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2 Nov 2010 : Column 782W—continued
Broadband: Pilot Schemes
Mr Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what meetings (a) he and (b) his officials had with representatives of the devolved Administration on superfast broadband pilot areas prior to the announcement of pilot areas made on pages 65-6 of the spending review, Cm 7942. [21075]
Mr Vaizey: I have been asked to reply in my capacity as a Minister in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills did not have any meetings with representatives of the Welsh Assembly Government about the superfast broadband pilots prior to their selection, but his officials had regular dialogue with all the devolved Administrations and regional development agencies prior to the selection of the superfast broadband pilots.
Mr Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 26 October 2010, Official Report, column 264W, on broadband, if he will publish the marks against each set of criteria and total mark given to each of the 11 locations proposed for the superfast broadband pilot. [21173]
Mr Vaizey: I have been asked to reply in my capacity as a Minister in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
The selection process involved making a judgment as to which of the projects proposed offered the best opportunities for learning that would inform the UK wide deployment strategy. This process did not involve awarding specific marks against the individual criteria.
Museums and Galleries: Fees and Charges
Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport if he will consider the merits of allowing these museums and galleries which have a free entry policy to charge non-UK visitors an entry charge. [20651]
Mr Vaizey: In line with the coalition manifesto there are no plans to review the policy of free admission to national museums and galleries.
Under European Union law, institutions cannot discriminate between domestic and European Union visitors to our museums and galleries. Article 12 of the European Community Treaty prohibits any discrimination on grounds of nationality.
Television: Licensing
Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what recent estimate he has made of the (a) cost to the public purse and (b) income from television licences foregone by the BBC of revising the television licensing guidelines to allow women's refuges and shelters to hold one television licence per establishment. [21026]
Mr Vaizey [holding answer 1 November 2010]: No assessment has been made. Concessionary licences were reviewed in the last BBC Charter review and the conclusion was that there should be no change to the existing range of concessions.
Work and Pensions
Access to Work Programme
Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much his Department plans to make available to the Access to Work programme in each of the next five years. [19995]
Maria Miller: The spending review announced a settlement in the region of £7.8 billion per year for DWP. As part of our planning process we are currently allocating funding to individual budgets including Access to Work.
Atos Healthcare
Stephen Barclay: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what mechanisms his Department has in place to ensure the quality of medical reports produced on its behalf by Atos Healthcare. [20926]
Chris Grayling: The contract between the Department for Work and Pensions and Atos Healthcare contains a number of quality indicators to measure the performance of health care professionals which are monitored on a monthly basis. Quality and accuracy is regularly monitored through a variety of methods including monthly management information, customer satisfaction surveys and feedback from complaints. The work of all health care professionals is subjected to quality audit which is conducted by experienced medical auditors within Atos Healthcare. The quality of Atos Healthcare's audit is validated by senior medical auditors from Atos Healthcare and doctors working for the chief medical adviser to the Department for Work and Pensions.
Carers
Dr Francis: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent discussions he has had with national carers' organisations on the continued implementation of the national carers' strategy; and if he will make a statement. [20918]
Maria Miller: Meetings with representative organisations have been held at ministerial and official level to discuss carers' issues in the context of the carers strategy.
In addition, a 'call for evidence' exercise has been undertaken by the Department of Health, with national and local organisations as well as with carers themselves. This consultation sought their views on the key priorities for carers and concluded on 20 September 2010.
The responses from the consultation are currently being considered by the Department of Health and will help establish the key priorities that will be the focus of an updated carers strategy to be published later this year.
Carer's Allowance
Ian Swales: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether he plans to review the eligibility criteria for carer's allowance. [20159]
Maria Miller: The Government recognise that the United Kingdom's six million carers play an indispensable role in looking after family members or friends who need support.
We have set out our commitment to simplify the benefit system in order to improve work incentives and encourage responsibility and fairness. We will consider carefully the needs of carers as we develop our thinking on welfare reform.
Jason McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether partners of higher rate taxpayers will receive carer's credit once they are no longer eligible to receive child benefit. [20518]
Steve Webb: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave the hon. Member for Erith and Thamesmead (Teresa Pearce) on 19 October 2010, Official Report, column 643W.
Children: Maintenance
Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent discussions he has had with the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission on the position of (a) single parents without a new partner and (b) parents with new families under split care arrangements. [18448]
Maria Miller: A large proportion of the Child Support Agency's caseload (for which the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission has responsibility) are single parents without new partners. The Government have had no direct conversations with the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission on this issue but we do monitor performance on a regular basis.
