The first DWP oral questions in the House of commons yesterday failed to shed any light at all on the government’s attitude to personal independence payment (PIP) vouchers or the timetable for managed migration of employment and support allowance (ESA) claimants to universal credit (UC). But it did allow Labour to publish 31 formerly secret benefits reports in order to embarrass the Conservatives.
Many claimants had hoped, and much of the media had claimed, that Liz Kendall would use her first oral questions to reveal the government’s plans for PIP, and in particular whether a voucher scheme was to go ahead.
In fact, there was not a single question on this issue or on managed migration. Instead, the opposition concentrated its fire on winter fuel allowance, where they see Labour as being most vulnerable. And Labour MPs largely asked questions they knew ministers would be happy to answer.
It now seems likely that claimants will have to wait until the end of the month, for the budget and the probable publication of the “Getting Britain Working” white paper, to discover what Labour has in store.
The release of the 31 reports was presented as a new era of transparency at the DWP. In reality, many of the documents are now very old and of limited value. Meanwhile, there has been no sign of the DWP responding any more quickly or readily to freedom of information requests under Labour than it was under the Conservatives.
So, mostly this data dump was piece of political theatre, although a report on the huge barriers faced by ESA claimants in relation to work is possibly even more relevant today than it was when the data was originally collected a decade ago.
Benefits and Work has not had time to go through all of the reports, but those listed below may be of interest to readers. If you find any valuable information please do pass it on via email or in the comments below.
Barriers to Accessing Health Support for PIP, NS ESA, and UC Claimants
Experiences of PIP applicants who received zero points at assessment
Take up and use of the Universal Credit Advance Payment
The Impact of Fluctuating Health Conditions on Assessment
Specialism in the Health Assessment: Initial Exploratory Research
Not Started and Unfinished Claims to Universal Credit (UC Hesitancy Research)
A health, social and economic profile of ESA recipients: Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey 2014
The full collection of reports can be found at these two links: DWP research reports and DWP ad hoc research
