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1230570

registered interest
date	02/09/2020
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	First Aid: Mental Health
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will review the Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981 to strengthen the provisions protecting mental health within existing legislation and enshrine parity of esteem for mental health in law.
tabling member constituency	East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow
tabling member printed	Dr Lisa Cameron
uin	84277
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/09/2020 answer text <p>I refer the hon. Member to my previous response to question <a href="https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2020-06-02/53549" target="_blank">53549</a>.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 10/09/2020 15:26:29 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	4412 label Biography information for Dr Lisa Cameron

1230582

registered interest
date	02/09/2020
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 assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of including a universal credit claim start date selection section, within the universal credit initial claim form, to enable clearer claim backdating for people who would be eligible under regulation 26 of the Claims and Payments Regulations.
tabling member constituency	Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey
tabling member printed	Drew Hendry
uin	84288
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/09/2020 answer text <p>We encourage all people to engage with us at their point of need, and as the vast majority of Universal Credit claims are successfully made online, most will not require backdating. However, backdating provision, of up to a maximum of one month, is available where the circumstances are such that someone could not reasonably have been expected to claim earlier, including due to illness, disability or an official computer system failure.</p><p> </p><p>The Department works in partnership with a variety of stakeholders, including local authorities, charities and employer groups, as well as through our local Jobcentres, to distribute factual information on the range of benefits that people could be entitled to.</p><p> </p><p>To support people in making the right decisions we also launched a new microsite within the ‘Understanding Universal Credit’ website, to help people navigate the range of support available and apply for it. Additionally, we also encourage the use of independent benefits calculators (available via <a href="http://www.gov.uk/benefits-calculators" target="_blank">www.gov.uk/benefits-calculators</a>) to ensure individuals can navigate the welfare system and decide what is right for their circumstances.</p><p> </p><p>However, we recognise that some people will still require additional support to successfully submit a claim to Universal Credit. From 1 April 2020 the Department has provided a second year of grant funding to Citizens Advice and Citizens Advice Scotland to continue to deliver Help to Claim. Help to Claim offers trusted, independent, tailored, practical support to help people make a Universal Credit claim and receive their first full correct payment on time. It is available across England, Wales and Scotland and is usually available online, over the phone and face to face through local Citizens Advice services. Following the outbreak of COVID-19, face to face access was temporarily suspended with the required support being provided through the telephony and web chat channels.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince grouped question UIN 84289 question first answered 07/09/2020 16:06:19 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	4467 label Biography information for Drew Hendry

1230586

registered interest
date	02/09/2020
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 assessment her Department has made of the (a) accessibility of the universal credit claim backdating process for eligible applicants and (b) adequacy of the information provided to applicants that they may be eligible to backdate a claim.
tabling member constituency	Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey
tabling member printed	Drew Hendry
uin	84289
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/09/2020 answer text <p>We encourage all people to engage with us at their point of need, and as the vast majority of Universal Credit claims are successfully made online, most will not require backdating. However, backdating provision, of up to a maximum of one month, is available where the circumstances are such that someone could not reasonably have been expected to claim earlier, including due to illness, disability or an official computer system failure.</p><p> </p><p>The Department works in partnership with a variety of stakeholders, including local authorities, charities and employer groups, as well as through our local Jobcentres, to distribute factual information on the range of benefits that people could be entitled to.</p><p> </p><p>To support people in making the right decisions we also launched a new microsite within the ‘Understanding Universal Credit’ website, to help people navigate the range of support available and apply for it. Additionally, we also encourage the use of independent benefits calculators (available via <a href="http://www.gov.uk/benefits-calculators" target="_blank">www.gov.uk/benefits-calculators</a>) to ensure individuals can navigate the welfare system and decide what is right for their circumstances.</p><p> </p><p>However, we recognise that some people will still require additional support to successfully submit a claim to Universal Credit. From 1 April 2020 the Department has provided a second year of grant funding to Citizens Advice and Citizens Advice Scotland to continue to deliver Help to Claim. Help to Claim offers trusted, independent, tailored, practical support to help people make a Universal Credit claim and receive their first full correct payment on time. It is available across England, Wales and Scotland and is usually available online, over the phone and face to face through local Citizens Advice services. Following the outbreak of COVID-19, face to face access was temporarily suspended with the required support being provided through the telephony and web chat channels.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince grouped question UIN 84288 question first answered 07/09/2020 16:06:19 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	4467 label Biography information for Drew Hendry

1230598

registered interest
date	02/09/2020
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	Support for Mortgage Interest: Coronavirus
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 amend the 36 week eligibility requirement for Support for Mortgage Interest payments to support people struggling with mortgage payments due to the covid-19 outbreak.
tabling member constituency	Glasgow North West
tabling member printed	Carol Monaghan
uin	84286
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/09/2020 answer text <p>The Department has no plans to amend the qualifying period for Support for Mortgage Interest.</p><p> </p><p>Home owners struggling with mortgage repayments because of COVID-19 should contact their lender as soon as possible to discuss what support might be available.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 07/09/2020 16:44:25 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	4443 label Biography information for Carol Monaghan

