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1000260

	registered interest
	date	02/11/2018
	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, for what reason the taper that is applied to wages is not applied to pensions in relation to universal credit.
	tabling member constituency	Barnsley Central
	tabling member printed	Dan Jarvis
	uin	187333
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/11/2018 answer text <p>The taper is the rate at which Universal Credit is reduced to take account of earnings. It is specifically for in work claimants and linked to earnings to incentivise work, and those in work to earn more. Universal Credit has a single taper of 63 per cent so payments reduce in a transparent and predictable way as earnings increase. Universal Credit is a means tested benefit, and income other than earnings, such as pensions, is taken fully into account in the assessment of Universal Credit. This is consistent with how legacy means tested benefits such as Employment and Support Allowance, Jobseeker’s Allowance and Income Support treat pension income. Therefore it would not be consistent to extend the earnings taper to pensions income and doing so would also undermine the incentives to work for people of working age.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 12/11/2018 18:05:06 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	4243 label Biography information for Dan Jarvis

1002759

	registered interest
	date	06/11/2018
	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, what discussions she has had with representatives of staff working in job centres and service centres on difficulties experienced by such staff in (a) applying for and (b) receiving payment as claimants of universal credit.
	tabling member constituency	Glasgow South West
	tabling member printed	Chris Stephens
	uin	188874
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/11/2018 answer text <p>My officials regularly meet with trade union representatives to discuss areas of concerns that staff may have.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 12/11/2018 17:51:28 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	4463 label Biography information for Chris Stephens

1002762

	registered interest
	date	06/11/2018
	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, what funding the Government has allocated for transitional payments for people moving onto universal credit; and by what process claimants will receive such payments.
	tabling member constituency	Glasgow South West
	tabling member printed	Chris Stephens
	uin	188877
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/12/2018 answer text <p>We recently laid the draft Universal Credit (Managed Migration) Regulations 2018 in Parliament. These will introduce a transitional payment to those eligible claimants who were in receipt of the Severe Disability Premium whilst on an existing benefit and who have already moved to Universal Credit.</p><p> </p><p>As announced in the 2018 Autumn Budget, the income related elements of Employment and Support Allowance and Jobseeker’s Allowance, and Income Support will continue for two weeks after a claim for Universal Credit has been made from July 2020. Claimants will therefore receive one two week run-on payment when being migrated to Universal Credit. Both of these measures are subject to parliamentary approval. These payments are in addition to the 2 week run-on of Housing Benefit, which we introduced in April 2018.</p><p> </p><p>The Government has also committed to ensuring that claimants who are moved onto Universal Credit as part of the managed migration process see no decrease in their benefit entitlement, providing their circumstances remain the same.</p><p> </p><p>The Government will be spending over £3bn on transitional protection over the next 10 years to ensure that claimants who are migrated onto Universal Credit as part of the managed migration process do not experience a financial loss at the point of transition.</p><p> </p><p>Transitional protection will be calculated based on the claimant’s circumstances on the last day of their entitlement to existing benefits. To do this we will make a comparison between the total amount of all relevant existing benefits to which the claimant was entitled at this point and the total amount of Universal Credit to which the claimant would be entitled as calculated based on the same set of circumstances. If the entitlement to the existing benefits is the greater amount then the difference will be awarded as a Transitional Element. When awarded, this Transitional Element will be taken into account with any other applicable Elements to determine a claimant’s Universal Credit award in each Assessment Period.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 13/12/2018 14:37:05 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma previous answer version 84612 answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	4463 label Biography information for Chris Stephens

