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1462419
registered interest false more like this
date less than 2022-05-12more like thismore than 2022-05-12
answering body
Department for Work and Pensions remove filter
answering dept id 29 more like this
answering dept short name Work and Pensions remove filter
answering dept sort name Work and Pensions more like this
hansard heading Social Security Benefits: Cynon Valley more like this
house id 1 more like this
legislature
25259
pref label House of Commons more like this
question text To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many recipients of social security payments in Cynon Valley constituency are subject to deductions to payments; and for what reasons those people are subject to deductions. more like this
tabling member constituency Cynon Valley more like this
tabling member printed
Beth Winter more like this
uin 1361 more like this
answer
answer
is ministerial correction false more like this
date of answer less than 2022-05-24more like thismore than 2022-05-24
answer text <p>We reduced the normal maximum rate of deductions in Universal Credit from 40% to 30% to 25% of a claimant’s Standard Allowance enabling them to retain more of the award. These changes were implemented from October 2019 to April 2021. These positive measures were put in place to support claimants to manage financial difficulties.</p><p> </p><p>Protocols are in place to ensure deductions are manageable and customers can contact DWP Debt Management if they are experiencing financial hardship to discuss a reduction in their rate of repayment, or a temporary suspension, depending on financial circumstances. We encourage anyone unable to afford the proposed rate of repayment to contact Debt Management - all notifications advise how to get in touch. We seek to do as much as we are able to support claimants through the recovery of their overpayments.</p><p> </p><p>If a claimant is struggling financially, they can ask for the amount of certain deductions to be reconsidered. Financial hardship decisions are made for any of the following:</p><ul><li>benefit debts,</li><li>Social Fund loan</li><li>rent arrears</li></ul><p> </p><p>Benefit debts and Social Fund loans can see deductions reduced and/or deferred. As the creditor, DWP will always try to ensure that Government debt is recovered effectively without causing undue hardship.</p><p> </p><p>For rent arrears, claimants can ask UC staff to exercise their discretion to fix rent arrears deductions at the lowest rate in legislation – 10% of Standard Allowance. This can be done using the Journal or by phone. However, UC staff would not agree to remove a rent arrears deduction entirely to ensure a claimant is protected from eviction.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>For Universal Credit (UC), in November 2021, there were 3,100 UC households in Cynon Valley with a deduction, this accounts for 50% of UC households in Cynon Valley.</p><p> </p><p>The attached spreadsheet shows the number of UC households with deductions by deduction type.</p><p> </p><p>For benefits other than UC, deductions information at constituency level is not held.</p><p> </p>
answering member constituency Macclesfield more like this
answering member printed David Rutley more like this
question first answered
less than 2022-05-24T16:38:08.927Zmore like thismore than 2022-05-24T16:38:08.927Z
answering member
4033
label Biography information for David Rutley more like this
attachment
1
file name Table 1.xlsx more like this
title Table 1 more like this
tabling member
4809
label Biography information for Beth Winter more like this
1462420
registered interest false more like this
date less than 2022-05-12more like thismore than 2022-05-12
answering body
Department for Work and Pensions remove filter
answering dept id 29 more like this
answering dept short name Work and Pensions remove filter
answering dept sort name Work and Pensions more like this
hansard heading Welfare Tax Credits: Cynon Valley more like this
house id 1 more like this
legislature
25259
pref label House of Commons more like this
question text To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many recipients of legacy benefits in Cynon Valley constituency are holders of historical tax credit overpayments. more like this
tabling member constituency Cynon Valley more like this
tabling member printed
Beth Winter more like this
uin 1362 more like this
answer
answer
is ministerial correction false more like this
date of answer less than 2022-05-20more like thismore than 2022-05-20
answer text <p>The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.</p> more like this
answering member constituency Macclesfield more like this
answering member printed David Rutley more like this
question first answered
less than 2022-05-20T11:57:42.1Zmore like thismore than 2022-05-20T11:57:42.1Z
answering member
4033
label Biography information for David Rutley more like this
tabling member
4809
label Biography information for Beth Winter more like this
1462421
registered interest false more like this
date less than 2022-05-12more like thismore than 2022-05-12
answering body
Department for Work and Pensions remove filter
answering dept id 29 more like this
answering dept short name Work and Pensions remove filter
answering dept sort name Work and Pensions more like this
hansard heading Social Security Benefits: Deductions more like this
house id 1 more like this
legislature
25259
pref label House of Commons more like this
question text To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department has taken to ensure that individuals who face deductions from social security payments can afford them. more like this
