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1137622

	registered interest
	date	08/07/2019
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Social Security Benefits
	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 has made an assessment of the number of applications for social security payments that are discontinued due to the death of the applicant.
	tabling member constituency	Cardiff Central
	tabling member printed	Jo Stevens
	uin	274568
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/07/2019 answer text <p>The information requested is not collated centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 11/07/2019 14:02:03 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4425 label Biography information for Jo Stevens

1141268

	registered interest
	date	23/07/2019
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Social Security Benefits
	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 reports that people who are paid on the last day of the month are incorrectly showing on the HMRC database as having been paid on the first working day of the month on the ability of her Department to correctly assess an individual’s entitlement to benefits; and if she will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	Portsmouth South
	tabling member printed	Stephen Morgan
	uin	281024
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/09/2019 answer text <p>Universal Credit takes earnings into account in a way that is fair and transparent. The amount of Universal Credit paid reflects, as closely as possible, the actual circumstances of a household during each monthly assessment period, including any earnings reported by the employer during the assessment period, regardless of when they were paid, or which month they relate to.</p><p>Assessment periods allow for Universal Credit awards to be adjusted on a monthly basis, ensuring that if claimants’ incomes fall, they do not have to wait several months for a rise in their Universal Credit award.</p><p>Claimants can discuss queries about how fluctuating income effects Universal Credit with their case managers and work coaches, who can also signpost to services appropriate to individual circumstances.</p><p>The Department has been working closely with HMRC since Universal Credit went live to support and inform employers who report earnings to emphasise the importance of timely reporting via the Real Time Information (RTI) system.</p><p>HMRC have updated their guidance to reiterate to employers the importance of reporting accurate dates and the impact on payment cycles; the Financial Secretary to the Treasury is also working closely with HMRC and employers to do this.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 03/09/2019 14:24:24 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4653 label Biography information for Stephen Morgan

1147068

	registered interest
	date	30/09/2019
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Social Security Benefits
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of establishing an independent commission to review the value of benefits to ensure they consistently match the cost of living.
	tabling member constituency	South Cambridgeshire
	tabling member printed	Heidi Allen
	uin	292317
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/10/2019 answer text <p>The Secretary of State has a statutory duty to complete an annual review of benefit and pension rates to determine whether they have retained their value in relation to either prices or earnings.</p><p> </p><p>If there has been an increase in prices or earnings she must increase certain benefits by at least the increase in prices or earnings, using ONS data. For other benefits she may take into account the prevailing economic conditions and other relevant factors.</p><p> </p><p>Whilst organisations external to Government are free to make representations to the Secretary of State, the Department has made no assessment around the introduction of an independent commission to review the value of benefits.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 07/10/2019 13:39:43 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4516 label Biography information for Heidi Allen

1166806

	registered interest
	date	28/10/2019
	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	Social Security Benefits
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent discussions she has had with (a) the Prime Minister and (b) the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the length of the benefits freeze.
	tabling member constituency	Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill
	tabling member printed	Hugh Gaffney
	uin	6484
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/11/2019 answer text <p>The Secretary of State announced on 4<sup>th</sup> November 2019 that the freeze to working age benefits will come to an end in April 2020. This was following her statutory annual review of benefit and pension rates to determine whether they have retained their value to the general level of prices and earnings. See written ministerial statement -</p><p><a href="https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2019-11-04/HCWS74/" target="_blank">https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2019-11-04/HCWS74/</a></p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 05/11/2019 16:15:28 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4614 label Biography information for Hugh Gaffney

1168782

	registered interest
	date	20/12/2019
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Social Security Benefits
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reasons her Department is increasing working-age benefits in line with the rate of inflation from April 2020 rather than an earlier date.
	tabling member constituency	Airdrie and Shotts
	tabling member printed	Neil Gray
	uin	319
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/01/2020 answer text <p>The Secretary of State is bound by law to complete an annual review of benefit and pension rates to determine whether they have retained their value in relation to the general level of prices or – for pensions - earnings. This statute requires benefit and pension rates to be reviewed and set in each tax year. April 2020 is the new financial year.</p><p> </p><p>The Secretary of State has completed her review and a Written Statement was tabled on 4 November:</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2019-11-04/HCWS74/" target="_blank">https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2019-11-04/HCWS74/</a></p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 13/01/2020 17:29:26 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4365 label Biography information for Neil Gray

1169198

	registered interest
	date	07/01/2020
	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	Social Security Benefits
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many (a) people and (b) women in work are claiming (i) universal credit and (ii) legacy benefits.
	tabling member constituency	York Central
	tabling member printed	Rachael Maskell
	uin	1078
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/01/2020 answer text <p>The information requested for Universal Credit and Housing Benefit is published and available 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 for users is available 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> </p><p>The numbers of in work families receiving tax credits is published by HMRC at:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/child-and-working-tax-credits-statistics-finalised-annual-awards-2017-to-2018" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/child-and-working-tax-credits-statistics-finalised-annual-awards-2017-to-2018</a></p><p> </p><p>The information requested on Jobseeker’s Allowance is not readily available and to provide it would incur a disproportionate cost.</p><p> </p><p>The information available for the number of employed individuals that are in receipt of Income Support and Employment and Support Allowance in Great Britain can be found in the following table:</p><p> </p><p><strong>Number of working people that are in receipt of Income Support and Employment and Support Allowance as of May 2019 in Great Britain</strong></p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong> </strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Income Support</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Employment and Support Allowance</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Total number of people</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>9,100</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>102,029</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Women only</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>7,800</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>58,318</strong></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>Source:</strong> DWP 5% Sample data and Work and Pensions Longitudinal Set (WPLS)</p><p> </p><p><strong>Notes:</strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><ol><li>Figures for Income Support are rounded to the nearest 100. Figures for Employment and Support Allowance have had disclosure control applied to them. Statistical disclosure control has been applied to the Employment and Support Allowance figures to avoid the release of confidential data. Totals may not sum due to the disclosure control applied.</li></ol><ol><li>For the Income Support we have used the 5% WPLS data. The best statistics on benefits are derived from 100% data sources. However, the 5% sample data still provide some detail not yet available from the 100% data sources. DWP recommends that, where the detail is only available on the 5% sample data, the proportions derived should be applied to the overall 100% total for the benefit. This is the methodology used to derive the Income Support figures provided here.</li></ol><p> </p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 14/01/2020 14:03:54 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4471 label Biography information for Rachael Maskell

