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1176713

registered interest
date	06/02/2020
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 steps she has taken to ensure that universal credit claimants paying rent weekly do not face a one-week shortfall in their UC housing element in 2020.
tabling member constituency	Aberavon
tabling member printed	Stephen Kinnock
uin	13476
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/02/2020 answer text <p>Neither tenants or landlords lose a week’s rent in a 53 weekly rent payment year as has been alleged; no year contains 53 weeks. The problem is alignment between weekly and monthly cycles. Each month the UC housing element is a constant figure but claimants with weekly tenancy agreements will be required to make either four or five rent payments within this period. If the claimant always pays their rent on time, in five payment months they are effectively making payment for part of the following month. That month will always be a four rent payment month, so the combination of the advance payment and the ‘overpayment’ of housing support during that month will result in the correct amount of housing element being paid.</p><p> </p><p>Where a landlord charges rent weekly on a Monday, because of the way the calendar falls every 5 or 6 years, they will seek 53 rent payments in a year, with the 53rd payment in part covering the tenancy for the first few days of the following year. The effect of this is that, over the course of the next housing association rental year, a tenant’s UC payments will accurately reflect their liability, irrespective of the 53 payment weeks.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 11/02/2020 10:37:53 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	4359 label Biography information for Stephen Kinnock

1176728

registered interest
date	06/02/2020
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	Loneliness
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Answer of 4 November 2019 to Question 5467 on Loneliness, whether her Department has published the refreshed government guidance on the Family Test.
tabling member constituency	Lewisham, Deptford
tabling member printed	Vicky Foxcroft
uin	13550
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/02/2020 answer text <p>We have been working very closely with our cross-government Family Test Network, including officials from DCMS on the refreshed guidance on applying the Family Test. We intend to make the improved guidance available by March 2020.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 14/02/2020 14:52:53 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	4491 label Biography information for Vicky Foxcroft

1176740

registered interest
date	06/02/2020
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: Medical Examinations
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many claimants of personal independence payment who were assessed at home have had successful mandatory reconsideration claims in (a) Coventry North West constituency, (b) the West Midlands and (c) England.
tabling member constituency	Coventry North West
tabling member printed	Taiwo Owatemi
uin	13557
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/02/2020 answer text <p>The information requested is not available.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 11/02/2020 10:42:45 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	4779 label Biography information for Taiwo Owatemi

1176774

registered interest
date	06/02/2020
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: Fraud
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many fraudulent cases of universal credit advance were (a) recorded and (b) processed at Jobcentres in (i) Preston, (ii) Blackburn, (iii) Blackpool and (iv) Bolton; what the value was of those fraudulent claims; and how much each claimant had to repay as a result of a fraudulent claim made on their behalf by a third party in the last two years.
tabling member constituency	Preston
tabling member printed	Sir Mark Hendrick
uin	13420
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/02/2020 answer text <p>I estimate that providing the information you request would incur disproportionate costs.</p><p> </p><p>However, let me assure you that the Department takes this issue very seriously. We have set up a dedicated team to investigate this type of fraud and are proactively addressing it by using messaging on social media to remind people of the importance of safeguarding their identity, as well as shutting down social media sites that promote this fraud.</p><p> </p><p>We have also made changes to the Universal Credit advance application process. Universal Credit claimants who wish to apply for a new claim advance are now required to attend a face to face interview. This change will help protect claimants from identity fraud and becoming victims of third party scams.</p><p> </p><p>If a claimant has been the victim of a scam, and has not benefited from an advance in any way, they will not be asked to repay it. In these cases, we will seek recovery from the perpetrator of the scam. The Department considers all cases on their own merits and decisions are made on the strength of the evidence provided.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 14/02/2020 12:40:00 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	473 label Biography information for Sir Mark Hendrick

1176813

registered interest
date	06/02/2020
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	Business: Disability
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to encourage private businesses to be more accessible to people with disabilities.
tabling member constituency	Leeds North West
tabling member printed	Alex Sobel
uin	13588
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/02/2020 answer text <p>The Government has made a commitment to publish a new National Strategy for Disabled People in 2020, focusing on removing barriers to ensure disabled people can lead a life of opportunity and fully participate in British society.</p><p>Business has a vital role to play in making its products and services more accessible. In support of that objective, I have appointed 18 Sector Champions to use their influential status and leadership to drive change across in individual business sectors. The sectors currently covered are Advertising, Banking, Broadcast Media, Gaming, Hotels, Leisure (Physical Activity), Live Music, Retail, Tourism, Transport - Airports, Buses and Trains, Arts and Culture, Insurance, Technology, Countryside and Heritage, Web Accessibility, Brand and Design, and Products and Spaces. In addition, the Retail Forum was established to improve accessibility and inclusion of its premises and services for disabled people.</p><p> </p><p>The Government is also working to support people with disabilities who are in work or wish to work. Over 16,000 employers have signed up to the Disability Confident scheme, which provides employers with the knowledge, skills and confidence they need to attract, recruit, retain and develop disabled people in the workplace. The Access to Work scheme offers a discretionary grant of up to £59,200 per year for in-work support above the level of reasonable adjustments for people whose disability or health condition affects the way they do their job.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 14/02/2020 09:42:15 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	4658 label Biography information for Alex Sobel

