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1126921

	registered interest
	date	15/05/2019
	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, what estimates he has made of the potential cost to the public purse of uprating state pensions for pensioners who live overseas.
	tabling member constituency	Romford
	tabling member printed	Andrew Rosindell
	uin	254754
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/05/2019 answer text <p><del class="ministerial">All political parties since WW2 have</del> <ins class="ministerial">Successive post-war Governments have followed</ins> the same policy. Up-rating UK State Pensions for recipients who are overseas residents is longstanding; state Pensions are payable worldwide and are up-rated where there is a legal requirement to do so.</p><p> </p><p>The policy on the up-rating of UK State Pensions paid to recipients living outside the UK has been in place for over 70 years. The UK State Pension is payable worldwide without regard to nationality. Entitlement to the UK State Pension is based on the national insurance contributions on a person’s national insurance record. The annual index-linked increases to UK State Pensions are paid to recipients overseas only where there is a legal requirement to do so, for example in EEA countries or in countries where there is a reciprocal agreement in place that provides for the up-rating of the UK State Pension. The Government has no plans to change the policy <ins class="ministerial">upheld by all previous Governments, Labour, Coalition and Conservative for the past 70 years.</ins> <del class="ministerial">of all Governments, Labour, Coalition or Conservative since WW2.</del></p><p> </p><p>The estimated costs of up-rating state pensions overseas where they are currently not up-rated are available at: <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></p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 23/05/2019 16:41:54 question first ministerially corrected 20/06/2019 15:16:55 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman previous answer version 119892 answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
	tabling member	1447 label Biography information for Andrew Rosindell

1131301

	registered interest
	date	11/06/2019
	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
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent estimate she has made of the number of additional claims that will be made for pension credit following the limiting of free TV licences to people aged over 75 claiming that benefit.
	tabling member constituency	Cardiff West
	tabling member printed	Kevin Brennan
	uin	263077
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/06/2019 answer text <p>The BBC made its announcement about future eligibility of free TV licences on Monday 10 June. It is too early for an assessment of the potential impact on additional Pension Credit claims to be made. Official statistics on the take-up of income related benefits, including pension credit at general Great Britain level can be found in the ‘Income-related benefits: estimates of take-up in 2016 to 2017’ publication. <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><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 claim State Pension or report a change in their circumstances. The DWP uses a wide range of channels to communicate information about benefits to potential customers; including information on <a href="https://gov.uk/" target="_blank">https://gov.uk/</a> , in leaflets and by telephone. 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>Potential customers can use the Pension Credit <a href="https://www.gov.uk/pension-credit-calculator" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/pension-credit-calculator</a> to check if they are likely to be eligible and get an estimate of what they may receive. People wishing to claim Pension Credit can do so by calling 0800 99 1234.</p><p>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>Most recently we have provided to relevant organisations a fact sheet about Pension Credit and the recent changes for mixed age couples to ensure that accurate information is available in the places where people are most likely to seek information.</p><p> </p><p><strong> </strong></p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 25/06/2019 13:34:48 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman previous answer version 123349 answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
	tabling member	1400 label Biography information for Kevin Brennan

1133309

	registered interest
	date	19/06/2019
	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	Television Licences: Older People
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the cost to the public purse was of providing free television licences to people over the age of 75 for qualifying residents in Norwich South constituency in (a) 2017-18 and (b) 2018-19.
	tabling member constituency	Norwich South
	tabling member printed	Clive Lewis
	uin	266801
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/06/2019 answer text <p>In the 2015 funding settlement, the Government agreed with the BBC that responsibility for the concession will transfer to the BBC in June 2020.</p><p>The government and the BBC agreed this is a fair deal for the BBC - in return we closed the iPlayer loophole and committed to increase the licence fee in line with inflation. And to help with financial planning, we agreed to provide phased transitional funding over 2 years to gradually introduce the cost to the BBC.</p><p>This reform was subject to public discussion and debated extensively during the passage of the Digital Economy Act 2017 through Parliament.</p><p>On 10 June 2019, the BBC <a href="https://www.bbc.com/aboutthebbc/reports/consultation/age-related-tv-licence-policy" target="_blank">announced</a> that the current scheme will end. From 1 June 2020, a free TV licence will only be available to a household with someone aged over 75 who receives Pension Credit.</p><p>The table below provides estimates of the costs for 2017/18 of providing free TV licences to people aged 75 years and over in the geographical areas requested, in nominal prices. The figures for 2018/19 will be available in September.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p><strong>Expenditure (£m) (Nominal)</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong> </strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2017-18</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Norwich South constituency</strong></p></td><td><p>£0.96</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p /><p><strong> </strong></p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 25/06/2019 17:06:01 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman previous answer version 124931 answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
	tabling member	4500 label Biography information for Clive Lewis

1133313

	registered interest
	date	19/06/2019
	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	Television Licences: Older People
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the cost to the public purse was of providing free television licences to people over the age of 75 for qualifying residents in (a) Newcastle-under-Lyme constituency and (b) Staffordshire local authority area in (i) 2017-18 and (ii) 2018-19.
	tabling member constituency	Newcastle-under-Lyme
	tabling member printed	Paul Farrelly
	uin	266802
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/06/2019 answer text <p>In the 2015 funding settlement, the Government agreed with the BBC that responsibility for the concession will transfer to the BBC in June 2020.</p><p>The government and the BBC agreed this is a fair deal for the BBC - in return we closed the iPlayer loophole and committed to increase the licence fee in line with inflation. And to help with financial planning, we agreed to provide phased transitional funding over 2 years to gradually introduce the cost to the BBC.</p><p>This reform was subject to public discussion and debated extensively during the passage of the Digital Economy Act 2017 through Parliament.</p><p>On 10 June 2019, the BBC <a href="https://www.bbc.com/aboutthebbc/reports/consultation/age-related-tv-licence-policy" target="_blank">announced</a> that the current scheme will end. From 1 June 2020, a free TV licence will only be available to a household with someone aged over 75 who receives Pension Credit.</p><p>The table below provides estimates of the costs for 2017/18 of providing free TV licences to people aged 75 and over in the geographical areas requested, in nominal prices. The figures for 2018/19 will be available in September.</p><p /><table><tbody><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p><strong>Expenditure (£m) (Nominal)</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong> </strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2017-18</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Newcastle-under-Lyme constituency</strong></p></td><td><p>£0.98</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Staffordshire local authority area</strong></p></td><td><p>£9.66</p></td></tr></tbody></table> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 25/06/2019 17:02:17 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman previous answer version 124930 answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
	tabling member	1436 label Biography information for Paul Farrelly

1133317

	registered interest
	date	19/06/2019
	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	Television Licences: Older People
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the cost to the public purse was of providing free television licences to people over the age of 75 for qualifying residents in (a) the Motherwell and Wishaw constituency and (b) North Lanarkshire local authority area in (i) 2017-18 and (ii) 2018-19.
	tabling member constituency	Motherwell and Wishaw
	tabling member printed	Marion Fellows
	uin	266806
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/06/2019 answer text <p>In the 2015 funding settlement, the Government agreed with the BBC that responsibility for the concession will transfer to the BBC in June 2020.</p><p>The government and the BBC agreed this is a fair deal for the BBC - in return we closed the iPlayer loophole and committed to increase the licence fee in line with inflation. And to help with financial planning, we agreed to provide phased transitional funding over 2 years to gradually introduce the cost to the BBC.</p><p>This reform was subject to public discussion and debated extensively during the passage of the Digital Economy Act 2017 through Parliament.</p><p>On 10 June 2019, the BBC <a href="https://www.bbc.com/aboutthebbc/reports/consultation/age-related-tv-licence-policy" target="_blank">announced</a> that the current scheme will end. From 1 June 2020, a free TV licence will only be available to a household with someone aged over 75 who receives Pension Credit.</p><p>The table below provides estimates of the costs for 2017/18 of providing free TV licences to people aged 75 and over in the geographical areas requested, in nominal prices. The figures for 2018/19 will be available in September.</p><p /><table><tbody><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p><strong>Expenditure (£m) (Nominal)</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong> </strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2017-18</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>(a) Motherwell and Wishaw constituency</strong></p></td><td><p>£0.85</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>(b) North Lanarkshire local authority area</strong></p></td><td><p>£2.95</p></td></tr></tbody></table> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 25/06/2019 17:09:22 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman previous answer version 124929 answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
	tabling member	4440 label Biography information for Marion Fellows

