COUNCIL OF EUROPE

FORM

FOR THE

BIENNIAL REPORT

ON THE

EUROPEAN CODE OF SOCIAL SECURITY

(ARTICLE 76 – PARTS NOT SPECIFIED

IN THE RATIFICATION OF THE CODE

OR IN A NOTIFICATION MADE SUBSEQUENTLY)

________

STRASBOURG

R E P O R T

for the period from 1 July 2016 to 30 June 2018 made by the Government of United Kingdom in accordance with Article 76 of the European Code on Social Security on the position of national law and practice in regard to the matters dealt with in Parts of the European Code of Social Security which have not been specified in the ratification of the Code or in a subsequent notification.

Part VI – Employment Injury Benefit (Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit)

I. The position remains as previously described.

II. 2016

The Social Security (Claims and Payments) Amendment Regulations 2016 (SI 2016 No 544)

(Equivalent regulations are due to be introduced in Northern Ireland in summer 2016 to support the development of online claims)

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2016/544/contents/made

2017

The Social Security (Industrial Injuries) (Prescribed Diseases) Amendment Regulations 2017 (SI 2017 No 232)

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2017/232/pdfs/uksi_20170232_en.pdf

The Social Security (Industrial Injuries) (Prescribed Diseases) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2017 (SR 2017 No 45)

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/nisr/2017/45/pdfs/nisr_20170045_en.pdf

1. Scope

The position remains as previously described.

2. Conditions for Entitlement to Benefits

The position remains as previously described.

3. Level of Benefits

Examples of weekly rates of Disablement Benefit, and associated increases payable during the period under consideration are shown below:

Disablement Benefit

From April (£GB)	2015/16	2016/17	2017/18
Disablement 100%	168.00	168.00	174.80
Disablement 20%	33.60	33.60	34.96
Reduced Earnings Allowance* (maximum rate)	67.20	67.20	69.92
Retirement Allowance	16.80	16.80	17.48
Constant Attendance Allowance (maximum)	134.40	134.40	139.80
Exceptionally Severe Disablement Allowance	67.20	67.20	69.90

*Reduced Earnings Allowance is not payable in respect of accidents or diseases arising on or after 1 October 1990.

(a) The position remains as previously described. The levels of benefit for incapacity to work, total loss of earnings capacity (or corresponding lack of faculty) and survivors continue to meet the standards in the Schedule to Part XI of the Code.

(b) The position remains as previously described. No account is taken of other resources of the beneficiary and his family, but provisions exist to prevent the duplication of state benefits in certain circumstances.

4. Miscellaneous

(a) The position remains as previously described.

(b) The position remains as previously described.

(d) Copies of the new regulations are published (see Part II).

III.

(a) The position remains as previously described.

(b) The position remains as previously described - Prescription charges and the costs of dental treatment are borne by recipients of industrial injuries benefits on the same basis as they are borne by people receiving other state benefits. This is at variance with the requirement of Article 34 that persons suffering employment related injury should not contribute to their cost of medical care.

However, prescriptions written by GPs are dispensed free of charge in Northern Ireland. Patients don't need to qualify for free prescriptions. Pharmacists in Northern Ireland don't charge patients from England, Scotland or Wales for prescriptions.

IV. The United Kingdom (UK) is unable to accept Part VI of the Code because UK law and practice are not compatible with the requirements of Article 34 2(b) and (e). These exceptions apart, the requirements of Part VI are met by the provisions in the UK scheme which ensure that all employed workers (‘employed earners’) are compulsorily protected against employment injury and disease.

Part VIII – Maternity Benefit

I. The position remains as previously described - Laws and regulations exist to provide benefit cover for pregnancy. Protection is provided under a compulsory scheme, in addition employers may operate a contractual maternity pay scheme.

II. No new legislation has been introduced in the reporting period (1 July 2016 to 30 June 2018).

1. Scope

All pregnant working women earning on average at least £30 or more a week are eligible for maternity benefits.

Also women who are not employed or self-employed but who participate in the self-employed business of their spouse or civil partner (participating wife or civil partner of self-employed earner).

