Show Search Form

Search Results

registered interest	true false
date	exactly: or between: and
answering body
answering dept id
answering dept short name
answering dept sort name
hansard heading
house id
legislature	pref label
question text
tabling member constituency
tabling member printed
uin
answer	is ministerial correction true false date of answer exactly: or between: and answer text answering member constituency answering member printed grouped question UIN question first answered answering member label
tabling member	label

Search

1110190

registered interest
date	08/04/2019
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: Housing
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the number of tenants that will experience a financial shortfall as a result of 2019-20 being a 53-week rent year and universal Credit being a 52 week rent year.
tabling member constituency	Wentworth and Dearne
tabling member printed	John Healey
uin	242021
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/04/2019 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 get the claimant back on track</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><p> </p><p>There is a separate issue with respect to the way the calculation in the Universal Credit regulations converts a weekly liability into a monthly allowance. The conversion is achieved by multiplying the weekly rent by 52 and then dividing by 12. This effectively means one day’s rent a year (two days in a leap years) are not covered by UC. We are currently considering whether this formulation around weekly rents, and potentially other weekly amounts in the UC calculation, should be amended.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 11/04/2019 15:59:06 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	400 label Biography information for John Healey

1109738

registered interest
date	04/04/2019
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: Brexit
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how the proposed hardship fund in the event of the UK leaving the EU without a deal would be administered.
tabling member constituency	Washington and Sunderland West
tabling member printed	Mrs Sharon Hodgson
uin	240994
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/04/2019 answer text <p>Leaving the EU with a deal remains the Government’s top priority. We have more people in work than ever before, with wages continuing to grow. DWP has contingency plans to ensure we can continue to provide our vital services to those who need them.</p><p> </p><p>As the Prime Minister has made clear, the best way forward is for the UK to leave the EU in an orderly way with a good deal and the Government is working to deliver legal certainty on the UK’s future relationship with the EU. However, as a responsible Government, we continue to prepare appropriately for all scenarios. As part of the process to ensure our orderly exit, we continue to monitor the effects of EU exit on the economy.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma grouped question UIN 240993 question first answered 11/04/2019 14:05:49 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
tabling member	1521 label Biography information for Mrs Sharon Hodgson

1109019

registered interest
date	02/04/2019
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: Scotland
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment her Department has made of the level of foodbank use in Scotland.
tabling member constituency	Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill
tabling member printed	Hugh Gaffney
uin	240070
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/04/2019 answer text <p>The Department for Work and Pensions has not made an assessment of the levels of foodbank use in Scotland.</p><p>The welfare system provides a strong safety net for those who need it, spending over £95 billion a year on welfare benefits for people of working age. This includes a well-established system of hardship payments, benefit advances and budgeting loans as an additional safeguard for those who need them.</p><p> </p><p>Jobcentre mangers have discretion to work with food banks in their local area; and we are exploring how to build on current good practice to make it as easy as possible for food banks to identify and refer back to the local Jobcentre any customers who may not be receiving the full formal support to which they are entitled</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 08/04/2019 15:57:42 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	4614 label Biography information for Hugh Gaffney

1109134

registered interest
date	02/04/2019
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	Work Capability Assessment
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reasons her Department does not undertake a single capability for work assessment for benefit claimants instead of multiple assessments when claimants are applying for more than one benefit.
tabling member constituency	Ross, Skye and Lochaber
tabling member printed	Ian Blackford
uin	240012
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/04/2019 answer text <p>We are committed to assessing people with health conditions and disabilities fairly and accurately, helping people to access the right support.</p><p>Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)/Universal Credit (UC) are paid for different purposes with different assessment criteria. PIP is designed to help people with long-term health conditions or disabilities to live independently, whereas ESA/UC is to support people with health conditions or disabilities who are not able to work, and support them towards work where possible. Therefore, we have separate assessments in place, but only the Work Capability Assessment (WCA) in ESA/UC is used to assess capability for work.</p><p>The Secretary of State recently announced our intention to test the feasibility of using a single assessment to determine eligibility for ESA/UC and PIP where claims have been made for both benefits. We want to establish if its introduction would improve the customer experience and to ensure it delivers high quality, accurate outcomes.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 08/04/2019 15:53:11 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	4390 label Biography information for Ian Blackford

