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1127131

registered interest
date	16/05/2019
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	Unemployment Benefits
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of waiving the recommencement of waiting times for the receipt of out-of-work benefits after the completion of a short-term contract; and if she will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Birkenhead
tabling member printed	Frank Field
uin	255281
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/05/2019 answer text <p>Short-term contracts where earnings are above the relevant threshold would lead to the closure of a claim to benefit. Once this short-term contract has ended, Universal Credit can be claimed.</p><p> </p><p>The Universal Credit assessment period and payment structure are fundamental parts of the design. They help reduce welfare dependency by mirroring the world of work, where currently around 70 per cent of tax credit claimants are paid monthly or four weekly.</p><p> </p><p>The assessment period runs for a full calendar month from the date of entitlement and the Universal Credit pay date will be seven calendar days after the end of the initial assessment period. Subsequent pay dates will be the same each month.</p><p> </p><p>It is therefore not possible to award a Universal Credit payment as soon as a claim is made, as the assessment period must run its course before the award of Universal Credit can be calculated.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>No claimant has to go five weeks without receiving support, as advances, worth up to 100 per cent of a claimant’s indicative award, are available up front if there is need.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 24/05/2019 13:15:20 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead

1126815

registered interest
date	15/05/2019
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	Novartis: North East Lincolnshire
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 support people affected by the potential closure of the Novartis plant in North East Lincolnshire.
tabling member constituency	Great Grimsby
tabling member printed	Melanie Onn
uin	254841
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/05/2019 answer text <p>DWP offer a Rapid Response Service (RRS). This is a redundancy service designed to give support and advice to employers and their employees when faced with the prospect of redundancy. It is coordinated nationally by the National Employer and Partnership Team (NEPT) and is managed by Jobcentre Plus. Each Jobcentre Plus district deploy resources according to the situation and the requirements of the workforce. This service is available to be deployed in Grimsby and surrounding area should Novartis require support from Jobcentre Plus. The RRS is delivered in partnership with a range of national and local partners, including National Careers Service and local service providers.</p><p> </p><p>The range of support available from Jobcentre Plus and partners may include:</p><p> </p><ul><li>Information advice and guidance.</li><li>Connecting people to jobs in the labour market.</li><li>Help with job search including CV writing, interview skills, where to find jobs and<br> how to apply for them.</li><li>Help to identify transferable skills and skills gaps (linked to the local labour<br> market).</li><li>Training to update skills, learn new ones and gain industry recognised<br> certification that will improve employability.</li><li>Help to overcome barriers to attending training or securing a job or <br> self-employment such as child care costs, necessary tools, work clothes, travel<br> costs etc.</li><li>On-site presentations to those affected.</li><li>Jobs Fairs and Job Clubs where appropriate.</li></ul> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 21/05/2019 16:58:43 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma previous answer version 119072 answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
tabling member	4464 label Biography information for Melanie Onn

1126933

registered interest
date	15/05/2019
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 penalties universal credit claimants incur if they are unable to repay their advance within 12 months.
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
uin	254729
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/05/2019 answer text <p>Before accepting a Universal Credit Advance the number of monthly repayment instalments is agreed with a claimant, up to a maximum of 12. For a variety of reasons, instalments may not occur consecutively, so claimants do not incur a penalty if it takes them more than 12 calendar months.</p><p> </p><p>The Department has taken a number of steps to ensure that advances meet the needs of claimants and that recovery arrangements are personalised and reasonable. From October 2019 we are reducing the maximum rate of deductions to 30 per cent and from October 2021 we are increasing the maximum recovery period for advances from 12 to 16 months.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 24/05/2019 12:02:18 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

1126934

registered interest
date	15/05/2019
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, pursuant to the Answer of 13 May to Question 249845, what proportion of universal credit claimants who had not fully repaid their advance as of 5 May 2019 had taken out that advance prior to 5 November 2018.
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
uin	254730
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/05/2019 answer text <p>The latest available data shows there were 610,000 claimants who had not fully repaid a Universal Credit Advance which had been taken out prior to 5 November 2018. This equates to around 40% of the total claimants with a Universal Credit Advance.</p><p> </p><p>Notes:</p><ol><li>Data is a snapshot of information held on 15 May 2019 and has been rounded to the nearest ten thousand.</li><li>Many Universal Credit advances are taken out over a 12-month repayment period, so this snapshot of data includes cases where repayments are being made to the agreed timeline.</li><li>This data has been sourced from internal management information and due to the time available, has not been quality assured to the usual standards for public release. It should therefore not be compared to any other similar data subsequently released by the Department.</li></ol> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 23/05/2019 16:28:49 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