Split care in child maintenance, also known as 'shared care', is a complex issue. Alongside the coalition agreement's goals to support families and end child poverty, the Government are committed to encouraging shared parenting from the earliest stages of pregnancy, including where parents do not live together. The Government are discussing with the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission the role they can play in achieving these broader objectives.
Client Funds Account
Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he plans to publish the Client Funds Account for (a) 2008-09 and (b) 2009-10. [19819]
Maria Miller: The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission is responsible for the child maintenance system. I have asked the Child Maintenance Commissioner to write to the hon. Member with the information requested and I have seen the response.
In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Child Maintenance Commissioner.
You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when does he plan to publish the Client Funds Account for (a) 2008-09 and (b) 2009-10. [19819]
Following the transfer of the Child Support Agency's functions to the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission, the Commission undertook an extensive programme of work around client funds to enable the publication of the accounts for 2008/09 and 2009/10. The Commission is confident that this work provides a more accurate picture of maintenance arrears and a more robust view of the arrears that are likely to be collected. While
this work has taken longer than expected, the Commission is now working with the National Audit Office to finalise both accounts, and hopes to publish them in the near future.
Depression: Access to Work
Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he is taking to ensure that people with depression are able to participate in the (a) access to work and (b) pathways to work programme. [20535]
Chris Grayling: Disability employment programmes, including access to work and pathways, are designed to support disabled people regardless of their disability. As such, people with depression are able to participate in both programmes.
The Government will be phasing out many existing programmes, including pathways to work, as it introduces the Work programme. The Government aim to have the Work programme in place nationally by the summer of 2011. We want to ensure that as many people benefit from the Work programme as quickly as possible, including those suffering from depression.
Disability Assessments
Mr George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many disability assessments his Department carried out in each month of the last two years; how many appeals were lodged against the outcomes of such assessments in each such year; and how many of these appeals were upheld. [20075]
Maria Miller: The following table presents the number of assessments carried out for the work capability assessment for employment and support allowance by the month assessment was completed up to the end of June 2010 (the latest data available). Repeat assessments and clerical assessments are excluded from these figures. This is because the results of repeat assessments and clerically completed assessments cannot be determined from departmental benefits data.
| Month of assessment | Total assessments |
The following table presents data on ESA claims up to the end of August 2009 where the person claiming has been found Fit for Work, appealed the Department's decision and had an appeal heard by Tribunals Service by the end of July 2010 (the latest data we have from Tribunals Service). The number of appeals heard for claims started after August 2009 are too low for inclusion at this stage but will be included in future updates to the publication as more appeals are heard.
| Total ESA work capability assessments, WCA outcomes and appeals against a fit for work decision at initial WCA by ESA claim start date | ||||||||||
| Month ESA claim started | Total WCA | Support group | Work related activity group | Fit for work | Appeals heard (to date) | % fit for work with an appeal heard (to date) | Decision in favour of appellant | DWP decision upheld | % decision in favour of appellant | % DWP decision upheld |
This information is taken from official statistics published by the Department for Work and Pensions, last updated October 2010. The report can be found on the departmental website at:
Disability Impact Assessment
Mr Watts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether he has carried out (a) a disability impact assessment and (b) any other impact on the effect of his proposed changes to benefits on disabled individuals and families. [20834]
Chris Grayling: Public authorities are legally obliged to pay due regard to the promotion of equality in carrying out their functions. These duties mean that all public bodies need to consider the impact of their decisions on people with disabilities when these decisions are made. The Department carries out equality impact assessments to ensure that the impact of decisions on people with disabilities, as well as other groups such as people from ethnic minorities, is taken into account.
The equality impact assessment for the reassessment of old-style incapacity benefits customers is available at:
The equality impact assessment concluded that the reassessment would have considerable significance for disabled people, but that disabled people would not be exposed to particular risk.
An equality impact assessment was carried out for the measures announced in the 2010 spending review. This is available at:
The impact of the proposal to time-limit contributory employment and support allowance for customers in the work related activity group is included in this equality impact assessment. The equality impact assessment is clear that some people with a disability will be affected by the time-limit for contributory employment and support allowance, but that this will be mitigated for the most severely disabled and those on low incomes as neither the support group nor customers in receipt of income related employment and support allowance will be subject to the time limit. A full equality impact for the proposal to time-limit contributory employment and support allowance for customers in the work related activity group will be published as a part of the equality impact assessment for the Welfare Reform Bill.
The proposed changes to disability living allowance will be introduced as a part of the forthcoming Welfare Reform Bill. An equality impact assessment for all changes to disability living allowance will be published as a part of the equality impact assessment for the Welfare Reform Bill.
Disability Living Allowance: Care Homes
Dr Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect on the number of users of Motability cars of the removal of the mobility component of the disability living allowance for people in residential care. [19513]
Maria Miller: It is estimated that around 8,000 users of the Motability scheme will be affected by the removal of the mobility component of disability living allowance for people already in receipt of state funding for some, or all of their care costs in the form of local authority care packages. The Department will be discussing the proposed measure with Motability to enable them to decide how best they can manage the impact of this change on their customers.
Local authority contracts with care homes should cover services to meet all a resident's assessed needs, including any assessed mobility needs, so an individual's care support and mobility needs should be met by residential care providers from social care funding. This measure will remove an overlap of public funds while ensuring that resources continue to be targeted at disabled people with the greatest needs.
Disability Living Allowance: Learning Disability
Grahame M. Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people resident in (a) England and (b) Easington constituency with a learning disability he estimates will be affected by proposals to remove the mobility component of disability living allowance for those who live in residential care homes; and if he will make a statement. [20980]
Maria Miller: Reliable estimates of main disabling condition, including learning disabilities, for disability living allowance claimants in residential care homes are not available. Reliable estimate of numbers of disability living allowance claimants in residential care homes are not available other than on a Great Britain wide basis. We estimate approximately 60,000 people who claim DLA and live in residential care will be affected by this measure in Great Britain.
Local authority contracts with care homes should cover services to meet all a resident's assessed needs, including any assessed mobility needs, so an individual's care support and mobility needs should be met by residential care providers from social care funding. This measure will remove an overlap of public funds while ensuring that resources continue to be targeted at disabled people with the greatest needs.
Disability Living Allowance: Scotland
Miss Begg: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of households in (a) Aberdeen South constituency, (b) Aberdeen local authority area and (c) Scotland which will be affected by removing the mobility component of disability living allowance for people in residential care. [19352]
Maria Miller: Reliable estimates of disability living allowance claimants in residential care homes are not available other than on a Great Britain wide basis. We estimate approximately 60,000 people who claim DLA and live in residential care will be affected by this measure in Great Britain.
Employment
Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions for what employment legislation his Department is responsible; and what progress his Department has made on the Government's proposed review of employment law. [18928]
Chris Grayling: BIS is responsible for most employment law. DWP has responsibility for a small number of areas of regulation that place obligations on employers. These include occupational pensions, statutory sickness and maternity payments, employers' liability insurance, and health and safety law.
Most of these areas have been subject to review since 2007 in order to ensure that they do not place unnecessary burdens on business. We will consider these areas again over the long-term as part of post-implementation reviews of changes made, and will engage with interested parties as part of the that process.
Employment and Support Allowance: Peterborough
Mr Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in Peterborough constituency received (a) employment and support allowance and (b) incapacity benefit in each quarter since June 2005; and if he will make a statement. [21034]
Chris Grayling: The information is provided as follows:
Employment Schemes: Peterborough
Mr Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 25 October 2010, Official Report, column 156W, on employment schemes: Peterborough, for what reason the number of completers in respect of the schemes listed have not been collected; and if he will make a statement. [20646]
Chris Grayling: The data source (Jobcentre Plus Labour Market System) for the DWP led elements of the young person's guarantee official statistics does not contain robust information on Community Task Force completions.
We do not currently have quality assured statistics on the number of completers of the BIS elements (routes into work and work focused training) of the young person's guarantee. We will look to develop these statistics for publication in January 2011.
Mr Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of people in Peterborough constituency who will be invited to participate in the Work programme; and if he will make a statement. [21090]
Chris Grayling: The spending review confirmed the Government's commitment to welfare reform, and to the introduction of the Work programme. The Work Programme will provide more personalised back to work support for long-term unemployed people and for those with more significant barriers to employment.
The Department are currently working through the full implications of the spending review for the Work programme and further announcements on the customers eligible for support and their entry points to the programme will be made in due course.