1109190

registered interest
date	02/04/2019
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	State Retirement Pensions: British Nationals Abroad
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 Department's document Estimated costs of uprating State Pension in frozen rate countries, recipients of the UK State Pension living overseas, if she will hold discussions with her counterparts in (a) Australia, (b) Canada, (c) New Zealand and (d) other countries about the potential benefits of a reciprocal agreement including the uprating of the pensions of their UK residents; and if she will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Brighton, Pavilion
tabling member printed	Caroline Lucas
uin	239930
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/04/2019 answer text <p>The Department’s document ‘Estimated costs of uprating State Pension in frozen rate countries’ <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/estimated-costs-of-uprating-state-pension-in-frozen-rate-countries" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/estimated-costs-of-uprating-state-pension-in-frozen-rate-countries</a> shows that the estimated extra cost of up-rating the UK State Pension in countries where State Pension increases are not paid would be around £3 billion extra over five years, if all State Pensions in payment were increased to the amount that would have been payable if the recipients had never left the UK.</p><p> </p><p>The policy on the up-rating of UK State Pensions paid to recipients living outside the UK is clear and is a long-standing one of successive Governments since WW2. The annual index-linked increases are paid to UK State Pension recipients where there is a legal requirement to do so. For example, where UK State Pension recipients are living within the European Economic Area, Switzerland and Gibraltar or in countries where there is a reciprocal agreement in place that provides for the uprating of the UK State Pension. The Government has no plans to change this policy.</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 10/04/2019 11:53:50 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	3930 label Biography information for Caroline Lucas

1109199

registered interest
date	02/04/2019
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, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of allowing universal credit claims to be backdated to the starting point of each claim being made rather than the point at which a submit button is pressed on the claim.
tabling member constituency	Birkenhead
tabling member printed	Frank Field
uin	239889
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/04/2019 answer text <p>Claimants make a claim at the point of need, not before or after. Therefore, the date of claim for an online application to Universal Credit is the date the claimant submits the claim. As such, there is limited provision for backdating claims within Universal Credit. The newly launched Help to Claim offers tailored, practical support to help people make a Universal Credit claim and receive their first full payment on time.</p><p> </p><p>Claims may be backdated, by up to one calendar month, in limited circumstances for vulnerable claimants who may be delayed in claiming Universal Credit through no fault of their own. Claims may also be backdated in specific circumstances when a couple separates to ensure that there is no gap in entitlement between the couple claim and the new claim made by a single claimant.</p><p> </p><p>In cases where the Department have had direct contact with a claimant and have assisted them in making their applications, either by telephone, face to face contact or a home visit, the date of claim will be the date of first contact.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 10/04/2019 09:50:55 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead

1108715

registered interest
date	01/04/2019
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, pursuant to the Answer of 29 March to Question 235318 on Working Links, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of the process of awarding the (a) Work Programme Leavers and (b) Links to Work contracts Working Links (Employment) Ltd.
tabling member constituency	Easington
tabling member printed	Grahame Morris
uin	239224
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/04/2019 answer text <p>The Department has taken part (a) of the question to be in relation to The Work Programme provision let in 2011, there is no Work Programme Leavers programme.</p><p> </p><p>The Department has taken part (b) of the question to be in relation to the ESF Links to Work Provision let in 2016.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>The Department complies with Public Procurement rules and Procurement Regulations in all sourcing activity. Internal governance, departmental assessment against Government Commercial Office Standards and Internal Audit reports monitor compliance.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 04/04/2019 12:57:32 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	3973 label Biography information for Grahame Morris

1108718

registered interest
date	01/04/2019
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, at the time of Working Links (Employment) Ltd's collapse what contacts they held with her Department; what the total value was of each of those contracts; and how much her Department had paid to Working Links (Employment) Ltd in relation to each of those contracts.
tabling member constituency	Easington
tabling member printed	Grahame Morris
uin	239227
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/04/2019 answer text <p>Working links held 3 Work Programme contracts, 5 Work Choice contracts, 6 European Social Fund contracts and were on the low value Dynamic Purchasing System.</p><p> </p><p>Work Programme and Work Choice were in exit mode, following cessation of referrals in March 2017 and November 2018 respectively, at the point of administration.</p><p> </p><p>Copies of the contract and contract values are accessible on the following site. <a href="https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Search" target="_blank">https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Search</a></p><p> </p><p>In accordance with the Government transparency commitment I can confirm that the DWP publishes a list of all financial transactions over £500 and £25,000</p><p> </p><p>For spend over £25,000 follow the below link:-</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://data.gov.uk/dataset/ccdc397a-3984-453b-a9d7-e285074bba4d/spend-over-25-000-in-the-department-for-work-and-pensions" target="_blank">https://data.gov.uk/dataset/ccdc397a-3984-453b-a9d7-e285074bba4d/spend-over-25-000-in-the-department-for-work-and-pensions</a></p><p> </p><p>Explanatory notes on your findings on spend over £25000 can be found by following the below link:-</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dwp-monthly-payments-explanatory-notes" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dwp-monthly-payments-explanatory-notes</a></p><p> </p><p>For spend over £500 follow the below link:</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/what-dwp-spends" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/what-dwp-spends</a></p><p> </p><p>Explanatory notes on your findings on spend over £500 can be found by following the below link:-</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dwp-government-procurement-card-monthly-payments-explanatory-notes" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dwp-government-procurement-card-monthly-payments-explanatory-notes</a></p><p> </p><p>Departmental contracts held by Working Links were on a payment by results basis and, therefore, actual spend will not align to the contract value as the latter is based on 100% performance.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 04/04/2019 13:23:40 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	3973 label Biography information for Grahame Morris

1108887

registered interest
date	01/04/2019
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	Employment: Veterans
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps the Government is taking to support armed forces veterans into employment.
tabling member constituency	Romford
tabling member printed	Andrew Rosindell
uin	239329
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/04/2019 answer text <p>The Armed Forces Covenant has been in place since May 2011 and sets out the relationship between the nation, the Government and the Armed Forces. The covenant is a written and publicised voluntary pledge from businesses and other organisations who wish to demonstrate their support for the armed forces community.</p><p> </p><p>The covenant can be signed by a business or other organisation of any size, and from any industry whether they are an employer of a member of the armed forces community or simply wish to acknowledge publically their support for the armed forces.</p><p> </p><p>The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) National Employer and Partnership Team (NEPT) actively promote the Armed Forces Covenant to those employers and partner organisations they work with. This has been adopted into routine business to ensure that those new to DWP’s employer portfolio are aware of the opportunity and benefits of support to the Armed Forces community.</p><p> </p><p>Every Jobcentre Plus District has an Armed Forced Champion (AFC) who is key to delivering our commitments under the covenant. The AFC will ensure that any concerns and issues raised which affect Service Personnel and their families are integrated within the wider work of Jobcentre Plus. AFCs ensure Work Coaches and other DWP staff can effectively support serving personnel, service leavers, veterans and their families.</p><p> </p><p>In addition to the local activity in Jobcentres to support veterans our National Employer and Partnership Team (NEPT) also work closely with the Ministry of Defence to align engagement activity in support of the veteran’s strategy. In particular NEPT work closely with the MOD Careers Transition Partnership (CTP) and the Defence Relationship Management (DRM) team to encourage large employers, trade body associations and partner organisations to provide practical support to the Armed Forces Covenant, particularly the employment of veterans.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 05/04/2019 12:15:41 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	1447 label Biography information for Andrew Rosindell

1108900

registered interest
date	01/04/2019
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 estimate she has made of the amount of historical arrears-only cases from the 1993 to 2003 Child Maintenance Scheme that have been written-off by the Child Support Agency since 14 December 2018.
tabling member constituency	North East Somerset
tabling member printed	Mr Jacob Rees-Mogg
uin	239345
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/04/2019 answer text <p>The information is not readily available and has not previously been published as official statistics, however we expect these new statistics to be published in June 2019. Information on the planned changes to the Child Support Agency Quarterly Statistical Summary to incorporate this information can be found here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/child-support-agency-statistics-publication-strategy" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/child-support-agency-statistics-publication-strategy</a></p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson grouped question UIN 239344 question first answered 04/04/2019 16:14:32 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	4099 label Biography information for Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg