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1125532

	registered interest
	date	09/05/2019
	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	Unemployment
	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 her Department has made of the number of children in workless households.
	tabling member constituency	North East Hampshire
	tabling member printed	Mr Ranil Jayawardena
	uin	910855
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/05/2019 answer text <p>There are an estimated 1.2 million children living in workless households in the UK, down 67,000 on the year and down 665,000 since 2010. There are now a third less children living in workless households than in 2010.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 13/05/2019 14:55:43 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4498 label Biography information for Mr Ranil Jayawardena

1125261

	registered interest
	date	08/05/2019
	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	Discretionary Housing Payments: Domestic Abuse
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the discretionary housing payment funding allocated to claimants affected by domestic abuse in each of the last three years.
	tabling member constituency	Dulwich and West Norwood
	tabling member printed	Helen Hayes
	uin	252018
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/05/2019 answer text <p>Information on claimants affected by domestic abuse is not available to make an estimate of Discretionary Housing Payment funding allocated to domestic abuse victims due to data sensitivity.</p><p> </p><p>DHP guidance highlights the use of the fund in supporting victims of domestic abuse to move to a place of safety.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 13/05/2019 12:38:56 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4510 label Biography information for Helen Hayes

1124957

	registered interest
	date	07/05/2019
	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: Mortgages
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment she has made of the difficulties faced by universal credit claimants applying for a mortgage; and if she will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	East Ham
	tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
	uin	251193
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/05/2019 answer text <p>The Financial Conduct Authority Handbook sets out rules and guidance for lenders. This provides that, prior to entering into a mortgage, a lender must assess whether the customer will be able to pay the sums due and must not enter into the transaction unless it can demonstrate that the mortgage is affordable for the customer (and any guarantor).</p><p> </p><p>It is up to individual lenders to determine how to ensure adherence to this requirement. Each lender is required to publish a written statement setting out the factors it will take into account in assessing a customer's ability to pay. This must, inter alia, address how income and expenditure is to be assessed, including details of the types of income which are acceptable.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 13/05/2019 12:55:26 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

1125021

	registered interest
	date	07/05/2019
	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	Social Security Benefits: Coventry
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the number of people affected by administrative errors made by her Department which led to the overpayment of benefits in Coventry.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
	uin	251210
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/05/2019 answer text <p>The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is focused on paying people their correct entitlement.</p><p> </p><p>Administrative errors are referred to as ‘official errors’ which have arisen from processing errors or delays by DWP or a Local Authority.</p><p> </p><p>A quality checking regime is in place and this is helping address official error.</p><p> </p><p>National Statistics Fraud and Error 2018/19 published 9 May 2019, indicate that estimated losses from official error account for 0.4% of total benefit expenditure.</p><p> </p><p>Internal Management Information shows that 48k claimants with a CV postcode had an actual ‘official error’ overpayment in 2018/19.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 13/05/2019 16:33:14 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

1124248

	registered interest
	date	01/05/2019
	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	Children: Maintenance
	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 plans to collect and publish (a) the number of deductions from benefits and (b) instances of sharing non-compliant parents' information with credit reference agencies.
	tabling member constituency	Birkenhead
	tabling member printed	Frank Field
	uin	249881
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/05/2019 answer text <p>This question has been interpreted as referring to actions taken by the Child Maintenance Service. The Department does hold information regarding:</p><ol><li>deductions from the benefits received by a paying parent on the Child Maintenance Service in order to pay Child Maintenance;</li><li>instances in which the details of non-compliant paying parents on the Child Maintenance Service have been shared with credit reference agencies.</li></ol><p>The Department has no immediate plans to publish this information. However, with the completion of the Child Support Agency case closure programme, and the implementation of the new Child Maintenance compliance and arrears strategy, the Department continues to review what information is included in regular publications.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 07/05/2019 15:39:15 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead

1124250

	registered interest
	date	01/05/2019
	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: Wales
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment her Department has made of a potential link between the rollout of universal credit and use of foodbanks in (a) Wales and (b) Ogmore.
	tabling member constituency	Ogmore
	tabling member printed	Chris Elmore
	uin	249986
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/05/2019 answer text <p>There are many reasons people use foodbanks and agreement that growth in the use of foodbanks cannot be attributed solely to Universal Credit.</p><p>Under Universal Credit no claimant has to wait for their money: advances of up to 100 per cent of their award are available to all claimants from day one of their claim. Advances are paid back over a period of 12 months and in the Autumn Budget 2018, we announced that from October 2021, the payback period for these advances will be extended further, up to 16 months. This is just one of a number of measures the Department has put in place to support claimants, such as paying those claimants moving from Housing Benefit onto Universal Credit a two week ‘transitional housing payment’. We are also introducing a two-week run on for eligible claimants of Income Support, Jobseeker’s Allowance and Employment and Support Allowance from July 2020.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 08/05/2019 14:11:25 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4572 label Biography information for Chris Elmore

1124251

	registered interest
	date	01/05/2019
	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	Food Banks: Ogmore
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what data her Department collects on the use of food banks in Ogmore.
	tabling member constituency	Ogmore
	tabling member printed	Chris Elmore
	uin	249987
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/05/2019 answer text <p>The Government does not collect official data on the use of food banks. We have worked with the Scottish Government, food insecurity experts, and the Office for National Statistics to introduce a new set of food security questions in the Family Resources Survey starting from April 2019. This means that we will in future be able to able to monitor the prevalence and severity of household food insecurity across the UK and for specific groups, to better understand the drivers of food insecurity and identify which groups are most at risk.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 10/05/2019 14:26:50 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4572 label Biography information for Chris Elmore

1124257

	registered interest
	date	01/05/2019
	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	Children: Maintenance
	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 29 April 2019 to Question 246453, on Children: Maintenance, how many times each of the powers listed in the Answer have been used.
	tabling member constituency	Birkenhead
	tabling member printed	Frank Field
	uin	249882
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/05/2019 answer text <p>We do not keep information on the number of times Financial Investigation Unit (FIU) request information from financial institutions to check the accuracy of information.</p><p> </p><p>Regarding the number of times Financial Investigation Unit (FIU) will seek to prosecute or forward to HMRC for fraud action. I can confirm there has been one prosecution in 2019 with 3 other cases are being investigated by Crown Prosecution Service. The arrangements with HMRC to provide them with information regarding Child Maintenance Group investigations has been finalised and the first transfer of data will occur in mid May.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 10/05/2019 14:47:10 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead

1124268

	registered interest
	date	01/05/2019
	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	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 steps she is taking to promote the use of benefits calculators to help ensure that people claim the benefits to which they are entitled.
	tabling member constituency	East Ham
	tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
	uin	249806
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/05/2019 answer text <p>The independent benefits calculators we endorse are intended to provide useful estimations of what people can get in certain circumstances, based on what information is entered on the calculators themselves. This is to allow people to safely explore what help they may receive from Universal Credit before they apply, or based on potential changes of circumstances.</p><p> </p><p>Information on accessing independent benefit calculators is readily available via the gov.uk website. This includes links to three independent calculators and advice on the type of information required to complete a calculation.</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/benefits-calculators" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/benefits-calculators</a></p><p> </p><p>In addition, DWP staff will signpost post people to independent benefit calculators and websites which provide additional advice and guidance.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 08/05/2019 15:40:26 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

1124357

	registered interest
	date	01/05/2019
	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: Private Rented Housing
	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 15 April 2019 to Question 243334 on Universal Credit: Private Rented Housing, whether she has plans to classify being in receipt of benefits as a protected characteristic in order to eliminate discrimination against benefit recipients in the rental housing market.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
	tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
	uin	249850
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/05/2019 answer text <p>The Government has no current plans to classify receipt of benefits as a protected characteristic (under Equalities Legislation).</p><p> </p><p>Ministers are working with stakeholders from across the private rental sector to discuss how it can work with them to eliminate practices which prevent benefit recipients from renting property.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 08/05/2019 10:00:53 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

1124358

	registered interest
	date	01/05/2019
	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	Funerals: Costs
	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 families were unable to afford the funeral of family member in each of the last five years.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
	tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
	uin	249851
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/05/2019 answer text <p>No such assessment has been made.</p><p> </p><p>Funeral poverty is not just an issue for Government. Providers of funeral services, including the church, funeral directors, local authorities and owners of crematoriums, all have a role to play in ensuring funerals are accessible for everyone.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 07/05/2019 13:53:59 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

1124372

	registered interest
	date	01/05/2019
	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: Secondment
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many civil servants in her Department have been seconded to (a) the Department for Exiting the European Union and (b) the Department for International Trade in each of the last three years.
	tabling member constituency	Vale of Clwyd
	tabling member printed	Chris Ruane
	uin	249904
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/05/2019 answer text <p>This information can only be provided at disproportionate cost.</p><p> </p><p>The Department for Work and Pension has worked closely with the Department for Exiting the European Union and other Government Departments as part of the UK’s preparations to exit the EU. The Department has prepared for all eventualities including no deal. Preparations have been undertaken by staff as part of their regular duties.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 10/05/2019 14:18:22 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	534 label Biography information for Chris Ruane

