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1127116

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	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 estimate her Department has made of the effect of the 5-week wait for the first payment of universal credit on (a) a claimant’s level of (i) debt and (ii) rent arrears and (b) the finances of disabled claimants.
tabling member constituency	Wirral West
tabling member printed	Margaret Greenwood
uin	255340
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/05/2019 answer text <p>No one has to wait 5 weeks for their first payment of Universal Credit. Advances are available from the first day of a valid claim, if required, to support claimants.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 21/05/2019 15:59:56 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
tabling member	4400 label Biography information for Margaret Greenwood

1127119

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	Universal Credit
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of universal credit payments have been subject to a deduction as a result of a claimant’s historic debt to (a) her Department and (b) HM Treasury in the latest month for which data is available.
tabling member constituency	Wirral West
tabling member printed	Margaret Greenwood
uin	255341
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/05/2019 answer text <p>Internal Management information shows that in April 2019, 280,000 payments of Universal Credit (UC) had a deduction applied to repay a non UC debt owed to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), and 340,000 payments of UC had a deduction applied to repay a Tax Credit debt (these figures have been rounded to the nearest 10,000). Some payments of UC may have had a deduction for both a non UC debt and a Tax Credit debt. These claimants would appear in both totals, therefore the figures cannot be summed.</p><p> </p><p>In line with the deductions policy in UC, for both types of debt, the deductions would not usually exceed the maximum amounts, which are set out legislation. Only in cases where last resort deductions are applied can these rates be exceeded. DWP ensures that appropriate safeguards are in place to protect claimants who have deductions from their benefit to repay overpayments. If a claimant is struggling they can contact DWP’s Debt Management to discuss lowering their repayment rate.</p><p> </p><p>It is also worth noting that it is not possible to provide this as a proportion at April 2019, as the latest UC caseload data is only available as of 14 February 19. However, for context, as of 14 February 19, 1.4m households received payments of UC.</p><p> </p><p>N.B. This data on deductions has been sourced from internal management information. It should therefore not be compared to any other similar data subsequently released by the DWP.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 21/05/2019 15:53:23 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
tabling member	4400 label Biography information for Margaret Greenwood

1127134

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	Universal Credit
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much the Government has spent on promoting and advertising universal credit since it was introduced.
tabling member constituency	Cardiff Central
tabling member printed	Jo Stevens
uin	255342
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/05/2019 answer text <p>The Department provides services to around 22 million people and, as with other government departments, it has a responsibility to communicate policy and essential information to customers and other key audiences.</p><p> </p><p>The ‘Opening Up Work’ campaign aims to increase understanding of how Universal Credit removes barriers to work and career progression, and to ensure people can access information to help people make a claim. The Department has dedicated funds to this campaign to make sure claimants know how to access the support that they need.</p><p> </p><p>Advertising spend to date from 2016-17 onwards on the Universal Credit Opening Up Work campaign is around £6.3 million.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 21/05/2019 12:33:41 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
tabling member	4425 label Biography information for Jo Stevens

1127204

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	Universal Credit: Domestic Abuse
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 16 May 2019 to Question 253698 on Universal Credit: Domestic Abuse, what progress has been made on establishing the practicalities of delivering separate payments in Scotland.
tabling member constituency	Midlothian
tabling member printed	Danielle Rowley
uin	255374
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/05/2019 answer text <p>The development of a detailed policy to split payments of Universal Credit in Scotland is something for the Scottish Government to determine.</p><p> </p><p>Any policy has to be capable of implementation and as a consequence must fit with the existing architecture of the system if it is not to undermine system stability for all claimants across Great Britain.</p><p> </p><p>Scottish Government final proposals have not yet been shared with the Government. We welcome the great care Scottish Government is taking with this.</p><p> </p><p>When a comprehensive set of proposals has been decided upon by the Scottish Government, we will provide advice on timing and implementation dates, with regard to the wider plan to deliver Universal Credit and the relative priorities of split payment proposals against other demands.</p><p> </p><p>Officials from both Governments continue to explore these issues together to see if a workable solution to the many issues raised can be found.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 21/05/2019 12:50:22 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	4628 label Biography information for Danielle Rowley

