Browse content similar to 28/02/2017. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!
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response. For today, we should leave it there. Thank you. Order. Urgent | :00:00. | :00:07. | |
question, Richard Bergen. The prisons minister told the committee | :00:08. | :00:11. | |
this morning that he has a number of the chair of the prison officers | :00:12. | :00:17. | |
Association on speed dial. If the minister... The honourable gentleman | :00:18. | :00:20. | |
is getting a little ahead of himself. What he needs to do is to | :00:21. | :00:26. | |
put the urgent question in the very simple terms that it was put to me. | :00:27. | :00:33. | |
To as the Secretary of State for Justice if she will make a statement | :00:34. | :00:37. | |
on the prison officers Association to withdraw from voluntary tasks. I | :00:38. | :00:46. | |
have done the honourable gentleman's job for him. He is ahead of himself. | :00:47. | :01:00. | |
I thank you for the urgent question on behalf of the opposition. I am | :01:01. | :01:04. | |
grateful for the chance to update the House on this important issue. | :01:05. | :01:08. | |
Strike action is unlawful and we have seen this. It will seriously | :01:09. | :01:16. | |
disrupt normal operations in prisons and whilst we will take any actions | :01:17. | :01:20. | |
that we can to mitigate the risks and what we are clear that action of | :01:21. | :01:25. | |
this nature poses a risk to the safety of prisons and prison staff. | :01:26. | :01:32. | |
The duties that the prison officers Association referred to in their | :01:33. | :01:36. | |
bulbs are not voluntary duty. These duties that are fundamental parts of | :01:37. | :01:40. | |
a prison officer 's role and essential to running a safe and | :01:41. | :01:45. | |
decent prison. They include assessment for those at risk of | :01:46. | :01:50. | |
suicide, first aid, restraint training and intervention, postage | :01:51. | :01:56. | |
negotiation. The instructions by the PO a are clearly designed to disrupt | :01:57. | :02:01. | |
the safe and decent running of prisons. We have made a pay offer to | :02:02. | :02:07. | |
all operational staff in prisons which was the maximum we could make. | :02:08. | :02:13. | |
In addition, we offered a ?1000 retention payment to all operational | :02:14. | :02:19. | |
staff and a reduction ageing pension -- reduction pension age from 65 -- | :02:20. | :02:26. | |
265 fully funded by the Government. We were disappointed that this offer | :02:27. | :02:31. | |
was rejected by the POA membership. Despite being endorsed by the POA | :02:32. | :02:37. | |
leadership. This year's pay award is now a matter for the independent | :02:38. | :02:42. | |
prison service pay review body. It will take evidence from all parties | :02:43. | :02:46. | |
and report to the Government in April. The POA has the opportunity | :02:47. | :02:53. | |
to make their case to the pay review body. We are not waiting for the pay | :02:54. | :03:04. | |
review body to respond. We have outlined progression opportunities | :03:05. | :03:08. | |
for more than 2000 staff across the country that will take it to ?30,000 | :03:09. | :03:15. | |
a year. In addition, we introduced additional allowances in areas where | :03:16. | :03:20. | |
the cost of living is higher, to take the basic prison officers to up | :03:21. | :03:29. | |
to ?30,000 a year. We understand prison officers do a difficult job | :03:30. | :03:34. | |
in very challenging circumstances and why we are making these moves on | :03:35. | :03:39. | |
pay to recognise that effort in the hard work. In addition, the | :03:40. | :03:44. | |
Government is investing ?100 million to increase the net number of prison | :03:45. | :03:50. | |
officers by 2500 in the next two years. I urge the Shadow Minister of | :03:51. | :03:55. | |
that if he has good sense and cares about the safety and order of our | :03:56. | :04:00. | |
prisons, what he should be doing today is not put prison officers and | :04:01. | :04:05. | |
prisoners at risk but condemn this unlawful strike action. The prisons | :04:06. | :04:10. | |
minister told the Justice committee this morning that he has a number of | :04:11. | :04:15. | |
the chair of the prison officers Association on speed dial and if the | :04:16. | :04:19. | |
Minister is dialling, it is clear he is not connecting because this | :04:20. | :04:25. | |
situation could have easily been avoided. Ministers could have spoken | :04:26. | :04:30. | |
to the POA before imposing a pay policy which has proven to be so | :04:31. | :04:35. | |
divisive and so unpopular. Ministers need to sit down and talk with the | :04:36. | :04:39. | |
POA rather than threaten legal action and claim the action is | :04:40. | :04:44. | |
unlawful before any court has made any such determination. To fix a | :04:45. | :04:49. | |
prison system relying on staff doing extra work voluntarily but no extra | :04:50. | :04:56. | |
money to keep our prison system running, ministers need to focus on | :04:57. | :04:59. | |
the real problems. Conservative Party conference back in October, | :05:00. | :05:04. | |
the Justice Secretary announced 400 more officers stop these were to | :05:05. | :05:09. | |
working ten challenging prisons but the staffing shortfall are those | :05:10. | :05:13. | |
prisons has grown in the last quarter. Since the White Paper | :05:14. | :05:19. | |
announcement of 2000 -- 2500 additional officers, there has been | :05:20. | :05:25. | |
a fall of 133 staff in the last quarter of 2016. That 2500 is now | :05:26. | :05:31. | |
further away than it was in November. Where is the Justice | :05:32. | :05:35. | |
Secretary? Why have some prisons with no recruitment and retention | :05:36. | :05:40. | |
problems receive the pay award twice -- while some prisons struggling on | :05:41. | :05:44. | |
that front receive nothing? How much additional money has been earmarked | :05:45. | :05:47. | |
for this recruitment drive and what discussions have taken place with | :05:48. | :05:54. | |
POA leadership today? To turn this mass, we need a Justice Secretary | :05:55. | :06:00. | |
who is serious about working with prison officers and we need a | :06:01. | :06:04. | |
prisons built which will deliver serious reforms. Sadly, at the | :06:05. | :06:06. | |
moment, we have nothing. In relation to the additional | :06:07. | :06:19. | |
allowances that were announced for staff last week but also the PM | :06:20. | :06:24. | |
progression opportunity for 2000 prison officers across the estate, | :06:25. | :06:30. | |
the POA were consulted and if the honourable member had read the press | :06:31. | :06:34. | |
release in detail, the actually welcomed it. But they wanted it to | :06:35. | :06:39. | |
apply to all of the country. It is not novel to have a violence in | :06:40. | :06:48. | |
areas where it is difficult to recruit and the cost of living is | :06:49. | :06:52. | |
too high. It is not novel in the prison service or the public sector. | :06:53. | :06:57. | |
He talked about extra money going into the prison Service. 100 million | :06:58. | :07:11. | |
for a net 200 officers. We made the announcement in November and he | :07:12. | :07:15. | |
referred to data from December. Let me update you. We are on track to | :07:16. | :07:21. | |
recruit the 400 new officers for the ten most challenging deals the | :07:22. | :07:24. | |
Secretary of State announced in October. We have more people today | :07:25. | :07:28. | |
in training to be prison officers than ever before. We also are | :07:29. | :07:36. | |
investing ?4 million on marketing to attract new prison officers. The | :07:37. | :07:42. | |
Labour Party is confused on prisons. Last year, they told us they wanted | :07:43. | :07:48. | |
the prison population cut from 80,000 to 45,000. Last Sunday we | :07:49. | :07:53. | |
heard from the shadow Attorney General is that actually prisoners | :07:54. | :07:56. | |
should be allowed to keep mobile phones so they can carry on their | :07:57. | :08:03. | |
life of crime in prison. Until the Labour Party has sorted out its | :08:04. | :08:13. | |
position, if it is in no state to question us. With the Minister | :08:14. | :08:21. | |
accept it is not helpful against efforts that are being made to turn | :08:22. | :08:26. | |
around the situation, which takes time to achieve. It's not helpful to | :08:27. | :08:30. | |
embark upon a course of action which legal or otherwise has the effect of | :08:31. | :08:35. | |
creating further restrictions on the regime, therefore further tensions | :08:36. | :08:39. | |
within the prison population. It makes it harder to deliver | :08:40. | :08:45. | |
rehabilitation. And sadly his the effect of making the job of prison | :08:46. | :08:49. | |
officers harder in the long term rather than easier. The chairman of | :08:50. | :08:53. | |
the Justice committee makes an excellent point. We have made | :08:54. | :09:04. | |
progress on pay and self -- and health and safety. Today, we were | :09:05. | :09:07. | |
due to meet them to discuss pensions. The action today puts | :09:08. | :09:12. | |
prisoners and prison officers who work very hard at risk. Prison staff | :09:13. | :09:21. | |
in England and we'll is, as we have heard, have been demoralised through | :09:22. | :09:25. | |
the understaffing, underpayment and overcrowding of prisons. | :09:26. | :09:36. | |
The Minister does not address the issue of morale of across-the-board. | :09:37. | :09:44. | |
This is a matter for England and Wales, but I am here today to look | :09:45. | :09:53. | |
to what we have done in Scotland, making more use of community | :09:54. | :09:58. | |
alternatives. Does he agree they should concentrate on those schemes. | :09:59. | :10:04. | |
What will he do to ensure newly recruited prison office is our | :10:05. | :10:09. | |
retained and the morale of prison staff is restored. This is a | :10:10. | :10:16. | |
stressful occupation. She is right. Morale is important. Let me be | :10:17. | :10:21. | |
clear. We have a pay deal that was endorsed by the prison Officers | :10:22. | :10:27. | |
Association towards the end of last year that was rejected. It is now a | :10:28. | :10:31. | |
matter for the independent pay review body. We have submitted | :10:32. | :10:37. | |
evidence. We are taking action on pay for the Prison Service as a | :10:38. | :10:44. | |
whole. Additionally, we have put in place additional allowances for 31 | :10:45. | :10:47. | |
deals where it is particularly hard to recruit. Further to that, we have | :10:48. | :10:53. | |
created a new progression opportunity for 2000 prison office | :10:54. | :10:58. | |
is across the country. Today, we were due to be in talks about | :10:59. | :11:03. | |
pensions. We value prison officers and their work and we want to | :11:04. | :11:07. | |
support them. Unlawful strike action is not the way to progress. It will | :11:08. | :11:12. | |
achieve the opposite, which is put prison officers at risk. While | :11:13. | :11:20. | |
strongly regretting the strike action announced by the POA. I | :11:21. | :11:26. | |
welcome the reduction in retirement age to 65. In his further | :11:27. | :11:35. | |
discussions regarding pensions, can I ask him to be in mind the | :11:36. | :11:44. | |
comparison in the pension scheme for the police and armed services. I | :11:45. | :11:53. | |
will bear that in mind. The pension deal that was made to the POA would | :11:54. | :12:01. | |
have been fully funded by the government. Last year, 119 prisoners | :12:02. | :12:05. | |
took their lives in one of our prisons. The POA instruction | :12:06. | :12:22. | |
encourages members to withdraw. Can he tell us what impact this | :12:23. | :12:27. | |
withdrawal will have on the already dismal mental health support in our | :12:28. | :12:40. | |
prisons. As I said in my earlier remarks, I would encourage and urge | :12:41. | :12:46. | |
all prison officers to carry on with their task as the shoot. Can I | :12:47. | :12:52. | |
congratulate my honourable friend for the excellent work he is doing | :12:53. | :12:59. | |
with a difficult pack of cards? A prison officer joins to serve. That | :13:00. | :13:05. | |
means you serve in whatever guise without striking. I agree with my | :13:06. | :13:10. | |
honourable friend. The legislation was introduced by the last Labour | :13:11. | :13:14. | |
government, which is why I am surprised that the shadow minister | :13:15. | :13:19. | |
would not condemn this unlawful strike action. When prisons are in | :13:20. | :13:23. | |
crisis and staff are on strike, every available penny should be | :13:24. | :13:28. | |
spent on making prisons safe. Is the Minister aware that half ?1 million | :13:29. | :13:32. | |
of compensation was paid last year to serious criminals because they | :13:33. | :13:36. | |
were released late from prison? When is the Minister | :13:37. | :13:53. | |
going to get that under control and provide prison officers with a safe | :13:54. | :13:56. | |
working environment and prisoners with a safe and drugs free | :13:57. | :13:59. | |
environment in which to be detained? The Right honourable member will be | :14:00. | :14:01. | |
aware that we published a White Paper last year and only last week | :14:02. | :14:04. | |
introduced the first bill to cover prisons and 65 years. It was about | :14:05. | :14:10. | |
improving safety and security. We are taking action. Could administer | :14:11. | :14:15. | |
update the House and some of the measures within the bill to help | :14:16. | :14:25. | |
resolve some of these issues? The central face of the bill is that it | :14:26. | :14:29. | |
makes clear that a fundamental purpose of prisons is to turnaround | :14:30. | :14:34. | |
offenders lights. If prisons are focused on turning around offenders | :14:35. | :14:38. | |
lives, we will reduce reoffending and the 15 billion reoffending bill, | :14:39. | :14:43. | |
and it will make our prisons places of safety. On the question of the | :14:44. | :14:53. | |
independent pay review body, with the Minister, to avoid any doubt, | :14:54. | :14:57. | |
say today that he will accept the recommendations that pay review body | :14:58. | :15:03. | |
makes? I can say that we will obviously look at the | :15:04. | :15:09. | |
recommendations of it. I'm not in a position. I will look at it. We | :15:10. | :15:15. | |
value prison officers. We value the hard work they do. We have taken a | :15:16. | :15:20. | |
lot of action to recognise that. You cannot ask me to commit to results I | :15:21. | :15:24. | |
do not know about at the dispatch box. I agree with the Minister it is | :15:25. | :15:33. | |
wrong for the strike to go ahead, given the facts. There were 6000 | :15:34. | :15:39. | |
assault on prison officers up until June 2016. What action is being | :15:40. | :15:43. | |
taken to tackle this and to make sure those who commit these assaults | :15:44. | :15:50. | |
are held to account? He is right. Prison officers work in a | :15:51. | :15:54. | |
challenging environment. Our job is to keep them safe. We're looking at | :15:55. | :15:58. | |
a number of things, including making sure that if there is a crying | :15:59. | :16:05. | |
scene, it is preserved. Making sure the impact statements are admissible | :16:06. | :16:13. | |
and well-prepared to be used in court. Also, where someone is | :16:14. | :16:23. | |
convicted of assaulting a prison officer, their sentence is | :16:24. | :16:27. | |
consecutive and not concurrent. It is important to keep prison officers | :16:28. | :16:34. | |
safe. The Minister has had a lot to say about pay. You must realise that | :16:35. | :16:39. | |
this is unhappiness that has been developing in the Prison Service for | :16:40. | :16:44. | |
many years. It is principally about safety at work. The level of | :16:45. | :16:51. | |
assaults on prison officers, of suicide and self harm, are | :16:52. | :16:57. | |
unprecedented. Fixing that is how the government is going to resolve | :16:58. | :17:00. | |
this in the long-term. When are we going to start to see safety in | :17:01. | :17:07. | |
prisons improve? I have set right from the start that the levels of | :17:08. | :17:13. | |
violence in our prisons is too high. We have been working closely with | :17:14. | :17:18. | |
the Prison Officers Association on health and safety and have made | :17:19. | :17:26. | |
progress on regime management plans that the POA accept. We want to add | :17:27. | :17:36. | |