1230621

registered interest
date	02/09/2020
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	Kickstart Scheme
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many (a) chambers of commerce, (b) local authorities, (c) trade bodies and (d) groups of employers have signed up as representatives for the Kickstart scheme.
tabling member constituency	Manchester Central
tabling member printed	Lucy Powell
uin	84264
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/09/2020 answer text <p>The opportunity for employers or other organisations to apply for Kickstart funding only opened on 2<sup>nd</sup> September so we have yet to approve any grants. But there is considerable interest from a wide range of organisations in becoming representatives including from chambers of commerce, local authorities, trade bodies as well as employers.</p><p /><p>Engagement with stakeholders has been a vital part of developing the Kickstart Scheme. Throughout the rapid policy development phase, we have engaged with over 300 individual stakeholders and/or stakeholder organisations. This includes employers and business representative organisations, local and regional representatives, devolved administrations, and third sector organisations including the Trade Unions Congress. We will continue to engage with them post-launch to enable them to join Government in delivering the Scheme.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 08/09/2020 13:20:44 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies previous answer version 45012 answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	4263 label Biography information for Lucy Powell

1230665

registered interest
date	02/09/2020
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	Department for Work and Pensions: Personnel Management
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many full-time equivalent staff were employed in her Department's human resources section in April 2020.
tabling member constituency	Carlisle
tabling member printed	John Stevenson
uin	84202
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/09/2020 answer text <p>We are able to provide the following figures for March 2020:</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p><strong>Headcount</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>FTE</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>No. of HR Staff excluding Shared Services</p></td><td><p>378</p></td><td><p>352</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>Source: DWP return to Cabinet Office – issued 12 June 2020</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 10/09/2020 15:18:40 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	3942 label Biography information for John Stevenson

1230675

registered interest
date	02/09/2020
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	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 assessment she has made of the level of child maintenance arrears built up by paying parents during the period in which the Child Maintenance Service has not been taking new enforcement action as a result of the covid-19 outbreak.
tabling member constituency	Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey
tabling member printed	Drew Hendry
uin	84290
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/09/2020 answer text <p>Where payments have been missed we have asked parents to report the changes via the self-service portal. In order to ensure that receiving parents do not lose out in the long run, the Child Maintenance Service is updating cases with notified changes. Where payments have been missed the Service is taking action to re-establish compliance and collect any unpaid amounts that may have accrued.</p><p> </p><p>Those found to be abusing the system are subject to the full extent of our enforcement powers and the Child Maintenance Service will pursue these, where appropriate.</p><p> </p><p>The vast majority of CMS enforcement powers involve third parties, including Her Majesty’s courts, enforcement agents and financial institutions. The COVID-19 crisis meant that these third parties had to pause business. The CMS is now beginning to reinstate a full service and remains committed to working with these key partners to establish how best to restart enforcement activity.</p><p> </p><p>The total amount of Child Maintenance arranged via the Collect and Pay service, and the amount of this that has not been paid, are published quarterly. The latest published figures for Child Maintenance Service are up the end of March 2020 and can be found in National Table 10 at the link below.</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/child-maintenance-service-statistics-data-to-march-2020-experimental" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/child-maintenance-service-statistics-data-to-march-2020-experimental</a></p><p> </p><p>Statistics containing data to June 2020 will not be available until the next publication, due on 30 September 2020.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 07/09/2020 16:45:44 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	4467 label Biography information for Drew Hendry

1230702

registered interest
date	02/09/2020
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	Food Banks
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when she plans to publish her Department's evidence review on the drivers of food bank usage.
tabling member constituency	South Shields
tabling member printed	Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck
uin	84269
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/09/2020 answer text <p>The Department reallocated resources to prioritise work to helping the COVID-19 effort. As such, we will update on the literature review on the factors driving the use of food banks in due course.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 07/09/2020 15:59:06 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	4277 label Biography information for Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck

1230710

registered interest
date	02/09/2020
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	Kickstart Scheme
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential effect on employer operations of the requirement for them to have a minimum of 30 placements on take-up of the Kickstart scheme.
tabling member constituency	Manchester Central
tabling member printed	Lucy Powell
uin	84265
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/09/2020 answer text <p>Employers looking to take on less than 30 Kickstarters can apply through an intermediary or representative body such as Local Authorities, Mayoral Combined Authorities, trade bodies, Chambers of Commerce and charities. We know that smaller employers may need support through the bidding process and may not have access to the HR and other services to provide the level of support we are looking for employers to provide Kickstart participants.</p><p> </p><p>As intermediaries are approved their details will be made available on Gov.uk and JCPs will be able to guide local employers to local intermediaries.</p><p> </p><p>We’ve set an initial minimum limit of 30 placements per bid to help us to effectively manage the grant application process as we build confidence in our delivery mechanisms and we will keep this threshold under review.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 07/09/2020 16:55:23 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	4263 label Biography information for Lucy Powell

1230713

registered interest
date	02/09/2020
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	Kickstart Scheme
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 has taken to sign-up employers to the Kickstart scheme.
tabling member constituency	Manchester Central
tabling member printed	Lucy Powell
uin	84267
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/09/2020 answer text <p>We are working with partner organisations in all sectors to ensure that the scheme is of maximum benefit to participants and employers.</p><p>We are working closely with local and national partners, to ensure Kickstart jobs are aligned to local labour market need, are additional and support the recovery.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 07/09/2020 16:49:08 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	4263 label Biography information for Lucy Powell