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

1126837

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	Working Links
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions officials in her Department have had with their counterparts in the Ministry of Justice on the Working Links: Ministerial direction correspondence published on 8 May 2019; and if she will introduce similar financial protections to her Department’s Working Links subcontractors.
tabling member constituency	Easington
tabling member printed	Grahame Morris
uin	254799
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/05/2019 answer text <p>DWP Commercial have had discussions recently with MOJ colleagues to clarify the MOJ Ministerial direction correspondence published on 8 May 2019.</p><p>The MOJ are making payments to a small number of Permitted Sub Contractors on the basis of a) the unique nature of their services (statutory services) and b) the structure of their current market in the context of the transformation announced yesterday.</p><p>The Department considered the impact on stakeholders and sub-contractors, based on the Administrator’s statement of affairs at the point of Working Links going into administration, and has worked with both the Administrator and Fedcap, who have taken over a number of Working Links contracts, to minimise the impact on those supply chain partners owed monies by Working Links at the point of administration.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 21/05/2019 16:43:14 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	3973 label Biography information for Grahame Morris

1126618

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 changes have been made to the burden of proof required to prove eligibility for welfare support for (a) EU nationals and (b) non-EU nationals following the introduction of universal credit.
tabling member constituency	Dulwich and West Norwood
tabling member printed	Helen Hayes
uin	254247
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/05/2019 answer text <p>No changes have been made to the burden of proof required to demonstrate eligibility for Universal Credit. In 2015, amendments to Universal Credit regulations brought the eligibility criteria to access Universal Credit more closely into line with EU regulations. The Department publishes Advice for Decision Makers on gov.uk, which is updated periodically.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 21/05/2019 16:48:54 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma previous answer version 119071 answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
tabling member	4510 label Biography information for Helen Hayes

1126023

registered interest
date	13/05/2019
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	Social Security Benefits: Wrexham
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average wait is for mandatory reconsideration of (a) personal independence payment and (b) employment support allowance claims in each of the last three years in Wrexham constituency.
tabling member constituency	Wrexham
tabling member printed	Ian C. Lucas
uin	253531
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/05/2019 answer text <p>The requested information can be found below:</p><p>A) Personal Independence Payment (PIP)</p><p>Statistics on Mandatory Reconsideration (MR) clearance times for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) claims by parliamentary constituency are planned to be published on 11th June 2019 in accordance with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics. The figures requested will be included within the PIP Official Statistics publication.</p><p>It should be noted that the Department’s decision makers are, in relation to PIP, now proactively engaging with claimants at the MR stage to ensure that they have all material evidence before they make their decision. Early indications are that this is helping decision makers.</p><p>B) Employment Support Allowance (ESA)</p><p>The available information on the average waiting time for MRs of ESA work capability assessments is published and can be found in table 16 here:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/esa-outcomes-of-work-capability-assessments-including-mandatory-reconsiderations-and-appeals-march-2019" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/esa-outcomes-of-work-capability-assessments-including-mandatory-reconsiderations-and-appeals-march-2019</a></p><p>It is the intention to produce further geographical breakdowns of these statistics in the future.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 21/05/2019 14:41:04 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	1470 label Biography information for Ian C. Lucas

1126041

registered interest
date	13/05/2019
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	Department for Work and Pensions: Former Ministers
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much her Department has paid to hon. Members under section 4 of the Ministerial and other Pensions and Salaries Act 1991 since 13 July 2016.
tabling member constituency	Ellesmere Port and Neston
tabling member printed	Justin Madders
uin	253611
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/05/2019 answer text <p>As part of the Government’s transparency agenda, any such payments are published in the departments audited annual accounts, and these can be found on gov.uk</p><p> </p><p>Information for the 2016-17 year is published here-</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dwp-annual-report-and-accounts-2016-to-2017" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dwp-annual-report-and-accounts-2016-to-2017</a></p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Information for the 2017-18 year is published here.</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dwp-annual-report-and-accounts-2017-to-2018" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dwp-annual-report-and-accounts-2017-to-2018</a></p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>Updated information on the 2018-19 financial year will be published later this year.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 21/05/2019 12:41:23 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	4418 label Biography information for Justin Madders

1126058

registered interest
date	13/05/2019
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	Television Licences: Older People
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the cost is to the public purse of the provision of free television licences to people over 75 years of age.
tabling member constituency	Shipley
tabling member printed	Philip Davies
uin	253538
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/05/2019 answer text <p>The cost of providing free TV licences to people aged over 75 years was £655m to the public purse in 2017/18. Cost outturn for 2018/19 has not been published yet, but was forecast to be £468m. This is the first year of the part funding agreement that was set out in the summer budget 2015. The cost is forecast to reduce to £247m in 2019/20 and then nil from 2020/21 when responsibility for the concession will transfer to the BBC in June 2020.</p><p> </p><p>Note that all the figures quoted in this response are in nominal terms.</p><p> </p><p>DWP publish expenditure and caseload information here:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/benefit-expenditure-and-caseload-tables-2019" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/benefit-expenditure-and-caseload-tables-2019</a>&gt;</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 21/05/2019 12:57:25 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	1565 label Biography information for Sir Philip Davies