Housing Benefit: Scotland
Mr Reid: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make an estimate of the effects on residents of Argyll and Bute constituency of his proposed changes to housing benefit arrangements. [21408]
Steve Webb: The Department published a document on 'Impacts of Housing Benefit proposals: Changes to the Local Housing Allowance to be introduced in 2011-12' on the 23 July, which includes analysis at the local authority level. A copy of the document has been placed in the Library.
Incapacity Benefit: Applications
James Wharton: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of incapacity benefit claimants claim (a) on the grounds of multiple illnesses or conditions and (b) for a single condition. [18105]
Chris Grayling: The Department does not hold information on people claiming incapacity benefits with or without multiple conditions. The Department holds information on the primary condition recorded at the start of the benefit claim but it should be noted that this is not the basis for entitlement. People do not qualify for ESA on the grounds of their condition but on the grounds of their functional impairment. Data published in August 2010 on the WCA by health condition and function:
show how many people qualified for the Work Related Activity Group (WRAG) by scoring points in each of the functional impairment groups at the work capability assessment.
These groups are functional activities relating to:
Lower Limb
Upper Limb
Sensory
Continence
Consciousness
Understanding and Focus
Adapting to Change
Social Interaction.
If we look at how many people scored in only one functional group or more than one functional group the split is:
48% scored in just one of the categories
52% scored in more than one.
Note that these figures are only for people who are placed in the WRAG after a face to face assessment. It does not include people who are not scored (mainly people in the support group, those placed in the WRAG without requiring a face to face assessment and people in the WRAG after appeal) or those who do not score enough points (found fit for work) or who leave ESA before any assessment takes place. However, the majority of people in the WRAG are there after scoring 15 points or more at a face to face WCA.
Jobcentre Plus
Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many discretionary payments of less than £5 were made by Jobcentre Plus in each year since 2005. [21242]
Chris Grayling: The information requested is not readily available centrally and can be collated only at disproportionate costs.
Mortgages: Government Assistance
Mrs Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether he has made a recent estimate of the number of people in Bridgend constituency who (a) claim support for mortgage interest and (b) receive less in support for mortgage interest payments than the cost of their mortgage interest. [19074]
Steve Webb: The information requested is as follows:
(a) The information requested is not available at parliamentary constituency level. Information on support for mortgage interest is only available from 5% sample data, and the sample sizes at parliamentary constituency level are too small to provide a
The information is available at Government Office region level. At February 2010 there were 15,100 claims for support for mortgage interest in Wales.
Notes:
1. Figures have been uprated using 100% Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study totals.
2. Figures have been rounded to the nearest100.
3. Information on claimants receiving help with mortgage interest payments is derived from a 5% sample of claimants, which is subject to sampling variation.
4. Totals may not sum due to rounding.
5. Rules for customers making a claim for mortgage interest changed from 5 January 2009. From this date customers have to serve a waiting period of 13 weeks before housing costs are paid, at which time 100% of their eligible mortgage interest could be paid. IS and JSA(IB) customers with partners aged over pension credit age and those in receipt of pension credit do not have to serve a waiting period.
Source:
DWP Information Directorate 5% samples
(b) This information is not available because the Department does not collect management information on the actual interest rates that apply to support for mortgage interest customers' loans.
Motability
Mr George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what funding his Department has provided for Motability cars in each of the last five years; how many such cars were in use in each such year; what funding he plans to allocate to the scheme in each year to 2014-15; and what requirement his Department places upon provider charities to obtain value for money from such funding. [20100]
Maria Miller:
Motability is an independent charitable organisation and is wholly responsible for the administration of the Motability Scheme. Motability is largely self
financed and the only funding the Department for Work and Pensions gives the scheme relates to the Specialised Vehicles Fund, which Motability administers on our behalf. The Specialised Vehicles Fund provides financial assistance to those severely disabled scheme customers who require complex vehicle adaptations that allow them to enter a car as a passenger while remaining seated in their wheelchair or enables them drive their car while seated in their wheelchair. Information on the number of Motability car scheme customers, the amount of funding the scheme received in respect of the Specialised Vehicles Fund and how many cars were adapted as a result of this financial assistance in each of the last five years is contained in the following tables. No decision has been reached on funding for the Specialised Vehicles Fund from 2011-12 onwards.
