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1136048

registered interest
date	04/07/2019
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	Local Housing Allowance
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 merits of increasing local housing allowance to the 30th percentile point for current market rents in each size category of dwelling.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle-under-Lyme
tabling member printed	Paul Farrelly
uin	271443
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/07/2019 answer text <p>There are no current plans to extend or maintain the Benefit Freeze after March 2020. Specific decisions on how to uprate the Local Housing Allowance from April 2020 will form part of the discussions in support of fiscal events later this year.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 08/07/2019 16:40:08 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	1436 label Biography information for Paul Farrelly

1136405

registered interest
date	04/07/2019
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	Disability
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 her Department has taken to increase public understanding of invisible disabilities.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle-under-Lyme
tabling member printed	Paul Farrelly
uin	272164
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/07/2019 answer text <p>On Tuesday 25 June, the Government launched a new cross-government approach on disability which is guided by a vision that recognises the contributions that disabled people make and where disabled people can participate fully in society. To drive forward this approach, government will establish a new cross-departmental disability team in the Cabinet Office, and the Office for Disability Issues (ODI) will be incorporated into the team. This move recognises that disabled people, including those with hidden disabilities, face barriers across the life course and a wide range of aspects of their lives and coordinated cross-government action is therefore vital.</p><p>The British Standards Institution, and others involved in supporting the “Grace’s Sign” campaign, are currently exploring the potential for developing a symbol for hidden disabilities. The project is in an early scoping phase, but its intended aim is that the symbol would be recognised by the International Organization for Standardization. Achieving this involves a multi-stage process, which can take time, but if successful, greatly enhances the chances of its sustained future use in public signage. If successful, greater use and public acceptance of such a symbol would increase awareness of hidden disabilities, and help promote an understanding of the possible access and support needs of people with hidden disabilities.</p><p>Various Sector Champions appointed by the Minister for Disabled People are working within their sectors to support all disabled people, raise awareness of their needs and drive improvements in how these are met. Examples relating to hidden disabilities include: railway franchises thinking about supporting people with a wider range of disabilities, including through quiet areas at stations; a lanyard to identify those with hidden disabilities at airports, with staff trained to recognise this and offer help; and within the retail sector, many large stores holding quiet hours (no music and dimmed lighting) to improve the shopping experience for those with some hidden disabilities (such as autism or ADHD).</p><p> </p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 08/07/2019 15:56:14 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	1436 label Biography information for Paul Farrelly

1136912

registered interest
date	04/07/2019
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	Jobcentre Plus: Closures
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) financial implications and (b) net effect on jobs of the closure of benefit processing centres in London.
tabling member constituency	Twickenham
tabling member printed	Sir Vince Cable
uin	273307
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/07/2019 answer text <p>The Government Estate Strategy sets out an ambition to rebalance the economy, creating regional growth and locating jobs outside of London. This, along with the considerable increases in rental costs in London, and the commercial challenges in retaining property of any size, means that the Department’s strategy is to gradually migrate processing work out of London. While there will be no impact to public facing Jobcentre services, it does mean that a number of central London processing sites will close by 2023.</p><p> </p><p>As we look to close these offices, we will redistribute the work to other processing hubs across the UK and, wherever possible, seek to redeploy London based staff to other areas of DWP or other Government Departments. We will not be in a position to assess the net impact on jobs until this activity has completed.</p><p> </p><p>Finally, despite these closures, the Department will continue to be a significant employer in London.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 09/07/2019 13:33:16 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	207 label Biography information for Sir Vince Cable

1136941

registered interest
date	04/07/2019
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 plans the Government has in place to help people in receipt of universal credit with the cost of childcare over the summer holidays.
tabling member constituency	Coventry South
tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
uin	273325
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/07/2019 answer text <p>The Government recognises that childcare costs can affect parents’ decisions to both obtain and maintain employment and is committed to removing barriers that prevent parents moving into work.</p><p> </p><p>To overcome this barrier to employment, Universal Credit claimants are able to claim up to 85 per cent of their childcare costs, compared to 70 per cent on the legacy system. This can be worth up to £13,000 a year for families with two children.</p><p> </p><p>We recognise the difficulty that some claimants might have in paying childcare costs over the summer holidays and have undertaken significant work to increase work coach awareness, understanding and promotion of both the Universal Credit childcare offer and the wider government childcare offer. This is to ensure that parents who are eligible for the 15 hours of free childcare for disadvantaged families with 2-year-old children, and 30 hours of free childcare for working families, take these up. These free childcare offers can be used in combination with Universal Credit support for childcare.</p><p> </p><p>In addition to this, budgeting advances are available for eligible claimants that can be used to cover the cost of paying additional upfront childcare costs or a deposit that might be needed during the school holidays.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 09/07/2019 13:43:34 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

1136948

registered interest
date	04/07/2019
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	Older People: Finance
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 older people receive the financial support they are entitled to.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle-under-Lyme
tabling member printed	Paul Farrelly
uin	273349
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/07/2019 answer text <p>The Government is committed to ensuring that older people receive the support they are entitled to and the DWP targets activity on engaging with people who may be eligible to benefits at pivotal stages, such as when they make a claim for State Pension or report a change in their circumstances.</p><p> </p><p>The DWP uses a wide range of channels including information on <a href="https://gov.uk/" target="_blank">https://gov.uk/</a>, in leaflets and by telephone to communicate information to potential customers about benefits, such as Pension Credit. Anyone wishing to claim Pension Credit can do so by calling 0800 99 1234 and DWP staff in Pension Centres and Jobcentres including visiting officers are able to provide help and advice about entitlement to benefits, as are staff in Local Authorities who administer Housing Benefit.</p><p> </p><p>Pension Credit is an important benefit specifically intended to help the poorest pensioners and there are over 1.6m pensioners already claiming over £5billion but we want to ensure that everyone eligible can claim what they are entitled to. One of the best ways to reach eligible customers is through trusted stakeholder working in the community and we have developed the Pension Credit toolkit, as an on-line tool for agencies and welfare rights organisations to use in order to encourage Pension Credit take-up. It can be found at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pension-credit-toolkit" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pension-credit-toolkit</a></p><p>The toolkit contains resources for anyone working with pensioners and includes guides to Pension Credit. It also contains publicity material and guidance designed to help older people understand how they could get Pension Credit and help organisations support someone applying for Pension Credit as well as ideas for encouraging take-up. The toolkit also provides links to information about disability and carers benefits.</p><p> </p><p>Most recently we have provided to relevant organisations a fact sheet about Pension Credit and forthcoming changes for couples to ensure that accurate information is available in the places where people are most likely to seek it.</p><p> </p><p>Finally, the Government’s commitment to the triple lock has meant that the full basic State Pension is now worth around £1600 a year more (in cash terms) than it was in 2010 and significantly, the majority of people of pension age in receipt of a State Pension or another social security benefit receive their annual winter fuel payment automatically without the need to make a claim.</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 09/07/2019 14:22:38 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	1436 label Biography information for Paul Farrelly

1136964

registered interest
date	04/07/2019
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	William Hill: Closures
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 staff of William Hill following the announcement that 700 branches will close; and if she will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Motherwell and Wishaw
tabling member printed	Marion Fellows
uin	273427
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/07/2019 answer text <p>DWP stands ready to support any affected by the proposed closures, with our Rapid Response Service (RRS) offer. 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.</p><p> </p><p>Each Jobcentre Plus district deploy resources according to the situation and the requirements of the workforce. This service is available to be deployed nationally should William Hill 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><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 09/07/2019 09:34:57 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Lord Sharma
tabling member	4440 label Biography information for Marion Fellows

1136974

registered interest
date	04/07/2019
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, how many times the Child Maintenance Group has registered the maintenance debt of a non-resident parent with credit rating agencies in the last year.
tabling member constituency	Motherwell and Wishaw
tabling member printed	Marion Fellows
uin	273429
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/07/2019 answer text <p>This information is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 09/07/2019 13:58:29 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	4440 label Biography information for Marion Fellows

1137015

registered interest
date	04/07/2019
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: Terminal Illnesses
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, on how many occasions her Department's assessors have formally questioned a prognosis given by health professionals in DS1500 forms in each year for which data is available.
tabling member constituency	Vale of Clwyd
tabling member printed	Chris Ruane
uin	273334
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/07/2019 answer text <p>The Department’s assessment providers do not record the information requested. If they have a question about information recorded on a DS1500, or if there is no DS1500 available, they have an obligation to contact the relevant clinician to obtain further information. If they do not have any questions about information on the DS1500, they do not need to contact the clinician who completed the form.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 09/07/2019 13:22:50 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	534 label Biography information for Chris Ruane

1137017

registered interest
date	04/07/2019
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: Terminal Illnesses
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many personal independence payment claims made under special rules and supported by a clinician via a DS1500 were rejected by her Department in each year for which data is available.
tabling member constituency	Vale of Clwyd
tabling member printed	Chris Ruane
uin	273335
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/07/2019 answer text <p>The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 09/07/2019 14:12:19 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	534 label Biography information for Chris Ruane

1136548

registered interest
date	03/07/2019
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, how feedback from presenting officers in personal independence payment tribunals is used to inform future decision making on personal independence payment cases.
tabling member constituency	Hove
tabling member printed	Peter Kyle
uin	272897
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/07/2019 answer text <p>The helpful feedback from Presenting Officers (POs), has resulted in decision makers, appeals writers and POs themselves, reviewing their approach to the weighing of evidence, including taking a more considerative view of existing evidence. Changes have also been made to how decisions are being explained to claimants and in the paperwork prepared for appeal tribunals. Further, it has fed into our new approach for PIP cases where we contact claimants, where appropriate, to see if there is information that would enable us to change the decision ourselves at Mandatory Reconsideration or at the appeal stage.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson grouped question UIN 272898 question first answered 08/07/2019 15:39:36 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	4505 label Biography information for Peter Kyle