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1178579

	registered interest
	date	11/02/2020
	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 universal credit claimants have had their payments reduced as a result of deductions for court fines in each of the last five years.
	tabling member constituency	East Ham
	tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
	uin	14942
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/05/2020 answer text <p>We are unable to provide figures for court fine deductions over the last five years as improvements to third party data reporting commenced in November 2018. Information which is available can be found in the table below.</p><p> </p><p>The Department’s deductions policy strikes a fair balance between a claimant’s need to meet their financial obligations and their ability to ensure they can meet their day-to-day needs. It maintains our policy to enforce social obligations such as the payment of court fines, ensure Government debt is recovered and vitally to safeguard claimants from the potential impacts of not repaying priority debts, such as homelessness or loss of utilities. Since October 2019, Universal Credit deductions are a maximum of 30% of a claimant’s standard allowance down from 40% previously. The Budget 2020 also set out that the maximum level will be further reduced, so that standard deductions will not exceed 25% of a claimant’s Standard Allowance from October 2021.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Payment Month</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Number of claimants with deduction for court fines</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>% of claimants with deductions for court fines</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Number of claimants with the maximum deduction for court fines (£108.35)</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Percentage of those with deductions for court fines who have the maximum deduction (£108.35)</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>November 2018</p></td><td><p>7,000</p></td><td><p>0.62%</p></td><td><p>Less than 500</p></td><td><p>6%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>December 2018</p></td><td><p>7,000</p></td><td><p>0.59%</p></td><td><p>Less than 500</p></td><td><p>6%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>January 2019</p></td><td><p>8,000</p></td><td><p>0.56%</p></td><td><p>Less than 500</p></td><td><p>5%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>February 2019</p></td><td><p>8,000</p></td><td><p>0.56%</p></td><td><p>Less than 500</p></td><td><p>5%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>March 2019</p></td><td><p>13,000</p></td><td><p>0.84%</p></td><td><p>1,000</p></td><td><p>5%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>April 2019</p></td><td><p>37,000</p></td><td><p>2.23%</p></td><td><p>2,000</p></td><td><p>7%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>May 2019</p></td><td><p>61,000</p></td><td><p>3.49%</p></td><td><p>4,000</p></td><td><p>7%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>June 2019</p></td><td><p>83,000</p></td><td><p>4.51%</p></td><td><p>5,000</p></td><td><p>7%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>July 2019</p></td><td><p>102,000</p></td><td><p>5.28%</p></td><td><p>7,000</p></td><td><p>7%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>August 2019</p></td><td><p>112,000</p></td><td><p>5.57%</p></td><td><p>9,000</p></td><td><p>8%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>September 2019</p></td><td><p>117,000</p></td><td><p>5.59%</p></td><td><p>13,000</p></td><td><p>11%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>October 2019</p></td><td><p>114,000</p></td><td><p>5.22%</p></td><td><p>9,000</p></td><td><p>8%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>November 2019</p></td><td><p>109,000</p></td><td><p>4.82%</p></td><td><p>2,000</p></td><td><p>2%</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p><strong>Notes:</strong></p><p>1. Figures rounded to the nearest 1,000</p><p>2. The increase in the proportion of claimants with deductions for fines is due to an improved manual process phased in between February and the end of March for courts to send through their court deductions.</p><p>3. Figures are subject to retrospective change as later data becomes available</p><p>4. Claim numbers may not match official statistics caseloads due to small methodological differences.</p><p>5. Court fines are first taken at a 5% fixed rate, then again at the end of the priority order up to the maximum deductions limit, up to a maximum deduction of £108.35. Figures show the number of people having court fine deductions at £108.35 per month.</p><p>6. The decrease in proportion of claimants with deductions for fines from October 2019 is because the maximum deductions limit was reduced from 40% of the standard allowance to 30% of the standard allowance.</p><p>7. The decrease in proportion of claimants with the maximum deduction for fines from October 2019 is because the maximum deductions limit was reduced from 40% of the standard allowance to 30% of the standard allowance</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince grouped question UIN 14943 question first answered 13/05/2020 13:35:22 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince previous answer version 8075 answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

