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1062029

registered interest
date	15/02/2019
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	Refuges: Females
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many nominated members of staff there are employed in job centres across the UK whose role it is to liaise with women's refuges in their local area.
tabling member constituency	Wirral South
tabling member printed	Alison McGovern
uin	222006
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/02/2019 answer text <p>DWP is committed to providing the best possible support for all our claimants, including the most vulnerable in society. This includes those who are, or have been, victims of domestic abuse.</p><p> </p><p>By summer 2019, we will have domestic abuse specialists in every Jobcentre to further raise awareness of domestic abuse, support work coaches and act as a nominated contact for local domestic abuse partners.</p><p> </p><p>We are working closely with partner organisations to develop the training for Jobcentre staff to effectively undertake the role. The training will be delivered in collaboration with a key partner organisation, with the first events planned to take place later this year.</p><p> </p><p>Our Work Coaches are there to provide the right support to all vulnerable claimant groups, including survivors of domestic abuse. To support them to do this, the Department ensures that they are equipped to do their role by providing them with the expertise and training to undertake this role effectively. All Work Coaches receive training on how to support claimants with complex needs, which includes a module on identifying, supporting and signposting victims of abuse.</p><p> </p><p>In addition, Jobcentre sites have access to and make regular use of a complex needs toolkit available at a local level. This toolkit includes information on both local and national supporting agencies.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 25/02/2019 13:07:33 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	4083 label Biography information for Alison McGovern

1059858

registered interest
date	12/02/2019
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: Domestic Abuse
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the process is for beginning a new universal credit application in the event of a relationship breakdown as a result of domestic violence.
tabling member constituency	Wirral South
tabling member printed	Alison McGovern
uin	220205
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/02/2019 answer text <p>When a victim comes into a Jobcentre fleeing domestic abuse, we do everything we can to support the victim. Our primary aim is to determine the immediate priority needs for the individual. We support people by helping them to open a new claim and put in place an advance where needed, which provides access to funds in 2-3 hours. Where further or specialised support is required, we seek to establish the best approach for that individual, utilising links with local partnerships and charities. We directly liaise with these organisations immediately and agree next steps with the victim.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 20/02/2019 15:30:26 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	4083 label Biography information for Alison McGovern

1059859

registered interest
date	12/02/2019
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: Telephone Services
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average time is for a call to the universal credit hotline to be answered.
tabling member constituency	Wirral South
tabling member printed	Alison McGovern
uin	220206
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/02/2019 answer text <p>Universal Credit is a 24 hour, seven day a week, digital service that allows claimants to manage their own data and account online at a time which is convenient for them. Via their account claimants can check their Universal Credit benefit payments, notify us of changes and record notes via an online journal facility. In addition, established claimants who call the Freephone Universal Credit helpline are connected directly to the person or team who are dealing with the case.</p><p> </p><p>The average waiting time for a person calling the Universal Credit Full Service helpline in the month of January 2019 was 4 minutes and 53 seconds.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>Our Average Speed of Answer (ASA) measure is the average customer wait time from the point of entering a queue to connection to an agent. This excludes any time spent in pre-queue messaging and any wait time for calls ultimately abandoned by callers prior to answer.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Notes:</strong></p><p> </p><p>Data Source: BT - OPMIS and Historical Management Information (GI2 – HMI)</p><p>Outsourced partner data is included.</p><p>The data supplied is derived from unpublished management information, which was collected for internal Departmental use only and has not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standard. The data should therefore be treated with caution.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 20/02/2019 17:48:33 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
tabling member	4083 label Biography information for Alison McGovern

1059860

registered interest
date	12/02/2019
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	Refuges: Females
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many referrals have been made to women's refuges in the past six months by work coaches in job centres in the UK.
tabling member constituency	Wirral South
tabling member printed	Alison McGovern
uin	220207
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/02/2019 answer text <p>We do not record how many referrals have been made to women's refuges.</p><p> </p><p>Work Coaches will signpost individuals to the relevant support service, ensuring they get the help and support they need from the appropriate partner organisation. No data is held on the number of claimants signposted to domestic abuse support services</p><p> </p><p>DWP is committed to providing the best possible support for all our claimants, including the most vulnerable in society. This includes those who are, or have been, victims of domestic abuse.</p><p> </p><p>We provide a tailored service that recognises those with complex needs at any point through-out their journey and ensures appropriate support is quickly made available - a fundamental principle in the operational delivery of UC.</p><p> </p><p>We are working closely with Refuge and Women’s Aid to improve the training provided to our staff, which means that Departmental training and awareness is now better than it ever has been, allowing Jobcentre staff to proactively identify, support and signpost victims of abuse.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 20/02/2019 14:37:17 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	4083 label Biography information for Alison McGovern

