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1198865

	registered interest
	date	01/06/2020
	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	Jobseeker's Allowance: Coronavirus
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she plans to suspend the 182 day entitlement limit to the new style Job Seeker's Allowance in response to the covid-19 outbreak.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
	uin	52556
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/06/2020 answer text <p>Entitlement to contribution-based jobseeker’s allowance (JSA) is limited to a maximum of 182 days in any one jobseeking period. This is an absolute limit, provided for in primary legislation (section 5 of the Jobseekers Act 1995) and there are no plans to amend the primary legislation.</p><p> </p><p>Universal credit, for those people who meet or continue to meet the conditions of entitlement, is available throughout any period of entitlement to contribution-based JSA.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 04/06/2020 13:34:28 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
	tabling member	4786 label Biography information for Zarah Sultana

1198770

	registered interest
	date	01/06/2020
	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	Local Housing Allowance: Young People
	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 Centrepoint's Chance to Move On campaign, what plans her Department has to bring forward legislative proposals to include homeless people aged under 25 in (a) Coventry South constituency and (b) the UK in the Shared Accommodation Rate exemption for homeless people.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
	uin	52553
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/06/2020 answer text <p>Currently those aged 25-34 who have spent 3 months in a homeless hostel for the purposes of rehabilitation/re-settlement are exempt from the shared accommodation rate throughout the UK. As announced in the Spring Budget earlier this year, the Government will amend legislation to extend this exemption to those under 25.</p><p> </p><p>As well as legislation, the change to the shared accommodation rate exemption will require amendments to local authority and universal credit IT systems therefore it will take time to implement.</p><p> </p><p>In the meantime, for individuals who may require more support and whose circumstances may make it difficult for them to share accommodation, Discretionary Housing Payments are available.</p><p> </p><p>Since 2011 the Government has provided over £1bn to local authorities to help support vulnerable claimants with housing costs. In addition, at the spending round last year, we announced an extra £40 million for DHPs in 2020/21 in England and Wales, helping to tackle affordability pressures in the private rented sector.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 10/06/2020 16:07:14 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4786 label Biography information for Zarah Sultana

731792

	registered interest
	date	22/06/2017
	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	Children: Maintenance
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, (a) how many and (b) what level of fines have been levied against husbands or partners who avoided paying child maintenance in each year since the introduction of the Child Support Act 1991; and what other sanctions have been imposed on people in that period.
	tabling member constituency	Makerfield
	tabling member printed	Yvonne Fovargue
	uin	708
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/06/2017 answer text <p>The only fines that can be imposed relating to child maintenance are as a result of criminal prosecution for failure to provide information or providing false information for the purposes of calculating the child maintenance liability. These fines are imposed by a court, information about fines is not recorded by my Department for management information purposes, and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.</p><p> </p><p>Within child maintenance enforcement, “sanctions” generally refers to powers used as a last resort, when other enforcement actions have not resulted in successful collection of arrears.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>DWP publish information on enforcement actions.</p><p> </p><p>Information on both civil and criminal enforcement actions undertaken by the Child Support Agency (CSA) is only available from April 2007. This can be found in Table 22 of the latest CSA Quarterly Summary of Statistics, available at the following link: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/child-support-agency-quarterly-summary-of-statistics-march-2017" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/child-support-agency-quarterly-summary-of-statistics-march-2017</a> . This includes information on a variety of enforcement actions, including commitment to prison and disqualification from driving (in the Committals section), along with information on the number of prosecutions that have been undertaken.</p><p> </p><p>Information on civil and criminal enforcement action undertaken by the Child Maintenance Service is published on Table 16 of the Child Maintenance Service Experimental Statistics, which contains data between September 2015 and March 2017. The publication can be accessed online at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/2012-statutory-child-maintenance-scheme-aug-2013-to-mar-2017-experimental" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/2012-statutory-child-maintenance-scheme-aug-2013-to-mar-2017-experimental</a> . These statistics do not include detail on the different types of enforcement action, so do not include the number of sanction actions taken.</p> answering member constituency Gosport answering member printed Caroline Dinenage question first answered 27/06/2017 09:55:29 answering member 4008 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Dinenage
	tabling member	4034 label Biography information for Yvonne Fovargue

