Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will take steps to ensure that the sanctions regime does not disadvantage those who experience mental health challenges.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Customers in the No Work Related Requirements Group, for example those with a severe mental health condition or disability, are not subject to conditionality requirements and therefore not subject to sanctions.
Customers are only ever sanctioned if they fail to meet their agreed requirements without good reason and they are given every opportunity to explain why they failed to meet their agreed conditionality requirement before a decision is made. We recognise the importance of understanding how a mental health condition impacts someone’s ability to search for or prepare for work and Claimant Commitments are set in discussion with the claimant and tailored to their capability and circumstances, making them realistic and achievable.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
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 ensure that obligations under the Equalities Act 2010 are taken into account when developing policies on support for people with mental health challenges.
Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The DWP is proudly committed to becoming a more Trauma Informed organisation. The potential merits of the adoption of the Trauma Informed Approach into DWP services, will benefit all customers including those with mental ill health who are unemployed. Adopting the principles of the approach into the core of our business will help us to ensure that anyone interacting with our services feels as safe, empowered and understood as possible; this will underpin our ongoing commitment to compassionate coaching and tailored services.
We have a dedicated programme which will integrate the six key pillars of the approach as defined by the Office for Health Improvements and Disparities (December, 2022) which are safety, trustworthiness, choice, empowerment, collaboration and cultural consideration. Our programme looks at these six pillars within the contexts of application to our colleagues, our customers, our culture, and the context of our interaction- whether that is a physical, telephony, digital or postal interaction. There is significant emphasis within the design of the programme regarding what more can be done to prevent trauma and re-traumatisation for both our customers and our colleagues. We are learning from best practice demonstrated by organisations such as NHS Education Scotland, Work Services Australia and the Wales ACES Hub to shape the future prioritisation of this work.
When developing policies, the Department routinely carries out assessments against the Public Sector Equality Duty to ensure that due regard is given to our responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on steps being taken to help mitigate the potential mental health impact of (a) conditionality groups and (b) welfare sanctions on claimants.
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.
As set out in the Major Conditions Strategy: Case for Change and Strategic Framework, published in August 2023, we are currently working with stakeholders to develop a tool which will potentially support policymakers across Whitehall to examine the impact of their proposals on people’s mental health.
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: 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 made an assessment of the potential mental health impact of (a) disability tests and (b) sanctions.
Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
No assessment has been made of the potential mental health impact of PIP or WCA, assessments or social security sanctions.
a) Evaluations of Personal Independence Payments (PIP) and Work Capability Assessments (WCA) policy are routinely carried out, and often include engagement with external researchers. The methods used are designed to be appropriate to the specific type of intervention being evaluated. Customer experience of assessments is also continually monitored. However, it would be extremely difficult to objectively separate the specific impact of disability tests on mental health from other contributory factors.
b) Under Universal Credit and Employment and Support Allowance, sanctions do not apply to all customers. Those with a health condition, illness or disability who are found to have ‘limited capability for work and work-related requirements’, are not subject to work-related conditions and will therefore not be sanctioned. Those found to have limited capability for work and claimants on work-related benefits are expected to take responsibility for meeting the conditionality requirements they have agreed with their work coach. Where a customer has a health condition, illness or disability, work coaches have the discretion to tailor these requirements to what is reasonable and achievable, taking into account the individual's condition. Additionally, in some circumstances a customer’s work-related requirements may be lifted for a period if their ability to carry them out is disrupted due to their personal circumstances.
A sanction is only applied where an individual has failed to meet their agreed conditionality requirements without demonstrating good reason for doing so. In cases where vulnerabilities are known or suspected, a pre-referral quality check is undertaken prior to any sanction referral to ensure that it is appropriate in the circumstances.
Asked by: Marquess of Lothian (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the efficacy of removing benefits from, and applying sanctions to, claimants with mental health conditions after 18 months in the context of their ‘Back To Work’ plan launched on 16 November.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Claimants must meet certain requirements to receive their UC payment. These will be based on individual and household information and will take account of health, caring responsibilities, ongoing work or volunteering and any earnings. All requirements are set in discussion with the claimant and tailored to their capability and circumstances, making them realistic and achievable.