1059862

registered interest
date	12/02/2019
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	Jobcentres: Staff
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the ratio is of male to female staff members in job centres throughout the UK.
tabling member constituency	Wirral South
tabling member printed	Alison McGovern
uin	220208
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/02/2019 answer text <p>As of December 2018 the ratio of male to female staff in Jobcentres is 27.9% male to 72.1% female.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 19/02/2019 13:48:35 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	4083 label Biography information for Alison McGovern

1059864

registered interest
date	12/02/2019
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 proportion of meetings at job centres for universal credit claimants have been missed due to ill health in each year for which information is available.
tabling member constituency	Wirral South
tabling member printed	Alison McGovern
uin	220209
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/02/2019 answer text <p>The requested information is not readily available as the Department does not centrally collate information on the reasons a claimant might give for not attending an appointment. Where a claimant has a health condition we will apply easements to their conditionality and we may postpone or reschedule their appointment. If a claimant fails to attend a meeting due to a health condition, we would consider a temporary period of sickness or medical emergency to be a good reason for this.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 20/02/2019 17:28:54 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
tabling member	4083 label Biography information for Alison McGovern

1059867

registered interest
date	12/02/2019
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: Disqualification
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department is taking steps to reduce universal credit claimants' anxiety of the threat of sanctions.
tabling member constituency	Wirral South
tabling member printed	Alison McGovern
uin	220210
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/02/2019 answer text <p>Work coach discussions with claimants are designed to provide people with help and support. They will agree claimant commitments which are reasonable and tailored to take account of individual circumstances.</p><p> </p><p>Work coaches must make clear, in a consultative and helpful manner, the potential consequences of failing to comply without good reason with the agreed commitments. They highlight that sanctions are not imposed lightly and only where the claimant has no good reason for failing to meet their commitments. They also explain the importance of letting their work coach know if they have difficulty meeting a commitment, e.g. telling us why they cannot make a work coach appointment. When considering if someone has good reason, the work coach will clarify if other factors should be taken into account, e.g. health condition, complex need or vulnerability.</p><p> </p><p>When considering whether a sanction is appropriate, a Decision Maker will take all the claimant’s individual circumstances, including any health conditions or disabilities and any evidence of good cause, into account before deciding whether a sanction is warranted.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 20/02/2019 17:45:04 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
tabling member	4083 label Biography information for Alison McGovern

1059870

registered interest
date	12/02/2019
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: Domestic Abuse
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps staff in her Department are authorised to take when they suspect an abusive partner is attending an appointment with a universal credit claimant.
tabling member constituency	Wirral South
tabling member printed	Alison McGovern
uin	220213
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/02/2019 answer text <p>We always look to deal with vulnerable claimants sensitively and recognise that victims of domestic abuse often find it difficult to discuss sensitive matters.</p><p> </p><ul><li>Each claimant is assigned to a single work coach, which helps build a trusting relationship.<p> </p></li><li>Private rooms are available in almost all Jobcentres so that individuals can discuss sensitive issues with their work coach in private.</li></ul><p> </p><ul><li>All our work coaches receive mandatory training – developed with input from domestic abuse charities – to help them recognize the signs of abuse.</li></ul><p> </p><ul><li>By summer 2019, we will have domestic abuse specialists in every Jobcentre to further raise awareness of domestic abuse, and support work coaches</li></ul><p> </p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 18/02/2019 14:51:03 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	4083 label Biography information for Alison McGovern

933977

registered interest
date	02/07/2018
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: Children
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many families with three or more children received (a) tax credits and (b) universal credit from April 2017 in (i) Wirral, (ii) Merseyside, (iii) the North West and (iv) the UK.
tabling member constituency	Wirral South
tabling member printed	Alison McGovern
uin	159588
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/07/2018 answer text <p>The information requested could only be made available at disproportionate cost. National data regarding the policy to provide support for a maximum of two children in both Child Tax Credit and Universal Credit can be accessed at the following link:</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/child-tax-credit-and-universal-credit-claimants-statistics-related-to-the-policy-to-provide-support-for-a-maximum-of-2-children-april-2018" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/child-tax-credit-and-universal-credit-claimants-statistics-related-to-the-policy-to-provide-support-for-a-maximum-of-2-children-april-2018</a></p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 05/07/2018 15:31:27 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
tabling member	4083 label Biography information for Alison McGovern

768205

registered interest
date	10/10/2017
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 and Support Allowance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the current mean time is for a claimant to apply, be assessed and receive their first ESA payment.
tabling member constituency	Wirral South
tabling member printed	Alison McGovern
uin	106976
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/10/2017 answer text <p>The latest available information on Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) clearance times can be found in table 18 of the ESA Outcomes of Work Capability Assessments quarterly statistics published here:</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/employment-and-support-allowance-outcomes-of-work-capability-assessment" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/employment-and-support-allowance-outcomes-of-work-capability-assessment</a></p> answering member constituency Portsmouth North answering member printed Penny Mordaunt question first answered 16/10/2017 13:41:15 answering member 4017 label Biography information for Penny Mordaunt
tabling member	4083 label Biography information for Alison McGovern