2. Conditions for Entitlement to Benefits

(a) Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP): Payable to employed earners who have worked continuously for the same employer for 26 weeks into the qualifying week (which is the 15th week before the week in which the baby is due); employed earnings must exceed the Lower Earning Limit for National Insurance (£112 per week, 2016/17; £113 per week, 2017/18; £116 per week, 2018/19).

(b) Maternity Allowance (MA): Payable to employed earners who do not qualify for Statutory Maternity Pay, the self-employed and the unemployed, provided the claimant has worked for 26 weeks in the 66 weeks prior to the expected week of childbirth and earned, on average, £30 per week in 13 of those weeks.

Both SMP and MA are payable for up to 39 weeks.

(c) Maternity Allowance: Payable to women who are not employed or self-employed, but who have participated, unpaid, in the business of a self-employed spouse or civil partner for at least 26 weeks in the 66-week period before the expected date of childbirth; their spouse or civil partner must have paid Class 2 National insurance contributions in respect of each of those same 26 weeks.

MA is payable for up to 14 weeks.

3. Level of Benefits

(a) during the reporting period are as follows:

Statutory Maternity Pay

Earnings-related for the first six weeks at 90% of average weekly earnings, with no upper limit.

(Week 7 onwards) 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19

Standard rate £139.58 £140.98 £145.18

Maternity Allowance

The rate of MA is based on a woman’s average weekly earnings. MA is paid at the lower of either the standard rate or 90% of average weekly earnings.

2016/17 2017/18 2018/19

Standard rate £139.58 £140.98 £145.18

The rate of MA for women who are not employed or self-employed, but who have participated, unpaid, in the business of a self-employed spouse or civil partner is £27 per week, which is equivalent to the minimum rate payable for MA.

(b) Other resources not taken into account.

4. Miscellaneous

(a) The position remains as previously described.

(b) The position remains as previously described.

(d) The position remains as previously described.

V. We recognise there is a difference between the UK approach and the interpretation by the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations (CEACR) with respect to the level and duration of maternity benefit provision.

The UK provides one of the longest periods of paid leave in the European Union (up to 39 weeks), which allows women the opportunity to stay off work for longer giving them more time to decide on the best balance between work and their family commitments. The UK Government believes that the current approach where the rate of maternity payment is supplemented by other targeted financial support is the best way to direct help toward pregnant working women.

Maternity Benefits are part of a package of employment rights available to employees and families who, depending on their circumstances, may also be entitled to receive Universal Credit, the benefits and Tax Credits it is replacing and other benefits. This package of financial support also includes Statutory Paternity Leave and Pay, Statutory Adoption Leave and Pay, and Shared Parental Leave and Pay.

Part IX – Invalidity Benefit

I. The Employment and Support Allowance (Consequential Amendments and Transitional and Savings Provisions) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2017

1. Scope

The position remains as previously described.

2. Conditions for Entitlement to Benefits

As the UK’s previous Report explained, the contingencies of Part III and IX of the Code are now covered by Employment and Support Allowance (ESA). ESA replaced Incapacity Benefit (IB), Severe Disablement Benefit (SDA) and Income Support (IS) paid on grounds of incapacity, for new claimants from 27 October 2008. All existing IB, SDA and IS claims are to be reassessed for ESA.

Incapacity Benefit Reassessment

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is continuing the reassessment of Incapacity Benefit claimants to identify eligibility for ESA or capability for work.

This is a major change to the welfare system. Having started on a small scale from October 2010, the reassessment exercise began nationally in April 2011. At September 2017, around 1.54 million had started their reassessment of which 99.8% are now complete.

The Incapacity Benefit Reassessment Exercise has been completed in Northern Ireland.

ESA

ESA integrates the contributory and the income-related benefits into a single structure. Previously, applicants had to claim two separate benefits. Under ESA they only have to claim one.

Following the introduction of Universal Credit (UC), the ESA Regulations 2013 replaced the ESA Regulations 2008, effectively removing all references to income-related ESA, and re-introducing ESA as a contributory benefit only.

Once UC is fully introduced, income-related ESA will be absorbed into UC and ESA will exist separately as a contributory benefit only.

ESA Entitlement Conditions

A claimant may be entitled to ESA if they:

· are at least 16 years of age and under state pension age; have an illness, health condition or disability which limits their ability to work – this applies regardless of their normal employment status, i.e. whether they are normally employed, self-employed or unemployed; and

· are not entitled to Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) (paid by employers), or their entitlement to SSP has ended.

ESA can be awarded on the basis of either National Insurance (NI) contributions (contributory ESA (ESA(C)) or low income (income-related ESA (ESA (IR)). Both elements can be paid at the same time.

Contributory ESA (ESA(C))

Normally, to be entitled to ESA(C), a claimant has to satisfy two conditions:

· To have paid enough National Insurance (NI) contributions in the two tax years prior to claiming ESA for at least 26 weeks; and

· To have either paid, or been credited with enough, NI contributions in two tax years prior to claiming ESA that is at least 50 times the minimum threshold.

· A payment time limit of one year applies to claimants with limited capability for work and placed in the Work-Related Activity Group (WRAG). This underlines the principle that, with appropriate support, claimants are expected to return to work. It is more consistent with the rules for receiving contributory Jobseeker’s Allowance, which has a time-limit of six months, whilst recognising the different nature of ESA recipients and the purpose of the benefit.

Income-related ESA (ESA (IR))

A claimant may be entitled to ESA (IR) regardless of how much they have paid by way of NI contributions, if they satisfy the conditions relating to their financial position. They must have savings of less than £16,000 and, if they have a partner or civil partner, the partner must work for less than 24 hours per week on average.

National Insurance Credits

Even where there is no entitlement to an award of ESA, a person may still be entitled to NI credits provided they continue to meet the qualifying criteria. These credits can count towards future claims for benefits, such as contribution-based Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) and State Pension, amongst others. Therefore, although credits do not give an immediate payment to an individual in the way that a social security benefit does, they can, by virtue of protecting future entitlement to benefit, have considerable value.

A person who only claims NI credits needs to engage in work-related activity in the same way as other claimants in the Work-Related Activity Group (WRAG), and as part of this, they will be given support with their preparation for work.
Work Capability Assessment

ESA claimants are assessed on their limited capability for work or limited capability for work-related activity as a result of the functional impact of their health condition or disability.

This is usually determined initially by a fit note (previously called medical certificate) supplied by the claimant’s doctor, a Capability for Work questionnaire filled in by the claimant and a face-to-face assessment – the Work Capability assessment (WCA) - conducted by a healthcare professional contracted by the Government. A DWP Decision Maker makes the final decision on benefit entitlement.

The WCA is a functional assessment which looks at what people can do, as well as what they cannot, to identify people for the correct benefit and give them the support they need to get back to work and avoid ending up on long-term sickness benefits. This approach is based on the principle that a health condition or disability should not automatically be regarded as a barrier to work. There is strong evidence that work is good for physical and mental well-being, and that being out of work can contribute to poorer health and other negative outcomes.

The Government remains committed to continuously improving the WCA to ensure that it is as fair and accurate as possible. As part of this process, the Government had a statutory commitment to independently review the WCA annually for the first five years of its operation.

DWP continuously seeks to improve the WCA, and as part of this has stopped routine reassessments for claimants with the most severe and lifelong health conditions or disabilities from 29 September 2017.

Green Paper Consultation

DWP consulted on WCA reform in the Improving Lives Green Paper (consultation ran between October 2016 – February 2017), and has committed to building more personalised and tailored employment support to help disabled claimants and those with health conditions return to work where appropriate.

The publication ‘Improving Lives: The Future of Health, Work and Disability’, published on 29 November 2017, set out the Department’s response to the consultation and how it has informed the Department’s next steps.

The consultation included a specific WCA reform model (to separate decisions on the financial support an individual receives from requirements to engage with employment support). Many respondents supported that approach, but concerns were also raised. There was no consensus on what the right model of WCA reform would look like. The Department will therefore focus on testing new approaches to build the evidence base for future reform.

Removal of Work-Related Activity Component

From 3 April 2017, new claimants placed in the ESA WRAG and UC equivalent limited capability for work route way, receive the same rate as those claiming JSA, unless their claim was made before, or links to a claim made prior to, 3 April.