1123955

	registered interest
	date	30/04/2019
	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, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to ensure that the universal credit childcare support offer does not require parents to (a) pay childcare costs upfront and (b) provide receipts.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
	tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
	uin	249201
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/05/2019 answer text <p>We recognise the difficulty that some claimants might have in paying upfront childcare costs. Where the initial month’s childcare costs may prevent a claimant from starting work, Jobcentres will use the Flexible Support Fund to help claimants in the first instance. This is a non-repayable award, which can be used to meet the upfront childcare costs to help support a claimant into work.</p><p> </p><p>For claimants who are in work and need help with upfront childcare costs, budgeting advances are available that can be used to cover the cost of paying upfront childcare costs or a deposit.</p><p> </p><p>The payment of Universal Credit Childcare costs is based on monthly reporting by the claimant of the actual childcare costs the household incurs. Claimants are required to provide a receipt of the eligible costs they have paid and these are then reimbursed within their Universal Credit award. Such monthly reporting ensures accuracy whilst reducing the levels of error and the possibility of overpayments.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 07/05/2019 12:59:41 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

1123545

	registered interest
	date	29/04/2019
	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	Children: Maintenance
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, on what grounds can child maintenance be written off by the Child Support Agency.
	tabling member constituency	Bassetlaw
	tabling member printed	John Mann
	uin	248596
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/05/2019 answer text <p>The grounds on which child maintenance arrears may be written off are available in The Child Support (Management of Payments and Arrears) Regulations 2009.</p><p> </p><p>Circumstances include where the receiving parent (or child in Scotland) has died, or requests that the arrears are written off; where the paying parent has died and there is no further action that can be taken to recover the arrears; and where the arrears fall under the circumstances detailed in the child maintenance Compliance and Arrears Strategy.</p><p> </p><p>A comprehensive list of the grounds for write off is available in the link below:</p><p><a href="https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2009/3151/part/PART4B" target="_blank">https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2009/3151/part/PART4B</a></p><p> </p><p>The response to the Compliance and Arrears Strategy consultation is available in the link below:</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/724358/response-child-maintenance-compliance-and-arrears-strategy-consultation.pdf" target="_blank">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/724358/response-child-maintenance-compliance-and-arrears-strategy-consultation.pdf</a></p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 02/05/2019 10:28:43 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	1387 label Biography information for Lord Mann

1123546

	registered interest
	date	29/04/2019
	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	Children: Maintenance
	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 had child maintenance payments written off by the Child Support Agency in 2018.
	tabling member constituency	Bassetlaw
	tabling member printed	John Mann
	uin	248597
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/05/2019 answer text <p>The information is not readily available and has not previously been published as official statistics, however we expect these statistics to be published in June 2019. Information on the planned changes to the Child Support Agency Quarterly Statistical Summary to incorporate this information can be found here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/child-support-agency-statistics-publication-strategy" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/child-support-agency-statistics-publication-strategy</a></p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 02/05/2019 10:12:57 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	1387 label Biography information for Lord Mann

1123569

	registered interest
	date	29/04/2019
	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	Children: Maintenance
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, which groups of parents are not required to pay child maintenance; and what estimate her Department has made of the number of parents who are primary carers for children who do not receive child maintenance.
	tabling member constituency	Birkenhead
	tabling member printed	Frank Field
	uin	248589
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/05/2019 answer text <p>All parents have a responsibility to support their children. Where an application is made to the Child Maintenance Service, a liability will be calculated based on the gross taxable income of the paying parent, provided all the relevant parties can be identified and are classed as habitually resident in the UK.</p><p> </p><p>In certain circumstances, where the paying parent: has a gross a weekly income below £7 per week; is a child; is in prison; is aged 16-17 years old and in receipt of prescribed benefits; is receiving a work based training allowance; is in a care home, hospital or receiving home care; this liability will be nil.</p><p /><p>The following publication includes statistics on the child maintenance arrangements of separated families:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/separated-families-population-statistics" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/separated-families-population-statistics</a></p><p> </p><p>Information on the number of parents who are primary carers for children but do not receive child maintenance is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 07/05/2019 12:05:38 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead

1123636

	registered interest
	date	29/04/2019
	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: Housing
	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 claimants for universal credit received two weeks’ run-on housing benefit while waiting for their first payment (a) in the last six months and (b) in the last month for which information is available.
	tabling member constituency	Airdrie and Shotts
	tabling member printed	Neil Gray
	uin	248698
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/05/2019 answer text <p>The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost. However, since it was introduced in April 2018, all Housing Benefit claimants, whose Housing Benefit award was ended because of a new claim to Universal Credit, have been awarded the two-week Transition to Universal Credit Housing Payment.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 07/05/2019 11:36:53 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4365 label Biography information for Neil Gray

1123637

	registered interest
	date	29/04/2019
	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: Housing
	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 proportion of claimants of universal credit who have a deduction for housing rent arrears in the first month of their claim in the last month for which data is available.
	tabling member constituency	Airdrie and Shotts
	tabling member printed	Neil Gray
	uin	248699
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/05/2019 answer text <p>The Government recognises the importance of safeguarding the welfare of claimants who have incurred debt. Universal Credit already has procedures and regulations in place to protect claimants from excessive deductions. Last resort deductions can be applied to protect vulnerable claimants from eviction and/or having their gas, electricity and water cut off, by providing a last resort repayment method for arrears of these essential services. If a claimant is in financial difficulty as a result of the level of deductions being made, they can contact the Department to request that a reduction in their deductions be considered.</p><p> </p><p>The latest available data is for eligible claims to UC Full Service that are due a payment in December 2018. Of those claims with a payment in December 2018 relating to the first month of their claim, 2% have a deduction to repay rent arrears. This equates to 3,000 claims.</p><p> </p><p>Notes</p><ul><li>Rent arrears deductions are defined as arrears of rent and/or service charges relating to a rented property</li><li>Figures for rent arrears deduction include only those claims with a non-zero rent arrears deduction.</li><li>Figures rounded to nearest 1,000.</li></ul> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 07/05/2019 11:49:27 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4365 label Biography information for Neil Gray

1123703

	registered interest
	date	29/04/2019
	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	Food Poverty: Children
	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 Food Foundation's Children’s Future Food Inquiry report published on 24 April 2019, what steps the Government is taking to support children who live in food insecure households.
	tabling member constituency	Barnsley Central
	tabling member printed	Dan Jarvis
	uin	248684
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/05/2019 answer text <p>This Government is committed to helping families into work, as the best route out of poverty. We are also supporting over 1 million children with free school meals, investing up to £26 million in school breakfast clubs, providing approximately 2.3 million children aged 4-6 with a portion of fresh fruit or vegetables each day at school, and, through the Healthy Start Programme, hundreds of thousands of low income families benefit from vouchers which can be redeemed against fruit, vegetables, milk and infant formula. In 2019/20, the government will be spending more than £95 billion a year on working-age benefits. The new set of food insecurity questions introduced into the existing Family Resources Survey from April will build a better understanding of household food needs, to help ensure we’re targeting support to those most in need.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 02/05/2019 10:21:47 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4243 label Biography information for Dan Jarvis

1122676

	registered interest
	date	24/04/2019
	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: Complaints
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many complaints have been submitted by Ministers in the Department on behalf of their constituents for each of the last five years.
	tabling member constituency	Ellesmere Port and Neston
	tabling member printed	Justin Madders
	uin	247098
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/05/2019 answer text <p>The information is not available.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 02/05/2019 16:23:51 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4418 label Biography information for Justin Madders

1122874

	registered interest
	date	24/04/2019
	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	Children: Maintenance
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many cases have been raised with her Department since the commemoration of the Child Support (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2018 where a paying parent that is habitually resident in the UK, but has earnings and tax liabilities abroad, has effectively reduced their maintenance to zero; and if she will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	Vauxhall
	tabling member printed	Kate Hoey
	uin	246917
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/05/2019 answer text <p>The Department does not hold this data<strong>. </strong></p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 02/05/2019 16:11:43 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	210 label Biography information for Baroness Hoey

1122422

	registered interest
	date	23/04/2019
	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	Children: Maintenance
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what investigatory powers are available to officials in her Department to calculate the (a) income of a parent due to pay child maintenance, (b) amount a parent is able to pay; and what criteria her Department uses to authorise those powers.
	tabling member constituency	Birkenhead
	tabling member printed	Frank Field
	uin	246453
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/04/2019 answer text <p>When the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) makes a calculation it is based initially on income information received directly from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). Having access to HMRC income information allows the Child Maintenance Service to capture a much wider range of income types received by paying parents. In addition to a parent’s gross annual income, we can capture income derived from property, savings and investments (including dividends) and other miscellaneous income. This is unearned income can be included in the calculation if a request is made to vary the calculation. In December 2018 we introduced new powers which also enable us to target complex earners via a calculation of notional income based on their assets.</p><p> </p><p>Cases involving complex income or suspected fraudulent behaviour can be looked into by the Financial Investigation Unit (FIU). This specialist team can request information from a range of financial institutions to check the accuracy of information the Child Maintenance Service is given. The financial institutions are legally bound to supply the information. When an investigation finds evidence of criminality, the FIU will seek to prosecute or forward to HMRC for fraud action.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 29/04/2019 12:09:12 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead

1122469

	registered interest
	date	23/04/2019
	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	Sick Leave: Mental Health
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the effect on the economy of employment absences and absenteeism as a result of (a) stress, (b) anxiety and (c) depression in each of the last 10 years.
	tabling member constituency	Vale of Clwyd
	tabling member printed	Chris Ruane
	uin	246464
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/04/2019 answer text <p>Analysis in the independent review, “Thriving at Work, The Stevenson/Farmer Review of Mental Health and Employers”, published in October 2017, indicates a cost to the economy of mental health related employment absences and absenteeism of £49.1 to £64.5 billion per annum. This includes £37.0 to £52.4 billion costs of lost output due to worklessness, £8.8 billion costs of absenteeism of employees and the self-employed, and £3.3 billion NHS costs. Costs are not available by condition or by year.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 29/04/2019 14:07:52 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	534 label Biography information for Chris Ruane

1122511

	registered interest
	date	23/04/2019
	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	Children: Maintenance
	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 potential for non-resident parents with irregular variable income to abuse the Child Maintenance Service dispute system and avoid paying children maintenance.
	tabling member constituency	Easington
	tabling member printed	Grahame Morris
	uin	246497
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/04/2019 answer text <p>Having access to income information from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) allows the Child Maintenance Service to capture a much wider range of income types received by paying parents. In addition to a parent’s gross annual income, we can capture income derived from property, savings and investments (including dividends) and other miscellaneous income. This unearned income can be included in the calculation if a request is made to vary the calculation. In December 2018 we introduced new powers which also enable us to target complex earners by a calculation of notional income based on their assets.</p><p> </p><p>Cases involving complex income or suspected fraudulent behaviour can be looked into by the Financial Investigation Unit (FIU). This is a specialist team which can request information from financial institutions to check the accuracy of information the Child Maintenance Service is given. When an investigation finds evidence of criminality, the FIU will seek to prosecute or forward to HMRC for consideration of fraud action.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 29/04/2019 12:30:01 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	3973 label Biography information for Grahame Morris

1121768

	registered interest
	date	18/04/2019
	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 has plans to change her Department’s policy on consent requirements for authorised representatives to act on behalf of claimants of universal credit.
	tabling member constituency	East Ham
	tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
	uin	245555
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/04/2019 answer text <p>We have had a number of workshops with stakeholders during which consent has been discussed, and we plan to do further work on explicit consent. This activity will include working with claimants and their representatives to ensure the process works effectively for vulnerable claimants to access the service.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 25/04/2019 10:32:29 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

1122021

	registered interest
	date	18/04/2019
	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	Housing Benefit: Social Rented Housing
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much revenue the removal of the spare room subsidy has generated for the public purse since its introduction.
	tabling member constituency	Redcar
	tabling member printed	Anna Turley
	uin	245853
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/04/2019 answer text <p>The removal of the spare room subsidy (RSRS) policy has not generated revenue for the public purse. However, this policy has saved over £1.7bn since its introduction in April 2013. A breakdown by financial year is provided in the table below:</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>Total Estimated Housing Benefit RSRS Deductions, 2013/14 to 2017/18 (£m pa)</strong></p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>2013/14</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2014/15</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2015/16</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2016/17</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2017/18</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>385</p></td><td><p>365</p></td><td><p>355</p></td><td><p>335</p></td><td><p>320</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>Deductions figures do not take into account any additional savings due to behavioural change before/after the policy has been introduced, for example moving to a smaller property to avoid a deduction.</p><p>Figures do not include claimants on Universal Credit (UC) with a removal of the spare room subsidy (RSRS) deduction, as these data are not currently available.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 25/04/2019 10:25:03 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4449 label Biography information for Anna Turley

1122051

	registered interest
	date	18/04/2019
	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, for what reason universal credit classifies maternity allowance as income and statutory maternity allowance as earnings.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
	tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
	uin	245596
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/04/2019 answer text <p>Universal Credit is a means tested system of support. Where claimants have income available to meet their everyday living costs, such as maternity allowance, it is right that their entitlement to UC is adjusted accordingly (as currently is the case with other DWP legacy means tested working age benefits).</p><p>Statutory maternity pay is paid by an employer and is therefore a form of earnings subject to the work allowance and tapering within Universal Credit, as are other earnings.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 30/04/2019 12:54:48 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

1122052

	registered interest
	date	18/04/2019
	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	Maternity Allowance
	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 women receiving maternity allowance do not qualify for the Sure Start maternity grant.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
	tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
	uin	245597
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/04/2019 answer text <p>The Sure Start Maternity Grant is a payment of £500 to provide important help for families with the costs of a new baby.</p><p> </p><p>The grant is available to recipients, and partners of recipients, of a qualifying benefit or tax credit i.e Income Support, Pension Credit, JSA (income-based), Universal Credit, Support for Mortgage Interest, Child Tax Credit, or Working Tax Credit with a disability or severe disability element. A customer may also be eligible for a Sure Start Maternity Grant where one of the above benefits is being paid in addition to their Maternity Allowance.</p><p> </p><p>By restricting the availability to those in receipt if income related benefits the Government is focussing the available resource where it is needed most.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 30/04/2019 14:31:38 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

