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1055032

registered interest
date	05/02/2019
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Universal Credit
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if her Department will ensure that a range of appointment times are offered to claimants awaiting universal credit assessment appointments.
tabling member constituency	Southport
tabling member printed	Damien Moore
uin	217142
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/02/2019 answer text <p>At the start of their Universal Credit claim, not all claimants will require an initial evidence interview.</p><p> </p><p>If an interview is required, claimants will receive notification to book an interview via their online Universal Credit account at the start of their claim and are encouraged to make contact at the earliest opportunity. The length of the interview will depend upon the evidence to be confirmed. If the scheduled interview is at an inconvenient time, claimants can contact their Work Coach or Case Manager to rearrange.</p><p> </p><p>Jobcentre Team Leaders monitor resource levels as part of their daily planning activities to ensure there are sufficient appointment times available to handle the anticipated volume of interviews.</p><p> </p><p>Where a Work Capability Assessment (WCA) is required claimants will receive notification giving details of the date, time and venue of the assessment. If the timing of the appointment is inconvenient claimants can contact the WCA Provider to rearrange. This could include a change to the date, time or venue of the assessment, or to consider a home assessment where it is appropriate.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 13/02/2019 17:54:43 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
tabling member	4669 label Biography information for Damien Moore

1055083

registered interest
date	05/02/2019
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Personal Independence Payment: Blaenau Gwent
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 11 January 2019 to Question 204471 on Personal Independence Payment: Blaenau Gwent, what information her Department holds on the (a) number and (b) value of hardship payments made to claimants from Blaenau Gwent while awaiting payment for arrears as a result of a successful Tribunal decision.
tabling member constituency	Blaenau Gwent
tabling member printed	Nick Smith
uin	217042
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/02/2019 answer text <p>We aim to pay arrears on overturned cases as soon as we can, providing we have all the required information to do so, for example, up to date claimant bank details.</p><p> </p><p>Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is not an income replacement benefit; it can be received in or out of work therefore hardship payments are not made in these circumstances.</p><p> </p><p>The Department for Work and Pensions administers a wide range of benefits and allowances for which there are a range of conditions for entitlement. Some of these benefits may be of help, including Universal Credit.</p> answering member constituency Truro and Falmouth answering member printed Sarah Newton question first answered 13/02/2019 15:31:41 answering member 4071 label Biography information for Sarah Newton
tabling member	3928 label Biography information for Nick Smith

1055342

registered interest
date	05/02/2019
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Cold Weather Payments: Banff and Buchan
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in the Banff and Buchan constituency have received Cold Weather Payments in each of the last five years.
tabling member constituency	Banff and Buchan
tabling member printed	David Duguid
uin	217131
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/02/2019 answer text <p><strong> </strong></p><p>The Cold Weather Payment scheme is administered at weather station level rather than any other standard GB geography such as constituency level. The coverage area for each weather station is determined by the Met Office which assesses the most appropriate weather station for each postcode area. Cold weather payments are triggered when the average temperature recorded at the weather station has been recorded as, or is forecast to be, 0<sup>o</sup>C or below over seven consecutive days, during the Cold Weather season (November to March).</p><p> </p><p>The constituency of Banff and Buchan covers all or part of the following postcode areas: AB41-5, AB51, AB53-4, and AB56.</p><p> </p><p>The above postcode areas are covered by three weather station: Aboyne, Dyce, and Kinloss. Qualifying individuals living in this area will have received a payment in respect of a seven-day period of Cold Weather, as shown in <strong>Table 1</strong>.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="6"><p><strong>Table 1 Estimated number of Cold Weather Payment recipients, by year and weather station</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Weather station</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2013/14</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2014/15</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2015/16</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2016/17</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2017/18</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Aboyne</p></td><td><p>0</p></td><td><p>7,000¹</p></td><td><p>7,000¹</p></td><td><p>7,000</p></td><td><p>7,000²</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Dyce</p></td><td><p>0</p></td><td><p>0</p></td><td><p>0</p></td><td><p>0</p></td><td><p>17,000¹</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Kinloss</p></td><td><p>0</p></td><td><p>0</p></td><td><p>13,000</p></td><td><p>0</p></td><td><p>12,000</p></td></tr><tr><td colspan="6"><p>¹ There were two triggers at this weather station; recipients will have received two payments in that year. ² There were five triggers at this weather station; recipients will have received five payments in that year.</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>Aboyne, Dyce and Kinloss weather stations cover the following postcode areas, in <strong>Table 2</strong>, which include constituencies other than Banff and Buchan. We estimate that 78,000 payments, to 36,000 recipients, were made in this area as a whole in respect of the triggers in 2017/18. We are not able to break this figure down to a lower level.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="2"><p><strong>Table 2 Postcode sectors mapped to Weather Stations</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Weather station</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Postcode Sectors Covered</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Aboyne</p></td><td><p>AB30-34, AB38, AB51-55, DD8-9.</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Dyce</p></td><td><p>AB10-16, AB21-25, AB39, AB41-43.</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Kinloss</p></td><td><p>AB44-45, AB56, IV1-3, IV5, IV7-12, IV15-20, IV30-32, IV36.</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>Notes</p><p> </p><ol><li>The number of recipients and payments given here is an estimate as information on the exact number is not readily available. These figures are produced by determining the volume of eligible recipients in each weather station area at the start of the winter season and using these figures throughout the winter to estimate payments and expenditure based on the actual triggers recorded.</li></ol><p> </p><ol start="2"><li>The number of payments made is not necessarily the total number of individuals benefitting from a Cold Weather Payment. Any individuals making a joint claim for one of the qualifying benefits, such as a couple living together, will receive one payment between them rather than one payment each. Furthermore, if a weather station triggers more than once throughout a cold weather season then the recipients will receive more than one payment.</li></ol><p> </p><ol start="3"><li>Estimates of Cold Weather Payments are published weekly during the Cold Weather season. The latest published estimates can be found at the link below:</li></ol><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/social-fund-cold-weather-payments" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/social-fund-cold-weather-payments</a></p><p> </p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 11/02/2019 16:39:03 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	4606 label Biography information for David Duguid