This change enables us to recycle money into providing practical support that will make a significant difference to the life chances of those in the WRAG. We have allocated a total of £330m for new, voluntary employment support for people with limited capability for work, over four years starting from April 2017, and an extra £15 million through a top up to the existing Flexible Support Fund in both 2017/18 and 2018/19.

This additional funding means that from April 2017 DWP is offering people newly placed in the WRAG, and its UC equivalent, more assistance through a range of new measures designed to help them to move closer to the labour market and, when they are ready, into work.

Introduced from April 2017 to run over the course of four years, the Personal Support Package includes tailored new employment support to assist people with health conditions and disabilities in moving closer to the labour market and when they are ready, into work;

· This includes introducing 200 Community Partners to Jobcentres across Great Britain, introducing peer support Journey to Employment Job Clubs, increased funding for the Access to Work Mental Health Support Service, and deploying trained Small Employer Advisors to deliver the Small Employer Offer.

· DWP has recruited 300 new Disability Employment Advisers and will continue to develop the support package by introducing new mental health training for work coaches and by testing a number of ideas to build an evidence base of what works which can inform future years of funding.

· In addition, we have also allocated an extra £15m through a top up to the existing Flexible Support Fund in 2017-18 and 2018-19.

Protections

Existing ESA claimants are protected:

· Those who were waiting for a WCA or reassessed (i.e. have a repeat WCA) after 3 April 2017 are unaffected. This includes anyone who is in the Support Group and subsequently placed in the WRAG and anyone in the WRAG who remains in that group;

· Those who temporarily leave the benefit to try out work and then return to ESA – this is known as the 12 week linking rule. Provided the break in the customer’s claim is no more than 12 weeks, and their claim was not closed because they were found fit for work, their claim would be treated as continuous and their entitlement would not need to be re-assessed (unless there is a change in circumstances);

· Those who claimed within 3 months of the commencement date but wished to backdate their claim under existing rules to before 3 April 2017;

· Incapacity Benefit Reassessment (IBR) cases; and,

· Claimants who claimed ESA before 3 April 2017 and the ESA claim was closed due to getting Maternity Allowance, who then make a new claim to ESA within 12 weeks of their Maternity Allowance ending.

Permitted Work

The 52-week permitted work limit that exists in ESA to allow claimants to continue to undertake less than 16 hours part-time paid work and earn up to £120.00 per week indefinitely, has been removed from 3 April 2017.

Hardship

DWP has a well-established system of hardship payments, available as a safeguard if a claimant demonstrates that they cannot meet their immediate and most essential needs, including accommodation, heating, food and hygiene, as a result of a sanction.

Sanctions cannot be applied to the Support Group. For the WRAG imposing a sanction is not something we do lightly. Sanctions are only used in a minority of cases when people fail to meet the requirements that they have agreed without good reason. Claimants are given every opportunity to explain why they failed to meet their agreed conditionality requirements, before a decision is made. Each month, less than 1% of ESA claimants are sanctioned. The percentage of ESA claimants with a drop in payment due to a sanction is down 0.1 percentage points to 0.2% from June 2017.

· We place additional emphasis on protecting more vulnerable ESA or UC recipients before a sanction is considered. Before applying sanctions, we undertake home visits for claimants who have a mental health condition or learning disability, or condition which affects communication/cognition to ensure we have all the information available.

· There are no waiting days for ESA claimants applying for a hardship payment.

· ESA hardship payments, if granted, are non-recoverable.

· From 3 April 2017 claimants receiving the basic ESA rate who make an application for hardship payments and who are either pregnant or can demonstrate incurring additional day to day living costs due to their illness, are eligible to receive 80% instead of 60% of the basic ESA rate.

Health and Work Conversation

· The Health and Work Conversation (HWC) was introduced in ESA from January 2017 on a phased rollout which was completed in November 2017. It was introduced on a flexible basis for UC claimants from autumn 2017. In ESA the HWC takes place around four weeks after an individual claims ESA. In UC it can be used at any part of the customer journey. It allows work coaches to continue to build engagement with claimants with disabilities and health issues, backed by comprehensive new work coach training to build skills of empathy and active listening to help people respond resiliently to challenges and overcome fixed beliefs about their abilities;

· The claimant will be contacted by their work coach prior to the conversation to ensure that they are able to attend their appointment and understand the purpose of the HWC.