1126936

registered interest
date	15/05/2019
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, pursuant to the Answer of 13 May to Question 249845, what information her Department holds on the demographics of universal credit claimants who have been unable to repay their advance within 12 months.
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
uin	254731
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/05/2019 answer text <p>The table below shows the volumes of customers who have had an advance of their Universal Credit award on the system for a year or more as of 13 May 2019, broken down by age, gender and region. All figures are rounded to the nearest 500.</p><p> </p><p>Prior to taking a new claim advance, the claimant agrees the number of monthly instalments in which they will repay it, up to a maximum of 12. For a number of reasons, their 12 monthly instalments may not necessarily run consecutively. Claimants do not incur a penalty if it takes them more than a calendar 12-month timescale to replay their advance.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td rowspan="2"><p>Age of Claimant</p></td><td><p>Female</p></td><td><p>Female</p></td><td><p>Male</p></td><td><p>Male</p></td><td rowspan="2"><p>Total</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>England &amp; Wales</p></td><td><p>Scotland</p></td><td><p>England &amp; Wales</p></td><td><p>Scotland</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Under 20</p></td><td><p>2,000</p></td><td><p>500</p></td><td><p>2,000</p></td><td><p>500</p></td><td><p>5,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>20-29</p></td><td><p>35,000</p></td><td><p>4,500</p></td><td><p>53,000</p></td><td><p>8,000</p></td><td><p>100,500</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>30-39</p></td><td><p>24,000</p></td><td><p>2,500</p></td><td><p>43,500</p></td><td><p>6,000</p></td><td><p>76,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>40-49</p></td><td><p>15,500</p></td><td><p>2,000</p></td><td><p>24,000</p></td><td><p>3,500</p></td><td><p>45,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>50-59</p></td><td><p>12,000</p></td><td><p>1,500</p></td><td><p>16,000</p></td><td><p>2,000</p></td><td><p>31,500</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>60+</p></td><td><p>2,500</p></td><td><p>500</p></td><td><p>3,500</p></td><td><p>500</p></td><td><p>7,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Total</p></td><td><p>90,500</p></td><td><p>11,000</p></td><td><p>142,000</p></td><td><p>21,000</p></td><td><p>264,500</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>Note:</p><p>This data has been sourced from internal management information and has not been quality assured to the usual standards for public release. It should therefore not be compared to any other similar data subsequently released by the Department.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 20/05/2019 15:48:29 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

1126937

registered interest
date	15/05/2019
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, pursuant to the Answer of 8 May to Question 249846, whether she has made an assessment of the feasibility of a claimant living with a 40 per cent reduction in their universal credit payment; and if she will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
uin	254732
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/05/2019 answer text <p>The Department has taken a number of steps to ensure that advances meet the needs of claimants and that recovery arrangements are personalised and reasonable. From October 2019 we are reducing the maximum rate of deductions to 30 per cent of standard allowance and from October 2021 we are increasing the maximum recovery period for advances from 12 to 16 months.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 24/05/2019 13:07:43 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

1126940

registered interest
date	15/05/2019
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, pursuant to the Answer of 5 May 2019 to Question 249847, what information her Department holds on the proportion of universal credit claimants who have (a) requested a reduction in their deduction and (b) received a reduction in their deduction.
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
uin	254733
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/05/2019 answer text <p>The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 20/05/2019 15:48:07 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