2500 officers to the front line. These problems were long in the | :17:37. | :17:41. | |
making and it will take time to resolve. We have the resolve to do | :17:42. | :17:47. | |
so and we are doing it. The job of prison officers is made more | :17:48. | :17:54. | |
difficult by the presence in our prisons of drugs and mobile phones. | :17:55. | :17:56. | |
Can Myra Bob Friend -- can he tell me when we will have | :17:57. | :18:15. | |
one prison that is free of drugs and mobile phones? We introduced the | :18:16. | :18:22. | |
bill last week to make it easier to test for drugs. On mobile phones, we | :18:23. | :18:29. | |
are taking action. New legislation from last year has allowed us to | :18:30. | :18:35. | |
turn over 160 mobile phones from jails in the last few months. We are | :18:36. | :18:39. | |
working with mobile network operators to be able to switch off | :18:40. | :18:44. | |
mobile phones in our jails. There is a lot of work being done, but it | :18:45. | :18:50. | |
will take time. These are worrying developments. Does the Minister | :18:51. | :18:53. | |
share with me concern that the action will have an impact on family | :18:54. | :19:00. | |
visits? As he knows, prisoners meeting their families and seeing | :19:01. | :19:07. | |
their children, of which there are 200,000, is extremely important for | :19:08. | :19:10. | |
rehabilitation. Will he confirm this will not be affected? As I have | :19:11. | :19:18. | |
said, strike action is unlawful. If prison officer to withdraw their | :19:19. | :19:22. | |
labour, it will make the regime more restricted. The chairman of the | :19:23. | :19:27. | |
select committee pointed to that. We urge hard-working prison officers to | :19:28. | :19:32. | |
go back to work and make sure that prisons can carry on with regimes, | :19:33. | :19:38. | |
carrying on the important rehabilitative work and making sure | :19:39. | :19:44. | |
prisons are safe. It's concerning this action could lead to Tornado | :19:45. | :19:48. | |
team is being withdrawn. Can he confirm contingency measures are in | :19:49. | :19:53. | |
place to ensure prison order can be maintained at all times? I'm sure | :19:54. | :19:58. | |
our prison officers will do what they always do in terms of their | :19:59. | :20:02. | |
duty, if there is disorder in prisons, even at this difficult | :20:03. | :20:10. | |
time. We are urging the PO aid to withdraw its pollutant. Also we want | :20:11. | :20:15. | |
to ensure we have contingency plans for times like this. The Minister | :20:16. | :20:22. | |
doesn't need me to tell him that staff morale is low and not helped | :20:23. | :20:28. | |
by law staff numbers. In my constituency, Franklins has gone | :20:29. | :20:35. | |
down by 20%. Durham by 15%. When does the Minister think he will be | :20:36. | :20:44. | |
in a position to bring forward a pay offer to recognise the difficult and | :20:45. | :20:46. | |
dangerous job that prison officers do? | :20:47. | :20:58. | |
The independent pay review body will report in April. We will take action | :20:59. | :21:07. | |
further to that. The government commitment to opening new prison | :21:08. | :21:22. | |
places is welcome news. Having modernised fit for purpose prisons | :21:23. | :21:26. | |
will have a huge impact on safety. The role not be corners for people | :21:27. | :21:32. | |
to hide behind. It will be good for rehabilitation. Today we have opened | :21:33. | :21:38. | |
the largest prison in Europe. It takes its first prisoners today. We | :21:39. | :21:46. | |
are reducing overcrowding and improving safety. | :21:47. | :22:00. | |
I have listened carefully. Does the Minister understand the reason why | :22:01. | :22:07. | |
prison officers with roaring is because we have safe and decent | :22:08. | :22:13. | |
prisons. Prisons that I wouldn't want to work on and I'm sure the | :22:14. | :22:21. | |
Minister wouldn't want to either. I'll -- our prison officers do a | :22:22. | :22:27. | |
difficult job. I know how hard they work. The POA has decided it is | :22:28. | :22:32. | |
going to make a stand on pay with a bullet and we have seen today and | :22:33. | :22:38. | |
I'm urging the POA to withdraw its bulletin because it will not do | :22:39. | :22:41. | |
anything to improve safety in our prisons. Could the Minister outlined | :22:42. | :22:49. | |
what steps he is taking in the last few months to improve career | :22:50. | :22:58. | |
prospects of prison officers? In addition to a workforce strategy, we | :22:59. | :23:03. | |
will be publishing later this year, the progressive and promotion | :23:04. | :23:08. | |
opportunity we announced last week which will allow officers to do job | :23:09. | :23:14. | |
search as safer custody roles, mentoring roles, hostage negotiation | :23:15. | :23:22. | |
and get a pay rise is a huge step not just in professional lies in the | :23:23. | :23:26. | |
workforce but allowing people to operate more senior roles and | :23:27. | :23:30. | |
improve the pay packets of our hard-working prison officers? Will | :23:31. | :23:39. | |
the Minister at that his action will be counter productive and any | :23:40. | :23:44. | |
lockdowns will lead to more troubling prisons? The action is | :23:45. | :23:56. | |
unlawful strike action which will do nothing to make our prisons safe. It | :23:57. | :24:06. | |
will be easier to manage the prisoners in our jails if we didn't | :24:07. | :24:11. | |
have to incarcerate 10,000 foreign nationals who should be imprisoned | :24:12. | :24:15. | |
in their own country. Jamaica has rejected an offer from the | :24:16. | :24:18. | |
Government to return its foreign nationals. What steps is the | :24:19. | :24:22. | |
Government doing to get these people back to secure detention in their | :24:23. | :24:30. | |
own countries? Since 2010, we have deported 33,000 prisoners to the | :24:31. | :24:41. | |
home country, 5810 in 15 /16 alone. There is more work that we can do | :24:42. | :24:46. | |
and I am engaging with governments and the foreign governments where | :24:47. | :24:51. | |
the top ten prisoners are held in order to speed up their process. Our | :24:52. | :25:00. | |
prisons are unsafe and dangerous and that present Minister has inherited | :25:01. | :25:06. | |
this situation. We lost 7000 experienced prison officers. When | :25:07. | :25:15. | |
spies came onto the market, we had prisoners going out and expanding | :25:16. | :25:19. | |
their business on the next landing. The present steps taken are a | :25:20. | :25:25. | |
sticking plaster rather than major surgery. We need recruitment of | :25:26. | :25:30. | |
massive numbers, proper pay, proper skills, not adverts for 18 euros | :25:31. | :25:37. | |
with no experience for our prison officers. We lost 7000 prison | :25:38. | :25:43. | |
officers as the honourable member mentioned but we closed 18 prisons. | :25:44. | :25:56. | |
The key change in our force is the advent of spice which has a huge | :25:57. | :26:01. | |
member of values imprisons and they make them violent. The cohort | :26:02. | :26:06. | |
prisoners has become more violent. Three fifths in our prisons are in | :26:07. | :26:12. | |
for dangerous or document -- drug-related offences. More staff | :26:13. | :26:18. | |
are part of the answer and they are doing with drugs and mobile phones | :26:19. | :26:23. | |
and it is a key part of it also. Isn't part of the solution to the | :26:24. | :26:27. | |
problem improving working conditions by prison officers and is in the | :26:28. | :26:33. | |
Government right to close Victorian prisons and open modern ones such as | :26:34. | :26:39. | |
the one in Wellingborough? He is right. The working conditions for | :26:40. | :26:43. | |
prison officers and the estate in which we housed prisoners are all | :26:44. | :26:47. | |
important to improve safety on our prisons. I look forward to the new | :26:48. | :26:52. | |
prison in Wellingborough opening shortly. With 15 of the most | :26:53. | :26:59. | |
dangerous prisoners being transferred from the beer Ming and | :27:00. | :27:03. | |
-- Birmingham riot and with prison officers saying they fear that they | :27:04. | :27:07. | |
safety and the prison being locked down in December, can the Minister | :27:08. | :27:13. | |
understand why the morale of prison officers is so low, especially with | :27:14. | :27:17. | |
the pay award not going to areas like hole-macro. Can the Minister | :27:18. | :27:20. | |
tell me whether the Government will have the flexibility April two -- to | :27:21. | :27:27. | |
give the prison officers that pay increase through his own decision? | :27:28. | :27:34. | |
Prison governors will have control over their budget and they can make | :27:35. | :27:38. | |
decisions around staffing and how they deployed their staff from April | :27:39. | :27:47. | |
this year. We have to be clear that the POA says this unlawful strike | :27:48. | :27:52. | |
action is about pay but only last week we announced not only promotion | :27:53. | :27:57. | |
opportunities but also increased pay for vast numbers of prison officers | :27:58. | :28:02. | |
across the country. Having had an in-depth conversation with the | :28:03. | :28:05. | |
constituent who has just left his role as a prison officer, | :28:06. | :28:10. | |
understanding from him that the prison population is getting younger | :28:11. | :28:13. | |
and spices on the rise, mental health issues are on the rise and | :28:14. | :28:21. | |
morale is rock bottom. Could the Minister, where he is asking for | :28:22. | :28:28. | |
detached... What is he doing to reassure the families of people who | :28:29. | :28:34. | |
are in prison who are vulnerable, that they will not suffer during | :28:35. | :28:41. | |
this dispute? The best reassurance we can give to families of prisons | :28:42. | :28:47. | |
is for the prison officers Association to withdraw its bulletin | :28:48. | :28:50. | |
and not pursue unlawful strike action. That is the best | :28:51. | :29:03. | |
reassurance. Urgent question. I want to as the Secretary of State to make | :29:04. | :29:07. | |
a statement on the cuts to entitlement to Personal Independence | :29:08. | :29:17. | |
Payment. Recent legal judgment have interpreted the assessment criteria | :29:18. | :29:21. | |
the PIP in ways that are different to what was intended by the | :29:22. | :29:25. | |
Coalition Government. We are now making amendments to clarify the | :29:26. | :29:30. | |
criteria used to decide how much benefit claimants receive in order | :29:31. | :29:34. | |
to restore the original aim of the policy as previously agreed by | :29:35. | :29:38. | |
Parliament and which followed extensive consultation. I want to be | :29:39. | :29:43. | |
clear what this is not. It is not a policy change or is it intended to | :29:44. | :29:47. | |
make new savings. Want to reiterate my commitment that there will be no | :29:48. | :29:51. | |
further welfare savings beyond those already legislated for. This will | :29:52. | :29:56. | |
not result in any claimant seeing a reduction in the amount of PIP | :29:57. | :30:02. | |
previously awarded by the DWP. Mental health conditions and | :30:03. | :30:04. | |
physical disabilities which lead to higher costs will continue to be | :30:05. | :30:08. | |
supported as has always been the case. This Government is committed | :30:09. | :30:12. | |
to ensuring our welfare system provides a strong safety net for | :30:13. | :30:16. | |
those who need it. That is why we spend ?50 billion a year supporting | :30:17. | :30:21. | |
people with disabilities and health conditions and we are investing more | :30:22. | :30:27. | |
in mental health than ever before, spending ?11.4 billion a year. | :30:28. | :30:29. | |
Personal Independence Payments are part of that support and provide | :30:30. | :30:33. | |
support towards the additional costs that disabled people face. At the | :30:34. | :30:38. | |
core is the principle that support should be made according to need | :30:39. | :30:43. | |
rather than a certain condition, whether physical or nonphysical. It | :30:44. | :30:46. | |
is designed to focus more support on those likely to have higher costs | :30:47. | :30:55. | |
with their disability. PIP works better for those with health | :30:56. | :31:04. | |
conditions. This is about restoring the original intent of the benefit | :31:05. | :31:09. | |
which has been expanded by the legal judgment. It is appropriate for the | :31:10. | :31:13. | |
Government to act to restore clarity to the law as governments have done | :31:14. | :31:17. | |
before and will no doubt continue to do in the future. In a written | :31:18. | :31:25. | |
statement published without warning on Thursday, ministers announced the | :31:26. | :31:29. | |
cuts the Secretary of State has been referring to and it will take effect | :31:30. | :31:33. | |
in two weeks' time. Over the weekend, another minister said this | :31:34. | :31:38. | |
was to stop the payment of benefits people and I quote, taking pills at | :31:39. | :31:44. | |
home who suffer from anxiety. Why is so little notice being given with no | :31:45. | :31:49. | |
opportunity at all the Parliamentary scoop -- scrutiny of these cuts? | :31:50. | :31:57. | |
Will the Minister confirm, as stated in the impact assessment published | :31:58. | :32:02. | |
with the regulation, that people suffering from schizophrenia, then | :32:03. | :32:05. | |
disability, autism and dementia will be among the worst affected by these | :32:06. | :32:12. | |
cuts? The cut is being achieved by taking benefit away from people | :32:13. | :32:18. | |
whose mobility payments are the result of psychological distress. | :32:19. | :32:22. | |
They will no longer be entitled to benefit according to the wording of | :32:23. | :32:26. | |
the regulation. Doesn't that directly contradict the Prime | :32:27. | :32:29. | |
Minister's commitment to treat mental health on a par with free | :32:30. | :32:37. | |
vehicle health? I thought every part of that question was based in error, | :32:38. | :32:43. | |
if I may say. Nobody is losing money from what they were originally | :32:44. | :32:51. | |
awarded by. That part is simply factually incorrect. Froth from that | :32:52. | :32:56. | |
far from being slipped out, we made a huge effort to let people know | :32:57. | :33:01. | |
this was happening. I left a message for this shadow Secretary of State | :33:02. | :33:04. | |
and I spoke to the chairman of the select committee. I know my | :33:05. | :33:10. | |
honourable friend spoke to a number of colleagues. The idea that this | :33:11. | :33:14. | |
was slipped out is simply ridiculous. He talks about | :33:15. | :33:18. | |
individual conditions. I can only repeat what I said in answer to his | :33:19. | :33:25. | |
original question that PIP is not awarded for conditions. It is | :33:26. | :33:29. | |
awarded for the difficulty in living or mobility that results in those | :33:30. | :33:34. | |
conditions and that all these regulations do is restore the | :33:35. | :33:38. | |
situation to where it was in late November before we had these two | :33:39. | :33:43. | |
court judgments. This is not a new policy, this is not a spending cut. | :33:44. | :33:48. | |
This is simply restoring the benefit to what was intended when it was | :33:49. | :33:52. | |
first introduced under the Coalition Government. Does my right honourable | :33:53. | :33:59. | |
friend agree that any welfare payment, especially one that | :34:00. | :34:01. | |
provides a tiered level of cash payments to people living with | :34:02. | :34:06. | |
enormously diverse range of fiscal mental conditions does require clear | :34:07. | :34:10. | |
assessment criteria, clarity of law and what these new regulations will | :34:11. | :34:13. | |
do is restore that precision back to the law which will benefit audiences | :34:14. | :34:20. | |
of the system? I completely agree with my honourable friend who has | :34:21. | :34:24. | |
huge expertise in this area. We do need clarity, particularly be | :34:25. | :34:28. | |
vulnerable people who are receiving PIP deserve clarity and I can | :34:29. | :34:34. | |
reassure them and the House that all these judgments do, or the | :34:35. | :34:40. | |
regulations do is restore us to the point which everyone knew they were | :34:41. | :34:44. | |
at late last year and have been ever since PIP was introduced. We have | :34:45. | :34:52. | |
heard on Thursday the Government issued these new regulations by | :34:53. | :34:56. | |