1126537

	registered interest
	date	14/05/2019
	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 response her Department makes when notified by a local authority of an error in a resident’s universal credit calculation.
	tabling member constituency	East Ham
	tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
	uin	254086
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/06/2019 answer text <p>It is not clear whether the questions relate to the Local Authority as the provider of housing or as the administrator of Housing Benefit and Council Tax. This answer therefore responds on both counts.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Local Authority as landlord:</strong></p><p> </p><p>The Local Authority use the ‘Landlord Portal’ to provide details of a claimant’s rent and tenancy details. When the information provided does not match what the claimant has given, the claimant will then be able to accept or reject the information uploaded by the Local Authority by logging into their Universal Credit account.</p><p> </p><p>If the claimant accepts the information provided by the Local Authority no further action is required. If the Local Authority has provided information that is rejected by the claimant, the claimant is advised to make contact to resolve this. This could require a subsequent housing declaration to be provided. The ‘Landlord Portal’ has a summary screen that allows the Local Authority to confirm or change the information they are about to provide before it has been submitted.</p><p> </p><p>This process applies whenever there is a rent change, including annual uprating of rent. The Landlord Portal is the streamlined communication tool which allows the Local Authority to disclose the rent thus highlighting errors in the claimants Universal Credit.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Local Authority as administrator of Housing Benefit and Council Tax:</strong></p><p> </p><p>Once a claim to Universal Credit has been made, the Local Authority will receive a notification if the claimant is in receipt of Housing Benefit. This will inform the Local Authority of the claim to Universal Credit so they can take the action to close the Housing Benefit claim where needed. The Local Authority will inform Universal Credit of the action they have taken and if there is any payment to be offset within the first assessment period.</p><p> </p><p>Additionally, during the Universal Credit claim process, the claimant will be asked if their name is on the council tax bill. If the claimant answers ‘yes’, they are asked if they have applied for a reduction in their council tax. If the claimant answers that they have applied or will apply for a Council Tax Reduction, their details will be shared with the Local Authority. This is a one-way communication which allows for the Local Authority to take the appropriate action regarding an application for a Council Tax Reduction.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma grouped question UIN 254088 question first answered 03/06/2019 13:09:40 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma previous answer version 119078 answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

1126539

	registered interest
	date	14/05/2019
	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 support her Department provides to local authorities to help (a) identify and (b) remedy errors in universal credit calculations.
	tabling member constituency	East Ham
	tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
	uin	254088
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/06/2019 answer text <p>It is not clear whether the questions relate to the Local Authority as the provider of housing or as the administrator of Housing Benefit and Council Tax. This answer therefore responds on both counts.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Local Authority as landlord:</strong></p><p> </p><p>The Local Authority use the ‘Landlord Portal’ to provide details of a claimant’s rent and tenancy details. When the information provided does not match what the claimant has given, the claimant will then be able to accept or reject the information uploaded by the Local Authority by logging into their Universal Credit account.</p><p> </p><p>If the claimant accepts the information provided by the Local Authority no further action is required. If the Local Authority has provided information that is rejected by the claimant, the claimant is advised to make contact to resolve this. This could require a subsequent housing declaration to be provided. The ‘Landlord Portal’ has a summary screen that allows the Local Authority to confirm or change the information they are about to provide before it has been submitted.</p><p> </p><p>This process applies whenever there is a rent change, including annual uprating of rent. The Landlord Portal is the streamlined communication tool which allows the Local Authority to disclose the rent thus highlighting errors in the claimants Universal Credit.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Local Authority as administrator of Housing Benefit and Council Tax:</strong></p><p> </p><p>Once a claim to Universal Credit has been made, the Local Authority will receive a notification if the claimant is in receipt of Housing Benefit. This will inform the Local Authority of the claim to Universal Credit so they can take the action to close the Housing Benefit claim where needed. The Local Authority will inform Universal Credit of the action they have taken and if there is any payment to be offset within the first assessment period.</p><p> </p><p>Additionally, during the Universal Credit claim process, the claimant will be asked if their name is on the council tax bill. If the claimant answers ‘yes’, they are asked if they have applied for a reduction in their council tax. If the claimant answers that they have applied or will apply for a Council Tax Reduction, their details will be shared with the Local Authority. This is a one-way communication which allows for the Local Authority to take the appropriate action regarding an application for a Council Tax Reduction.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma grouped question UIN 254086 question first answered 03/06/2019 13:09:40 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma previous answer version 119077 answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

1126941

	registered interest
	date	15/05/2019
	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, pursuant to the Answer of 5 May 2019 to Question 249847, what assessment of a universal credit claimant’s financial situation is made when calculating what percentage of their payment will be deducted in order to repay an advance.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
	tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
	uin	254734
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/06/2019 answer text <p>The maximum amount a claimant can receive as a new claim advance payment is 100 per cent of their total indicative Universal Credit award. The claimant can decide the length of repayment period when they request the advance. This can be up to a maximum 12 months. The rate of repayment is decided by dividing the total advance amount by the agreed repayment period.</p><p>Affordability is managed by ensuring the recovery rate is not more than the equivalent of 40 per cent of the standard allowance and help is available for those struggling to meet the recovery rate once recovery begins. In many cases, because claimants choose to repay advances over many months, advance repayments constitute less than 40% of a standard allowance. In exceptional circumstances, recovery can be deferred for up to 3 months from the start of the recovery period.</p><p>Advances are not loans; they are an interest free advance payment of benefit, available to help people who need immediate financial support, which is then recovered over an agreed period. The Department has taken a number of steps to ensure that advances meet the needs of claimants and that recovery arrangements are personalised and reasonable. From October 2019 we are reducing the maximum rate of deductions to 30 per cent and from October 2021 we are increasing the maximum recovery period for advances from 12 to 16 months.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 03/06/2019 13:51:25 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma previous answer version 119076 answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

1128431

	registered interest
	date	22/05/2019
	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: Metro Newspaper
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much her Department has spent on the Universal Credit Uncovered advertising campaign.
	tabling member constituency	Battersea
	tabling member printed	Marsha De Cordova
	uin	257608
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/06/2019 answer text <p>The Department provides services to around 22 million people, and has a responsibility to communicate policy and essential information to claimants and other key audiences, in a similar way to other government departments. Newspaper advertising contributes to our routine communications activity that has been running alongside the rollout of Universal Credit since 2013.</p><p>The Universal Credit Uncovered media partnership with the Metro is currently underway and running for a further six weeks so we are unable to provide accurate spend to date figures for the partnership. However, we can commit to publish final full spend on the partnership at the end of July once all activity has concluded.</p><p>The information used for the partnership was sourced by DWP officials. The content features actual claimant case studies and interviews from Jobcentre work coaches, and the advertorials have been developed in partnership with the Metro.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 11/06/2019 16:35:19 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma previous answer version 121129 answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	4676 label Biography information for Marsha De Cordova

1131245

	registered interest
	date	11/06/2019
	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: Repayments
	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 19 June 2019 to Question 260559 on universal credit, what assessment she has made of the average length of time taken to repay in full advance payments made under universal credit.
	tabling member constituency	Vale of Clwyd
	tabling member printed	Chris Ruane
	uin	263065
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/06/2019 answer text <p>The Department encourages all Universal Credit claimants to actively consider how best to manage their personal budget, with additional advice and support available from work coaches and case managers. When an advance payment is appropriate, claimants decide what percentage of their expected monthly award to apply for and over what period to repay it, up to a maximum of 12 monthly instalments.</p><p> </p><p>Claimants have the ability to make the decision for themselves on the time period for repayment. Most claimants (around 85%) choose to repay their advance over a 12-month period, with others repaying in a shorter timeframe.</p><p> </p><p>The Department has taken a number of steps to ensure that advances meet the needs of claimants and that recovery arrangements are personalised and reasonable. From October 2019 we are reducing the maximum rate of deductions to 30 per cent and from October 2021 we are increasing the maximum recovery period for advances from 12 to 16 months.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 19/06/2019 17:00:48 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma previous answer version 123347 answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	534 label Biography information for Chris Ruane