tabling member constituency Cynon Valley more like this
tabling member printed
Beth Winter more like this
uin 1363 more like this
answer
answer
is ministerial correction false more like this
date of answer less than 2022-05-20more like thismore than 2022-05-20
answer text <p>The Secretary of State has an obligation to protect public funds and to ensure that, wherever possible, benefit overpayments are recovered. However, we recognise the importance of safeguarding the welfare of claimants who have incurred benefit debt and our over-arching policy is that all repayment plans should be affordable and sustainable.</p><p> </p><p>Regulations protect claimants from excessive deductions, which could lead to financial difficulty and our deductions follow a strict priority order, which ensure claimants avoid the consequences of not paying third party debts whilst also ensuring social obligations are met. Universal Credit is subject to a deduction cap of 25% of the standard allowance. We encourage anyone unable to afford the proposed rate of repayment to contact Debt Management so that we can consider temporarily lowering the rate.</p><p> </p><p>We remain committed to Her Majesty’s Treasury’s Beathing Space policy, which provides those with problem debt the right to legal protections from creditor action for a period of 60 days to enable them to receive debt advice and enter into an appropriate debt solution.</p><p> </p><p>Other than recovery by Civil Action in the courts, there are no time limits for recovery of a benefit debt. While the policy is to consider abandoning some debts based on the cost effectiveness of pursuing recovery, the legal right to recover does not expire in England and Wales, and DWP retains the right to recover the debt where it is cost effective to do so.</p>
answering member constituency Macclesfield more like this
answering member printed David Rutley more like this
grouped question UIN 1365 more like this
question first answered
less than 2022-05-20T13:17:59.677Zmore like thismore than 2022-05-20T13:17:59.677Z
answering member
4033
label Biography information for David Rutley more like this
tabling member
4809
label Biography information for Beth Winter more like this
1462422
registered interest false more like this
date less than 2022-05-12more like thismore than 2022-05-12
answering body
Department for Work and Pensions remove filter
answering dept id 29 more like this
answering dept short name Work and Pensions remove filter
answering dept sort name Work and Pensions more like this
hansard heading Social Security Benefits: Deductions more like this
house id 1 more like this
legislature
25259
pref label House of Commons more like this
question text To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of reducing the maximum rate of deductions from social security payments from 25 per cent. more like this
tabling member constituency Cynon Valley more like this
tabling member printed
Beth Winter more like this
uin 1364 more like this
answer
answer
is ministerial correction false more like this
date of answer less than 2022-05-25more like thismore than 2022-05-25
answer text <p>Deductions from benefit to address priority debts have existed for over 40 years. In the past three years, DWP have reduced the normal maximum rate of deductions in Universal Credit twice - from 40% to 30% in October 2019, and a further reduction to 25% of a claimant’s Standard Allowance in April 2021. These changes have enabled hundreds of thousands of claimants to retain more of their award.</p><p> </p><p>The Department has to balance the amount that can be deducted with the protections that deductions offer claimants. Lowering the maximum deduction rate further would result in less essential deductions such as Child Maintenance being made. We believe that 25% of the Standard Allowance strikes the right balance of ensuring priority debts and social obligations are met whilst enabling claimants to retain more of their award to meet day-to-day needs.</p><p><strong> </strong></p> more like this
answering member constituency Macclesfield more like this
answering member printed David Rutley more like this
question first answered
less than 2022-05-25T16:05:16.2Zmore like thismore than 2022-05-25T16:05:16.2Z
answering member
4033
label Biography information for David Rutley more like this
tabling member
4809
label Biography information for Beth Winter more like this
1462423
registered interest false more like this
date less than 2022-05-12more like thismore than 2022-05-12
answering body
Department for Work and Pensions remove filter
answering dept id 29 more like this
answering dept short name Work and Pensions remove filter
answering dept sort name Work and Pensions more like this
hansard heading Social Security Benefits: Deductions more like this
house id 1 more like this
legislature
25259
pref label House of Commons more like this
question text To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of introducing a maximum duration for payment of debt through deductions to social security before the debt is written off. more like this
tabling member constituency Cynon Valley more like this
tabling member printed
Beth Winter more like this
uin 1365 more like this
answer
answer
is ministerial correction false more like this
date of answer less than 2022-05-20more like thismore than 2022-05-20