which disabled people or people with a chronic condition would be | :34:57. | :35:00. | |
assessed for eligibility to Personal Independence Payments. PIP helps | :35:01. | :35:04. | |
disabled people to fund their living costs and the additional costs based | :35:05. | :35:08. | |
by disabled people because of their condition. These regulations come | :35:09. | :35:15. | |
into force in two weeks without consultation with Social Security | :35:16. | :35:20. | |
advisory committee. This was because of the urgency of the issue. The | :35:21. | :35:26. | |
Government is in effect overturning two tribunal rulings which allows | :35:27. | :35:29. | |
chronic psychological distress to be included in the assessment. If the | :35:30. | :35:34. | |
Secretary of State was so unhappy with the rulings, why did he not use | :35:35. | :35:40. | |
his powers under sections 25 and 26 of the Social Security act and | :35:41. | :35:48. | |
regulations 21 and 22 of the Social Security and child support | :35:49. | :35:51. | |
regulations to challenge these rulings in the court? The effects of | :35:52. | :35:55. | |
these actions not only undermine the judicial process but reduce | :35:56. | :36:01. | |
eligibility to PIP supported by 164,000 people would develop a -- | :36:02. | :36:04. | |
debilitating mental health conditions including not being able | :36:05. | :36:08. | |
to go outside their own homes. What discussion has the Secretary of | :36:09. | :36:11. | |
State had disabled people's organisations ahead of bringing | :36:12. | :36:15. | |
forward these regulations? What is his assessment of the effects of | :36:16. | :36:19. | |
these cuts on the health and well-being of the people affected? | :36:20. | :36:22. | |
Given that disabled people are twice as likely to live in poverty as | :36:23. | :36:26. | |
non-disabled people as a result of the extra costs, how many disabled | :36:27. | :36:29. | |
people will be driven into debt or face poverty as a result of these | :36:30. | :36:34. | |
cuts? What is the Cuba to affect of these cuts would be cuts affecting | :36:35. | :36:39. | |
half a million disabled people due to come into effect in April? | :36:40. | :36:44. | |
Finally, why is the Government contradicting their own earlier | :36:45. | :36:51. | |
argument in the 2015 Upper Tribunal case of HL versus the Secretary of | :36:52. | :36:55. | |
State for Work and Pensions where they argued psychological distress | :36:56. | :36:58. | |
should be included in PIP assessments? | :36:59. | :37:06. | |
Prime Minister famously said they needed more support. Why want the | :37:07. | :37:16. | |
government on their Let me deal with some of the points raised. We are | :37:17. | :37:22. | |
appealing against a judgment as well. Because of the lack of clarity | :37:23. | :37:32. | |
that would be caused by leaving the regulations in limbo after the | :37:33. | :37:36. | |
tribunal decision, it is better to move quickly. Also, I should see the | :37:37. | :37:41. | |
tribunal itself said that the assessment criteria were not clear. | :37:42. | :37:47. | |
If they believe that, I am more than happy to accept that. I am taking | :37:48. | :37:55. | |
the opportunity to clarify the regulations. She talks about the | :37:56. | :38:01. | |
effect on disabled people. I agree with. That is the central core of | :38:02. | :38:12. | |
what we are trying to do. Over two thirds of those with this component | :38:13. | :38:21. | |
get the extra payment. That is why this is a better benefit than DLA. | :38:22. | :38:28. | |
That is what was happening under the previous regulations which I am now | :38:29. | :38:34. | |
restoring. Her questions were predicated on the questions that | :38:35. | :38:39. | |
this was a cut. It is simply not a cut. It is not entirely honest of | :38:40. | :38:44. | |
her to see it as a cut. If she looks at the fact of the case, she will | :38:45. | :38:52. | |
recognise that people claiming PIP, specifically claiming people | :38:53. | :38:56. | |
claiming PIP with mental health conditions are better off with PIP. | :38:57. | :39:01. | |
What we are doing is making the benefit clear. Making the change | :39:02. | :39:08. | |
that the benefit is being paid and that that is better for people, | :39:09. | :39:12. | |
particularly with mental health conditions. There can be no | :39:13. | :39:18. | |
accusation of dishonesty in this chamber. No further explanation is | :39:19. | :39:37. | |
required. Rightly, the government is spending money on supporting those | :39:38. | :39:45. | |
with long-term disabilities. This should be done in conjunction with | :39:46. | :39:49. | |
charities and stakeholders, utilising their expertise. He is | :39:50. | :40:00. | |
exactly right. There was extensive consultation when PIP was first | :40:01. | :40:06. | |
introduced about the design of what is inevitably a very complex | :40:07. | :40:12. | |
benefit. What we have seen, as I have just explained, is considerable | :40:13. | :40:17. | |
improvement in the awards particularly to those with mental | :40:18. | :40:21. | |
health conditions. What the government's changes do is restore | :40:22. | :40:28. | |
that better situation than people knew in the past. These changes will | :40:29. | :40:37. | |
exclude disabled people from vital financial assistance and sends a | :40:38. | :40:41. | |
dangerous message to the public that people who suffer with mental health | :40:42. | :40:52. | |
problems are less crucial than people with physical disabilities. I | :40:53. | :41:03. | |
ask that the Minister clarify if this matter will be brought to the | :41:04. | :41:09. | |
House. Finally, I ask if a debate can take place as a matter of great | :41:10. | :41:13. | |
urgency to give the House the opportunity to scrutinise the | :41:14. | :41:27. | |
proposals. Matters of what will be debated are matters for the usual | :41:28. | :41:33. | |
channels. Her first question was based on the misapprehension that | :41:34. | :41:40. | |
people with mental health conditions are doing worse under PIP as it is | :41:41. | :41:45. | |
currently run. It is factually not the case. The government overall | :41:46. | :41:51. | |
spending ?11.4 billion in people with mental health conditions. More | :41:52. | :41:56. | |
than any previous government has paid out. And specifically also the | :41:57. | :42:02. | |
overall we are spending ?50 billion a year on disability benefits. Every | :42:03. | :42:06. | |
year in this Parliament, we will be spending more than was spent in | :42:07. | :42:12. | |
2010. That is how we are meeting our commitments to disabled people, | :42:13. | :42:18. | |
which I take very seriously and the whole government takes very | :42:19. | :42:26. | |
seriously. Are there lessons for the framers of the regulations to avoid | :42:27. | :42:29. | |
them being effectively rewritten by the tribunal is? There are always | :42:30. | :42:36. | |
lessons for anyone who writes regulations. Benefits regulations | :42:37. | :42:41. | |
are complex because the need to be very sensitive because we are | :42:42. | :42:46. | |
dealing with vulnerable people, in this case were dealing with disabled | :42:47. | :42:49. | |
people who have extra living costs or difficulties with mobility. It is | :42:50. | :42:58. | |
one of the roles of the courts to point out where it has gone wrong. | :42:59. | :43:03. | |
The courts have said they were not clear. The government is clarifying | :43:04. | :43:12. | |
them. That is to everyone's benefit. The Prime Minister has said there | :43:13. | :43:16. | |
should be parity of esteem between mental and physical health | :43:17. | :43:21. | |
conditions. By overriding the court on this matter, 160,000 people who | :43:22. | :43:26. | |
otherwise would have been getting support through PIP now will not get | :43:27. | :43:40. | |
that support. Did the Prime Minister agreed to this? She is wrong to say | :43:41. | :43:45. | |
that 160,000 people will not get PIP because of this. She knows that this | :43:46. | :43:52. | |
is not whether you get PIP or not, this is a matter of their being two | :43:53. | :44:01. | |
other descriptors. I am not the Prime Minister. She is simply wrong | :44:02. | :44:11. | |
