Normal pointless response. Ministerial Correspondence Caxton House Tothill Street LONDON SW1H 9DA dwp.gov.uk [email protected] Our Ref: TO/13/17769 10 June 2013 Mr Tony Lea [email protected] Dear Mr Lea Thank you for your recent email of 23 May, regarding issues arising from Government policies which are the responsibility of this Department. Government Ministers receive a large volume of correspondence and they are unable to reply personally on every occasion. I have been asked to respond to your concerns. Ministers have looked at a wide variety of issues because they believe that reform was needed in a number of areas. They are now engaged in the introduction of the biggest reform to the welfare system in 60 years. The aim is to introduce a system that is fair to everyone. The main change will be the introduction of the Universal Credit to replace a number of current benefits and tax credits. The Universal Credit will be a single welfare payment, designed to reward people for moving into work. It will replace the current system of benefits and tax credits for people of working age. By allowing people to keep more of their benefit when they first go back to work, Universal Credit will help ensure that getting a job will pay. Universal Credit has now been introduced into a small ‘Pathfinder’ area, with national roll-out planned for later in the year. People in certain groups who have traditionally been distanced from the labour market, for example some single parents and people with disabilities, are being brought into closer contact with employment opportunities. This will be through work-related activities and the general support that is available through the Jobcentre Plus network. The new arrangements will include a cap on the total amount of benefit that working-age people can receive. The arrangements for the benefit cap are being rolled out initially in four London boroughs. The intention is that households on out-of-work benefits will no longer receive more in welfare payments than the average weekly wage for working households. With regard to current benefits, the Chancellor announced in his Autumn Statement last year that some State benefits would be increased by 1%. These are largely working-age benefits including Jobseeker’s Allowance and basic Employment and Support Allowance (ESA). The same increase applies to tax credits. The Government has committed to finding savings which will return stability to the public finances. As the Chancellor said in his Autumn Statement, those with the most should contribute the most. However, Ministers also need to find savings from the welfare bill. Welfare spending increased by around 60% from 1997 to 2010. Last year, some £200 billion was spent on the welfare budget, more than a quarter of all Government spending. That is why Ministers have taken difficult but necessary decisions on uprating over three years, starting this year In his Statement, George Osborne pointed out that whilst average earnings since 2007 had risen by 10%, out-of-work benefits had risen over the same period by around 20%. Ministers do not believe that this is fair to working people and taxpayers generally. They believe that a 1% rise is fair in these benefits and will ensure that we have a welfare system that the country can afford. Ministers have protected disability benefits where possible by ensuring that the main rates of Disability Living Allowance were uprated this year in line with the Consumer Prices Index at 2.2 per cent. Some of the higher rates paid to disabled people receiving working-age benefits were also uprated by inflation. The restriction on Housing Benefit for tenants who are regarded as having larger accommodation than they need applies to tenants of working age in the social renting sector. As well as helping to contain Housing Benefit expenditure, this change should encourage mobility. While benefits are subsidising nearly one million extra bedrooms for those under-occupying their accommodation, there are 1.8 million households on the waiting list for social housing, in England alone. Ministers believe that changes in this area were essential. Their view is that the Housing Benefit bill had spiralled out of control. Without immediate reform, it would have exceeded £25 billion by 2015. As part of the reforms, the Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) is now the main benefit for people who are not in work because of a medical condition. The Work Capability Assessment (WCA) forms a major part of determining entitlement to ESA. Ministers understand the concerns that have been brought to their attention regarding the Work Capability Assessment (WCA), including the points made about people with mental health conditions as part of a Judicial Review on 23 May. Ministers support the principle of the WCA, but have taken steps to address the reservations that they had on taking office about the way it was working. Currently around 2 million people receive incapacity benefits, at a cost to the taxpayer of around £13 billion a year. Ministers believe that many of these people, with the right support, could and indeed want to work but in many cases the previous system did not give them that opportunity. Policy in this area is supported by a large body of evidence that work is generally good for people. Ministers want to assess people as accurately as possible to ensure that they receive the most appropriate support and are able, where feasible, to move towards suitable employment. Ministers are committed to supporting those who cannot work because of a health condition or disability, but they also want to help as many people as possible to find suitable work. The WCA is designed to identify people with disabilities or health conditions who remain capable of work, given the right support. It does not seek to confirm the employability of a person at the time of undergoing the assessment. The WCA was designed in close consultation with experts and disability organisations. The assessment focuses on what an individual can do, rather than assuming that a health condition or disability is automatically a barrier to work. Individuals claiming ESA can experience a wide range of effects from health conditions. Ministers are determined to ensure that the WCA reflects these. The healthcare professionals who carry out the medical assessments are employed by Atos Healthcare, on behalf of the DWP. They receive training in accurately assessing fluctuating conditions and mental, intellectual and cognitive function. They must have had at least three years of broad-based post-registration experience and be approved by the Chief Medical Advisor to this Department. Strict audit and quality control measures are in place to ensure that Atos delivers high-quality assessments. However, Atos does not make decisions on benefit entitlement. Decision makers in the Department consider their advice, along with any other appropriate evidence, to make a decision. The contract with Atos Healthcare contains no targets, or expected range or distribution of advice to decision makers for assessment outcomes. Formal complaints procedures are in place. If Atos Healthcare receives a complaint an Atos Customer Relations Manager will undertake a full investigation into all the issues raised and write back within 20 working days. Following the assessment, people who face the greatest barriers to employment will receive the extra support they need as part of the Support Group within ESA. They can take part in work-related activity on a voluntary basis if they wish. People who could prepare for work, given support, will become part of the Work Related Activity Group, and receive ESA if the conditions are met. People in this group will receive various forms of support. They may be asked to engage in various forms of work-related activity, including the Work Programme and work-focused meetings. People who are found capable of work at the time of the assessment will be invited to claim Jobseeker’s Allowance if they satisfy the conditions of entitlement for that benefit. As with most decisions on benefits, there is a right of appeal. Decisions can be reconsidered and if they cannot be changed, they can be considered by a Tribunal, which will check that the relevant information has been taken into account and that the law has been applied correctly. In order to ensure that the WCA is as fair and accurate as possible, the Department is committed to a process of ongoing review and improvement. As part of this Professor Malcolm Harrington, a highly respected occupational physician, carried out three independent reviews of the WCA. His third review, together with the Government’s response, was published on 20 November 2012. The next independent review of the WCA will be carried out by Dr Paul Litchfield, a senior occupational physician. Details of previous reviews and the Government’s responses can be viewed through the policy/welfare reform/ESA section of the Department’s website. Information about what is currently available to an individual can be obtained from staff at the office paying the relevant pension or benefit. Whilst Ministers are responsible for policy, they cannot become involved in individual decisions. The decision-making process in benefits is deliberately independent of Ministers. Ministers do welcome all views, and I thank you for your comments. Should you wish to find out more about the reforms, including other changes which are now being brought in, information can be found through the GOV.UK website. This will now be the best source of information about Government services. Yours sincerely Goff Daft Head of the Correspondence Team
Posted on: Mon, 10 Jun 2013 11:58:05 +0000
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