1054707

registered interest
date	04/02/2019
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Industrial Health and Safety
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment her Department has made of the potential effects on health and safety standards of leaving the EU (a) under the Withdrawal Agreement and (b) without a deal.
tabling member constituency	Coventry South
tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
uin	216127
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/02/2019 answer text <p>The government has committed to protect workers’ rights as the United Kingdom (UK) leaves the European Union (EU). This includes the requirements to ensure health and safety in the workplace. The UK already has one of the best records on health and safety at work among member states of the EU.</p><p> </p><p>During the implementation period of the Withdrawal Agreement, the UK will no longer be a member state of the EU. However, common rules will remain in place until the end of the period. This will include rules on health and safety at work.</p><p> </p><p>In the event of a ‘no deal’ outcome with the EU, the provisions of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 will continue to apply, alongside the requirements of the health and safety regulations made under the Act. There will need to be minor technical fixes to a small number of requirements. These are set out in the Health and Safety (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2018. The Regulations will ensure that the requirements continue to work if there is no deal with the EU by exit day.</p><p> </p><p>In addition, work is going on to ensure that there continues to be an effective regulatory regime for the safe management of chemicals after exit day. This will ensure that requirements established through EU regulations will, with suitable fixes for a UK-only situation, continue to work here in a ‘no deal’ scenario.</p><p> </p><p>This action, taken together with the protections provided by the existing health and safety framework, will ensure that standards are maintained in a ‘no deal’ scenario.</p> answering member constituency Truro and Falmouth answering member printed Sarah Newton question first answered 07/02/2019 16:33:41 answering member 4071 label Biography information for Sarah Newton
tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

1054709

registered interest
date	04/02/2019
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Universal Credit
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of her Department's support for people on legacy benefits with high support needs who will be required to transfer to universal credit during managed migration.
tabling member constituency	Coventry South
tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
uin	216128
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/02/2019 answer text <p>The Department is committed to ensuring that all claimants, especially the most vulnerable, are supported as they move from legacy benefits onto Universal Credit.</p><p> </p><p>We are working closely with a diverse range of stakeholders so the widest possible range of insights are played into the design of the pilot. Learnings from the pilot will shape the support we provide to claimants.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 07/02/2019 14:00:41 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

1054719

registered interest
date	04/02/2019
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Universal Credit
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent estimate her Department has made of the total number and proportion of universal credit claimants that are now in employment as a result of the introduction of that benefit.
tabling member constituency	Coventry South
tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
uin	216131
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/02/2019 answer text <p>The number of people on Universal Credit as at 13 December 2018 was around 1.6 million. Of these people around 580 thousand (around 37 per cent) were in employment. The detailed figures can be found in Table 3.1 of the latest Universal Credit statistics at:</p><p>(Table 3.1) <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/universal-credit-29-april-2013-to-13-december-2018" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/universal-credit-29-april-2013-to-13-december-2018</a>)</p><p> </p><p>Universal Credit is all about getting people into work and, for those already in work, increasing their income through more work. Latest analysis published by DWP shows that Universal Credit is working and people are 4% more likely to have been in work at some point in the 6 months following their claim than under Jobseeker’s Allowance. In June 2018 DWP published plans for further analysis of the labour market impact of Universal Credit, which can be accessed at: . This can be found at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/universal-credit-understanding-its-impact-on-the-labour-market" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/universal-credit-understanding-its-impact-on-the-labour-market</a></p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 07/02/2019 17:17:56 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

1054728

registered interest
date	04/02/2019
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Cold Weather Payments: Kirkcaldy
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of using an alternative weather station to the one based in Leuchars for the KY6 – KY8 postcodes in the annual review for cold weather payments.
tabling member constituency	Glenrothes
tabling member printed	Peter Grant
uin	216401
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/02/2019 answer text <p>The Head of the Met Office National Climate Information Centre reviewed the linkage of the postcode areas KY6-KY8 to the weather station at Leuchars in 2018. The review found that, based on the location and climate of the main population centres for KY6-8, Leuchars remains the most suitable Cold Weather Payment station for these postcodes.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 07/02/2019 10:55:00 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	4466 label Biography information for Peter Grant

1054751

registered interest
date	04/02/2019
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Health and Safety Executive
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the annual budget has been for the Health and Safety Executive in each of the last three years; and how many staff that body has employed in each of the last three years.
tabling member constituency	Sheffield Central
tabling member printed	Paul Blomfield
uin	216310
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/02/2019 answer text <table><tbody><tr><td colspan="4"><p>The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) reports the following figures:</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Year</p></td><td><p>2015/16</p></td><td><p>2016/17</p></td><td><p>2017/18</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>-</p></td><td><p>£m</p></td><td><p>£m</p></td><td><p>£m</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Government Funding</p></td><td><p>134</p></td><td><p>133</p></td><td><p>128</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Income</p></td><td><p>90</p></td><td><p>91</p></td><td><p>93</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Annual Spending</p></td><td><p>224</p></td><td><p>224</p></td><td><p>221</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Year</p></td><td><p>2015/16</p></td><td><p>2016/17</p></td><td><p>2017/18</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Staff Employed</p></td><td><p>2,774</p></td><td><p>2,748</p></td><td><p>2,686</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p><strong><br> </strong></p><p> </p><p>Notes:</p><p> </p><p>1. Government funding is the Net Operating Cost from HSE's Annual Report and Accounts (ARA)</p><p>2. Income includes cost recovery and commercial activies</p><p>3. Annual Spending is the Total Operating Cost from HSE's ARA</p><p>4. Staff employed is the average headcount figure</p> answering member constituency Truro and Falmouth answering member printed Sarah Newton question first answered 07/02/2019 16:08:08 answering member 4071 label Biography information for Sarah Newton
tabling member	4058 label Biography information for Paul Blomfield

1054778

registered interest
date	04/02/2019
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Social Security Benefits
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to implement safeguards in situations where her Department makes backdated payments of benefits to vulnerable people with mental health issues or drug or alcohol dependencies.
tabling member constituency	Bristol North West
tabling member printed	Darren Jones
uin	216416
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/02/2019 answer text <p>On legacy benefits when we identify a customer is vulnerable every endeavour is made to contact the claimant or their appointee, discuss and explain the high value payment we intend to issue and identify if they have any concerns over receiving such an amount of money. As part of this process both from the conversation and the earlier information we had available we would encourage using split or phased payments if we viewed a risk in making one large payment to the claimant. If we cannot make contact, we will refer to our visiting team to make attempts to visit them at home and have those conversations. On Universal Credit, vulnerability is dealt with on a case-by-case basis so that the necessary support can be given to claimants.</p><p> </p><p>Current payment regulations only permit us to restrict amounts of payments with a claimant’s consent. If we did not feel that claimant was able to manage their affairs, or make that decision for themselves, we would then consider if an appointee was appropriate.</p><p> </p><p>The Department is currently working to enhance safeguarding procedures across all benefit products to help staff to identify claimants who may need additional support because their circumstances make them vulnerable. A multi-disciplinary working group is currently undertaking a comprehensive review of the processes and procedures we have in place across DWP to identify and support vulnerable claimants who are entitled to backdated payments of benefits. This will include sharing best practice from legacy processes and exploring what more we can do to ensure vulnerable claimants in this situation are given access to the support they need, and developing a proposal for the implementation of these improvements. This will ensure that the Department will be able to fully support the eligible claimants on Universal Credit who will be entitled to a Severe Disability Premium transitional payment.</p> answering member constituency Truro and Falmouth answering member printed Sarah Newton question first answered 07/02/2019 15:42:22 answering member 4071 label Biography information for Sarah Newton
tabling member	4621 label Biography information for Darren Jones

1054875

registered interest
date	04/02/2019
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Disability Living Allowance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the (a) number and (b) proportion of disability living allowance claimants with (i) psychiatric conditions and (ii) non psychiatric conditions who have lost their entitlement to disability living allowance following a personal independence payment eligibility assessment in each of the last five years.
tabling member constituency	Vale of Clwyd
tabling member printed	Chris Ruane
uin	216155
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/02/2019 answer text <p>Clearance data, which can be broken down by condition for claimants who had a Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessment, by whether the claim was a reassessment or new claim and by the month the claim was cleared, is available on Stat Xplore: <a href="https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk" target="_blank">https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk</a></p><p> </p><p>Guidance for users is available at: <a href="https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started.html" target="_blank">https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started.html</a>.</p><p> </p><p>Latest statistics show that under PIP the proportion of recipients with a mental health condition getting the top rates of support is over five times higher compared to Disability Living Allowance (DLA): 31% under PIP compared to 6% under DLA.</p> answering member constituency Truro and Falmouth answering member printed Sarah Newton question first answered 07/02/2019 16:19:58 answering member 4071 label Biography information for Sarah Newton
tabling member	534 label Biography information for Chris Ruane