1169840

	registered interest
	date	09/01/2020
	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	Social Security Benefits
	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 enforces the (a) repayment of social security overpayments and (b) prosecutions when the error was made by her Department.
	tabling member constituency	Airdrie and Shotts
	tabling member printed	Neil Gray
	uin	1759
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/01/2020 answer text <p>For all benefits other than Universal Credit, New Style Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) and New Style Employment Support Allowance (ESA), overpayments resulting from Departmental error are not recoverable.</p><p> </p><p>Section 105 of The Welfare Reform Act 2012 amended the Social Security Act 1992, so that for Universal Credit, New Style JSA and New Style ESA, any payment in excess of the entitlement is recoverable, regardless of how the overpayment of entitlement occurred. This policy was brought in to reflect the need for a better value for money welfare system and to reinforce the overarching aim that Universal Credit mirrors work.</p><p> </p><p>As a Department, we understand the impact that debt can have on the wellbeing of claimants and we endeavour to ensure that the recovery of any overpayment is managed in a way that takes account of the claimant’s individual circumstances.</p><p> </p><p>I can confirm that the Department would not prosecute a claimant if an overpayment occurred purely as a result of a Departmental error, and would only consider prosecuting a claimant where there is strong evidence to suggest they may have committed benefit fraud</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 14/01/2020 17:53:56 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4365 label Biography information for Neil Gray

1172920

	registered interest
	date	23/01/2020
	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	Social Security Benefits
	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 effect of the two-child limit on BAME communities.
	tabling member constituency	Arfon
	tabling member printed	Hywel Williams
	uin	7121
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/01/2020 answer text <p>The Government’s view is that providing support for a maximum of two children or qualifying young persons in Universal Credit and Child Tax Credits, ensures fairness between claimants on the one hand and, on the other, those taxpayers who support themselves solely through work.</p><p> </p><p>We recognise that some claimants are not able to make the same choices about the number of children in their family, which is why exceptions have been put in place to protect certain groups. On migration to Universal Credit, families’ existing entitlement will be protected.</p><p> </p><p>The Department has published an Impact Assessment which noted ethnic minority households may be more affected by the policy. This is because on average, they are more likely to have larger families and be in receipt of Child Tax Credits and Universal Credit. However, the Department does not collect sufficiently robust data on our claimants’ ethnic or religious backgrounds to facilitate a more detailed assessment of the policy’s impact on specific ethnic or religious groups.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>The Government has assessed the impact of the policy from an equality and human rights perspective, meeting our obligations under the Public Sector Equality Duty, and ensuring compliance with the Human Rights Act 1998, the Equality Act 2010 and the UN Convention on the rights of children.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince grouped question UIN 7122 question first answered 28/01/2020 17:37:37 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	1397 label Biography information for Hywel Williams

1174829

	registered interest
	date	30/01/2020
	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	Social Security Benefits
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many children have been affected by the two-child benefit limit in (a) York Central constituency, (b) Yorkshire and the Humber and (c) the UK in each year for which data is available.
	tabling member constituency	York Central
	tabling member printed	Rachael Maskell
	uin	10402
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/02/2020 answer text <p>Statistics related to the policy to provide support for a maximum of two children was published in July 2019 and can be accessed at:</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/child-tax-credit-and-universal-credit-claimants-statistics-related-to-the-policy-to-provide-support-for-a-maximum-of-2-children-april-2019" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/child-tax-credit-and-universal-credit-claimants-statistics-related-to-the-policy-to-provide-support-for-a-maximum-of-2-children-april-2019 </a></p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>Providing support for a maximum of two children, or qualifying young persons in Universal Credit and Child Tax Credit, ensures fairness between claimants and those taxpayers who support themselves solely through work.</p><p>We recognise that some claimants are not able to make the same choices about the number of children in their family, which is why exceptions have been put in place to protect certain groups. On migration to Universal Credit, families’ existing entitlement will be protected.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 04/02/2020 17:22:02 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4471 label Biography information for Rachael Maskell

1174856

	registered interest
	date	30/01/2020
	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	Social Security Benefits
	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 under the Eligible Loan Deduction Scheme in each year since its introduction.
	tabling member constituency	Barnsley East
	tabling member printed	Stephanie Peacock
	uin	10437
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/02/2020 answer text <p>Deductions can only be made where all benefit rules are satisfied, including affordability/hardship considerations. If deductions are appropriate, any recoveries are paid to the lender on a monthly basis. There are no backlogs for agreed deductions.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>DWP has administered deductions of this type since 2006. However, administration costs are only available from 2015/16 onwards. These costs can be found in the table below.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Year</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Administrative costs for ELDS</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015/16</p></td><td><p>£403,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2016/17</p></td><td><p>£555,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2017/18</p></td><td><p>£539,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2018/19</p></td><td><p>£546,000</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p /> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince grouped question UIN 10438 10439 question first answered 04/02/2020 17:36:48 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4607 label Biography information for Stephanie Peacock