answer text <p>The Secretary of State has an obligation to protect public funds and to ensure that, wherever possible, benefit overpayments are recovered. However, we recognise the importance of safeguarding the welfare of claimants who have incurred benefit debt and our over-arching policy is that all repayment plans should be affordable and sustainable.</p><p> </p><p>Regulations protect claimants from excessive deductions, which could lead to financial difficulty and our deductions follow a strict priority order, which ensure claimants avoid the consequences of not paying third party debts whilst also ensuring social obligations are met. Universal Credit is subject to a deduction cap of 25% of the standard allowance. We encourage anyone unable to afford the proposed rate of repayment to contact Debt Management so that we can consider temporarily lowering the rate.</p><p> </p><p>We remain committed to Her Majesty’s Treasury’s Beathing Space policy, which provides those with problem debt the right to legal protections from creditor action for a period of 60 days to enable them to receive debt advice and enter into an appropriate debt solution.</p><p> </p><p>Other than recovery by Civil Action in the courts, there are no time limits for recovery of a benefit debt. While the policy is to consider abandoning some debts based on the cost effectiveness of pursuing recovery, the legal right to recover does not expire in England and Wales, and DWP retains the right to recover the debt where it is cost effective to do so.</p>
answering member constituency Macclesfield more like this
answering member printed David Rutley more like this
grouped question UIN 1363 more like this
question first answered
less than 2022-05-20T13:17:59.727Zmore like thismore than 2022-05-20T13:17:59.727Z
answering member
4033
label Biography information for David Rutley more like this
tabling member
4809
label Biography information for Beth Winter more like this
1462514
registered interest false more like this
date less than 2022-05-12more like thismore than 2022-05-12
answering body
Department for Work and Pensions remove filter
answering dept id 29 more like this
answering dept short name Work and Pensions remove filter
answering dept sort name Work and Pensions more like this
hansard heading State Retirement Pensions: Widowed People more like this
house id 1 more like this
legislature
25259
pref label House of Commons more like this
question text To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate her Department has made of the number of men and women who are eligible to inherit a deceased partner's Additional State Pension but who have yet to make a claim to do so. more like this
tabling member constituency Bristol South more like this
tabling member printed
Karin Smyth more like this
uin 1205 more like this
answer
answer
is ministerial correction false more like this
date of answer less than 2022-05-18more like thismore than 2022-05-18
answer text <p>No estimation has been made. Under current rules, State Pension recipients who become widowed do not need to make a separate claim to get any inherited additional State Pension they may be entitled to. Similarly, those widowed before State Pension age should receive any inherited additional State Pension they may be entitled to when they claim their State Pension.</p> more like this
answering member constituency Hexham more like this
answering member printed Guy Opperman more like this
question first answered
less than 2022-05-18T13:07:29.26Zmore like thismore than 2022-05-18T13:07:29.26Z
answering member
4142
label Biography information for Guy Opperman more like this
tabling member
4444
label Biography information for Karin Smyth more like this
1462522
registered interest false more like this
date less than 2022-05-12more like thismore than 2022-05-12
answering body
Department for Work and Pensions remove filter
answering dept id 29 more like this
answering dept short name Work and Pensions remove filter
answering dept sort name Work and Pensions more like this
hansard heading Child Maintenance Service more like this
house id 1 more like this
legislature
25259
pref label House of Commons more like this
question text To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of reforming the Child Maintenance Service. more like this
tabling member constituency Enfield North more like this
tabling member printed
Feryal Clark more like this
uin 1379 more like this
answer
answer
is ministerial correction false more like this
date of answer less than 2022-05-20more like thismore than 2022-05-20
answer text <p>The Child maintenance Service (CMS) is delivering a transformation programme to help improve outcomes for children.</p><p> </p><p>The CMS recently consulted on a range of proposals to improve fairness for both parents and get more money to children. The consultation response can be found here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/child-maintenance-modernising-and-improving-our-service/outcome/government-response-child-maintenance-modernising-and-improving-our-service" target="_blank">Government response: Child Maintenance: modernising and improving our service - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)</a></p><p> </p> more like this
answering member constituency Hexham more like this
answering member printed Guy Opperman more like this
question first answered
less than 2022-05-20T13:57:56.353Zmore like thismore than 2022-05-20T13:57:56.353Z
answering member
4142
label Biography information for Guy Opperman more like this
tabling member
4822
label Biography information for Feryal Clark more like this
1462523
registered interest false more like this
date less than 2022-05-12more like thismore than 2022-05-12
answering body
Department for Work and Pensions remove filter
answering dept id 29 more like this
answering dept short name Work and Pensions remove filter
