Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
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 potential merits of paying people who are waiting for the outcome of their Personal Independence Payment appeal at the rate they received before their last decision.
Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is not an income replacement benefit. It is paid to help with the additional costs that arise from long term health conditions or disability where they impact on the activities set out in legislation. Claimants are assessed against the legislative criteria and a decision on entitlement is made by a DWP decision maker.
In line with the legislative requirement, applicable to most social security benefits, we continue to apply the latest decision on a PIP award until such time as a new decision is made. Payment of PIP after a claim has been disallowed, or at a rate higher than the latest decision whilst an individual is waiting for an appeal hearing could lead to inappropriate expenditure of public funds. If a subsequent first-tier tribunal decides to reinstate PIP, or give a higher award, then the Department will backdate any payments due, in line with the new decision.
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, whether he has had discussions with (a) young carers and (b) advocacy groups on amending Carer's Allowance eligibility rules for people wishing to study more than 21 hours per week.
Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The department regularly meets with groups of carers and those representing them at both Ministerial and Official level to discuss a range of issues, including Carer’s Allowance. Officials met a delegation of young carers, supported by the Carers Trust and the Learning and Work Institute, on 13 March.
Carer's Allowance was introduced principally to provide a measure of financial support and recognition for people who are not able to work full time due to their caring responsibilities.
The Government thinks it is right that people in full-time education should be supported by the educational maintenance system, via its range of loans and grants, and not the social security benefit system. That is why, as a general principle, full-time students are usually precluded from entitlement to income-related and income-maintenance benefits.
There are currently no plans to change the full-time education rules for Carer’s Allowance, but carers are able to undertake part-time education and still receive Carer’s Allowance.
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, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of Carer's Allowance eligibility rules on young carers' ability to access (a) further and (b) higher education.
Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The department regularly meets with groups of carers and those representing them at both Ministerial and Official level to discuss a range of issues, including Carer’s Allowance. Officials met a delegation of young carers, supported by the Carers Trust and the Learning and Work Institute, on 13 March.
Carer's Allowance was introduced principally to provide a measure of financial support and recognition for people who are not able to work full time due to their caring responsibilities.
The Government thinks it is right that people in full-time education should be supported by the educational maintenance system, via its range of loans and grants, and not the social security benefit system. That is why, as a general principle, full-time students are usually precluded from entitlement to income-related and income-maintenance benefits.
There are currently no plans to change the full-time education rules for Carer’s Allowance, but carers are able to undertake part-time education and still receive Carer’s Allowance.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, on how many occasions a decision made by his Department on a person's eligibility for industrial injuries disablement benefits has been found to be incorrect or unsuitable in the last 12 months.
Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
We have determined this query as relating to Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefits (IIDB) disputes, i.e. Mandatory Reconsiderations and Appeals.
Decisions can be overturned at a later stage in the claim journey for a number of reasons - it does not necessarily mean that the original decision was incorrect. The main reasons that decisions are overturned on appeal are: tribunals drawing a different conclusion based on the same evidence, cogent oral evidence given by the individual, or new written evidence provided at the hearing.
From October 2022 to September 2023 inclusive, 1,100 IIDB Mandatory Reconsiderations were completed. In 100 of these the decision was changed.
Information on First-tier Tribunal appeals is published at: www.gov.uk/government/collections/tribunals-statistics .
Specifically, information on the number of appeal receipts, disposals and outcomes of IIDB appeals, can be found in the Social Security and Child Support (SSCS) tables: SSCS_1, SSCS_2 and SSCS_3 of the Main Tables.
Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on social security support for people with a mental health care plan.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
Ministers hold discussions with other ministerial colleagues regularly on a range of issues. Entitlement to social security support through welfare benefits is a matter for the Department for Work and Pensions and is based on an individual’s circumstances. We are currently working with stakeholders to develop a tool which will potentially better support policymakers across Whitehall to examine the impact of their proposals on people’s mental health.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 11 December 2023 to Question 5084 on Social Security Benefits: Disqualification, if his Department will start capturing this data.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
There are no current plans to make this information available as it would incur disproportionate costs to link the necessary data
Asked by: Tim Loughton (Conservative - East Worthing and Shoreham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what provision his Department makes for Winter Fuel Payments in cases where Ukrainian refugees receiving Universal Credit payments are not paying bills in the homes of their host families.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Winter fuel payments are an age-related payment payable this winter to all people who have reached State Pension age on or before 24 September 2023 and who are ordinarily resident in the UK, including Ukrainian refugees. There is no need to be in receipt of a social security benefit in order to qualify.