· Within ESA taking part in the HWC is mandatory for the majority of individuals. However, certain claimants are exempted from the HWC where it would not be appropriate for them to attend.

· As is already the case there are extensive safeguards to ensure individuals are not sanctioned inappropriately. If someone is unable to attend, they will have the opportunity to reschedule.

· Should they fail to attend they will be invited to show good cause for not attending before sanctions are considered. Work coaches will also have the flexibility to defer the HWC if the claimant cannot attend due to temporary circumstances.

· We intend to continue building on this initiative by exploring further follow-up conversations to the HWC.

ESA Test and Learn

DWP has a wide test and learn agenda to help identify what work works and to continue to improve. For example:

· Exploring ways to improve the customer journey specifically for claimants with mental health conditions; and the impact of sharing claimant information between ESA and Personal Independence Payment (PIP) to make the process more efficient.

· DWP has commissioned research into the Support Group and UC equivalent to better understand their needs.

· DWP is testing different approaches to employment support including a range of Jobcentre Plus initiatives, new tests and contracted provision designed to deliver a more personalised tailored offer to customers with health conditions.

In addition, the joint DWP and Department of Health and Social Care Work and Health Unit is testing and trialling a number of voluntary initiatives to support disabled people and with long-term health conditions to remain in, return to or enter work.

3. Level of Benefits

ESA is paid at different rates depending on an individual’s circumstances and the stage of the claim process. The benefit rates are intended to cover normal day-to-day living expenses such as food, normal replacement of clothing and local travel.
Flat rate premiums may be paid for groups recognised as having additional needs – e.g. carers, severely disabled people and people aged over 60.
- The additional Support Group and WRAG components are, where entitled, paid from the 14th week of the award.
- People in the Support Group are automatically entitled to the Enhanced Disability Premium if they are entitled to income-related ESA.
- Income-related ESA claimants also qualify for an additional Severe Disability Premium if they receive a qualifying benefit (Attendance Allowance, middle or highest rate care Disability Living Allowance, daily living component of PIP, Armed Forces Independence Payment, constant Attendance Allowance, and equivalent War Pension). Claimants qualify for the couple’s rate if both receive a qualifying benefit and no-one gets Carer’s Allowance (CA) or the additional amount for caring in UC for either of them. If CA is paid for one, or the partner does not get a qualifying benefit they get the single rate.
The Welfare Reform and Work Act 2016 has frozen the majority of working-age benefits for four tax years, from 2016-17 to 2019-20. These benefit rates will therefore remain the same. There are exemptions to the benefits freeze, which includes the ESA Support Group component, and the Enhanced Disability and Severe Disability Premiums, to ensure the most vulnerable people continue to see their payments rise.

Both ESA and Long-term Incapacity Benefit are flat-rate benefits. Rates payable during the period under consideration are shown below:

Current ESA rates
The current rates of benefit (usually reviewed annually)

Amounts in £GB	2015/2016	2016/2017	2017/2018	2018/2019
Long-term Incapacity Benefit (basic amount)	105.35	105.35	106.40	109.60
Increase of Long-term Incapacity Benefit for age
Higher rate	11.15	11.15	11.25	11.60
Lower rate	6.20	6.20	6.25	6.45
Invalidity Allowance (Transitional)
Higher rate	11.15	11.15	11.25	11.60
Lower rate	6.20	6.20	6.25	6.45
Assessment Phase	2015/ 2016	2016/2017	2017/2018	2018/2019
ESA (for a single person) under 25*	£57.90	£57.90	£57.90	£57.90
ESA (for a single person) 25 or over	£73.10	£73.10	£73.10	£73.10
Components
Work-related activity component Removed for new ESA claims from 3 April 2017	£29.05	£29.05	£29.05	£29.05
Support component	£36.20	£36.20	£36.55	£37.65
Premiums
Enhanced Disability Premium (income-related only)	£15.75	£15.75	£15.90	£16.40
Severe disability Premium (Income-related only)
single	£61.85	£61.85	£62.45	£64.30
couple (lower rate)	£61.85	£61.85	£62.45	£64.30
couple (higher rate)	£123.70	£123.70	£124.90	£128.60

*When an under 25 is placed in the Support Group or WRAG they will then receive the same personal allowance as those aged 25 or over.