1122053

	registered interest
	date	18/04/2019
	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, for what reason her Department does not inform automatically Healthy Start on the eligibility of claimants of universal credit.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
	tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
	uin	245598
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/04/2019 answer text <p>Responsibility for the Healthy Start scheme, including eligibility for it, lies with the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC). In support of that, upon request, DWP provides DHSC with confirmation of whether people applying for Healthy Start are getting Universal Credit and if so, whether their earnings are below the threshold set by DHSC.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 30/04/2019 14:46:01 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

1122054

	registered interest
	date	18/04/2019
	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	Maternity Payments
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many women have received the Sure Start maternity grant in each year since 2010.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
	tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
	uin	245599
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/04/2019 answer text <p>The number of Sure Start Maternity Grant awards in Great Britain is reported annually in Appendix 1 of the Social Fund Annual Report:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/social-fund-annual-report-2017-to-2018" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/social-fund-annual-report-2017-to-2018</a></p><p /><p>The number of Sure Start Maternity Grant awards are provided in the table below.</p><p /><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="2"><p><strong>Number of Sure Start Maternity Grant awards, 2010/11 to 2017/18</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Year</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Number of awards</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2010/11</p></td><td><p>257,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2011/12</p></td><td><p>89,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012/13</p></td><td><p>77,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2013/14</p></td><td><p>73,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014/15</p></td><td><p>66,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015/16</p></td><td><p>59,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2016/17</p></td><td><p>55,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2017/18</p></td><td><p>50,500</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p><strong> </strong></p><p>As of 24 January 2011, Sure Start Maternity Grants are provided for the birth of the recipient’s first child only. Previously it was payable for the birth of each child.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 30/04/2019 14:58:42 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

1122064

	registered interest
	date	18/04/2019
	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	Domestic Abuse
	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 help women to leave abusive relationships.
	tabling member constituency	Lanark and Hamilton East
	tabling member printed	Angela Crawley
	uin	245861
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/04/2019 answer text <p>The Department has a range of measures designed to support people who flee abusive households. This includes easements to benefit conditionality to give claimants the space and time needed to stabilise their lives, special provisions in both Housing Benefit and Universal Credit housing support when a claimant is temporarily absent from their home through fear of violence, and exemptions from Child Maintenance application fees.</p><p> </p><p>When a victim of domestic abuse comes into a Jobcentre fleeing abuse, we can support them by helping them to open a new claim, and can put in place a rapid advance where needed, which provides access to funds in 2-3 hours.</p><p> </p><p>As a department, we focus on helping frontline colleagues to recognise signs of domestic abuse and to support victims by signposting to expert organisations who can help. All work coaches undergo mandatory training on how to support vulnerable claimants, including recognising the signs of domestic abuse. Furthermore, any individual can be accompanied by a third party organisation to provide expert support when disclosing domestic abuse to a Work Coach, and a private area can be provided to disclose any information if requested.</p><p> </p><p>The Department published information on DWP support to victims of domestic abuse on gov.uk in January 2018. This can be found at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/domestic-violence-and-abuse-help-from-dwp" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/domestic-violence-and-abuse-help-from-dwp</a></p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 25/04/2019 10:45:26 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4469 label Biography information for Angela Crawley

1121388

	registered interest
	date	11/04/2019
	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: Veterans
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many veterans are claimants of universal credit.
	tabling member constituency	Glasgow North West
	tabling member printed	Carol Monaghan
	uin	244162
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/04/2019 answer text <p>The information requested is not held.</p><p> </p><p>The Department continues to consider opportunities to improve our understanding of those claiming Universal Credit, including ways in which we might identify claims from veterans.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 24/04/2019 09:43:38 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4443 label Biography information for Carol Monaghan

1121462

	registered interest
	date	11/04/2019
	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: Housing
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment she had made of the effect of the roll out of universal credit on levels of rent arrears in the London borough of Croydon.
	tabling member constituency	Croydon North
	tabling member printed	Mr Steve Reed
	uin	244110
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/04/2019 answer text <p>We have not made an assessment of this nature, as it is wrong to attribute any change in rent arrears solely to Universal Credit. The initial analytical work we have carried out with a single housing provider suggests that many tenants are arriving on Universal Credit with pre-existing rent arrears, that their arrears tend to increase prior to making a claim for Universal Credit, and that Universal Credit actually appears to be helping to clear arrears over time. We are currently extending this analysis to include a number of housing providers. It will be published when completed. Furthermore, according to latest figures (November 2018) only about 8% of social rented households were on Universal Credit; therefore it is difficult to see how a national trend can be attributed to Universal Credit.</p><p> </p><p>We have responded to concerns in this area by putting a number of safeguards in place - 100% advances repayable over 12 months, increasing to 16 months in October 2021; a two-week Transition to Universal Credit Housing Payment; a new Help to Claim service; and Managed Payment to Landlord Arrangements, which allow for payments direct to the landlord if the tenant is likely to have difficulty in managing their rent payments, is unlikely to pay their rent or is in rent arrears equivalent to eight weeks.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 24/04/2019 10:17:09 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4268 label Biography information for Steve Reed