1176837

registered interest
date	06/02/2020
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 plans her Department has to improve the benefits claim process by (a) sharing assessment data between benefits and (b) making the criteria for claiming different benefits consistent.
tabling member constituency	Nottingham North
tabling member printed	Alex Norris
uin	13599
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/02/2020 answer text <p>DWP are developing a single, integrated service which will simplify the assessment process for millions of people claiming health related benefits. This includes, with individuals’ consent, better information sharing and re-using relevant information already held within DWP. Also by gathering better evidence earlier in the claim to enable a decision to be made without meeting face-to-face, will help reduce the number of face-to-face assessments.</p><p>The criteria, entitlement and purpose of Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) and Personal Independence Payment (PIP) are different as the benefits are paid for different reasons. ESA is an income replacement benefit for working age people, with entitlement based on an assessment of the functional impact of a claimant’s health condition or disability on their capability for work. PIP looks at the needs arising from a claimant’s health condition or disability and is intended to act as a contribution towards meeting extra costs associated with a long-term health condition or disability.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 11/02/2020 10:48:07 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	4641 label Biography information for Alex Norris

1176838

registered interest
date	06/02/2020
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: Medical Examinations
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment, whether her Department plans to make exempt people with long-term health problems from assessments to include people assessed before 2017.
tabling member constituency	Nottingham North
tabling member printed	Alex Norris
uin	13600
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/02/2020 answer text <p>Since 29 September 2017, those placed in ESA’s Support Group and the UC equivalent who have the most severe and lifelong health conditions or disabilities, whose level of function would always mean that they would have Limited Capability for Work and Work-Related Activity, and be unlikely ever to be able to move into work, will no longer be routinely reassessed.</p><p> </p><p>These criteria are applied at either the initial Work Capability Assessment or for existing claimants at their next assessment. We need to ensure that we have the right and most up to date information to apply the criteria fairly and make sure we identify everyone who should benefit from it. The people who best understand how their health problem or disability affects them are the individuals themselves, and so it is only right that we ask them for their information. However, we will do this in the least intrusive way possible – the vast majority of people who will fall into this category, will be assessed on paper and will not need to attend a face-to-face assessment.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 11/02/2020 10:48:13 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	4641 label Biography information for Alex Norris

1176875

registered interest
date	06/02/2020
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: Ethnic Groups
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to tackle levels of unemployment among the BAME community.
tabling member constituency	Houghton and Sunderland South
tabling member printed	Bridget Phillipson
uin	13518
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/02/2020 answer text <p>The Government is committed to levelling up skills and opportunity across the country. Using data from the Race Disparity Audit, first published in October 2017, and the Department for Work and Pensions own analysis we are helping those underrepresented in the labour market. Since 2010, 1,223,000 more people from ethnic minority backgrounds are in employment - that’s a 45 per cent increase in the number of ethnic minority people employed.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 11/02/2020 18:19:36 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	4046 label Biography information for Bridget Phillipson

1176895

registered interest
date	06/02/2020
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 February 2020 to Question 10760, on Universal Credit, how many case managers were working on the roll-out of universal credit in December (a) 2014, (b) 2015, (c) 2016, (d) 2017, (e) 2018 and (f) 2019; and what her estimate is of the average number of cases managed by a case manager in each of those months.
tabling member constituency	Glasgow South West
tabling member printed	Chris Stephens
uin	13531
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/02/2020 answer text <p>Between November 2014 and September 2017, Universal Credit Full Service was going through its Pilot phase, during which resourcing levels were regularly reviewed in line with the growing needs of the Pilot.</p><p> </p><p>Upon conclusion of the Universal Credit Pilot in September 2017, UC Full Service began rolling out throughout the remainder of the country in a phased approach, which concluded in December 2018. The latest published Caseload position for UC stands at 2,084,952 cases (August 2019 figure), at which point there were 4,508 Case Managers deployed within Universal Credit Service Centres supporting UC claimants, with each Case Manager on average handling 463 cases.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 14/02/2020 14:59:15 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	4463 label Biography information for Chris Stephens

1176896

registered interest
date	06/02/2020
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, with reference to her oral contribution of 7 October 2019, Official Report, column 1496, what recent assessment she has made of the level of minimum income that a person needs to meet essential living costs after the benefits freeze ends in 2020.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
uin	13532
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/02/2020 answer text <p>The Secretary of State completed her annual review of benefits and pensions in November and I refer you to her statement of 4 November:</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2019-11-04/HCWS74/" target="_blank">https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2019-11-04/HCWS74/</a></p><p> </p><p>We continue to monitor the impact of our policies by assessing the trends in low income, using our annual Households Below Average Income publication.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 11/02/2020 10:16:26 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah