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1134522

	registered interest
	date	25/06/2019
	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, how many civil penalties relating to failure to undertake tasks required for universal credit compliance have been issued in each of the last 12 months.
	tabling member constituency	High Peak
	tabling member printed	Ruth George
	uin	269119
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/07/2019 answer text <p>A £50 Civil Penalty may be imposed by both Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and Local Authorities where an individual incurs a recoverable overpayment as a result of failing to provide accurate information as part of their benefit claim or in connection with an award of benefit, and has not taken reasonable steps to correct the error.</p><p> </p><p>The table below shows the volume of Civil Penalties applied to UC Overpayments in the last 12 months along with the value of recoveries in the last 12 months where a Civil Penalty was imposed on a UC debt. *</p><p> </p><p>Note that there is no correlation between the number applied and the value of recovery for the associated month. Civil Penalties issued in a 12-month period will not necessarily be recovered in that same 12-month period as debts will be repaid over different timeframes, in accordance with a debtor’s particular commitments.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Month</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Number applied to UC overpayment </strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Value of </strong> <strong>Recovery </strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Jun-18</strong></p></td><td><p>140</p></td><td><p>£4,300</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Jul-18</strong></p></td><td><p>120</p></td><td><p>£4,700</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Aug-18</strong></p></td><td><p>190</p></td><td><p>£8,100</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Sep-18</strong></p></td><td><p>130</p></td><td><p>£5,800</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Oct-18</strong></p></td><td><p>80</p></td><td><p>£8,600</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Nov-18</strong></p></td><td><p>20</p></td><td><p>£5,700</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Dec-18</strong></p></td><td><p>Fewer than 5</p></td><td><p>£5,400</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Jan-19</strong></p></td><td><p>10</p></td><td><p>£4,800</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Feb-19</strong></p></td><td><p>20</p></td><td><p>£3,700</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Mar-19</strong></p></td><td><p>20</p></td><td><p>£3,800</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Apr-19</strong></p></td><td><p>10</p></td><td><p>£2,300</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>May-19</strong></p></td><td><p>10</p></td><td><p>£1,600</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>When recovering overpayments, DWP ensures that appropriate safeguards are in place to protect claimants from any undue financial hardship. Like the Department, private collection agencies will look to establish sustainable repayment arrangements.</p><p> </p><p><em>*The data provided in this response has been sourced from internal management information and was not intended for public release. It should therefore not be compared to any other, similar data subsequently released by the Department. All figures have been rounded to the nearest 100. </em></p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma grouped question UIN 269120 question first answered 03/07/2019 15:34:36 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma previous answer version 126281 answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	4662 label Biography information for Ruth George

1138961

	registered interest
	date	15/07/2019
	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	Pension 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, how many calls were made to the pension credit claim line in each of the last 12 months; and if she will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	Kingston and Surbiton
	tabling member printed	Sir Edward Davey
	uin	277103
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/07/2019 answer text <p>Calls to Pension Credit Claim Line in each of the last 12 months are outlined in the table below:</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Month</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>No. of Calls</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>July 18</p></td><td><p>49168</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>August 18</p></td><td><p>36885</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>September 18</p></td><td><p>38635</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>October 18</p></td><td><p>54165</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>November 18</p></td><td><p>39811</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>December 18</p></td><td><p>27092</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>January 19</p></td><td><p>45258</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>February 19</p></td><td><p>39569</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>March 19</p></td><td><p>42377</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>April 19</p></td><td><p>46210</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>May 19</p></td><td><p>43720</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>June 19</p></td><td><p>60060</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Total</strong></p></td><td><p>522950</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p /><p>DWP officials continue to monitor the numbers of enquiries and claims to Pension Credit in order to ensure that levels of service to the public can be maintained and that we are able to respond flexibly and quickly to changes in demands on services including any increase in Pension Credit take-up.</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 22/07/2019 12:20:53 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman previous answer version 129784 answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
	tabling member	188 label Biography information for Ed Davey

1136666

	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	Universal Credit: East Ayrshire
	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 the oral contribution of 1 July 2019, Official Report, Column 903, what additional funding has been made available to East Ayrshire Council to mitigate the costs associated with the roll-out of universal credit.
	tabling member constituency	Kilmarnock and Loudoun
	tabling member printed	Alan Brown
	uin	272890
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/07/2019 answer text <p>New Burdens funding has been provided to councils to cover additional costs associated with Universal Credit. In 2017/18 the Department paid £13m in New Burdens funding and paid £14m in New Burdens for 2018/19. Last year we worked with a number of Local Authorities to refresh these costs resulting in £18m in New Burdens being paid in 2019/20. 67 Local Authorities received a total of £4.7m in extra payments to recognise alleged additional costs caused in the early stages of roll out.</p><p> </p><p>The East Ayrshire Council has received £169k from the Department in New Burden funding.</p><p> </p><p>We continue to work with number of Local Authorities to further understand their service costs to inform future funding requirements.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma grouped question UIN 272891 question first answered 12/07/2019 13:52:47 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	4470 label Biography information for Alan Brown

1136668

	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	Universal Credit: East Ayrshire
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to her oral contribution on 1 July 1 2019, Official Report Vol 662, whether her investigation on the costs associated with the rollout of universal credit will consider the economic effects of that rollout on East Ayrshire Council.
	tabling member constituency	Kilmarnock and Loudoun
	tabling member printed	Alan Brown
	uin	272891
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/07/2019 answer text <p>New Burdens funding has been provided to councils to cover additional costs associated with Universal Credit. In 2017/18 the Department paid £13m in New Burdens funding and paid £14m in New Burdens for 2018/19. Last year we worked with a number of Local Authorities to refresh these costs resulting in £18m in New Burdens being paid in 2019/20. 67 Local Authorities received a total of £4.7m in extra payments to recognise alleged additional costs caused in the early stages of roll out.</p><p> </p><p>The East Ayrshire Council has received £169k from the Department in New Burden funding.</p><p> </p><p>We continue to work with number of Local Authorities to further understand their service costs to inform future funding requirements.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma grouped question UIN 272890 question first answered 12/07/2019 13:52:47 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	4470 label Biography information for Alan Brown

1143775

	registered interest
	date	02/09/2019
	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	Universal Credit: Appeals
	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 plans to lodge an appeal against the High Court decision by Lord Justice Singh and Mr Justice Lewis in relation to her Department wrongly interpreting universal credit regulations for assessment of pay cycles.
	tabling member constituency	Kilmarnock and Loudoun
	tabling member printed	Alan Brown
	uin	285027
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/09/2019 answer text <p>The Court judgment affects a small number of people on Universal Credit, with specific characteristics. The Department is currently appealing this judgment, and as such will await the outcome of that process before taking any further action. The amount of Universal Credit paid to claimants reflects, as closely as possible, the actual circumstances of a household during each monthly assessment period.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 05/09/2019 15:20:35 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4470 label Biography information for Alan Brown

1141984

	registered interest
	date	25/07/2019
	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	Social Security Benefits: Telephone Services
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of recording all calls from benefits claimants to ensure that complaints can be followed up.
	tabling member constituency	Leeds North West
	tabling member printed	Alex Sobel
	uin	282395
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/09/2019 answer text <p>The Department acknowledges the merit and does record inbound calls to DWP’s helplines in order to make improvements to service and follow-up on any complaints received.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 05/09/2019 13:32:44 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4658 label Biography information for Alex Sobel

1141998

	registered interest
	date	25/07/2019
	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	Social Security Benefits: Cancer
	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 the recent report by Macmillan Cancer Support, Cancer - A costly diagnosis? Stories of the financial impact of cancer, if she will take steps to help mitigate the financial effect of a cancer diagnosis on patients and their families.
	tabling member constituency	Leeds North West
	tabling member printed	Alex Sobel
	uin	282407
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/09/2019 answer text <p>The Department takes seriously the need to support vulnerable claimants. We are committed to ensuring that people who have cancer are treated with the utmost sensitivity and care when making a claim to Universal Credit. Overall we are spending £55 billion a year on benefits to support disabled people and people with health conditions. That’s a record high and up £10 billion in real terms since 2010.</p><p> </p><p>For instance, in terms of the support we provide, the UC50 questionnaire incorporates a 'light touch' evidence gathering process for cancer patients, and makes clear that Clinical Nurse Specialists and consultants can provide information on the form, therefore making the claim and assessment process simpler for people with cancer. This ensures the Department can make accurate and timely payments of Universal Credit.</p><p> </p><p>Staff delivering Universal Credit undergo a comprehensive learning journey designed to equip them with the tools, skills and behaviours required to provide a high quality service to all claimants, including those who have cancer and other serious health conditions. Colleagues receive on-going learning in their roles and have access to Universal Credit guidance which is refreshed at regular intervals.</p><p> </p><p>It is important to ensure those affected by cancer receive the most appropriate support and we have worked closely with many representative organisations to improve the WCA process for those affected. From January 2013, the categories of cancer treatments under which a claimant can be treated as having limited capability for work-related activity (LCWRA) have been expanded to include individuals who are awaiting, receiving, or recovering from treatment by way of chemotherapy irrespective of route, and radiotherapy. Although there is no automatic award, in these cases, there is a presumption that the claimant has LCWRA, subject to suitable evidence being provided by a professional such as a GP, oncologist or clinical nurse specialist.</p><p> </p><p>Work coaches personalise the support they provide for each claimant based on individual need and circumstance, including the offer of home visits or postal signing where appropriate. Local jobcentres have the flexibility to work alongside organisations to help meet the needs of their communities, helping our most vulnerable, at risk, claimants to access the support they need. We also work with organisations to produce guides on specific vulnerabilities.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 03/09/2019 15:35:21 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	4658 label Biography information for Alex Sobel