1024057

	registered interest
	date	12/12/2018
	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	Universal Credit
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people have had deductions from their universal credit of (a) 40 per cent and (b) 30 per cent for the repayment of advances on that benefit.
	tabling member constituency	Makerfield
	tabling member printed	Yvonne Fovargue
	uin	201678
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/12/2018 answer text <p>Of the eligible Universal Credit Full Service claims due a payment in October 2018 (990,000 claims – rounded to the nearest 10,000):</p><ul><li>11,000 (rounded to the nearest 1,000) were repaying advances at 40% of their Standard Allowance. This is 1% of eligible claims and 3% of claims that were repaying an advance.</li><li>4,000 (rounded to the nearest 1,000) were repaying advances at 30% of their Standard Allowance. This is less than 0.5% of eligible claims and 1% of claims that were repaying an advance.</li></ul><p> </p><p>The claim count figures in this text will not match the official statistics due to methodological differences.</p><p> </p><p>At Autumn Budget 2018 we announced that from October 2019, we will reduce the maximum rate at which deductions can be made from a Universal Credit award from 40% to 30% of the standard allowance. The total saving for claimants is £25 million in 2019/20, increasing to £65 million in 2023/24.</p><p> </p><p>This is detailed in Table 1.8 in the Budget 2018 which can be accessed at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/budget-2018-documents/budget-2018" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/budget-2018-documents/budget-2018</a></p><p> </p><p>This will ensure that those on Universal Credit are supported to repay debts in a more sustainable and manageable way. Additionally, from October 2021, the government will also increase the period over which advances will be recovered, from 12 to 16 months.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 20/12/2018 15:51:24 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	4034 label Biography information for Yvonne Fovargue

1024058

	registered interest
	date	12/12/2018
	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	Universal Credit
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people have had deductions from their universal credit of (a) 20 per cent for a single debt as a result of (i) a utility company bill, (ii) council tax arrears and (iii) other liabilities and (b) 30 per cent for two such debts.
	tabling member constituency	Makerfield
	tabling member printed	Yvonne Fovargue
	uin	201679
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/12/2018 answer text <p>The Department does not have access to data outlining third party deductions by deduction type. As such, to provide this data would incur disproportionate cost.</p><p><strong> </strong></p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma grouped question UIN 201680 question first answered 20/12/2018 15:29:53 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	4034 label Biography information for Yvonne Fovargue

1024059

	registered interest
	date	12/12/2018
	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	Universal Credit
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people have had more than 40 per cent deducted from their universal credit payment to repay a combination of (a) advance payments of that benefit and (b)(i) utility debts and (ii) council tax arrears.
	tabling member constituency	Makerfield
	tabling member printed	Yvonne Fovargue
	uin	201680
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/12/2018 answer text <p>The Department does not have access to data outlining third party deductions by deduction type. As such, to provide this data would incur disproportionate cost.</p><p><strong> </strong></p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma grouped question UIN 201679 question first answered 20/12/2018 15:29:53 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	4034 label Biography information for Yvonne Fovargue

1149387

	registered interest
	date	15/10/2019
	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	Workplace Pensions: Makerfield
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of people in Makerfield constituency have (a) opted out after being auto-enrolled into a workplace pension and (b) saved more than the auto-enrolment minimum contribution.
	tabling member constituency	Makerfield
	tabling member printed	Yvonne Fovargue
	uin	602
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/10/2019 answer text <p>Automatic enrolment has achieved a quiet revolution through getting employees into the habit of pension saving, and reversing the decline in workplace pension participation in the decade prior to these reforms. Since automatic enrolment started in 2012 participation rates have been transformed with 87% of eligible employees saving into a workplace pension in 2018, up from 55% in 2012.</p><p> </p><p>The Department does not hold data for individual constituencies in relation to opt outs or the number of individuals who have saved above the automatic enrolment minimum contribution level. However, we do know that overall around 9% of automatically enrolled workers have chosen to opt out which is significantly below original estimates; and our latest evaluation report shows that, in April 2017, approximately 5.9 million eligible employees were already meeting the April 2019 minimum contribution rates<sup>1</sup>.</p><p> </p><p>I am providing the following information about the impact of automatic enrolment in your constituency, as at end of September 2019<sup>2</sup>:</p><p> </p><p>In the Makerfield constituency since 2012, approximately 5,000 eligible jobholders have been automatically enrolled and 1200 employers have met their duties.</p><p> </p><p><sup>1</sup>Automatic Enrolment Evaluation Report 2018, available via the following weblink: <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/764964/Automatic_Enrolment_Evaluation_Report_2018.pdf" target="_blank">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/764964/Automatic_Enrolment_Evaluation_Report_2018.pdf</a>.</p><p> </p><p><sup>2</sup>The Pensions Regulator’s data on Automatic enrolment declaration of compliance by constituency, available via the following weblink:</p><p><a href="https://www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/en/document-library/research-and-analysis/data-requests" target="_blank">https://www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/en/document-library/research-and-analysis/data-requests</a></p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 21/10/2019 11:38:48 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
	tabling member	4034 label Biography information for Yvonne Fovargue