Independent analysis commissioned by Motability indicates that the car scheme is typically 35% cheaper on a like-for-like basis than other lease providers for the same car models. This reflects the scheme's economies of scale and the significant discounts it is able to negotiate as a result. Motability provides regular updates to the Department in respect of the Specialised Vehicles Fund and continues to work with vehicle manufacturers, the adaptation industry and other business partners to deliver the best possible value for its disabled customers.
| Number of Motability car scheme customers in each of the last five years | |
| Number | |
| Funding for the Specialised Vehicle Fund and the number of wheelchair passenger and drive from wheelchair cars helped by the fund over the last five years | |||
| Funding (£ million) | Number of drive from wheelchair cars | Number of wheelchair passenger cars | |
Pensions: Child Benefit
Miss Begg: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether all mothers entitled to receive contributions to (a) a basic and (b) a second state pension under the provisions of the Pensions Act 2007 until their youngest child reaches the age of 12 will continue to do so following the proposed changes to child benefit. [20733]
Steve Webb: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave the hon. Member for Erith and Thamesmead (Teresa Pearce) on 19 October 2010, Official Report, column 643W.
Social Security Benefits: Appeals
Tom Brake:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 13 September 2010, Official Report, columns 821-22W, on social security benefits: appeals, what the cost to the public
purse was of rejection of the 31,600 claims for employment support allowance made between October 2008 and June 2009 which were subsequently allowed on appeal. [17962]
Chris Grayling: The appeals process against work capability assessment (WCA) decisions relating to employment and support allowance (ESA) is partly handled by Jobcentre Plus, an agency of the Department for Work and Pensions, with the majority of the process being handled by the Tribunals Service, part of the Ministry of Justice.
While the Tribunals Service are unable to break down the exact full costs of tribunals for specific benefit types, the average unit cost of clearing a social security and child support appeal, on the basis of an average Tribunal Panel that would hear such cases and all associated administration costs of processing the case, is £293. Therefore, the cost of disposing of 31,600 appeals is approximately £9 million.
The average direct staff unit cost within Jobcentre Plus of an ESA Appeal is approximately £55. Therefore the cost to Jobcentre Plus of administering 31,600 appeals is approximately £2 million.
Social Security Benefits: Fraud
Mr Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions which local authorities use voice risk analysis to help detect benefit fraud; and what estimate he has made of the cost to his Department of that technology in the latest year for which figures are available. [19458]
Chris Grayling: In 2008-09 a total of £1,734,314.07 was paid directly to the 24 local authorities involved in voice risk analysis pilots. There was no DWP funding for voice risk analysis in subsequent years. The pilots finished in December 2009. Local authorities can continue to use voice risk analysis at their own discretion and at their own expense.
Table of participating pilot local authorities
Aberdeen city council
LB Barking and Dagenham
Basildon council
LB Bexley
Birmingham city council
Bristol city council
Bromsgrove council
Bury metropolitan council
Coventry city council
Durham council
Doncaster metropolitan council
Eastbourne council
Edinburgh city council
Flintshire council
Glasgow city council
LB Harrow
LB Lambeth
Lichfield council
Northamptonshire Shared Service
Swindon council
Vale of Glamorgan
Walsall council
Warwick council
Royal borough of Windsor and Maidenhead,
Teresa Pearce: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what criteria will be used to determine the awarding of contracts to private sector companies to implement the fraud prevention techniques referred in the Government's fraud and error strategy; and at what level performance-related pay for such services will be set. [20392]
Chris Grayling: The Department's new joint strategy with HMRC for tackling welfare fraud and error was published on 18 October 2010. The strategy contains a wide range of measures including plans to build partnerships with private sector firms, such as credit reference agencies, to radically increase the range of third party data on our customers that is used to counter welfare fraud and error.
As part of implementing the strategy with regard to access and use of third-party data, we will be developing specific requirements and associated evaluation criteria prior to engaging with interested private sector companies. It is therefore too early to confirm details of the criteria or the commercial arrangements
Social Security Benefits: Medical Examinations
Stephen Barclay: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of refusals of applications for benefits of each type based on medical examinations commissioned by his Department were subsequently overturned on appeal in the latest period for which figures are available. [20927]
Chris Grayling: The following table shows the information immediately available: the number of employment and support allowance fit for work decisions at initial assessment, the number and proportion of appeals heard to date that relate to the fit for work decision and the number and proportion where the appellant was successful.
I will write to the hon. Member with information regarding information on incapacity benefit later this month and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.
The table above uses data on appeals heard to the end of July 2010-the latest available.