Winter fuel payments are made on a household basis. If there is more than one eligible person in a household, the payment will be divided between them. The sharing of bills is a matter for the house owner and any guests they may be hosting.
The Government understands the cost-of-living pressures people are currently facing which is why we are providing total support of over £94bn over 2022/23 and 2023/24 to help households and individuals with their bills.
Pensioners who are entitled to a winter fuel payment this winter will receive a pensioner Cost of Living Payment of £300 per household paid with their normal payment, meaning over 8 million pensioner households across the UK will receive an increased winter fuel payment of £500/£600 depending on age.
Over 8 million UK households on eligible means tested benefits will receive additional Cost of Living Payments totalling up to £900 in the 2023/24 financial year and over 6 million individuals in receipt of eligible disability benefits will have received a £150 payment to help with the additional costs they face.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the need to financially invest additional resources for welfare benefits and social security measures.
Answered by Baroness Penn - Minister on Leave (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State)
The Secretary of State for the Department for Work and Pensions is legally required to review the rates of state pension and benefits each year. At the heart of the DWP's approach is the belief in people's autonomy to decide how to allocate their benefits based on their individual circumstances and needs.
In April 2023, millions of people’s benefits rose by 10.1%, in line with the September 2022 inflation rate – including Universal Credit. This is alongside Cost of Living payments totalling £900 to be paid to households on means tested benefits during 2023-24, in addition to a Cost of Living payment of £300 to pensioner households during winter 2023 and a Cost of Living payment of £150 to people on disability benefits during summer 2023.
These actions will ensure that those most vulnerable in society get the support they need, including those in work as well as out of work.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that students with long-term health conditions are able to access the financial support to which they are entitled; and if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of deducting loans that cover maintenance from Universal Credit on the income of affected students.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Students, including disabled students and those with health conditions, access fees and living costs support for their higher education courses through various loans and grants funded through the student support system. It is important that UC does not duplicate this support, which is designed for the needs of students unlike the social security system. This includes support which recognises a person’s disability, such as the Disabled Students Allowance for those in higher education and discretionary bursaries and grants if undertaking further education. Disabled students also have access to discretionary Hardship Funds which are made available by universities and colleges.
It is important that Universal Credit does not duplicate this support. A condition of entitlement for Universal Credit is that the claimant must not be in education, which excludes most students. There is an exception where a person has already been determined to have limited capability for work before entering education and is entitled to a qualifying disability benefit, such as Personal Independence Payment. The rules for this exception are designed to encourage those already claiming Universal Credit because of disability or ill health to take up education that may help them into work in the future.
Treatment of student income under Universal Credit broadly mirrors that in income related Employment and Support Allowance, Housing Benefit, Income Support and income-based Jobseekers Allowance which safeguards fairness whilst also ensuring simplification of the benefit system. If an eligible student makes a claim to Universal Credit we take into account, as income, any financial support which provides for the student's basic maintenance, such as student maintenance loans and grants. We do not take into account student income which covers additional costs, such as loans for tuition fees and books. The first £110 of any student maintenance loan or grant paid to meet living costs is not taken into account in each monthly Assessment Period where benefits are calculated. Over a typical 9 or 10 month academic year claimants are able to keep between £990-£1100 more of their Universal Credit award. The intention behind this is to help students with any added costs of books, equipment and travel which may be incurred whilst studying or training.
Whilst it is acknowledged that maintenance loans are to be paid back, if they were not treated as income and were ignored this would result in Universal Credit (and most legacy benefits) duplicating support already provided through the student finance system.
Asked by: Alison Thewliss (Scottish National Party - Glasgow Central)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to Paragraph E-ECP.3.3 of Appendix FM of the Immigration Rules, if she will bring forward proposals to ensure that people receiving Adult Disability Payments benefit from the same provisions as those receiving Personal Independence Payments.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
We are aware that the Scottish Government have made changes to the benefits system in Scotland and certain benefits previously paid by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) have been amended and are now paid by Social Security Scotland, including Adult Disability payments. We keep the Immigration Rules under constant review and these changes will form part of that ongoing review process.