Asked by: Lilian Greenwood (Labour - Nottingham South)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 20 July 2021 to Question 33894 on Streaming: Disability, when she plans to respond to the recommendations on improving the accessibility of video on demand services for people with sight or hearing loss following publication of Ofcom’s report entitled Further Statement: Making on-demand services accessible, published on 9 July 2021.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
As set out in our response to question 33894 on 20 July 2021, the government is giving careful consideration to the Ofcom recommendations on improving the accessibility of video on demand services for people with sight or hearing loss published on 9 July 2021 and will set out next steps in due course.
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people (a) applied to and (b) benefitted from the Access the Work scheme from March to October 2020.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson
The information requested past March is intended for future release in the 2020/21 Official Statistics publication.
The number of applications and beneficiaries for the period April 2019 to March 2020 is available in the latest Access to Work statistics publication but this is not broken down by month. Data on a monthly basis would not be exact as the number of people applying to and benefitting from certain Access to Work elements will not be captured within a month’s time frame. Hence, we generally choose to aggregate at a yearly level to avoid data inconsistencies.
The latest Access to Work official statistics can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/access-to-work-statistics
Background
Access to Work
Access to Work (ATW) is a demand-led, discretionary grant to de-risk the recruitment and retention of disabled people for employers. The grant contributes to the disability related extra costs of working faced by disabled people and those with a health condition that are beyond reasonable adjustment, but it does not replace an employer’s duty under the Equality Act to make reasonable adjustments. The grant provides personalised support and can provide workplace assessments, travel to/in work, support workers, specialist aids and equipment for individuals to enable disabled people and those with a health condition to move into or retain employment. And can fund up to £60,700 worth of flexible, personalised support per person per year.
During the pandemic Access to Work has continued to provide support whether disabled people were working in the workplace or working from home. Acknowledging the challenges Coronavirus had for disabled people, Access to Work introduced a series of measures.
Recognising the challenges Covid-19 has for employers and disabled people, Access to Work has introduced a new more flexible offer to support disabled people to move into and retain employment. The new offer complements support provided by employers and contains a flexible mix of support that can be adapted to meet the needs of new Covid-19 working arrangements. The offer includes:
The 2019/20 AtW statistics illustrate the increase in support provided by Access to Work, with over 43,000, the highest ever number of people with disabilities and health conditions receiving tailored and flexible support to do their job.
Access to Work has continued reaching out to underrepresented groups including those with Mental Health conditions, seeing the highest ever number of people approved for Access to Work, 8,710 people, almost double the number of people compared to the previous year.
AtW is helping more people:
– In 2019/20 the highest ever number of people received payments – 43,400 up 20% on 18/19.
– In 2019/20 over 37,000 people received an award for an Access to Work grant up 25% on 2018/19
Expenditure increased to £141.7 million, a new record amount, equating to an 8% increase in real terms expenditure on 18/19.
Further information can be found in the link below.
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Asked by: Lilian Greenwood (Labour - Nottingham South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what criteria her Department uses when deciding which Access to Work materials are translated into British Sign Language.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson
Access to Work (ATW) is a demand-led, discretionary grant scheme administered by Jobcentre Plus (JCP). The scheme de-risks the recruitment and retention of disabled people for employers by contributing towards covering the costs of support above the level of reasonable adjustment for disabled people at work.
Access to Work guidance is available in English and Welsh in html, word and PDF formats on the gov.uk website, and in addition information on DWP services is produced in accessible formats, including BSL videos.
When deciding which communications are translated into British Sign Language, Access to Work will consider the following:
Using feedback from these groups and taking account of the wider Departmental communication priorities, Access to Work will identify communications that are causing the most concern and will be the most beneficial for British Sign Language users.
Disabled people who are British Sign Language users who have queries about Access to Work can contact Access to Work via the BSL video relay service (Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm) to discuss queries.
Asked by: Liz Twist (Labour - Blaydon)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Minister of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what plans he has to bring forward regulations under section 93 of the Digital Economy Act 2017 to impose requirements on providers of on-demand programme services for the purpose of ensuring that their services are accessible to people with disabilities affecting their sight or hearing or both.
Answered by Nigel Adams
As part of a digitally inclusive society, television content should be accessible for all UK audiences. This is why, as part of the implementation process of the Digital Economy Act 2017, the Government asked Ofcom to provide recommendations on how legislation could make on demand services more accessible. Ofcom published its report in December 2018 and since then my Department has been working with Ofcom to develop the legislative framework for future requirements.
It is important to ensure that any legislation introduced is proportionate while making more content accessible to consumers. As a result, in November 2019 my officials wrote to Ofcom requesting that they complete a further targeted consultation to provide recommendations on specific aspects of the scheme.
Ofcom are now developing this second consultation which they intend to publish in early 2020 and will report back to DCMS later this year. After we have reviewed Ofcom’s recommendations, we will then set out next steps.
Asked by: Lord Field of Birkenhead (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment she has made of the effect of the availability of recording devices for benefits assessments on the (a) quality and (b) timeliness of those assessments.
Answered by Sarah Newton
Every person who is required to attend a Work Capability Assessment can ask to have their face-to-face assessment audio recorded. Where the request is made in advance the requirement will be met. Requests made on the day will be met where possible and the Centre for Health and Disability Assessments reviews the demand to ensure there is sufficient audio recording equipment. Personal Independence Payment claimants who wish to have their assessment recorded have the right to do so but they must provide the recording equipment.
The Government’s response to recommendation 4b of Paul Gray’s second independent review of the Personal Independence Payment assessment (https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/668621/pip-assessment-second-independent-review-government-response.pdf) set out our assessment of a trial of audio recording assessments
DWP also recently commenced a video recording pilot for claimants with Personal Independence Payment face-to-face assessments. The pilot enables us to test communications products and live testing of video recording, providing that claimants elect to participate. Findings from the pilot will inform views on rolling out video recording more widely, in order to promote greater trust and transparency.
DWP will continue to keep the recording of assessments policy under review.
Asked by: Drew Hendry (Scottish National Party - Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent review her Department has made of the regulatory framework for the provision of subtitles for on-demand services.
Answered by Matt Hancock
In 2015 the then regulator for video on demand services, the Authority for Television on Demand (ATVOD), published its Provision of Video on Demand Access Services Report. The Department analysed the findings of this report, and met with platform operators, content providers and broadcasters to review the provision of such services. The Department has asked broadcasters, content providers and platform operators for a progress update in Spring 2017.
Ofcom is the regulator with responsibility for on-demand programme services (ODPS). Ofcom are presently consulting on how to improve access services and ensure that providers see broadcast and ODPS accessibility as equally important.
Asked by: Royston Smith (Conservative - Southampton, Itchen)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will hold discussions with on demand television providers on extending the provision of subtitles.
Answered by Matt Hancock
Yes. Furthermore, Ofcom, as the regulator for video on demand services, is currently consulting on the accessibility of on demand programme services and proposed steps to ensure their services are progressively made more accessible.
We have requested an update from broadcasters, content providers and platform operators in Spring 2017 setting out their progress in increasing the provision of access services on video on demand services.
Asked by: Edward Argar (Conservative - Charnwood)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if the Government will set out for broadcasters the level of progress it expects to see on the provision of subtitles and audio-descriptions for on-demand content before it reviews the legislation in that area.
Answered by Lord Vaizey of Didcot
The Authority for TV On Demand (ATVOD) are currently preparing the report "Provision of Video on Demand Access Services 2015". This report, combined with meetings with broadcasters, content providers and platform operators, will inform Government's next steps.
Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment he has made of progress in making available access services to on-demand broadcasting content for people with sensory loss since 2013.
Answered by Lord Vaizey of Didcot
We have been monitoring progress of the provision of access services for Video on Demand (VoD) content since 2013 through engagement with the Authority for Television on Demand (ATVOD), platform operators and content providers.
Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions he has had with providers about improving the availability of access services to on-demand broadcasting content for people with sensory loss.
Answered by Lord Vaizey of Didcot
Officials are undertaking a series of meetings with content providers, platform operators and other participants in the supply chain of Video on Demand services, to better understand why the provision of access services for on demand content is limited. The information derived from these meetings will be used to develop a target that we would expect to see reached by mid-2016.