Claimants are given every opportunity to explain why they failed to meet their agreed conditionality requirement before a decision is made. We recognise the importance of understanding how a mental health condition impacts someone’s ability to search for or prepare for work. Claimants with serious mental health conditions are typically placed in the No Work-Related Requirements regime and are exempt from any form of conditionality and sanctions.
As announced in the Back to Work plan, individuals, following their completion of Restart, will have a Claimant Commitment review meeting with their work coach where new requirements will be set according to the claimants’ circumstances. Claimants will be expected to accept this revised Claimant Commitment in order to continue to receive their benefits. Should a claimant fail to accept their commitment within the 7-day period their claim will be closed as per the current process.
Where a claimant in a conditionality regime fails to comply with a mandatory work-related requirement, they have the opportunity to provide good reason before a sanction decision is made. Additionally, a pre-referral quality check is in place to check for any known vulnerabilities before a claimant is referred for a sanction decision and following a referral, cases are reviewed to ensure that the mandatory requirement set was fair, and to check whether a conditionality easement should have been applied.
If a sanction is applied and the claimant disagrees with the decision, they can ask for this to be looked at again by way of a Mandatory Reconsideration. If they further disagree with the outcome of the Mandatory Reconsideration, they can raise an appeal for the sanction decision to be looked at by an independent tribunal.
Asked by: Marquess of Lothian (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many people are currently claiming disability benefit because of mental health conditions, including severe anxiety.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Figures for the number of people currently claiming disability benefits – Personal Independence Payment (PIP), Disability Living Allowance (DLA), and Attendance Allowance (AA) due to mental health conditions.
Table (a) – Claimants on the PIP caseload with mental health conditions
Benefit | Number of cases |
PIP | 1,119,500 |
Table (b) – Claimants on the DLA caseload with mental health conditions
Benefit | Number of cases |
DLA | 56,500 |
Table (c) – Claimants on the AA caseload with mental health conditions
Benefit | Number of cases |
AA | 26,500 |
Notes:
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 9th March 2023 to Question 156196 on Social Security Benefits: Disability, how many people receiving (a) Employment Support Allowance without receiving Personal Independence Payment and (b) receiving the Limited Capability for Work-Related Activity Element of Universal Credit without receiving Personal Independence Payment have been identified by his Department as having a mental and behavioural disorder.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
Data on the conditions of those on the Universal Credit (UC) Health Journey is not available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost. The department aims to publish a range of information on claimants of Employment and Support Allowance and the health element of UC in due course and will pre-announce any publication in line with normal statistical practices.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department is taking steps to encourage covid-19 vaccine take-up in patients with severe mental illness.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The Government continues to work with the National Health Service and UK Health Security Agency to provide information to explain the benefits of COVID-19 vaccination and has launched a nationwide communications campaign to encourage eligible members of the public to protect themselves by getting their COVID-19 boosters. To raise awareness of the risks of being unvaccinated and to make vaccination as convenient as possible, guidance is being given to general practitioners, primary care networks and vaccination services to prioritise individuals coming forward for vaccination.
Resources are also being shared by Charity Partners to ensure greater reach to individuals with Severe Mental Illness (SMI) as well as invites sent to those with SMI and their carers to further encourage them to come forward for vaccination. We are also providing reasonable adjustments for individuals, where identified or requested, including quiet spaces and additional resources.
There is a collaborative approach to analyse and understand the vaccine uptake data for those with SMI through engagement with national and regional mental health leads, health inequalities leads and data analysts. To understand what works and develop good practice, the COVID-19 vaccination deployment programme works closely with NHS SMI programme leads in addition to engaging closely with SMI charities.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will have discussions with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on what steps can be taken to (a) identify benefit (i) applicants and (ii) recipients with mental health support needs and (b) ensure that appropriate support is provided in such cases.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
We continue to work with other Government departments to support people with mental health needs, including the Department for Work and Pensions. Through the NHS Long Term Plan, we are investing an additional £2.3 billion a year by 2023/24 to expand National Health Service mental health services, which will allow an additional two million people to access support.