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1128073

registered interest
date	22/05/2019
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	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the recommendations to improve information provision for Universal Credit claimants in the report by the Child Poverty Action Group Computer says ‘No!' Stage one: information provision, published in May.
tabling member printed	Baroness Lister of Burtersett
uin	HL15922
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/06/2019 answer text <p>Universal Credit is designed to react and respond quickly to feedback from our stakeholders and claimants to improve the service we offer. This means that any report based on a view of the service at a given date may well be inaccurate only a short period afterwards.</p><p> </p><p>This is the case with this Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) report. The report does not take into account recent changes to the Universal Credit Statement which ensures that claimants receive detailed information about any deductions which have been made to their Universal Credit award, including a clear breakdown of what each deduction is for. Consequently, the Department has written to CPAG about the report, outlining the up to date position on these issues and inviting CPAG and his Honour Judge Sir Stephen Sedley, who wrote the report’s foreword, to meet to discuss these matters.</p><p> </p><p>The Department will continue to make improvements to Universal Credit to ensure that we provide claimants with the information they need to understand their Universal Credit award.</p> answering member printed Baroness Buscombe question first answered 06/06/2019 13:50:42 answering member 3349 label Biography information for Baroness Buscombe
tabling member	4234 label Biography information for Baroness Lister of Burtersett

1128083

registered interest
date	22/05/2019
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	Equality
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Baroness Buscombe on 21 May (HL Deb, col 1858), on what evidence they base their statement that “inequality has fallen”; and whether they will publish that evidence.
tabling member printed	Baroness Primarolo
uin	HL15932
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/06/2019 answer text <p>National statistics on income inequality are published annually in the “Households Below Average Income” publication using the Gini coefficient. The Gini coefficient is an international standard technical measure of how incomes are distributed across all individuals. It ranges from 0% (when everyone has identical incomes) to 100% (when all income goes to only one person).</p><p> </p><p>From 2009/10 to 2017/18 income inequality, measured using the before housing cost Gini coefficient, has fallen by 2 percentage points. See the table below for the annual statistics from 2009/10 to 2017/18.</p><p> </p><p>This data is published annually on the “Households Below Average Income” website on gov.uk.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Year</p></td><td><p>Income inequality (Gini Coefficient. %)</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2009/10</p></td><td><p>36</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2010/11</p></td><td><p>34</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2011/12</p></td><td><p>34</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012/13</p></td><td><p>34</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2013/14</p></td><td><p>34</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014/15</p></td><td><p>34</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015/16</p></td><td><p>35</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2016/17</p></td><td><p>34</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2017/18</p></td><td><p>34</p></td></tr></tbody></table> answering member printed Baroness Buscombe question first answered 06/06/2019 16:33:04 answering member 3349 label Biography information for Baroness Buscombe
tabling member	217 label Biography information for Baroness Primarolo

1128213

registered interest
date	22/05/2019
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 people have had deductions under universal credit paused; and what the average length of the pause was in the last (a) month and (b) 12 months.
tabling member constituency	High Peak
tabling member printed	Ruth George
uin	257511
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/06/2019 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 06/06/2019 17:06:52 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
tabling member	4662 label Biography information for Ruth George

1128214

registered interest
date	22/05/2019
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 people with underlying debts resulting in deductions under universal credit had those debts written off in the last (a) month and (b) 12 months.
tabling member constituency	High Peak
tabling member printed	Ruth George
uin	257512
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/06/2019 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 06/06/2019 17:12:20 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
tabling member	4662 label Biography information for Ruth George

1128235

registered interest
date	22/05/2019
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	Food Banks
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the timescale is for her Department to publish the findings of the study it commissioned on the links between Government policy and demand on food banks.
tabling member constituency	Birkenhead
tabling member printed	Frank Field
uin	257456
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/06/2019 answer text <p>We are currently carrying out a literature review on the factors driving the use of food banks which will be published in due course.</p><p><strong> </strong></p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 05/06/2019 13:48:15 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead

1128236

registered interest
date	22/05/2019
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: Overpayments
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many cases involving universal credit overpayments have not been pursued on the grounds of hardship.
tabling member constituency	Birkenhead
tabling member printed	Frank Field
uin	257457
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/06/2019 answer text <p>In 2018/19, 16,260 successful applications for a reduction in their repayment rate were made by claimants or their representatives.</p><p>In 2018/19, 10 overpayments were waived, either in full or in part, as a result of applications made by claimants or their representatives. In the same period, 20 applications were unsuccessful.</p><p>The Department has an obligation to ensure that public funds are administered responsibly and to abide by the principles set out in Her Majesty’s Treasury’s guidance on Managing Public Money (which can be found on gov.uk). Waivers are only granted in limited circumstances including where the recovery of an overpayment is causing substantial financial and/or medical hardship and clear supporting evidence of this is provided.</p><p>Rather than waiving benefit overpayments, the Department works to support claimants through the recovery of these overpayments.</p><p>If a claimant is having difficulty repaying a benefit overpayment, they can request a review of the amount that is being taken. Any adjustment to the rate of repayment will be based on the individual circumstances of the claimant.</p><p><em>*All figures in this response have been sourced from internal management information and were not intended for public release. They should therefore not be compared to any similar figures subsequently released by the Department. All figures have been rounded to the nearest 10.</em></p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma grouped question UIN 257458 question first answered 05/06/2019 14:34:51 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead

1128238

registered interest
date	22/05/2019
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: Overpayments
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many cases involving universal credit overpayments have been pursued subsequent to an appeal on the grounds of hardship.
tabling member constituency	Birkenhead
tabling member printed	Frank Field
uin	257458
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/06/2019 answer text <p>In 2018/19, 16,260 successful applications for a reduction in their repayment rate were made by claimants or their representatives.</p><p>In 2018/19, 10 overpayments were waived, either in full or in part, as a result of applications made by claimants or their representatives. In the same period, 20 applications were unsuccessful.</p><p>The Department has an obligation to ensure that public funds are administered responsibly and to abide by the principles set out in Her Majesty’s Treasury’s guidance on Managing Public Money (which can be found on gov.uk). Waivers are only granted in limited circumstances including where the recovery of an overpayment is causing substantial financial and/or medical hardship and clear supporting evidence of this is provided.</p><p>Rather than waiving benefit overpayments, the Department works to support claimants through the recovery of these overpayments.</p><p>If a claimant is having difficulty repaying a benefit overpayment, they can request a review of the amount that is being taken. Any adjustment to the rate of repayment will be based on the individual circumstances of the claimant.</p><p><em>*All figures in this response have been sourced from internal management information and were not intended for public release. They should therefore not be compared to any similar figures subsequently released by the Department. All figures have been rounded to the nearest 10.</em></p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma grouped question UIN 257457 question first answered 05/06/2019 14:34:51 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead

1128240

registered interest
date	22/05/2019
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	Personal Independence Payment
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether it is her Department's policy to require that people applying for personal independence payments provide proof of identity prior to processing a completed application form.
tabling member constituency	Birkenhead
tabling member printed	Frank Field
uin	257460
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/06/2019 answer text <p>It is critical that DWP verifies a customer's identity correctly in all circumstances. Effective identity verification and authentication, using commonly applied standards across the Department, will protect the personal data of customers and make a direct contribution to the prevention of identity fraud.</p><p> </p><p>DWP does require people applying for Personal Independence Payment to provide proof of identity. This is sought prior to processing a completed application form to ensure any benefit awarded is paid to the right person. This proof is initially sought verbally at the start of the claim process when the customer will be asked security questions from the information DWP already holds. If we are unable to establish Identity Verification verbally then DWP will ask the customer to provide evidence of ID such as a Passport or Birth Certificate.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 07/06/2019 13:02:11 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead

1128281

registered interest
date	22/05/2019
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	Children: Maintenance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of subject access requests made to the Child Maintenance Service were responded to within the correct timescale since the General Data Protection Regulation came into force; and what steps she is taken to reduce the level of the backlog of those requests.
tabling member constituency	Stafford
tabling member printed	Jeremy Lefroy
uin	257543
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/06/2019 answer text <p>Data is not available to show the number of Right of Access requests that included a request for Child Maintenance Group records prior to 5/11/2018.</p><p>Therefore, the following information shows the number Right of Access Requests that included a request for Child Maintenance Group records from 5/11/2018</p><p><strong>CMG RECORDS REQUESTS COMPLETED</strong></p><p>For the period 5/11/2018 to 21/5/2019:</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Number of Right of Access Requests where the CMG records have been supplied (regardless of the other records that were requested within the RAR) within statutory deadline</p></td><td><p>1130</p></td><td><p>66.9%</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>Regarding the current workload we have the following measures in place:</p><p>We have secured an additional resource to support existing colleagues</p><p>As a contingency we have cross skilled staff that we can utilise if required</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 05/06/2019 17:14:11 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	4109 label Biography information for Jeremy Lefroy

1128289

registered interest
date	22/05/2019
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	Funeral Payments
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many funeral expenses payment awards were made in 2018-19; and (ii) what the value of those payments was.
tabling member constituency	Glasgow South
tabling member printed	Stewart Malcolm McDonald
uin	257550
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/06/2019 answer text <p><strong> </strong></p><p>The number and gross expenditure of Funeral Expenses Payment awards, in Great Britain, is reported annually in Appendix 1 of the Social Fund Annual Report:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/social-fund-annual-report-2017-to-2018" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/social-fund-annual-report-2017-to-2018</a></p><p>The information requested for 2018/19 will be published in due course, and so cannot be released ahead of publication.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 05/06/2019 13:05:33 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	4461 label Biography information for Stewart Malcolm McDonald