Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he is taking steps to monitor the adequacy of claimant reviews conducted by work coaches in relation to the Back to Work plan.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Claimant Commitment review meetings are currently in development and will be for those claimants who are still unemployed after the 12-month Restart programme.
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, what steps his Department plans to take to assess the impact of the Universal Support programme on employment outcomes.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Universal Support aims to match long-term sick, disabled and disadvantaged participants with suitable vacancies, based on their preferences, strengths, and any lessons from previous work experience. The programme will fund up to £4,000 per participant on relevant support such as training and practical help for employers to make appropriate adjustments e.g to recruitment approaches, to ensure participants can succeed in their roles.
In the Autumn Statement, the government announced it will increase the annual number of placements available on Universal Support to 100,000 in England and Wales, doubling its commitment made in the Spring Budget 2023.
As we continue developing Universal Support, which is expected to launch in late 2024, we are also developing evaluation plans which will take into consideration assessment and impact of the programme on employment outcomes.
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 21 November to Question 1648 on Employment Schemes: Chronic Illnesses and Disability, if he will provide an anticipated timeline for the publication of that information.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The main phase of Universal Support is in the early stages of development. As part of this, we are considering the information that will be published.
Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many people in his Department participated in the (a) Rise and (b) Elevate schemes in (i) 2019, (ii) 2020, (iii) 2021 and (d) 2022.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
Rise is a 12-month internal civilian talent scheme aimed at colleagues at grades from Administrative Assistant (AA) to Executive Officer (EO). Rise aims to develop those showing early leadership potential through a series of targeted learning experiences in Defence to build the leadership capability required to deliver Defence outputs in the future. Scheme members also gain the opportunity to widen their knowledge and networks across Defence and develop the confidence to manage their own development and career effectively.
Elevate is a two-year leadership skills development programme and has been developed for internal Ministry of Defence civilian staff at Higher Executive Officer (HEO) and Senior Executive Officer (SEO) levels. Through Action Learning Sets, Elevate members develop a network of colleagues, grow their understanding of Defence and undertake work to develop leadership and management skills. In addition, job shadowing offers a chance to explore new areas or roles, and bitesize learning sessions widen knowledge of Defence.
Both schemes were launched in 2021. The numbers of participants are set out below:
Rise:
2021: 23
2022: 48
Elevate:
2021: 30
2022: 30 (same cohort as for 2021 due to scheme duration)
Rise and Elevate are pilot talent schemes in their infancy. Budgeted programme costs are £100,000 and actual spend was £92,960 in Financial Year 2021-22 and £42,190 in Financial Year 2022-23.
Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the annual running cost is of his Department’s (a) Rise and (b) Elevate scheme.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
Rise is a 12-month internal civilian talent scheme aimed at colleagues at grades from Administrative Assistant (AA) to Executive Officer (EO). Rise aims to develop those showing early leadership potential through a series of targeted learning experiences in Defence to build the leadership capability required to deliver Defence outputs in the future. Scheme members also gain the opportunity to widen their knowledge and networks across Defence and develop the confidence to manage their own development and career effectively.
Elevate is a two-year leadership skills development programme and has been developed for internal Ministry of Defence civilian staff at Higher Executive Officer (HEO) and Senior Executive Officer (SEO) levels. Through Action Learning Sets, Elevate members develop a network of colleagues, grow their understanding of Defence and undertake work to develop leadership and management skills. In addition, job shadowing offers a chance to explore new areas or roles, and bitesize learning sessions widen knowledge of Defence.
Both schemes were launched in 2021. The numbers of participants are set out below:
Rise:
2021: 23
2022: 48
Elevate:
2021: 30
2022: 30 (same cohort as for 2021 due to scheme duration)
Rise and Elevate are pilot talent schemes in their infancy. Budgeted programme costs are £100,000 and actual spend was £92,960 in Financial Year 2021-22 and £42,190 in Financial Year 2022-23.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make it his policy that existing claimants are not included in further potential reviews into eligibility for the (a) Limited Capability for Work and Limited Capability for Work and Work-Related Activity categories within Universal Credit and (b) the Work-Related Activity Group and Support Group within Employment and Support Allowance.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
As we have set out clearly in the Government response to the Work Capability Assessment: Activities and Descriptors Consultation (CP 973), through a new ‘Chance to Work Guarantee’, in 2025 we will effectively abolish the WCA for most existing Limited Capability for Work-Related Activity (LCWRA) claimants who are not expected to look for, or prepare for, work. This will remove the fear of reassessments and give people the confidence to try work, while providing continuity of service for vulnerable claimants.
For claimants in the LCWRA Group in Universal Credit (UC) and the Support Group in Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), reassessments will only take place under very limited circumstances, including:
Existing LCW claimants will be called for reassessment as normal depending on their circumstances, including their prognosis period and available capacity in the system.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make n assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to disregard compensation offered to wounded (a) service people and (b) veterans under the War Pensions and Armed Forces Compensation schemes as income from (i) Income Support, (ii) Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, (iii) Income-related Employment and Support Allowance, (iv) Working Tax Credit, and (v) Pension Credit.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Universal Credit replaced a number of benefits and tax credits. It was decided that War Pensions and Armed Forces Compensation Payments would not be taken into account in Universal Credit. Guaranteed Income Payments, Service Attributable Pensions and service-attributable, non-taxable Service Invalidity Pensions are also not taken into account. However, it has never been the intention that the rules around the treatment of income and indeed other rules - should be changed across the legacy and other benefits to align them with Universal Credit.
Social care payments are the responsibility of the Department of Health and Social Care.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department is taking steps to ensure there is specific employment support for people with epilepsy.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The Government delivers an extensive programme of initiatives to support disabled people and people with health conditions, including epilepsy, to start, stay, and succeed in work. This programme was expanded upon by the Government's new Back to Work Plan, announced as part of the Autumn Statement. Measures include: Universal Support, the Work and Health Programme; Access to Work grants; the Disability Confident scheme; an online service called ‘Support with employee health and disability’; increased Work Coach support and Disability Employment Advisers in Jobcentres; reforming Occupational Health provision; and further initiatives also work to join up employment and health systems, which includes expanding Individual Placement and Support in Primary Care.
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, with reference to the written ministerial statement by the Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work of 20 November 2023, HCWS44, how many people have received support from the Enhanced Support Service.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
Evaluation of the Enhanced Support Service is currently in progress to analyse the number of customers supported and to determine its impact and next steps.
The Enhanced Support Service (ESS) has not been designed specifically to help people in to work, instead it provides personalised support for people who find the benefits system difficult to navigate, such as those who do not have friends or family to support them. ESS helps these individuals to access the right support, at the right time, and lead independent and fulfilling lives.
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, with reference to the written ministerial statement by the Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work of 20 November 2023, HCWS44, how many people who have received support from the Enhanced Support Service are in employment as of 20 November 2023.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
Evaluation of the Enhanced Support Service is currently in progress to analyse the number of customers supported and to determine its impact and next steps.
The Enhanced Support Service (ESS) has not been designed specifically to help people in to work, instead it provides personalised support for people who find the benefits system difficult to navigate, such as those who do not have friends or family to support them. ESS helps these individuals to access the right support, at the right time, and lead independent and fulfilling lives.