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724568

	registered interest
	date	26/04/2017
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Social Security Benefits: Disability
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many representations he has received from whom on improving benefit assessments for pupils with severe disabilities.
	tabling member constituency	Bolsover
	tabling member printed	Mr Dennis Skinner
	uin	72007
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/05/2017 answer text <p><B>The House of Commons was prorogued before the earliest date of answer for this Question.</B></p> answering member constituency answering member printed question first answered 02/05/2017 10:00:00 answering member 0
	tabling member	325 label Biography information for Mr Dennis Skinner

724569

	registered interest
	date	26/04/2017
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Housing Benefit: Bolsover
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the total amount of housing benefit claimed was in Bolsover constituency in each of the last five years.
	tabling member constituency	Bolsover
	tabling member printed	Mr Dennis Skinner
	uin	72003
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/05/2017 answer text <p><B>The House of Commons was prorogued before the earliest date of answer for this Question.</B></p> answering member constituency answering member printed question first answered 02/05/2017 10:00:00 answering member 0
	tabling member	325 label Biography information for Mr Dennis Skinner

1505467

	registered interest
	date	06/09/2022
	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	Pensioners: Poverty
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate her Department has made of the number of pensioners living in poverty in (a) Coventry North East constituency, (b) Coventry, (c) the West Midlands and (d) England; what recent assessment she has made of the effect of the rising cost of living on the levels of pensioner poverty in those areas; and what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the welfare system in helping to alleviate levels of pensioner poverty in those areas.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry North East
	tabling member printed	Colleen Fletcher
	uin	48379
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/09/2022 answer text <p>National Statistics on the number of pensioners in low income in West Midlands and England are published annually in the “Households Below Average Income” publication. Statistics, covering up until 2019/20, can be found here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/households-below-average-income-for-financial-years-ending-1995-to-2020" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/households-below-average-income-for-financial-years-ending-1995-to-2020</a>. Data for Coventry and the Coventry North East constituency is unavailable due to insufficient sample size.</p><p> </p><p>Given the impact of the pandemic on the size and quality of sample data additional breakdowns for regions in 2020/21 were not reliable enough to be published as part of the annual statistics.</p><p> </p><p>No such assessments have been made.</p><p> </p><p>The Government is committed to action that helps to alleviate levels of pensioner poverty.</p><p> </p><p>In 2020/21 there were 400,000 fewer pensioners in absolute poverty in the UK (both before and after housing costs) than in 2009/10.</p><p> </p><p>We are forecast to spend over £134 billion on benefits for pensioners in 2022/23. This amounts to 5.4% of GDP. This includes spending on the State Pension which is forecast to be over £110bn in 2022/23.</p><p> </p><p>The government understands the pressures people are facing with the cost of living and has taken further decisive action to support people with their energy bills. The new “Energy Price Guarantee” will mean a typical UK household will now pay up to an average £2,500 a year on their energy bill for the next two years from 1 October, saving the average household in Great Britain at least £1,000 from October. This is in addition to the over £37bn of cost of living support announced earlier this year which includes the £400 non-repayable discount to eligible households provided through the Energy Bills Support Scheme.</p><p> </p><p>This includes a £650 cost of living payment (paid in 2 lump sums of £326 and £324) which has been designed to target support at more than 8 million low-income households on means-tested benefits. The payment of £326 was paid between the 14 July and the 31 July for most people and the payment of £324 will be made in the Autumn. In addition, 6 million eligible disabled people will receive a one-off disability Cost of Living Payment of £150 from 20 September and pensioner households will receive a one-off payment of £300 through and as an addition to the Winter Fuel Payment from November.</p><p> </p><p>The government is providing an additional £500 million to help households with the cost of household essentials, on top of what we have already provided since October 2021, bringing total funding for this support to £1.5 billion. In England this will take the form of an extension to the Household Support Fund backed by £421m. Devolved administrations will receive £79 million through the Barnett formula.</p><p> </p><p>The current Household Support Fund runs from 1 April to 30 September, with Coventry City Council allocated £3,224,222.30 for this period. During this period, a total of £49,520,715.25 has been allocated to West Midlands Local Authorities, which takes their total funding under both Household Support Funds to £99,041,430.50. Local Authorities have the discretion to design their own funds, within the parameters of the guidance and the grant determination.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Brentwood and Ongar answering member printed Alex Burghart question first answered 21/09/2022 16:49:48 answering member 4613 label Biography information for Alex Burghart
	tabling member	4378 label Biography information for Colleen Fletcher