1121501

	registered interest
	date	11/04/2019
	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	Children: Maintenance
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether a paying parent is able to decide that they do not need to make child maintenance payments when their income and tax liability is derived overseas but are resident in the UK.
	tabling member constituency	Vauxhall
	tabling member printed	Kate Hoey
	uin	244011
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/04/2019 answer text <p>If a paying parent is found to be habitually resident in the UK, the Child Maintenance Service has jurisdiction to perform a calculation, once a legal liability to pay child maintenance is established. The maintenance calculation will be based on information held by HM Revenue &amp; Customs (HMRC) about their earnings for the most recent complete tax year.</p><p> </p><p>Access to income information reported by HMRC allows us to capture a much wider range of income types received by paying parents, including income from property, savings and investments (including dividends) and other miscellaneous income. In December 2018 we introduced new powers which also enable us to target complex earners via a calculation of notional income based on their assets.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 24/04/2019 09:56:10 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	210 label Biography information for Baroness Hoey

1111027

	registered interest
	date	10/04/2019
	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	Local Housing Allowance
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much funding was reinvested in the targeted affordability fund for local housing allowance rates in 2019-20.
	tabling member constituency	Westminster North
	tabling member printed	Ms Karen Buck
	uin	243313
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/04/2019 answer text <p>In 2019/2020 we have invested £210m in the Targeted Affordability Fund, this is based on 50% of the [forecast] savings from the freeze to Local Housing Allowance rates.</p><p /><p>The funding is being used to increase LHA rates in areas where there are the greatest divergences between rates and local rents.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 23/04/2019 14:00:01 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	199 label Biography information for Ms Karen Buck

1111029

	registered interest
	date	10/04/2019
	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	Local Housing Allowance: Greater London
	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 shared accommodation rate in the central London broad rental market area will not receive the three per cent uplift through targeted affordability funding in 2019-20.
	tabling member constituency	Westminster North
	tabling member printed	Ms Karen Buck
	uin	243314
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/04/2019 answer text <p>Targeted affordability funding is allocated to those rates that have diverged the furthest from local rents. All 960 Local Housing Allowance rates are ranked according to the share of the market they afford, starting with the most divergent and the funding is then applied.</p><p> </p><p>The shared accommodation rate in the central London Broad Rental Market Area was increased via targeted affordability funding in both 2017/18 and 2018/19. In 2019/20 this rate was not eligible for targeted affordability funding as it no longer fell within the range of rates that have diverged the most from local rents.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 15/04/2019 14:33:31 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	199 label Biography information for Ms Karen Buck

1111031

	registered interest
	date	10/04/2019
	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	Local Housing Allowance: Greater London
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many claimants are in receipt of the shared accommodation rate of local housing allowance in the central London broad rental market area.
	tabling member constituency	Westminster North
	tabling member printed	Ms Karen Buck
	uin	243315
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/04/2019 answer text <p>As of November 2018, 380 households were in receipt of the shared accommodation rate of local housing allowance in the Central London BRMA. This does not include households who are in receipt of the housing element of Universal Credit.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 15/04/2019 14:51:37 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	199 label Biography information for Ms Karen Buck

1111033

	registered interest
	date	10/04/2019
	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
	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 the 192 shared accommodation rates of local housing allowance have been uprated as a result of the targeted affordability fund in each year since this was introduced.
	tabling member constituency	Westminster North
	tabling member printed	Ms Karen Buck
	uin	243316
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/04/2019 answer text <p><strong>The information requested is in the table below.</strong></p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Year</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Shared Accommodation Rates</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Proportion</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2017/2018</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>22 </strong></p></td><td><p><strong>11%</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2018/2019</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>60</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>31%</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2019/2020</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>87</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>45%</strong></p></td></tr></tbody></table> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 15/04/2019 14:47:10 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	199 label Biography information for Ms Karen Buck

1111037

	registered interest
	date	10/04/2019
	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	Local Housing Allowance: Greater London
	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 direct the Valuation Office Agency to undertake research into the reasons why low numbers of rooms in London are available for letting (a) at and (b) below the shared accommodation rate of local housing allowance.
	tabling member constituency	Westminster North
	tabling member printed	Ms Karen Buck
	uin	243317
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/04/2019 answer text <p>There are no plans to ask the Valuation Office Agency to undertake any research in this area.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 15/04/2019 14:55:01 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	199 label Biography information for Ms Karen Buck