answering dept sort name Work and Pensions more like this
hansard heading Habitual Residence Test more like this
house id 1 more like this
legislature
25259
pref label House of Commons more like this
question text To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of cases reviewed by her Department's Risk Review Team have been issued with a negative habitual residence test decision in each of the last two years. more like this
tabling member constituency Edmonton more like this
tabling member printed
Kate Osamor more like this
uin 1249 more like this
answer
answer
is ministerial correction false more like this
date of answer less than 2022-05-24more like thismore than 2022-05-24
answer text <p>The Department’s Risk Review Team (RRT) was established in May 2020, as part of the Department’s response to direct fraud threats that emerged in the early days of the pandemic.</p><p> </p><p>Since the team was established, processes have evolved; as a result detailed records on Habitual Residence Test (HRT) outcomes in cases reviewed by RRT are only available from 5<sup>th</sup> July 2021.</p><p> </p><p>I can confirm that, since that date, 608 of the 9676 claims reviewed by RRT in that period failed the HRT; this represents just over 6%.</p> more like this
answering member constituency Macclesfield more like this
answering member printed David Rutley more like this
question first answered
less than 2022-05-24T13:56:43.5Zmore like thismore than 2022-05-24T13:56:43.5Z
answering member
4033
label Biography information for David Rutley more like this
tabling member
4515
label Biography information for Kate Osamor more like this
1462525
registered interest false more like this
date less than 2022-05-12more like thismore than 2022-05-12
answering body
Department for Work and Pensions remove filter
answering dept id 29 more like this
answering dept short name Work and Pensions remove filter
answering dept sort name Work and Pensions more like this
hansard heading Child Maintenance Service: Complaints more like this
house id 1 more like this
legislature
25259
pref label House of Commons more like this
question text To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many complaints her Department has received in each year since 2010 regarding (a) customer service and (b) incorrect decisions from the Child Maintenance Service; and what the average response times to those complaints has been in each of those years. more like this
tabling member constituency Enfield North more like this
tabling member printed
Feryal Clark more like this
uin 1380 more like this
answer
answer
is ministerial correction false more like this
date of answer less than 2022-05-20more like thismore than 2022-05-20
answer text <p>Complaints about customer service delivery are routinely published on a quarterly basis which can be viewed here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/complaints-about-the-department-for-work-and-pensions" target="_blank">DWP complaints data - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk</a></p><p> </p><p>The Department logs a complaint under benefit type along with specific categories that focus on identifying broadly where service has failed. The category ‘You got it wrong’ would capture most complaints relating to incorrect decisions from the Child Maintenance Group. The Department does not measure complaints as described in the question and to determine this request, we would need to examine each individual case, which the Department considers to be a disproportionate cost to provide.</p><p> </p><p>The Department aims to contact customers within 15 working days to clear their complaint or agree how to investigate it if it will take longer.</p> more like this
answering member constituency Hexham more like this
answering member printed Guy Opperman more like this
question first answered
less than 2022-05-20T13:49:25.017Zmore like thismore than 2022-05-20T13:49:25.017Z
answering member
4142
label Biography information for Guy Opperman more like this
tabling member
4822
label Biography information for Feryal Clark more like this
1462526
registered interest false more like this
date less than 2022-05-12more like thismore than 2022-05-12
answering body
Department for Work and Pensions remove filter
answering dept id 29 more like this
answering dept short name Work and Pensions remove filter
answering dept sort name Work and Pensions more like this
hansard heading Universal Credit more like this
house id 1 more like this
legislature
25259
pref label House of Commons more like this
question text To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many universal credit claims have been suspended by her Department's Risk Review Team since January 2022. more like this
tabling member constituency Edmonton more like this
tabling member printed
Kate Osamor more like this
uin 1250 more like this
answer
answer
is ministerial correction false more like this
date of answer less than 2022-05-20more like thismore than 2022-05-20
answer text <p>DWP does not suspend benefit payment lightly and our Risk Review Team only do so in cases where intelligence indicates a high risk of fraud.</p><p> </p><p>I can confirm that 1532 Universal Credit claims have being suspended as a result of Risk Review Team activity since January 2022.</p> more like this
answering member constituency Macclesfield more like this
answering member printed David Rutley more like this
question first answered
less than 2022-05-20T13:28:37.103Zmore like thismore than 2022-05-20T13:28:37.103Z
answering member
4033
label Biography information for David Rutley more like this
tabling member
4515
label Biography information for Kate Osamor more like this