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

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

1002002

	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: Separation
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether there is provision in place to equalise universal credit entitlement when a couple separates.
	tabling member constituency	Hemsworth
	tabling member printed	Jon Trickett
	uin	188012
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/11/2018 answer text <p>When a couple separates and still require the support of Universal Credit they will claim separately and as such the two claimants will be treated as entirely separate claims and will have their entitlements and therefore award amounts treated accordingly.</p><p> </p><p>If an advance has been awarded to a couple and the couple subsequently separate, they will be equally liable to repay the advance.</p><p> </p><p>When a couple separates, and an advance has not been recovered from the associated benefit claim because the claim ends or there was no entitlement to that benefit, the outstanding balance is treated as if it were an overpayment. This would then be recoverable (as per Section 71 of the Social Security Administration Act 1992) at the standard overpayment rate.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>After separation, if a couple have an overpayment for which they are both equally liable, the debt is apportioned equally. Once this apportionment has been done we will not reverse the split liability decision. Any debt for which only one member of a couple is liable will follow that person on separation.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma grouped question UIN 188013 188014 question first answered 16/11/2018 14:20:06 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	410 label Biography information for Jon Trickett

1002003

	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: Separation
	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 takes to ensure that there is a fair division when recovering advance payments when a couple separate.
	tabling member constituency	Hemsworth
	tabling member printed	Jon Trickett
	uin	188013
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/11/2018 answer text <p>When a couple separates and still require the support of Universal Credit they will claim separately and as such the two claimants will be treated as entirely separate claims and will have their entitlements and therefore award amounts treated accordingly.</p><p> </p><p>If an advance has been awarded to a couple and the couple subsequently separate, they will be equally liable to repay the advance.</p><p> </p><p>When a couple separates, and an advance has not been recovered from the associated benefit claim because the claim ends or there was no entitlement to that benefit, the outstanding balance is treated as if it were an overpayment. This would then be recoverable (as per Section 71 of the Social Security Administration Act 1992) at the standard overpayment rate.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>After separation, if a couple have an overpayment for which they are both equally liable, the debt is apportioned equally. Once this apportionment has been done we will not reverse the split liability decision. Any debt for which only one member of a couple is liable will follow that person on separation.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma grouped question UIN 188012 188014 question first answered 16/11/2018 14:20:06 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	410 label Biography information for Jon Trickett

1002004

	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: Separation
	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 take steps to ensures that the remaining claimant of universal credit is not held fully responsible for unpaid advance payments when a couple separates.
	tabling member constituency	Hemsworth
	tabling member printed	Jon Trickett
	uin	188014
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/11/2018 answer text <p>When a couple separates and still require the support of Universal Credit they will claim separately and as such the two claimants will be treated as entirely separate claims and will have their entitlements and therefore award amounts treated accordingly.</p><p> </p><p>If an advance has been awarded to a couple and the couple subsequently separate, they will be equally liable to repay the advance.</p><p> </p><p>When a couple separates, and an advance has not been recovered from the associated benefit claim because the claim ends or there was no entitlement to that benefit, the outstanding balance is treated as if it were an overpayment. This would then be recoverable (as per Section 71 of the Social Security Administration Act 1992) at the standard overpayment rate.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>After separation, if a couple have an overpayment for which they are both equally liable, the debt is apportioned equally. Once this apportionment has been done we will not reverse the split liability decision. Any debt for which only one member of a couple is liable will follow that person on separation.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma grouped question UIN 188012 188013 question first answered 16/11/2018 14:20:06 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	410 label Biography information for Jon Trickett

1002030

	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: Scotland
	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 Government news release of 1 October 2018 entitled Citizens Advice to provide support to Universal Credit claimants, how much funding she plans to allocate to Citizens Advice in Scotland to provide that support; and what plans she has to provide funding for areas that do not have a Citizens Advice office.
	tabling member constituency	Inverclyde
	tabling member printed	Ronnie Cowan
	uin	188154
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/11/2018 answer text <p>For Citizens Advice Scotland the grant award is £1,323,412 in 2018/19 and £4,085,919 in 2019/20. Citizens Advice Scotland is committed to providing a Universal Support service across Scotland</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 16/11/2018 14:42:10 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	4465 label Biography information for Ronnie Cowan