910224

	registered interest
	date	23/05/2018
	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	Jobcentres: Closures
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many job centres have closed in each constituency in each year between 2010 and 2018.
	tabling member constituency	Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford
	tabling member printed	Yvette Cooper
	uin	147339
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/06/2018 answer text <p>In March 2018, the 20-year contract covering the majority of DWPs current estate of over 900 sites came to an end. This presented an opportunity to re-evaluate what we needed from our estate. The increased use of our online services in recent years, coupled with reductions in unemployment and improved efficiency, meant that 20% of the rent being paid by DWP was going toward space we were not using.</p><p> </p><p>Given this, it is right that we reconfigure our Jobcentre estate and make the jobcentres fit for the 21st century. This is not about reducing services, but about taking the opportunity to stop spending money on empty space so we can spend more on supporting those in need.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>On 5 July 2017, the Department for Work and Pensions confirmed that some smaller jobcentres would merge with larger ones, and others would be co-located in local government premises. Merging our staff and services from some smaller or underutilised jobcentres, into larger jobcentres nearby, makes better use of space and reduces costs to the taxpayer while still maintaining the same excellent level of customer service.</p><p> </p><p>We are committed to retaining a jobcentre network and continuing to serve people in all areas of the UK to make sure they can continue to access the tailored services they need.</p><p> </p><p>The attached list contains the information requested.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 04/06/2018 15:43:54 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma attachment 1 file name Acrobat Document.pdf title Jobcentre Closures
	tabling member	420 label Biography information for Yvette Cooper

1146693

	registered interest
	date	26/09/2019
	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
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when the Government plans to publish its report into the factors driving the use of food banks.
	tabling member constituency	Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford
	tabling member printed	Yvette Cooper
	uin	291234
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/10/2019 answer text <p>The Department is currently working on the literature review and a release date is yet to be determined.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p /> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 01/10/2019 13:47:23 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	420 label Biography information for Yvette Cooper

1147092

	registered interest
	date	30/09/2019
	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: Closures
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many job centres have closed in each constituency in each year between 2010 and the most recent year for which figures are available.
	tabling member constituency	Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford
	tabling member printed	Yvette Cooper
	uin	292104
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/10/2019 answer text <p>Staff and service delivery have, where possible, been relocated to alternative DWP buildings or partner organisation’s buildings in order to maintain delivery of services to customers. Since 1<sup>st</sup> February 2010 through to 3<sup>rd</sup> October 2019, 219 buildings through which Jobcentre Plus services were delivered have been closed. On occasions jobcentres were closed to merge with other, bigger jobcentres or to accommodate co-location needs.</p><p> </p><p>Our DWP estate announcement on 5 July 2017 confirmed that some smaller jobcentres would merge with larger ones, and others would be co-located in local government premises. Merging our staff and services from some smaller or underutilised jobcentres, into larger jobcentres nearby, makes better use of space and reduces costs to the taxpayer while still maintaining the same excellent level of customer service.</p><p> </p><p>This has enabled the Department to offer a more efficient service, while delivering good value for the taxpayer.</p><p> </p><p>We are committed to retaining a Jobcentre Plus network and continuing to serve throughout GB to make sure they can continue to access the Jobcentre Plus services they need.</p> answering member constituency Eastleigh answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 08/10/2019 10:34:19 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
	tabling member	420 label Biography information for Yvette Cooper