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, with refence to paragraph 3.25 of the Autumn Statement 2023 on supporting the long-term unemployed into work, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of removing access to free prescriptions on levels of demand for acute care.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
No assessment has been made as we are not removing access to free prescriptions.
In England, a broad range of NHS prescription charge exemptions are in place to help those with greatest need. Eligibility for these exemptions is dependent on whether people receive certain qualifying benefits, tax credits, or a war pension, whether they are pregnant or have recently had a baby, their age, whether they are in qualifying full-time education or have a qualifying medical condition.
If entitlement to passported benefits is reliant solely on a Universal Credit claim to establish eligibility, that eligibility will cease if the claim is closed. The claim closure measure will only impact claimants who have been disengaged for 6-months or more, and who are in receipt of nil benefit award following the application of a sanction. We will not be closing the claims of anyone who is in receipt of other UC elements, such as the housing, child, or disability elements.
The claims of those with limited capability for work or limited capability for work-related activity are not subject to the conditionality and sanctions regime.
Safeguards will be put in place to ensure that any claimant vulnerabilities are taken into consideration and impacted claimants may still be able to access financial support for NHS services through other means.
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, with reference to his Department's response to the Work Capability Assessment: Activities and Descriptors Consultation, published in November 2023, what his planned timetable is for publishing an equality impact assessment on proposals for changes to the eligibility criteria for the (a) Limited Capability for Work and Limited Capability for Work and Work-Related Activity categories within universal credit and (b) Work-Related Activity Group and Support Group within Employment Support Allowance.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
We published our response to the consultation on changes to the Work Capability Assessment criteria on 22 November, having carefully considered feedback from disabled people, and people with health conditions, as well as the organisations that represent and support them.
The consultation was open from 5 September to 30 October 2023. This gave ample time for people to share their views. We undertook extensive engagement during the consultation period and received over 1,300 responses. We listened carefully to what people told us and took their views into account when deciding about which changes to take forward.
We also did a lot of work to make sure disabled people could share their views. We provided the consultation document in a range of accessible formats, including large print, Easy Read, Braille, Audio, BSL and hard copy versions. We ran a programme of in-person and virtual public events, so that people could share their views verbally and offered a range of methods to enable people to respond in writing, including online, by email or by post.
We will publish an Impact Assessment in due course.
The OBR have said that they expect these changes to mean that 371,000 fewer people will be declared as having Limited Capability for Work Related Activity by 2028/29 than otherwise would be the case. HMT have published the impacts in their policy costing note that accompanies the Autumn Statement.
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: 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, which 13 areas have been chosen as test sites for the Employment and Health Discussion.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The Employment and Health Discussion (EHD) is a voluntary service available to claimants with a disability and/or long-term health condition and is a discussion with a claimant about their health situation, any barriers it presents in moving towards work, and how to overcome them. It is not part of the assessment process and takes place before the Work Capability Assessment.
In addition to the medical qualifications that the Employment and Health Practitioners hold, the DWP has provided specific theory and practical EHD training sessions, alongside mandatory DWP training, for example, data protection, security and Universal Credit. The EHD was first piloted from Leeds Health Model Office in 2022, and has been expanded to Aberdare, Bradford, Chelmsford, Doncaster, Durham, Hull, Lancaster, Newcastle, Norwich, Sunderland, Wigan and York.
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, what training his Department provides to Employment and Health Practitioners.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The Employment and Health Discussion (EHD) is a voluntary service available to claimants with a disability and/or long-term health condition and is a discussion with a claimant about their health situation, any barriers it presents in moving towards work, and how to overcome them. It is not part of the assessment process and takes place before the Work Capability Assessment.
In addition to the medical qualifications that the Employment and Health Practitioners hold, the DWP has provided specific theory and practical EHD training sessions, alongside mandatory DWP training, for example, data protection, security and Universal Credit. The EHD was first piloted from Leeds Health Model Office in 2022, and has been expanded to Aberdare, Bradford, Chelmsford, Doncaster, Durham, Hull, Lancaster, Newcastle, Norwich, Sunderland, Wigan and York.
Asked by: Wayne David (Labour - Caerphilly)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has had discussions with the Cabinet Office on the potential merits of amending the benefits assessment process for victims of the contaminated blood scandal.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The Infected Blood Inquiry is ongoing, and it is only reasonable that the inquiry concludes and provides its final recommendations before the Government responds. The Government is undertaking the necessary work to enable a swift response to the full report, when it is published.
Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is intended to act as a contribution towards the extra costs that arise from needs related to a long-term health condition or disability. Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) is an income-replacement benefit for individuals who have a health condition or disability that limits their capability to work.
People whose ability to work or to live independently which has been affected as a consequence of receiving infected blood can claim, and in many cases are already claiming, these benefits. The department has talked to people affected and improved its processes to ensure these claims are dealt with quickly and accurately.
Eligibility for these benefits is not based on the diagnosis of a health condition or disability. Instead, both the Work Capability Assessment, which determines entitlement to ESA and the additional health-related amount of Universal Credit, and the PIP assessment, assess the impact of a person’s health condition or disability on doing everyday tasks to determine eligibility for the benefit. In practice, these assessments will often be a paper-based process where people are seriously ill.
Asked by: Nicholas Brown (Independent - Newcastle upon Tyne East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if his Department will take steps to passport people infected with haemophilia that are eligible for compensation via the Infected Blood Inquiry, and their affected partners, onto (a) PIP and (b) ESA.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The Infected Blood Inquiry is ongoing, and it is only reasonable that the inquiry concludes and provides its final recommendations before the Government responds. The Government is undertaking the necessary work to enable a swift response to the full report, when it is published.
People affected by the infected blood issue can already use independent benefit calculators that can be accessed via the Government website at www.gov.uk, by searching for 'benefit calculators'. These calculators allow a person to enter details of their own financial position and receive instant advice as to whether they may be entitled to any benefits. Capital disregard rules in means-tested benefits mean that recipients of infected blood compensation payments can receive these without it affecting their means-tested benefit entitlement.
Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is intended to act as a contribution towards the extra costs that arise from needs related to a long-term health condition or disability. Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) is an income-replacement benefit for individuals who have a health condition or disability that limits their capability to work.
Eligibility to these benefits is not based on the diagnosis of a health condition or disability. Instead, both the Work Capability Assessment, which determines entitlement to ESA and the additional health-related amount of Universal Credit, and the PIP assessment, assess the impact of a person’s health condition or disability on doing everyday tasks to determine eligibility for the benefit.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people on Universal Credit have been sanctioned while awaiting a work capability assessment; and of those, how many have been subsequently assessed as having (a) limited capability for work and (b) limited capability for work related activity in each of the last 12 months for which data is available; and if he will make it his policy not to subject people awaiting (i) a work capability assessment and (ii) the outcome of work capability assessment to conditionality.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
Conditionality supported by sanctions has been a longstanding feature of welfare benefit entitlements in the UK since the formation of the welfare state. Access to earnings replacement benefits, for example, is traditionally conditional on recipients being involuntarily unemployed and subject to reasonable work-related requirements.
We will not expect a claimant to take up a job while they have suitable medical evidence, until the outcome of a Work Capability Assessment (WCA). Any work-related requirements are agreed in discussion between the work coach and claimant. These should always be tailored to reflect the impact of the claimant’s health condition, disability, and wider circumstances, ensuring they are realistic and achievable
We exempt people with more serious medical conditions and disabilities, and those who are terminally ill, from any form of conditionality and sanctions. This includes those who have been found to have Limited Capability for Work or Work-Related Activity following their WCA.
In particular circumstances, work coaches can exempt claimants from usual availability and work search requirements for a temporary period by applying discretionary or compulsory easements. These circumstances include temporary periods of sickness.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Universal Credit claimants with cystic fibrosis as their main disabling condition have been (a) placed in the limited capability for work-related activity group, (b) placed in the limited capability for work group and (c) found fit for work at Work Capability Assessments in each year since 2013.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
Official Statistics for Universal Credit Work Capability Assessments (UC WCA) cover key metrics on the number of people on the UC health journey, as well as WCA decisions and outcomes, from April 2019. As set out in the published release strategy we are taking a phased approach to development and publication of additional statistics, accounting for the complexity of source data that is in discovery. Future releases are planned to include new/repeat claims, medical conditions, Mandatory Reconsiderations and Appeals, and clearance times.
Asked by: Colleen Fletcher (Labour - Coventry North East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent estimate he has made of the average waiting time for mandatory reconsideration of benefit decisions in (a) Coventry, (b) the West Midlands and (c) England; and what steps his Department is taking to ensure that mandatory reconsiderations are conducted (i) quickly and (ii) effectively.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The median mandatory reconsideration (MR) clearance times have been provided for Personal Independence Payment (PIP), Universal Credit (UC) and Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) benefit decisions. To provide information across all other DWP administered benefits would incur disproportionate cost.
Median clearance times have been provided as the mean can be unduly affected by outlying cases.
Personal Independence Payment
The median clearance times for PIP Mandatory Reconsiderations, normal rules between August 2022 and July 2023, were:
a) 28 calendar days for Coventry
b) 28 calendar days for West Midlands
c) 28 calendar days for England
Notes:
Universal Credit
The median clearance times for UC Mandatory Reconsiderations between August 2022 and July 2023 were:
a) 37 calendar days for Coventry
b) 35 calendar days for West Midlands
c) 36 calendar days for England
Notes:
Employment and Support Allowance
ESA Work Capability Assessment MR clearance times are available on Stat-Xplore: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/. It can be found by going through “ESA Work Capability Assessments”, “Mandatory Reconsideration – Clearances” “Table 4 – Median Clearance Times by Date of Decision”. It is then possible to restrict to Coventry, West Midlands and England.
In law there is no time limit within which a Mandatory Reconsideration (MR) decision must be made. This reflects the overarching policy that the focus should be on making the right decision and not the speed of clearance. Of course, decisions will be made without delay but if the decision maker considers that more time is needed to gather or consider evidence, then they will give themselves that time to ensure they are confident that the decision ultimately made is correct.
We constantly review our processes to ensure we are providing the best possible customer service to customers requesting a mandatory reconsideration, both in terms of speed of dealing with the request and quality of decision making. For example, we have improved the system functionality in UC to allow some customers to directly upload evidence to inform a decision to improve the customer experience. We have also recruited circa 400 additional colleagues into the Dispute Resolution Service over the summer to increase capacity and reduce waiting times.