1079383

	registered interest
	date	28/02/2019
	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 assessment she has made of the adequacy of staffing levels in universal credit centres; and what proportion of fixed-term staff working in universal credit centres are on (a) permanent contracts and (b) zero-hour contracts.
	tabling member constituency	Glasgow South West
	tabling member printed	Chris Stephens
	uin	227130
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/03/2019 answer text <p>The Department regularly reviews both the numbers of people working in Universal Credit service centres and their performance to ensure we have the right number of people available to manage claimants Universal Credit claims. Services and staff training is assessed, both in real time to meet any short term peaks in demand and also reviewed for longer term improvements to ensure the service continues to meet customer service expectation.</p><p> </p><p>Our priority is to give all employees, including those delivering Universal Credit, the necessary resources, including manageable workloads, so that they can carry out their roles successfully.</p><p> </p><p>The size of a Case Manager’s caseload is dependent on a number of factors, including the complexity of the caseload and experience of the case manager.</p><p> </p><p>All staff on fixed-term contracts are employed on the basis of agreed full or part time hours. No staff are employed on zero-hour contracts.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 05/03/2019 17:53:37 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	4463 label Biography information for Chris Stephens

1148774

	registered interest
	date	14/10/2019
	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	Universal Credit
	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 permit Universal Credit claimants to backdate a claim due to ill health in circumstances where medical evidence is provided by a GP.
	tabling member constituency	Barnsley Central
	tabling member printed	Dan Jarvis
	uin	168
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/10/2019 answer text <p>Universal Credit claims may be backdated, by up to one calendar month, in some circumstances for vulnerable claimants who may be delayed in claiming Universal Credit through no fault of their own. More specifically, in cases where medical evidence satisfies the Department that a claimant had an illness that prevented them from making a claim sooner, Universal Credit can be awarded from an earlier date.</p><p> </p><p>In order to provide the best possible support to our claimants it is important that the Department are able to engage with claimants at the earliest possible opportunity, whether to support them back into work or to provide other support and guidance. It is therefore important that backdating provisions are used in specific circumstances, and that all claimants are encouraged to contact us at the earliest opportunity.</p><p><strong> </strong></p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 18/10/2019 11:06:26 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	4243 label Biography information for Dan Jarvis

1171106

	registered interest
	date	15/01/2020
	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	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 and what proportion of new claims for universal credit were paid in full and on time by (a) child element, (b) limited capability for work element, (c) childcare element and (d) housing element in the most recent 12 months for which figures are available.
	tabling member constituency	Glasgow South West
	tabling member printed	Chris Stephens
	uin	3829
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/01/2020 answer text <p>Our latest data shows the proportion of new Universal Credit claims paid in full on time was 88.4%. In many cases where full payment is not made on time, it is due to unresolved issues such as: claimants not accepting their Claimant Commitment or passing identity checks, or having outstanding verification issues, such as housing costs and self-employed earnings.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>The latest available information on payments made in full and on time to Universal Credit claimants is published and can be found at:</p><p><a href="https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/" target="_blank">https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/</a>.</p><p> </p><p>Guidance on how to extract the information required can be found at:</p><p><a href="https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started.html" target="_blank">https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started.html</a></p><p><strong> </strong></p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 20/01/2020 14:16:58 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4463 label Biography information for Chris Stephens

935249

	registered interest
	date	06/07/2018
	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	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 assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the online journal for universal credit; and whether her Department has plans to improve the journals for benefits claimants.
	tabling member constituency	Barnsley Central
	tabling member printed	Dan Jarvis
	uin	161553
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/07/2018 answer text <p>The recently published Claimant Survey shows claimants are largely very positive about key aspects of the digital service, such as the journal. Overall, eight in ten (79 per cent) claimants said they found the journal easy to use, while three quarters (75 per cent) said it was a useful way to keep a record of their progress. A similar proportion (74 per cent) said the journal was a useful way to communicate with their work coach, while 68 per cent said they use it to keep evidence of their job seeking or work preparation activity.</p><p> </p><p>As part of our test and learn approach to Universal Credit, we update and improve the full service every two weeks, for example, a recent update gave claimants the ability to apply for an advance through their online account. These updates can include changes to the journal, adding functionality and improving ease of use.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 11/07/2018 16:46:16 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	4243 label Biography information for Dan Jarvis