when she says that this will deny people PIP. As she knows, PIP is | :44:12. | :44:17. | |
given for the difficulty in living costs or in mobility costs. There | :44:18. | :44:22. | |
are 12 different attributes that are considered. Mise court cases were | :44:23. | :44:38. | |
different. I would like to thank the Secretary of State for his | :44:39. | :44:50. | |
clarification. Can he assure us that the government is committed to | :44:51. | :44:52. | |
supporting people throughout the process? We are engaged in a PIP | :44:53. | :45:02. | |
improvement project. She is right to ask the question about consistency. | :45:03. | :45:09. | |
I know there is a concern across the House about delays. Because of the | :45:10. | :45:16. | |
PIP improvement plan, claims are now been cleared at over five times the | :45:17. | :45:21. | |
rate they were in January 2014. The delays that have been in the system | :45:22. | :45:28. | |
are being reduced and we are addressing the issue of consistency. | :45:29. | :45:33. | |
One of his predecessors resigned a year ago because of cuts to the | :45:34. | :45:40. | |
disabled. It doesn't seem he understands be strong feeling | :45:41. | :45:44. | |
amongst so many other vulnerable people, that they will be in the | :45:45. | :45:50. | |
firing line again for cuts. We receive e-mails constantly from | :45:51. | :45:55. | |
those affected and organisations over the way the disabled are being | :45:56. | :45:59. | |
hit out time and time again. And happy to assure them and the | :46:00. | :46:06. | |
honourable gentleman that what I'm talking about today is not a cut. We | :46:07. | :46:12. | |
are not going to have any new welfare cuts this Parliament, apart | :46:13. | :46:16. | |
from those that have already been legislated for. This decision we | :46:17. | :46:24. | |
have taken is not a cut. It's clear that different medical conditions | :46:25. | :46:27. | |
will have different impacts on people is living and mobility. Does | :46:28. | :46:32. | |
he agree that we must recognise the simple fact if we are to continue to | :46:33. | :46:36. | |
target resources on those who are most vulnerable and most in need? I | :46:37. | :46:44. | |
do and that was the purpose of the original design of PIP. It's better | :46:45. | :46:48. | |
than disability living allowance which it replaced precisely because | :46:49. | :46:52. | |
it reflects the reality in individuals lives that some will | :46:53. | :46:57. | |
have more difficulty in going about their daily business because of a | :46:58. | :47:02. | |
disability and the PIP benefit is specifically designed in a very | :47:03. | :47:07. | |
careful and complex way to achieve that and it does. At one of the | :47:08. | :47:17. | |
things ministers have to do... The rules are clear. If everything is | :47:18. | :47:23. | |
working so well, why are my advice surgeries full of people who are | :47:24. | :47:29. | |
awaiting further assessments for a very long time who are being denied | :47:30. | :47:36. | |
them when they have been long-term disabled, who are being caused | :47:37. | :47:40. | |
massive amounts of distress by the process, and who feel utter despair | :47:41. | :47:48. | |
at having to half anything to do it at? There is an improvement plan | :47:49. | :47:53. | |
which let's us know that things need to improve. I hope the honourable | :47:54. | :48:04. | |
lady can be reassured by the fact we are recruiting a team of health | :48:05. | :48:12. | |
professionals to help us scrutinise this. We will be trialling audio | :48:13. | :48:20. | |
recording of selected assessments from the beginning of next month to | :48:21. | :48:25. | |
understand better how the assessments can be improved. | :48:26. | :48:36. | |
From both providers? Bat point was made by a number of NGOs and by | :48:37. | :48:50. | |
colleagues on both sides of the House. I have constituents who | :48:51. | :49:00. | |
cannot leave their homes because of a physical disability or our mental | :49:01. | :49:04. | |
disability. Why should one be entitled to receive support via PIP | :49:05. | :49:10. | |
and not the other? They both will be entitled to PIP as it will be | :49:11. | :49:20. | |
assessed. The only difference... Each individual has different levels | :49:21. | :49:25. | |
of difficulty. It is often the case that cognitive impacts for people | :49:26. | :49:30. | |
who are blind will not have a fluctuating condition, which is | :49:31. | :49:34. | |
clearly less amenable to treatment than some other conditions. It is | :49:35. | :49:38. | |
the level of some difficulty in someone's daily life, either they | :49:39. | :49:42. | |
have a physical or mental health problem that matters in terms of the | :49:43. | :49:47. | |
PIP assessment. The Secretary of State will be aware that since | :49:48. | :49:52. | |
joining this place I have been a strong campaigner for parity between | :49:53. | :49:57. | |
mental and physical health. It is not a binary discussion between | :49:58. | :50:02. | |
mental and physical health, but the point of PIP is that it promotes | :50:03. | :50:07. | |
targeted health for people with mental health conditions and is it | :50:08. | :50:09. | |
not the case that more people are getting payments under PIP for | :50:10. | :50:16. | |
mental health conditions than ever was the case for DLA? I pay tribute | :50:17. | :50:22. | |
to him for the good work he has done in this House for mental health. | :50:23. | :50:30. | |
Core tenant of the PIP design is the tenants between mental and physical | :50:31. | :50:35. | |
health conditions. I think the whole house should welcome this move. It | :50:36. | :50:40. | |
is a better benefit than DLA. Growing PIP out in the way we are | :50:41. | :50:45. | |
and attempting to improve the assessment process is the best way | :50:46. | :50:50. | |
we can help people with all kinds of disabilities, but specifically those | :50:51. | :50:54. | |
with mental health conditions. I received an e-mail over the | :50:55. | :51:04. | |
weekend. My constituent's rights, someone who has been diagnosed with | :51:05. | :51:12. | |
PTSD, I am angry about his remarks. Considering the stigma mentally | :51:13. | :51:16. | |
disabled people already had to suffer, this is beyond the pale. | :51:17. | :51:19. | |
Does the Government recognise the offence these remarks make and | :51:20. | :51:25. | |
doesn't it associate itself and apologise for them? It is the | :51:26. | :51:30. | |
honourable men member for Mid Norfolk who has apologised for those | :51:31. | :51:36. | |
remarks. He has also done a lot of work on mental health issues. He has | :51:37. | :51:41. | |
a personal history and a family history which makes him particularly | :51:42. | :51:46. | |
sensitive to mental health issues and since he has apologised, I would | :51:47. | :51:50. | |
hope the House would access that apology. The for those who deal with | :51:51. | :51:59. | |
vulnerable situations, it is horrible to hear these cuts when | :52:00. | :52:05. | |
they are clearly not. Can I ask the Secretary of State to describe where | :52:06. | :52:09. | |
from the ?15 million -- ?50 billion budget where it will be paid for | :52:10. | :52:16. | |
this increase? Since the purpose of the announcement and the regulations | :52:17. | :52:21. | |
that the Government is doing is not to have to look for cuts elsewhere, | :52:22. | :52:26. | |
then I am happy to say to my honourable friend that we can avoid | :52:27. | :52:32. | |
that. We have a welfare budget and we are spending more on disability | :52:33. | :52:37. | |
benefits than any previous Government has done and we are proud | :52:38. | :52:43. | |
of that fact. We have tabled a prayer on this to force the debate | :52:44. | :52:47. | |
and I thank the Leader of the Opposition for supporting it. | :52:48. | :52:54. | |
Constituent me about how the impacts -- amendments will impact on her. | :52:55. | :53:00. | |
She receives low rate mobility and servers from ADHD, depression and | :53:01. | :53:04. | |
social phobia. Her life is affected by her mental health. She cannot | :53:05. | :53:08. | |
plan the route of the journey and followed the route of their familiar | :53:09. | :53:11. | |