1134861

	registered interest
	date	26/06/2019
	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	Pension Credit: North East
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many pensioners are entitled to pension credit but do not receive it in (a) the North East region and (b) Berwick upon Tweed constituency.
	tabling member constituency	Berwick-upon-Tweed
	tabling member printed	Anne-Marie Trevelyan
	uin	269768
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/07/2019 answer text <p>The information requested on the number of pensioners in (a) the North East region and (b) Berwick upon Tweed constituency who are entitled to Pension Credit but do not receive it, is not available at regional or constituency level.</p><p> </p><p>Official statistics on the take-up of income related benefits at Great Britain level, including Pension Credit, can be found in the ‘Income-related benefits: estimates of take-up in 2016 to 2017’ publication.</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/income-related-benefits-estimates-of-take-up-financial-year-2016-to-2017" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/income-related-benefits-estimates-of-take-up-financial-year-2016-to-2017</a></p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 05/07/2019 12:05:48 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
	tabling member	4531 label Biography information for Anne-Marie Trevelyan

1141868

	registered interest
	date	24/07/2019
	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	Food Supply
	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 is taking to protect people on benefits or low incomes who would be most vulnerable to rising food prices or food supply disruption in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal.
	tabling member constituency	Stoke-on-Trent North
	tabling member printed	Ruth Smeeth
	uin	281828
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/09/2019 answer text <p>The Government's priority remains securing a deal to leave the EU. We have more people in work than ever before, with wages continuing to grow. However, as a responsible government we have plans in place for a range of scenarios. The welfare system provides a strong safety net. A system of hardship payments, benefit advances and budgeting loans will be available for eligible claimants who need them.</p><p> </p><p>For new claimants applying for Universal Credit (UC), new claim advances provide access to a payment for those in financial need, which can be accessed on the same day, until their first UC payment is due. We have increased work allowance rates by £1,000 in April 2019 and they will be uprated in line with inflation in the future. This measure provides additional support in a package announced in Autumn Budget 2018, worth £1.7 billion by 2023/24, to some of the most vulnerable low paid working households.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 05/09/2019 13:09:19 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	4508 label Biography information for Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent

1136556

	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	Cold Weather Payments: Mansfield
	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 in Mansfield constituency received cold weather payments in each of the last two winter periods.
	tabling member constituency	Mansfield
	tabling member printed	Ben Bradley
	uin	272932
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/07/2019 answer text <p>The Cold Weather Payment scheme is administered at weather station level rather than any other standard GB geography such as constituency level. The coverage area for each weather station is determined by the Met Office which assesses the most appropriate weather station for each postcode area. Cold weather payments are triggered when the average temperature recorded at the weather station has been recorded as, or is forecast to be, 0<sup>o</sup>C or below over seven consecutive days, during the Cold Weather season (November to March).</p><p> </p><p>The constituency of Mansfield covers all or part of the following postcode areas: NG17-21.</p><p> </p><p>The above postcode areas are covered by the weather station Nottingham Watnall. Qualifying individuals living in this area will have received a payment in respect of a seven-day period of Cold Weather, as shown in <strong>Table 1</strong>.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="3"><p><strong>Table 1 Estimated number of Cold Weather Payment recipients</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Weather station</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2017/18</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2018/19</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Nottingham Watnall</p></td><td><p>168,000</p></td><td><p>0</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>Nottingham Watnall weather station covers the following postcode areas, in <strong>Table 2</strong>, which include constituencies other than Mansfield. We estimate that 168,000 payments, to 168,000 recipients, were made in this area as a whole, in respect of one trigger in 2017/18. We are not able to break this figure down to a lower level. There were no cold weather triggers in Nottingham Watnall in 2018/19.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="2"><p><strong>Table 2 Postcode sectors mapped to Weather Stations</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Weather station</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Postcode Sectors Covered</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Nottingham Watnall</p></td><td><p>CV13, DE1-3, DE5-7, DE11-15, DE21-24, DE55-56, DE65, DE72-75, LE1-9, LE11-14, LE16-19, LE65, LE67, NG1-22, NG25, NG31-34.</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>Notes</p><p> </p><ol><li>The number of recipients and payments given here is an estimate as information on the exact number is not readily available. These figures are produced by determining the volume of eligible recipients in each weather station area at the start of the winter season and using these figures throughout the winter to estimate payments and expenditure based on the actual triggers recorded.</li></ol><p> </p><ol start="2"><li>The number of payments made is not necessarily the total number of individuals benefitting from a Cold Weather Payment. Any individuals making a joint claim for one of the qualifying benefits, such as a couple living together, will receive one payment between them rather than one payment each. Furthermore, if a weather station triggers more than once throughout a cold weather season then the recipients will receive more than one payment.</li></ol><p> </p><ol start="3"><li>Estimates of Cold Weather Payments are published weekly during the Cold Weather season. The latest published estimates can be found at the link below:</li></ol><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/social-fund-cold-weather-payments" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/social-fund-cold-weather-payments</a></p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 12/07/2019 13:13:03 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4663 label Biography information for Ben Bradley