field of Birkenhead (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many applications were made for a short term benefit advance in the most recent 12 months for which data is available; and how many of those applications were (a) successful and (b) unsuccessful.
Answered by Lord Sharma
The most recently available data on Short Term Benefit Advances (STBA) is shown in the table below:
January 2016 - December 2016 | |
STBA Applications Received by the Department | 197,514 |
STBA Awarded to individual national insurance numbers | 98,633 |
The data covers the period January 16 to December 16. Data after this date is not currently available.
Data is also not available for unsuccessful applications and the difference between ‘received’ and ‘awarded’ applications in the table above does not equate to unsuccessful applications. This is because there are a large proportion of applications in which the primary benefit is paid, which negates the need for a STBA.
Notes:
Only Working Age Benefits (i.e. Employment and Support Allowance, Incapacity Benefit, Jobseeker’s Allowance and Income Support) are included in the above information for STBA applications as the number of applications received for State Pension Credit and Carer’s Allowance is not available.
Source:
STBA Applications Received - Management Information System Programme (MISP). This collation is based on clerical counts submitted by the each Centre and is Internal MI which has been agreed for use in publications of Parliamentary questions and Freedom of Information requests.
STBA Awarded - Benefit Expenditure Business Information system
Asked by: Lord Field of Birkenhead (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department uses key performance measures which set a benchmark of 80 per cent of original decisions being upheld at the Mandatory Reconsideration stage.
Answered by Sarah Newton
There has never been a Mandatory Reconsideration target for upholding original decisions.
The 80 per cent figure, which was used in the answer to a recent Freedom of Information request, was an internal measurement only used to indicate areas where the quality of initial decisions may not be meeting our expected high standards, therefore enabling us to investigate and address if required.
Mandatory Reconsideration is a critical element our process and it is essential that claimants have confidence in it. Given the anxiety and confusion the 80 per cent figure has caused, we will therefore be using different ways of assuring quality going forwards.
Asked by: Kate Green (Labour - Stretford and Urmston)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what evidence he has that releasing the work capability assessment outcome report in answer to Freedom of Information request FS50645849 would damage the reputation of the Centre for Health and Disability Assessments, Maximus or Atos.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt
As this Freedom of Information request is the subject of an on-going appeal, the Department is unable to comment further at this stage.
Asked by: Lord Field of Birkenhead (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of applications for short-term benefit advance were successful in the most recent 12 months for which data is available; and what reasons were given to those people who made such unsuccessful applications in that period.
Answered by Damian Hinds
The information requested for Short Term Benefit Advance (STBA) applications is shown in the following table.
October 2015 - September 2016 | |
STBA Referred for Decision | 101,600 |
STBA Awarded | 98,826 |
% STBA Awarded against those referred for Decision | 97.3% |
The Department does not hold data on reasons for unsuccessful applications.
Notes:
Data has been provided for October 15 – September 16 which is the latest data available. Data after this date is not currently available.
Only Working Age Benefits (i.e. ESA, IB, JSA and IS) are included in the above information for STBA applications as the number of applications received for State Pension Credit and Carers Allowance is not available.
Source:
STBA Referred for Decision - Management Information System Programme (MISP). This collation is based on clerical counts submitted by the each Centre and is Internal MI which has been agreed for use in publications of Parliamentary questions and Freedom of Information requests.
STBA Awarded - Benefit Expenditure Business Information system
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to his Department's freedom of information response 1740 of 15 May 2017, what factors his Department took into consideration in setting the 80 per cent of the original decisions are to be upheld measure for monitoring mandatory reconsideration; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt
The department has not set a target for upholding original decisions at Mandatory Reconsideration. The 80 per cent figure, which was used in the answer to Freedom of Information request 1740, is not considered by the decision maker when they carry out a Mandatory Reconsideration but is used to assess the quality of benefit decisions. In order to ensure we have consistently accurate decisions we track and monitor Mandatory Reconsiderations to assess the quality of our initial decision making and to help understand and improve our processes.
Asked by: Tracy Brabin (Labour (Co-op) - Batley and Spen)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people have had their welfare entitlement reduced after completing an application for tax free childcare.
Answered by Damian Hinds
The information requested is not available.
Tax-Free Childcare provides support to parents for their childcare costs. We estimate that around 2 million working families will have access to the scheme.
Parents cannot receive support from Tax-Free Childcare where they are in receipt of Universal Credit or Child Tax Credit or Working Tax Credit. However, families who are eligible for both will have the freedom to choose which scheme best meets their needs
The Department for Work and Pensions continues to work closely with HM Revenue and Customs to ensure the schemes complement each other effectively, and that parents will have the guidance they need in order to make an informed decision on which scheme will provide the best support for them.
Asked by: Roger Godsiff (Labour - Birmingham, Hall Green)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, to which benefits in the target of upholding the original decision in 80 per cent of mandatory reconsideration requests applies.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt
The department does not have a Mandatory Reconsideration target for upholding original decisions. The 80 per cent figure, which was used in the answer to a recent Freedom of Information request, is used to assess the accuracy of benefit decisions. In order to ensure we have consistently accurate decisions we track and monitor Mandatory Reconsiderations to assess the quality of our initial decision making and to help understand and improve our processes.