journey. Why does the Government want to deny her the mobility | :53:12. | :53:18. | |
component of PIP? She is not having any changes to the rules that have | :53:19. | :53:30. | |
been in place. These are rules that were passed by a Government of which | :53:31. | :53:41. | |
he was a member. I am grateful to the Minister for offering some | :53:42. | :53:45. | |
clarity on this issue. On one specific point, I wondered if he | :53:46. | :53:49. | |
could confirm that people who need help managing their medication | :53:50. | :53:52. | |
continued to receive the support to do so. Not only will they come under | :53:53. | :54:01. | |
the appropriate descriptor for PIP, but one of the things that hasn't | :54:02. | :54:06. | |
been mentioned yet is that they receive support from the NHS as | :54:07. | :54:12. | |
well. We have a health care system precisely to advise people issues | :54:13. | :54:17. | |
like medication, so the state is already doing something to help them | :54:18. | :54:21. | |
and clearly that is necessary and it will continue to be a very important | :54:22. | :54:32. | |
part of the system. The proposed changes will affect around 160,000 | :54:33. | :54:39. | |
people, could prevent people accessing the financial support they | :54:40. | :54:43. | |
need to get to health or job appointments, get to pay for fuel | :54:44. | :54:46. | |
and heating, take their children to school, see friends and family | :54:47. | :54:51. | |
clippings that are essential for their daily lives and recovery. If | :54:52. | :54:55. | |
the Secretary of State is so confident that he is right and mind | :54:56. | :55:02. | |
is wrong, he meet with mind macro and discuss with them who is right | :55:03. | :55:06. | |
and who is wrong and then we can come back to the Chamber and get an | :55:07. | :55:19. | |
assurance. -- MIND -- to have one. I have spoke with MIND on this matter | :55:20. | :55:23. | |
and mail coming to speak to us again soon. I pointed out to them before | :55:24. | :55:33. | |
in the course of this urgent question. Nobody is losing any | :55:34. | :55:40. | |
benefits that has originally been awarded to them by the DWP. That is | :55:41. | :55:47. | |
the fact that perhaps most needs to be got across to those receiving the | :55:48. | :55:57. | |
benefits. I read into the detail and to that end, the camera Secretary of | :55:58. | :56:00. | |
State confirm my understanding that far more people with mental health | :56:01. | :56:04. | |
issues will be eligible for PIP than ever were under the old DLA? He | :56:05. | :56:13. | |
makes a correct point that I have made several times. PIP is a better | :56:14. | :56:17. | |
benefit than DLA for many reasons but perhaps the most important is | :56:18. | :56:23. | |
that it is more available to people with mental health conditions. It | :56:24. | :56:27. | |
always has been and the rules we are putting emplacement sure that it | :56:28. | :56:31. | |
continues in the way that it always done. Why is the Government | :56:32. | :56:38. | |
contradicting their earlier arguments in 2015 Upper Tribunal | :56:39. | :56:44. | |
case of HL versus Secretary of State the DWP when they argued that | :56:45. | :56:47. | |
psychological distress should be included in PIP assessments? | :56:48. | :56:57. | |
Psychological distress is included in PIP assessments. It always has | :56:58. | :57:00. | |
done nothing changes as a result of these regulations. Can I thank the | :57:01. | :57:08. | |
Secretary of State for the reassurances we have received so far | :57:09. | :57:11. | |
given the correspondence I received, Minister confirm that these | :57:12. | :57:15. | |
regulations will not result in anybody receiving less money than | :57:16. | :57:18. | |
they were awarded by the deeply dug -- DWP and there is no intention to | :57:19. | :57:23. | |
make new savings? Nobody will receive less money than they were | :57:24. | :57:29. | |
originally receiving in their award from the DWP as a result of the | :57:30. | :57:34. | |
regulations we have introduced. With learning disabilities, | :57:35. | :57:40. | |
schizophrenia, autism highlighted by my honourable friend, I am -- they | :57:41. | :57:45. | |
are more likely to be anxious about the assessment and have difficulty | :57:46. | :57:49. | |
in conveying them edition and my constituents are telling me they are | :57:50. | :57:52. | |
subject to a more aggressive assessment process. Does the | :57:53. | :57:56. | |
Secretary of State Sharma considers that these people will be | :57:57. | :57:59. | |
particularly vulnerable if these proposals are not reduced carefully? | :58:00. | :58:04. | |
We are introducing them carefully and I agree that people who are | :58:05. | :58:11. | |
likely to suffer anxiety should not be made unnecessarily anxious. That | :58:12. | :58:14. | |
is why I am at pains to reassure them, the House and everyone else | :58:15. | :58:20. | |
that this is not a policy change, a cut, nobody will receive less | :58:21. | :58:23. | |
benefit than they were originally awarded by the DWP. I commend the | :58:24. | :58:32. | |
Secretary of State for his response. Can he, through the improvement plan | :58:33. | :58:39. | |
process of PIP, give assurances to Mike constituents who find it | :58:40. | :58:43. | |
difficult to travel to assessments that they will be supported? I can. | :58:44. | :58:52. | |
We already will visit people who need that particular service and we | :58:53. | :59:00. | |
will continue to do so. The reality of the situation is the disability | :59:01. | :59:06. | |
benefits system, whether PIP or its predecessor benefits have never been | :59:07. | :59:09. | |
sufficiently sensitive or flexible to the needs of people with mental | :59:10. | :59:14. | |
health illnesses and the court rulings in relation that we are | :59:15. | :59:22. | |
discussing today was one small step of interpreting existing | :59:23. | :59:25. | |
regulations, not new ones, to make that a little bit better. Does he | :59:26. | :59:29. | |
not recognise that by rushing out these new regulations come he is | :59:30. | :59:32. | |
changing and interpretation and existing one and in doing so he's | :59:33. | :59:37. | |
going to make people with mental health problems and bonuses a lot | :59:38. | :59:40. | |
more anxious and a lot more unfairly treated? He makes an important point | :59:41. | :59:48. | |
but I don't agree with his assessment, particularly because | :59:49. | :59:55. | |
what the tribunal said was that the regulations weren't clear enough. | :59:56. | :59:58. | |
What we are doing is clarifying them. We are clarifying them in a | :59:59. | :00:04. | |
way that restores the attention to the original intention that has | :00:05. | :00:07. | |
always been there for the benefit. That should provide certainty to | :00:08. | :00:15. | |
people, not uncertainty. I recognise the Government is returning the | :00:16. | :00:19. | |
scope and funds but does not the focus on these vulnerable people | :00:20. | :00:22. | |
were challenging needs highlight the need for more integration and more | :00:23. | :00:30. | |
funds for social care? My honourable friend makes a good point on this | :00:31. | :00:36. | |
and he's right about greater integration. It is why we have | :00:37. | :00:41. | |
created a work and health unit so that the first time my department | :00:42. | :00:45. | |
and the default of health working together on a daily basis for the | :00:46. | :00:52. | |
very many people whose needs fall partly in health and partly because | :00:53. | :00:57. | |
of the benefit system just we can provide a more integrated personal | :00:58. | :01:05. | |
-- and sensitive service to them. So many of my constituents have had to | :01:06. | :01:08. | |
go through the reconsideration process and all the way to a | :01:09. | :01:12. | |
tribunal to be awarded the number of PIP points they should have been of | :01:13. | :01:17. | |
awarded in the first place. Though -- does the Secretary of State had | :01:18. | :01:20. | |
plans to introduce support for disabled people who are awaiting the | :01:21. | :01:26. | |
outcome of tribunal decisions? He makes the point about people who | :01:27. | :01:32. | |
appeal. Only 6% of PIP judgments are appealed, so the number is very low. | :01:33. | :01:38. | |