Social Security Benefits: Students
Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he plans to bring forward proposals to enable employment support allowance to be available immediately to students who suspend their studies due to a health condition or disability. [20139]
Maria Miller [holding answer 28 October 2010]: Students are not normally eligible for social security benefits as they should be supported by the higher education system. However, there are exceptions which enable disabled students receiving disability living allowance to receive employment and support allowance. Disability living allowance is not normally payable before a three month qualifying period. The Government have no plans for allowing exceptions to these rules in respect of students.
When a student becomes too ill to continue their course and so abandons it, they are no longer treated as a student and may apply for ESA immediately. From November 2010, students who become too ill to continue with their studies and, with the agreement of the university or college authorities, suspend (rather than abandon) their participation on the course will no longer be treated as having a student loan available to them when working out how much they may be entitled to. If a student suspends a course in those circumstances and has drawn-down their loan, we will only take it into account for the period the loan is intended to cover.
Therapeutic Earnings
Damian Hinds: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent representations he has received on the maximum allowable limit for therapeutic earnings. [20621]
Maria Miller: Incapacity benefit therapeutic earnings limits were replaced by permitted work earnings limits in April 2002. Customers on incapacity benefit and employment and support allowance are allowed to earn up to £95.00 a week for up to 52 weeks without their benefit being affected provided they do not work for more than 16 hours a week on average.
Representations received in response to the Government's recent '21st Century Welfare' consultation document (published on 30 July 2010) are supportive of our proposed reform of benefit rules across the social security system which is designed to ensure that it pays to be in work for everyone in benefits.
Unemployment Benefits
Sajid Javid: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many individuals were continuously in receipt of out-of-work benefits between 1 June 1997 and 31 May 2010. [18862]
Chris Grayling: The information is as follows:
| Number of people claiming jobseeker's allowance, incapacity benefit/severe disability allowance or income support continuously since 1997, GB and abroad, as of February 2010 | |
| February 2010 | Number |
| Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10 and totals may not sum due to rounding. 2. Benefits are arranged hierarchically and claimants are assigned to the topmost benefit which they receive. 3. For this analysis the claim start date has been used. 4. Jobseeker-claimant of jobseeker's allowance. 5. Incapacity benefits-claimant of either incapacity benefit or severe disablement allowance. 6. Income support-claimants of income support not included in the incapacity benefits figure. Figure includes 2,578 with a declared income from less than 16 hours a week work. 7. Analysis excludes claimants who have flowed between benefits. Source: DWP Information Directorate: Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study. | |
Unemployment: Rural Areas
Dr Francis: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent assessment he has made of the level of access to transport for unemployed people seeking work in remote rural and valley areas; and if he will make a statement. [20063]
Chris Grayling: It is an integral part of the role of advisers in Jobcentre Plus to take account of local transport issues when advising unemployed people seeking work on the options available. All claimants should be willing to take employment within a reasonable travel to work area. The local travel to work area is determined by each individual Jobcentre, taking into account the availability of local transport facilities.
Broader policy regarding the role of transport in supporting regional economies is the responsibility of local authorities and other local bodies. National transport policy is the responsibility of the Department for Transport and the devolved Administrations.
Winter Fuel Payments
Mr Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make it his policy to maintain the winter fuel payment at no less than its current rate in the period after 2011. [20979]
Steve Webb: Decisions on the rate of winter fuel payments for future winters are generally made as part of the annual Budget cycle.
Work Capability Assessment
Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent discussions he has had on accurate reflections of claimants' conditions in the outcomes of work capability assessments. [21372]
Chris Grayling:
Firstly, it is important to note that the work capability assessment (WCA) is not condition-based.
Rather than making assumptions about someone's capability for work based on their condition, it looks at their functional ability. This is because a health condition or disability will affect people in different ways and at different levels of severity, and we do not want to write people off by assuming that their health condition or disability is a barrier to work.
From March 2009 to March 2010, the Department led a review of the WCA, which engaged with medical and other experts and specialist disability groups. It conducted detailed case-study analysis, and concluded that generally the WCA is accurately assessing individuals for the right benefit. It also made a number of recommendations for improving the assessment, which we have accepted and plan to implement from spring 2011.
In addition, we have commissioned Professor Malcolm Harrington to undertake the first of five independent reviews of the operation of the WCA. He is supported by a small scrutiny group which includes Paul Farmer, chief executive of Mind. Professor Harrington is evaluating the fairness and accuracy of the assessment. We look forward to receiving his report later this year and will give careful consideration to his recommendations. Where necessary, we will make changes to improve the WCA.
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