1178580

	registered interest
	date	11/02/2020
	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 universal credit claimants with deductions due to court fines have had the maximum deduction taken from their allowance in each of the last five years.
	tabling member constituency	East Ham
	tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
	uin	14943
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/05/2020 answer text <p>We are unable to provide figures for court fine deductions over the last five years as improvements to third party data reporting commenced in November 2018. Information which is available can be found in the table below.</p><p> </p><p>The Department’s deductions policy strikes a fair balance between a claimant’s need to meet their financial obligations and their ability to ensure they can meet their day-to-day needs. It maintains our policy to enforce social obligations such as the payment of court fines, ensure Government debt is recovered and vitally to safeguard claimants from the potential impacts of not repaying priority debts, such as homelessness or loss of utilities. Since October 2019, Universal Credit deductions are a maximum of 30% of a claimant’s standard allowance down from 40% previously. The Budget 2020 also set out that the maximum level will be further reduced, so that standard deductions will not exceed 25% of a claimant’s Standard Allowance from October 2021.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Payment Month</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Number of claimants with deduction for court fines</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>% of claimants with deductions for court fines</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Number of claimants with the maximum deduction for court fines (£108.35)</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Percentage of those with deductions for court fines who have the maximum deduction (£108.35)</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>November 2018</p></td><td><p>7,000</p></td><td><p>0.62%</p></td><td><p>Less than 500</p></td><td><p>6%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>December 2018</p></td><td><p>7,000</p></td><td><p>0.59%</p></td><td><p>Less than 500</p></td><td><p>6%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>January 2019</p></td><td><p>8,000</p></td><td><p>0.56%</p></td><td><p>Less than 500</p></td><td><p>5%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>February 2019</p></td><td><p>8,000</p></td><td><p>0.56%</p></td><td><p>Less than 500</p></td><td><p>5%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>March 2019</p></td><td><p>13,000</p></td><td><p>0.84%</p></td><td><p>1,000</p></td><td><p>5%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>April 2019</p></td><td><p>37,000</p></td><td><p>2.23%</p></td><td><p>2,000</p></td><td><p>7%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>May 2019</p></td><td><p>61,000</p></td><td><p>3.49%</p></td><td><p>4,000</p></td><td><p>7%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>June 2019</p></td><td><p>83,000</p></td><td><p>4.51%</p></td><td><p>5,000</p></td><td><p>7%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>July 2019</p></td><td><p>102,000</p></td><td><p>5.28%</p></td><td><p>7,000</p></td><td><p>7%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>August 2019</p></td><td><p>112,000</p></td><td><p>5.57%</p></td><td><p>9,000</p></td><td><p>8%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>September 2019</p></td><td><p>117,000</p></td><td><p>5.59%</p></td><td><p>13,000</p></td><td><p>11%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>October 2019</p></td><td><p>114,000</p></td><td><p>5.22%</p></td><td><p>9,000</p></td><td><p>8%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>November 2019</p></td><td><p>109,000</p></td><td><p>4.82%</p></td><td><p>2,000</p></td><td><p>2%</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p><strong>Notes:</strong></p><p>1. Figures rounded to the nearest 1,000</p><p>2. The increase in the proportion of claimants with deductions for fines is due to an improved manual process phased in between February and the end of March for courts to send through their court deductions.</p><p>3. Figures are subject to retrospective change as later data becomes available</p><p>4. Claim numbers may not match official statistics caseloads due to small methodological differences.</p><p>5. Court fines are first taken at a 5% fixed rate, then again at the end of the priority order up to the maximum deductions limit, up to a maximum deduction of £108.35. Figures show the number of people having court fine deductions at £108.35 per month.</p><p>6. The decrease in proportion of claimants with deductions for fines from October 2019 is because the maximum deductions limit was reduced from 40% of the standard allowance to 30% of the standard allowance.</p><p>7. The decrease in proportion of claimants with the maximum deduction for fines from October 2019 is because the maximum deductions limit was reduced from 40% of the standard allowance to 30% of the standard allowance</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince grouped question UIN 14942 question first answered 13/05/2020 13:35:22 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince previous answer version 8076 answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

1191092

	registered interest
	date	28/04/2020
	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, what proportion of the 93 per cent of claims for universal credit that have been processed by her Department since 16 March 2020 have resulted in people not qualifying for a payment.
	tabling member constituency	Bermondsey and Old Southwark
	tabling member printed	Neil Coyle
	uin	41056
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/06/2020 answer text <p>Between March 16th and March 29th there were 800,000 declarations made to Universal Credit, all of which are processed. Of these</p><ul><li>67% have received a UC payment</li><li>16% had a nil award due to earnings</li><li>16% were either withdrawn by the claimant or closed due to ineligibility</li><li>Less than 1% have outstanding verification preventing payment</li></ul><p> </p><p>For comparison, in January and February there were 580,000 declaration made to Universal Credit, all of which are processed. Of these</p><ul><li>63% have received a UC payment</li><li>12% had a nil award due to earnings</li><li>26% were either withdrawn by the claimant or closed due to ineligibility</li><li>Less than 1% have outstanding verification preventing payment</li></ul><p> </p><p>I apologise for the time taken to provide this answer.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 04/06/2020 15:45:22 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince previous answer version 19211 answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4368 label Biography information for Neil Coyle

