Asked by: Chris Stephens (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to maximise take-up of Severe Disability Premium among eligible recipients of (a) Pension Credit and (b) employment and support allowance.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson
The severe disability premium in Employment and Support Allowance and the additional amounts for persons severely disabled in State Pension Credit are not separate benefits in themselves but are payable as part of the award to those who are eligible, i.e. those severely disabled people who live independently and who are most likely to need to purchase care. When a claim to either benefit is made, the claimant is asked questions, for example if they are in receipt of a qualifying disability benefit or if anybody is caring for them, which helps to determine if the premium or the additional amount is payable. Once entitled to the benefit, claimants are required to report any change of circumstance including ones which may lead to the awarding of the premium or the additional amount. The Department also makes use of the information that it holds to prompt enquiries of the claimant as to possible entitlement to the premium or the additional amount. There is information for claimants about the severe disability premium and the additional amount for persons severely disabled on the relevant pages of www.gov.uk.
Asked by: Chris Stephens (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many recipients of pension credit are eligible for, but not receiving, severe disability premium.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The information requested is not available.
Asked by: Ruth George (Labour - High Peak)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people were receiving (a) severe disability premium, (b) enhanced disability premium or (c) severe and enhanced disability premiums as of May 2017.
Answered by Sarah Newton
The information available for Income Support, Pension Credit and Jobseeker’s Allowance claimants in May 2017 who were in receipt of severe and enhanced disability premiums is in the table below:
Income Support, Pension Credit and Jobseeker’s Allowance claimants in receipt of the severe disability premium and enhanced disability premium, May-2017, Great Britain
| Income Support | Pension Credit | Jobseeker’s Allowance |
Severe Disability Premium Only | 10,450 | 502,110 | 10,000 |
Enhanced Disability Premium Only | 21,990 | - | - |
Both Severe and Enhanced Disability Premium | 6,520 | - | - |
Source: DWP 100% and 5% Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study data
Notes
The Department intends to release an ad-hoc statistics publication for Employment and Support Allowance recipients in receipt of severe and enhanced disability premiums.
The information requested is not readily available for Housing Benefit and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Drew Hendry (Scottish National Party - Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people were claiming the severe disability premium as of April 2017.
Answered by Sarah Newton
The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
Such information that is available for Jobseeker’s Allowance, Income Support and Pension Credit claimants in May 2017 who were in receipt of disability premiums are shown in the following table.
Income Support, Pension Credit and Jobseeker’s Allowance claimants in receipt of the disability premium, severe disability premium and enhanced disability premium, May-2017, Great Britain
| Income Support | Pension Credit | Jobseeker’s Allowance |
Disability Premium | 77,800 | 90 | 36,900 |
Severe Disability Premium | 16,970 | 502,110 | 10,000 |
Enhanced Disability Premium | 28,510 | - | - |
Source: DWP 100% and 5% Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study data
Notes
Asked by: Drew Hendry (Scottish National Party - Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people claiming the severe disability premium as of April 2017 were in the (a) support group of employment and support allowance and (b) work-related activity group for employment and support allowance.
Answered by Sarah Newton
The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
Such information that is available for Jobseeker’s Allowance, Income Support and Pension Credit claimants in May 2017 who were in receipt of disability premiums are shown in the following table.
Income Support, Pension Credit and Jobseeker’s Allowance claimants in receipt of the disability premium, severe disability premium and enhanced disability premium, May-2017, Great Britain
| Income Support | Pension Credit | Jobseeker’s Allowance |
Disability Premium | 77,800 | 90 | 36,900 |
Severe Disability Premium | 16,970 | 502,110 | 10,000 |
Enhanced Disability Premium | 28,510 | - | - |
Source: DWP 100% and 5% Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study data
Notes
Asked by: Drew Hendry (Scottish National Party - Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people were claiming the enhanced disability premium as of April 2017.
Answered by Sarah Newton
The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
Such information that is available for Jobseeker’s Allowance, Income Support and Pension Credit claimants in May 2017 who were in receipt of disability premiums are shown in the following table.
Income Support, Pension Credit and Jobseeker’s Allowance claimants in receipt of the disability premium, severe disability premium and enhanced disability premium, May-2017, Great Britain
| Income Support | Pension Credit | Jobseeker’s Allowance |
Disability Premium | 77,800 | 90 | 36,900 |
Severe Disability Premium | 16,970 | 502,110 | 10,000 |
Enhanced Disability Premium | 28,510 | - | - |
Source: DWP 100% and 5% Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study data
Notes
Asked by: Drew Hendry (Scottish National Party - Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people were claiming the disability premium as of April 2017.
Answered by Sarah Newton
The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
Such information that is available for Jobseeker’s Allowance, Income Support and Pension Credit claimants in May 2017 who were in receipt of disability premiums are shown in the following table.
Income Support, Pension Credit and Jobseeker’s Allowance claimants in receipt of the disability premium, severe disability premium and enhanced disability premium, May-2017, Great Britain
| Income Support | Pension Credit | Jobseeker’s Allowance |
Disability Premium | 77,800 | 90 | 36,900 |
Severe Disability Premium | 16,970 | 502,110 | 10,000 |
Enhanced Disability Premium | 28,510 | - | - |
Source: DWP 100% and 5% Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study data
Notes
Asked by: Helen Goodman (Labour - Bishop Auckland)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of how many people have received a lower pension credit entitlement as a result of receipt of the carer premium in each of the last three years.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson
The award of the additional amount for caring in Pension Credit (currently £34.60 weekly) does not, in itself, reduce Pension Credit entitlement as it is an additional sum added to the customer’s appropriate amount. Estimates of numbers qualifying for the additional amount in May 2014 were published last year:
However, in order to qualify for the additional amount for caring the customer must be entitled to Carer’s Allowance. If Carer’s Allowance is in payment then it is taken into account as income and the person being cared for does not qualify for the additional amount for severe disability in Pension Credit. We do not have any estimates of the impact on Pension Credit where Carer’s Allowance is in payment.