4. Miscellaneous

(a) Where a person receives a written decision about their ESA and they disagree with that decision they must first apply for a Mandatory Reconsideration – this is a statutory requirement. A second decision maker will look closely at the decision, discuss it with the claimant and consider any new evidence presented. If the decision maker does not change the decision, the claimant will be able to appeal to an independent tribunal. The decision letter they receive will inform them about this.

Normally, a claimant has only a month from the date of the decision to make an application for revision or an appeal. This time limit can be extended by up to a maximum of 12 months in certain circumstances.

Information about appeal rights is available on the Government’s website at www.GOV.UK

How a claimant disputes a social security decision in Northern Ireland changed on 23 May 2016.

A claimant must now ask the office that made the decision to formally reconsider its decision before they are able to make an appeal. This is known as a Mandatory Reconsideration.

Following a Mandatory Reconsideration if the claimant wishes to appeal the decision, they must send their appeal directly to The Appeals Service (TAS) rather than the Social Security Office or Jobs & Benefits office that made the decision. This process is referred to as Direct Lodgment.

(b) The position remains as previously described.

(d) Copies if the new regulations are published (see part II)

VI.

(a) Historically, the UK’s approach has been incompatible with the Article 58 requirement to provide invalidity benefit until the end of the contingency, or until it is replaced by old-age benefit. The contribution conditions for entitlement to Employment and Support Allowance can be satisfied with in a relatively short space of time, i.e. three tax years or so. There could be no guarantee that a person who satisfied the qualifying contribution conditions for Employment and Support Allowance would have worked for a sufficient length of time in the UK to have established a long enough record to establish entitlement to State Retirement Pension. Incapacity Benefit and latterly Employment and Support Allowance are not generally payable beyond a person’s state pension age.

Part X – Survivors’ Benefit

I. The position remains as previously described.

II. The position remains as previously described.

1. Scope

The position remains as previously described.

2. Conditions for Entitlement to Benefits

The position remains as previously described.

3. Level of Benefits

· The current (December 2017) Bereavement Support Payment caseload is about 25,000.

· The lump sum of the Bereavement Support Payment is either paid at the standard rate, £GB 2,500, or the higher rate, £GB 3,500.

· The monthly payment of Bereavement Support Payment is either paid at the standard rate, £GB 100, or the higher rate, £GB 350.

· The current (November 2017) legacy Bereavement Benefit caseload is about 68,000.

· The current amount of the award for Bereavement Payment is £GB 2,000

· The current standard rate for Bereavement Allowance (not age related) is £GB 117.10

· Bereavement Allowance (age related) is paid at a varying standard rate. The current standard rate decreases with age, ranging from £GB 34.11 a week for those aged 45, to £GB105.74 for those aged 54. is £GB 73

· The current maximum basic allowance rate of Widowed Parent’s Allowance is £GB 117.10.

4. Miscellaneous

The position remains as previously described.

III. The position remains as previously described. The UK is in the unusual position of having accepted the corresponding Part X of ILO Convention No 102, which it ratified in April 1954, but not having accepted Part X of the Code, which it subsequently ratified in January 1968.

The difference in approach stemmed from the reform of UK widow’s benefit provision in 1965 with the introduction of the new Widow’s Mother’s Allowance and Widow’s Pension, with revised qualifying contribution conditions. As a result of the change in the qualifying contribution conditions the UK could no longer guarantee that in all cases benefit would be payable where the deceased has five reckonable years of insurance (contributions) although the protection offered to the standard beneficiary is above the minimum 40% replacement level required. The UK has not denounced Part X of ILO Convention No. 102 and continues to include information on it in its Article 22 Reports, whilst acknowledging that because of this technicality we cannot guarantee payment of benefit in all cases, as is required by the Convention.