1191780

	registered interest
	date	29/04/2020
	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, if her Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of removing the £16,000 savings threshold for eligibility for universal credit.
	tabling member constituency	Brighton, Kemptown
	tabling member printed	Lloyd Russell-Moyle
	uin	41570
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/05/2020 answer text <p>A key principle of UC is that it supports people who do not have assets available to meet their basic needs. While it is important to protect the incentive to save for claimants on low earnings, people with substantial capital can take responsibility for their own support. This is to ensure that we can maintain our focus on getting money to citizens who need it and safeguarding the most vulnerable.</p><p> </p><p>If capital exceeds £16,000 there will be no entitlement to UC, unless the capital can be disregarded, for example personal injury compensation payments. Capital above £6,000 will reduce the amount of UC paid by £4.35 per month for every £250 of capital or part thereof.</p><p> </p><p>If someone has money in their account that is to be used for business purposes, for example for paying tax, it will not be counted towards their capital, but they may be asked to prove that the money is for business purposes. People should make clear in their application the savings that are business assets, and note it in their online journal.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 07/05/2020 15:11:53 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince previous answer version 19214 answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4615 label Biography information for Lloyd Russell-Moyle

1193124

	registered interest
	date	05/05/2020
	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 new universal credit applicants there have been in each month since March 2020; and how many of those new applicants have successfully applied for a universal credit advance loan payment.
	tabling member constituency	South Shields
	tabling member printed	Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck
	uin	43662
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/05/2020 answer text <p>The department publishes weekly management information, every Tuesday, on the number of Universal Credit declarations (claims) and Universal Credit Advances paid by the four advance types. It is available at <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/universal-credit-declarations-claims-and-advances-management-information" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/universal-credit-declarations-claims-and-advances-management-information</a></p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 29/05/2020 08:35:56 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince previous answer version 20367 answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4277 label Biography information for Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck

1193126

	registered interest
	date	05/05/2020
	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 people in receipt of universal credit before March 2020 have not received the 1.7 per cent increase in that benefit on 6 April; and how many new claimants have received that increase.
	tabling member constituency	South Shields
	tabling member printed	Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck
	uin	43663
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/05/2020 answer text <p>All existing and new universal credit claims will have their claim assessed on the increased rates of benefit for the relevant assessment period from 6 April 2020.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 12/05/2020 09:35:14 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince previous answer version 20368 answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4277 label Biography information for Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck

1193708

	registered interest
	date	06/05/2020
	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 families who have made a claim for universal credit since 23 March 2020 have three or more children.
	tabling member constituency	Bethnal Green and Bow
	tabling member printed	Rushanara Ali
	uin	43917
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/06/2020 answer text <p><strong> </strong></p><p>From 23<sup>rd</sup> March 2020 to 5<sup>th</sup> May 2020, 57,000, applications made by claimants with children to Universal Credit had three or more children in their family.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p> </p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 05/06/2020 11:34:19 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince previous answer version 20798 answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4138 label Biography information for Rushanara Ali

1194187

	registered interest
	date	11/05/2020
	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, if she will implement with immediate effect the policy announced in the Budget 2020 on lowering the repayment rate and extending the repayment period for universal credit advances, which is currently not due to take effect until October 2021.
	tabling member constituency	South Shields
	tabling member printed	Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck
	uin	45239
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/05/2020 answer text <p>The Government has already taken action to mitigate the impact of repaying advances. In the short-term, the temporary increase to the Standard Allowance of over £80 a month will immediately help absorb the impact of repaying advances. In October 2019, the level of standard deductions was reduced from 40% to 30% of a claimant’s Standard Allowance. In addition, the repayment period for advances has already been extended from 6 months to 12 months, and claimants can ask to defer advance repayments for up to 3 months in certain circumstances.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 19/05/2020 09:57:37 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince previous answer version 22274 answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4277 label Biography information for Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck

1196298

	registered interest
	date	15/05/2020
	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 alternative payment arrangements for payment of universal credit were made with claimants in (a) March and (b) April 2020.
	tabling member constituency	Garston and Halewood
	tabling member printed	Maria Eagle
	uin	47193
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/05/2020 answer text <p>This information is intended for future publication</p><p> </p><p>Statistics on Alternative Payment Arrangements for March and April will be published on 11 August 2020 and can be found at <a href="https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/" target="_blank">https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/</a></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 22/05/2020 12:18:28 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince previous answer version 23125 answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	483 label Biography information for Maria Eagle

1197016

	registered interest
	date	19/05/2020
	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, with reference to the requirement for advanced payments under universal credit to be repaid to her Department, for what reason her Department does not treat those advanced payments as a loan for the purposes of departmental data publication.
	tabling member constituency	Bermondsey and Old Southwark
	tabling member printed	Neil Coyle
	uin	49018
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/06/2020 answer text <p>Accounting regulations would not allow us to treat UC Advances as loans as they are not loans and so are not recognised as loans.</p><p>Advances are a mechanism for getting claimants faster access to their entitlement; allowing claimants to receive 13 payments over 12 months with up to 12 months to repay the advance.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 03/06/2020 14:58:16 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince previous answer version 25091 answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4368 label Biography information for Neil Coyle