We are seeking to improve the system by making sure that more health | :01:39. | :01:43. | |
information is available earlier in the assessment process which I'm | :01:44. | :01:50. | |
sure will help his constituents. I had been following the exchanges | :01:51. | :01:54. | |
closely in much that my constituents want to know their MP has understood | :01:55. | :01:58. | |
things correctly. Can he understand by understanding from what has been | :01:59. | :02:03. | |
said that 25% of PIP claimants now get the highest rate compared to 15% | :02:04. | :02:11. | |
under DLA and that more mental health conditions qualify for PIP | :02:12. | :02:19. | |
than ever did before under the old DLA system? My honourable friend is | :02:20. | :02:24. | |
correct. In both of those assumptions. I am happy that he can | :02:25. | :02:30. | |
share them with his constituents. Harris Moss -- specifically, I can | :02:31. | :02:33. | |
add that there were more PIP claimants with mental health | :02:34. | :02:37. | |
conditions claiming the mobility component. 27% of PIP -- PIP | :02:38. | :02:43. | |
claimants can better 9% on DLA which is another improvement. I have had | :02:44. | :02:53. | |
surgery is faced with constituents who are increasingly anxious by | :02:54. | :02:59. | |
these changes., Secretary of State confirm what assessment the | :03:00. | :03:02. | |
Government has undertaken on the impact of these cuts on the already | :03:03. | :03:06. | |
vulnerable mental health status and well-being of claimants and will he | :03:07. | :03:09. | |
make that assessment available to the House? The analysis is available | :03:10. | :03:19. | |
and I can only emphasise to the honourable lady's constituents and | :03:20. | :03:26. | |
the Shadow Secretary of State who is chuntering that this is not a change | :03:27. | :03:30. | |
in policy. This is not a cut. Nobody will receive less benefit than they | :03:31. | :03:37. | |
were originally awarded by the DWP. I can hear people chuntering on both | :03:38. | :03:43. | |
sides. Not something I remember doing when I was on the backbenches. | :03:44. | :03:51. | |
You sat next to me on those benches and I remember. We have an excellent | :03:52. | :03:55. | |
Secretary of State and one of the most caring in the Government and | :03:56. | :04:01. | |
I'm sure what the Government is doing is correct. As the honourable | :04:02. | :04:05. | |
gentleman opposite said, it does give members the opportunity to | :04:06. | :04:10. | |
highlight that the process of assessment is not working for a | :04:11. | :04:13. | |
number of our constituents. I am fed up with singer constituent every | :04:14. | :04:16. | |
week who clearly should have been awarded it and not getting it. Can | :04:17. | :04:21. | |
he say more on how we will improve that situation? I am grateful for | :04:22. | :04:42. | |
your remarks. In terms of the PIP improvement service, we are trying | :04:43. | :04:45. | |
to improve all aspects of it, but the accuracy of the assessments, the | :04:46. | :04:51. | |
speed of the assessments and I think the early provision of more health | :04:52. | :04:57. | |
information will improve the situation hugely, not least for his | :04:58. | :05:01. | |
constituents and others. They find it a stressful process. I would | :05:02. | :05:08. | |
challenge the assertion that PIP is back of the bit with mental health | :05:09. | :05:12. | |
conditions as a constituent of mine has a diagnosis of bipolar disorder | :05:13. | :05:16. | |
and used to receive DLA on the grounds of the need for continual | :05:17. | :05:20. | |
supervision. It is not recognised under PIP and my constituent is not | :05:21. | :05:26. | |
only losing her entitlement to PIP but her working tax credit which was | :05:27. | :05:31. | |
past ported via DLI -- DLA. What reassurances does this give to my | :05:32. | :05:40. | |
constituent and others like hers? I can only repeat the fax to the | :05:41. | :05:47. | |
honourable lady that over two thirds of PIP recipients with a mental | :05:48. | :05:51. | |
health condition get the enhanced rate daily living component. That | :05:52. | :05:57. | |
compares to 22% who received the DLA care. As I explained on the mobility | :05:58. | :06:05. | |
component, the relevant figures are 27% and 9%. The facts are | :06:06. | :06:10. | |
incontrovertible. More people with mental health conditions are | :06:11. | :06:12. | |
receiving PIP then used to receive DLA. It is a better benefit for | :06:13. | :06:15. | |
people with mental health conditions than DLA was. | :06:16. | :06:22. | |
My constituents will be relieved to hear what my boyfriend said about | :06:23. | :06:30. | |
looking at the assessment process which goes on for far too long. | :06:31. | :06:41. | |
Regarding a home visit, could they consider information from family and | :06:42. | :06:47. | |
friends? We already do home visits. If there are cases where he thinks | :06:48. | :06:51. | |
people should have had home visit and did not, then get in touch with | :06:52. | :06:55. | |
me and we will look at the details of what is happening. Of the many | :06:56. | :07:04. | |
constituents who have come to my surgery with problems regarding PiP, | :07:05. | :07:13. | |
there is one which springs to mind. It was not somebody who wanted to | :07:14. | :07:17. | |
sit at home and take pills, he simply was not able to get out | :07:18. | :07:21. | |
there. How can the government possibly claim to want parity of | :07:22. | :07:25. | |
esteem when it is enshrining disparity in this? It is obviously | :07:26. | :07:31. | |
impossible for me to comment on an individual case where I have not | :07:32. | :07:36. | |
seen the details, but the parity between mental and physical | :07:37. | :07:41. | |
disabilities is embedded in PiP. That is the whole point of it. Far | :07:42. | :07:48. | |
more people with mental health conditions are receiving PiP and | :07:49. | :07:53. | |
used to receive DLA. It might be an uncomfortable truth, but it is still | :07:54. | :08:01. | |
true. Can the Secretary of State firstly tell the House by the | :08:02. | :08:07. | |
committee was bypassed in passing this recommendation? Can he tell us | :08:08. | :08:12. | |
what consultations he has had with organisations that represent | :08:13. | :08:17. | |
disabled people? People with mental health conditions who cannot follow | :08:18. | :08:26. | |
the route of an unfamiliar route should be awarded the higher rate | :08:27. | :08:32. | |
and not the lower one. I spoke to the chairman of the SSC and in front | :08:33. | :08:39. | |
choir was invoking the procedure allowed. He and his committee still | :08:40. | :08:46. | |
have the power to look at these regulations and make | :08:47. | :08:50. | |
recommendations. They can do so. He will have observed that many people | :08:51. | :08:56. | |
on all benches have spoken of the problems of uncertainty and how they | :08:57. | :09:02. | |
affect many of those who have the mental health conditions we have | :09:03. | :09:05. | |
spoken of. We are removing the uncertainty and meeting the desire | :09:06. | :09:14. | |
to have clarity in the system. And restoring it to where it was before. | :09:15. | :09:21. | |
It provides quick certainty for people. That is what many people | :09:22. | :09:31. | |
won't. Port of or -- point of order. I wonder if you can guide the as to | :09:32. | :09:38. | |
what is the appropriate step I should take? Last week at Prime | :09:39. | :09:41. | |
Minister's Questions I asked a question to the Prime Minister about | :09:42. | :09:45. | |
a petition being handed into Number Ten Downing St. The Prime Minister | :09:46. | :09:49. | |
said she did not understand what I was talking about. My question is | :09:50. | :09:57. | |
very specific. The petitioner said they had made an appointment to hand | :09:58. | :10:07. | |
in the petition. I have subsequently been contacted by one of the | :10:08. | :10:11. | |
petitioners to say they had made an appointment to go into Number Ten | :10:12. | :10:15. | |
Downing St and were not allowed to hand position into Number Ten | :10:16. | :10:22. | |
Downing St but outside the police officer took | :10:23. | :10:23. |