1126941

registered interest
date	15/05/2019
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, pursuant to the Answer of 5 May 2019 to Question 249847, what assessment of a universal credit claimant’s financial situation is made when calculating what percentage of their payment will be deducted in order to repay an advance.
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
uin	254734
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/06/2019 answer text <p>The maximum amount a claimant can receive as a new claim advance payment is 100 per cent of their total indicative Universal Credit award. The claimant can decide the length of repayment period when they request the advance. This can be up to a maximum 12 months. The rate of repayment is decided by dividing the total advance amount by the agreed repayment period.</p><p>Affordability is managed by ensuring the recovery rate is not more than the equivalent of 40 per cent of the standard allowance and help is available for those struggling to meet the recovery rate once recovery begins. In many cases, because claimants choose to repay advances over many months, advance repayments constitute less than 40% of a standard allowance. In exceptional circumstances, recovery can be deferred for up to 3 months from the start of the recovery period.</p><p>Advances are not loans; they are an interest free advance payment of benefit, available to help people who need immediate financial support, which is then recovered over an agreed period. The Department has taken a number of steps to ensure that advances meet the needs of claimants and that recovery arrangements are personalised and reasonable. From October 2019 we are reducing the maximum rate of deductions to 30 per cent and from October 2021 we are increasing the maximum recovery period for advances from 12 to 16 months.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 03/06/2019 13:51:25 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma previous answer version 119076 answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

1126537

registered interest
date	14/05/2019
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 response her Department makes when notified by a local authority of an error in a resident’s universal credit calculation.
tabling member constituency	East Ham
tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
uin	254086
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/06/2019 answer text <p>It is not clear whether the questions relate to the Local Authority as the provider of housing or as the administrator of Housing Benefit and Council Tax. This answer therefore responds on both counts.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Local Authority as landlord:</strong></p><p> </p><p>The Local Authority use the ‘Landlord Portal’ to provide details of a claimant’s rent and tenancy details. When the information provided does not match what the claimant has given, the claimant will then be able to accept or reject the information uploaded by the Local Authority by logging into their Universal Credit account.</p><p> </p><p>If the claimant accepts the information provided by the Local Authority no further action is required. If the Local Authority has provided information that is rejected by the claimant, the claimant is advised to make contact to resolve this. This could require a subsequent housing declaration to be provided. The ‘Landlord Portal’ has a summary screen that allows the Local Authority to confirm or change the information they are about to provide before it has been submitted.</p><p> </p><p>This process applies whenever there is a rent change, including annual uprating of rent. The Landlord Portal is the streamlined communication tool which allows the Local Authority to disclose the rent thus highlighting errors in the claimants Universal Credit.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Local Authority as administrator of Housing Benefit and Council Tax:</strong></p><p> </p><p>Once a claim to Universal Credit has been made, the Local Authority will receive a notification if the claimant is in receipt of Housing Benefit. This will inform the Local Authority of the claim to Universal Credit so they can take the action to close the Housing Benefit claim where needed. The Local Authority will inform Universal Credit of the action they have taken and if there is any payment to be offset within the first assessment period.</p><p> </p><p>Additionally, during the Universal Credit claim process, the claimant will be asked if their name is on the council tax bill. If the claimant answers ‘yes’, they are asked if they have applied for a reduction in their council tax. If the claimant answers that they have applied or will apply for a Council Tax Reduction, their details will be shared with the Local Authority. This is a one-way communication which allows for the Local Authority to take the appropriate action regarding an application for a Council Tax Reduction.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma grouped question UIN 254088 question first answered 03/06/2019 13:09:40 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma previous answer version 119078 answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

1126538

registered interest
date	14/05/2019
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, which organisations her Department defines as partners in the delivery of universal credit.
tabling member constituency	East Ham
tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
uin	254087
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/05/2019 answer text <p>We work with a wide range of stakeholders, many of whom we collaborate with directly and consider partners. The next phase of delivering Universal Credit (UC) involves moving legacy benefit claimants to Universal Credit. The Department plans to pilot this approach, to test our processes carefully to ensure that claimants on all legacy benefits with a range of characteristics can be successfully moved onto Universal Credit. The Department is working with a wide and diverse range of stakeholders to design the process and we are currently developing the detailed planning on how we will start the pilot process, including which groups or individuals we will begin to move to Universal Credit.</p><p> </p><p>From 1 April 2019 Citizens Advice (England and Wales) and Citizens Advice Scotland are delivering the new ‘Help to Claim’ support to claimants making a new Universal Credit claim or moving from a legacy benefit to UC because of a change of circumstances. The Citizens Advice Help to Claim offers tailored, practical support to help people make a UC claim up to receiving their first full correct payment on time. It is be available online, through web-chat, through a Freephone number and face to face through local Citizens Advice services.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 20/05/2019 12:43:12 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms