Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Neston)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many (a) paper-based and (b) telephone personal independence payment assessments have taken place in each month since April 2020.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Department made a number of changes to health and disability benefits to safeguard the health of claimants and staff and to prioritise new claims and continuity of awards. These changes included the suspension of all face-to-face assessments and the introduction of telephone-based assessments where suitable, in addition to pre-existing paper-based assessments.
In each month from April to August 2020 there has been the following number of (a) paper based, and (b) telephone Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessments.
PIP Total | Apr-20 | May-20 | Jun-20 | Jul-20 | Aug-20 |
Paper Based Assessments | 13,970 | 9,460 | 7,760 | 7,420 | 7,500 |
Telephone Assessments | 38,090 | 42,830 | 47,000 | 52,440 | 48,370 |
All volumes have been rounded to the nearest 10.
All of the above data is derived from contractual management information produced by the Assessment Providers.
Please note: the above data is derived from unpublished management information which is collected for internal departmental use only and has not been quality assured to Official Statistics Publication standards.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Neston)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many personal independence payment applications are awaiting in-person assessments; and when she plans to enable in-person assessments to recommence.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The information requested is not available.
From 17 March, we suspended face to face assessments for Personal Independence Payments (PIP). All assessments are currently being progressed on the basis of the paper based evidence alone or that evidence together with a telephone assessment to ensure decisions on PIP can be made without delay.
The health and safety of our claimants and our staff are our key priority. Face to face assessments for health and disability benefits remain suspended at present; this is being kept under review in line with the latest public health guidance. Any re-introduction of face to face assessments would involve additional safety measures to comply with public health guidance.
Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if her Department will provide a breakdown of the methods which have been used to conduct personal independence payments assessments since face-to-face assessments were paused due to the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
All face-to-face assessments for sickness and disability benefits are currently suspended in line with public health advice. During the Covid-19 period, we continue to complete paper-based assessments and make recommendations based on written evidence available, where possible.
Where a case cannot be progressed by a paper-based assessment, a telephone assessment will be conducted, where appropriate to do so.
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, what estimate she has been made of the current clearance time frame for a personal independence payment claim compared to the three year average.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The table below shows the median clearance time in weeks from registration to initial decision for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) Normal Rules New Claims and Reassessments from Disability Living Allowance (DLA) for all decisions made in April 2020 (the latest data available) and for the period May 2017 – April 2020 (the latest 3-year period for which data is available).
The median time from registration to initial decision for PIP Normal Rules claims for each month from April 2013 – April 2020 for New Claims and Reassessments from DLA is published and can be found in Table 2A of the published statistical tables linked below:
Table 1: Median Clearance Times in weeks for PIP New Claims and Reassessments from DLA for April 2020 and the 3-year period up to April 2020
| Reassessment Type | |
| New Claim | Reassessment |
April 2020 | 16 | 27 |
May 2017 - April 2020 | 14 | 15 |
Notes
Source: PIP ADS
Asked by: Virginia Crosbie (Conservative - Ynys Môn)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make it her policy to permit personal independence payments assessment forms to be completed online during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
We are focused on transforming the PIP claimant journey overall to provide a more streamlined and user-friendly approach. We are committed to providing a digital channel - “PIP Apply” - to widen claimants’ choices on how to make a new claim for PIP. Using the digital channel is optional and we will ensure we provide effective alternatives for those who are unable or prefer not to use our online services. We are aiming to provide this service by the end of the year.
Asked by: Deidre Brock (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh North and Leith)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how she plans to support claimants with long-term symptoms from contracting covid-19.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Claimants with long term health conditions or disabilities, whether or not they are experiencing symptoms directly arising from infection with Covid-19, may be supported in a range of ways through social security benefits and other support measures, depending on their particular circumstances. Up-to-date information about the support available for individuals can be found on GOV.UK:
Newly unemployed claimants
Moving into work
https://www.gov.uk/moving-from-benefits-to-work
Personal Independence Payment
Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley Central)
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 personal independent payment in line with the temporary increase in universal credit during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government has announced a suite of measures that can be quickly and effectively operationalised to benefit those facing the most financial disruption during the pandemic. Personal Independence Payment (PIP), a tax-free extra costs benefit worth up to £151.40 a week, was not subject to the benefits freeze and was most recently uprated by 1.7 per cent from 6 April.
PIP can be paid in addition to other financial support that those with a health condition or disability may be eligible for such as Employment and Support Allowance, Universal Credit, additional amounts and premiums paid within the income-related benefits, Carer’s Allowance or financial help with NHS travel costs.
Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley Central)
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 provide additional financial support to personal independence payment claimants with cancer during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government has announced a suite of measures that can be quickly and effectively operationalised to benefit those facing the most financial disruption during the pandemic. Personal Independence Payment (PIP), a tax-free extra costs benefit worth up to £151.40 a week, was not subject to the benefits freeze and was most recently uprated by 1.7 per cent from 6 April.
PIP can be paid in addition to other financial support that those with a health condition or disability may be eligible for such as Employment and Support Allowance, Universal Credit, additional amounts and premiums paid within the income-related benefits, Carer’s Allowance or financial help with NHS travel costs.
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will provide additional financial support for disabled people during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Government has committed to an unprecedented package to support individuals through this difficult time. Individuals with disabilities will benefit from the comprehensive level of support to individuals provided during the Covid-19 pandemic. This includes the introduction of the Coronavirus Job Retention and Self-Employment Income Support Schemes, as well as the injection of an additional £8bn into the welfare system according to OBR estimates.
The Government’s support package during the current pandemic sits alongside a substantial set of welfare support for disabled individuals. The Government will spend nearly £50 billion this year on benefits to support disabled people and people with health conditions. Personal Independence Payment (PIP) remains the primary means of support to help with some of the extra cost of long-term ill-health or disability, and Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) for those who have a disability or health condition that may affect how much they can work.
The Government has implemented a range of measures to make access to disability benefits easier and to protect existing claimants during the current situation. This includes temporarily suspending face to face assessments.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what progress she has made on the personal independence payment administrative exercise; and what the timeframe is for the completion of that exercise.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
We are answering with reference to the administrative exercise following the MH and RJ judgments on Personal Independence Payment.
As of 5 January 2020, we had cleared around 720,000 cases under the MH decision and around 820,000 cases under the RJ decision. Most, but not all, cases are cleared against both decisions.
We have paused this exercise to support the Department’s coronavirus response. We understand the importance of continuing the exercise and this decision is currently under review. When the exercise resumes, we will announce the date of the next progress update at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/pip-administrative-exercise-progress-on-cases-cleared.