994667

	registered interest
	date	25/10/2018
	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, what criteria her Department uses to determine the repayment rates for Advance Payments awarded to people struggling financially who are in receipt of universal credit.
	tabling member constituency	Barnsley Central
	tabling member printed	Dan Jarvis
	uin	183941
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/10/2018 answer text <p>Universal Credit advances must be repaid in either a maximum of 12 months (for new claim, benefit transfer and budgeting advances) or 6 months (for a change of circumstances advances). The amount of the advance awarded is divided by either up to 6 or 12 to get the appropriate monthly repayment rate.</p><p> </p><p>This is explained in the advance award discussion with the claimant to make sure they can afford to repay the advance. However, if a claimant wishes, they can pay it back in less than the maximum number of months available, as long as the monthly repayment does not exceed the maximum repayment rate of a claimant’s standard allowance, which as a result of the 2018 Autumn Budget will be reduced from 40% to 30%.</p><p> </p><p>If during the recovery of an advance the claimant experiences an unforeseen expense that would cause them or their family genuine hardship if they were required to continue to repay the advance, then they can be offered a deferral period of the repayment of the advance of up to 3 months for a new claim, benefit transfer or change of circumstance advance and up to 6 months for a budgeting advance.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 30/10/2018 18:07:05 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	4243 label Biography information for Dan Jarvis

1001921

	registered interest
	date	05/11/2018
	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, if she will set out the timeframe for implementing her Department's response to the court judgement of June 2018 on the payment of Severe Disability Premium to claimants who are already in receipt of Universal Credit.
	tabling member constituency	Croydon North
	tabling member printed	Mr Steve Reed
	uin	188119
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/11/2018 answer text <p>Written statement HCWS745 on 7 June 2018 , which preceded the Court judgment of 14 June, set out our plans to make provision for claimants already in receipt of Universal Credit, to receive a Severe Disability Premium backdated.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>The ‘Universal Credit (Managed Migration) Amendment Regulations 2018’, which contain these provisions, were laid in Parliament on 5 November 2018 and will now be scrutinised and voted on by Parliament.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 12/11/2018 18:08:45 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	4268 label Biography information for Steve Reed

1001922

	registered interest
	date	05/11/2018
	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, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that a claimant will not receive less money in benefits as a result of moving to universal credit under the managed migration process.
	tabling member constituency	Torfaen
	tabling member printed	Nick Thomas-Symonds
	uin	188120
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/11/2018 answer text <p>Welfare claimants whose circumstances remain the same will not see their benefit entitlement reduced as a direct result of being moved on to Universal Credit through managed migration, as they will receive transitional protection. This will ensure that claimants who are managed migrated will have total entitlement to Universal Credit that is at least as great had been their total entitlement to existing benefits at the point they are migrated, so safeguarding their benefit entitlement until their circumstances change.</p><p> </p><p>Claimants whose entitlement is less in Universal Credit than their legacy entitlement will receive transitional protection to ensure their benefit allowance remains the same at the point of transition. The other claimants who are migrated onto Universal Credit as part of managed migration will receive the same or an increased entitlement as they receive on legacy benefits.</p><p> </p><p>Additionally, we have announced that Tax Credits claimants with capital in excess of the £16,000 capital threshold will now receive a 12-month grace period during which they can receive transitional protection if eligible.</p><p> </p><p>We have also announced that, from 16 January 2019, we will prevent those claimants who are, or have been within the past month entitled to an award of an existing benefit that includes a Severe Disability Premium (SDP), from naturally migrating to Universal Credit following a change of circumstances. These claimants will continue to receive the relevant legacy benefit(s) appropriate to their change of circumstance and will only move to Universal Credit via managed migration (and therefore be eligible to transitional protection), safeguarding their existing benefit entitlement.</p><p> </p><p>We will also provide both an on-going monthly payment to eligible claimants who have already lost the SDP as a consequence of moving to Universal Credit and an additional monthly payment to cover the period since they moved. Eligibility for these payments will depend on a number of criteria being satisfied, which include whether the basic qualifying conditions for SDP continue to be met.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 16/11/2018 14:33:47 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	4479 label Biography information for Nick Thomas-Symonds