1111043

	registered interest
	date	10/04/2019
	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
	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 Impact Assessment for the extension of the Shared Accommodation Rate to 25-34 year-olds, how many claimants were affected; and what assessment she has made of the effect of that extension on the average weekly income since January 2012.
	tabling member constituency	Westminster North
	tabling member printed	Ms Karen Buck
	uin	243318
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/04/2019 answer text <p>The number of households aged 25-34 who are entitled to the Shared Accommodation Rate is available on Stat-Xplore from January 2013 onwards.</p><p> </p><p>An independent evaluation of the 2011/12 Local Housing Allowance reforms including the changes to the Shared Accommodation Rate was published in 2014 - <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-housing-allowance-monitoring-the-impact-of-changes" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-housing-allowance-monitoring-the-impact-of-changes</a></p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 23/04/2019 12:13:52 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	199 label Biography information for Ms Karen Buck

1111126

	registered interest
	date	10/04/2019
	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	Children: Day Care
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment she has made of the financial effect on parents of upfront childcare costs under universal credit.
	tabling member constituency	Manchester, Withington
	tabling member printed	Jeff Smith
	uin	243513
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/04/2019 answer text <p>Universal Credit is more generous in terms of childcare costs with an increased level of support, from 70 per cent with legacy benefits to 85 per cent within Universal Credit.</p><p> </p><p>We recognise that the upfront cost of childcare may cause some claimants financial difficulty. Consequently, the Secretary of State announced in her speech of 11 January 2019, that where the initial month’s childcare costs may prevent a claimant from starting work, Jobcentres have been instructed to use the Flexible Support Fund where possible, to enable a smoother transition.</p><p> </p><p>The Government now provides more support than ever before to help parents with the costs of childcare, including providing 15 hours a week of free childcare in England for all 3 and 4 year olds and disadvantaged 2 year olds, and doubling free childcare available for working parents of 3 and 4 year olds to 30 hours a week.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 23/04/2019 13:50:23 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4456 label Biography information for Jeff Smith

1111230

	registered interest
	date	10/04/2019
	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: Private Rented Housing
	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 9 April 2019 to Question 240482 on Universal Credit: Private Rented Housing, what meaningful changes have taken place.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
	tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
	uin	243334
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/04/2019 answer text <p>The Government has begun the process of engaging with the sector to tackle the problems faced by people renting in the private rented sector. We have seen positive changes from property sites who have committed to removing adverts with ‘No DSS’ wording and from lenders who have committed to removing mortgage restrictions that would prevent landlords from renting to tenants in receipt of housing support. This work is ongoing and we will continue to bring the sector together to tackle such practices.</p><p> </p><p>Furthermore, as stated by the Secretary of State on 11 January 2019, the Department has also committed to increasing the support available to private landlords. An on-line system for private landlords will be introduced so they can request, where necessary, that their tenants’ rent is paid directly to them.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 15/04/2019 14:39:02 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

1110554

	registered interest
	date	09/04/2019
	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: Mortgages
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what guidance her Department has issued to mortgage lenders to help them to assess a claimant's payments under in universal credit in order to enable lenders to make a informed assessment on an applicant's disposable income.
	tabling member constituency	Kilmarnock and Loudoun
	tabling member printed	Alan Brown
	uin	242894
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/04/2019 answer text <p>The Department does not provide mortgage lenders with guidance or information regarding a UC claimant’s entitlement or award. It is a claimant’s responsibility to disclose information required by potential lenders, to enable them to accurately assess their disposable income.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 16/04/2019 14:15:11 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4470 label Biography information for Alan Brown

1110571

	registered interest
	date	09/04/2019
	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: Disclosure of Information
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many non-disclosure agreements her Department has entered into with departmental staff in each of the last five years.
	tabling member constituency	Hendon
	tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
	uin	242812
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/04/2019 answer text <p>In February 2015, Cabinet Office published new guidance on non-disclosure agreements. This guidance requires a minister to approve the use of a non-disclosure agreement, and for government departments to hold a record of using such agreements.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>DWP has not entered into any non-disclosure agreements in the four years since February 2015 and our policy is not to use these agreements.</p><p> </p><p>Prior to February 2015, DWP did not centrally hold a record of the use of non-disclosure agreements and the information could only be provided at disproportionate cost.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 16/04/2019 14:43:21 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord

1110573

	registered interest
	date	09/04/2019
	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: Housing
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to ensure that universal credit adequately supports social housing tenants paying rent weekly to meet their obligations in relation to the 53 week year.
	tabling member constituency	East Ham
	tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
	uin	242667
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/04/2019 answer text <p>No year contains 53 weeks. This perceived issue of their being 53 weeks in a year arises where a landlord charges rent weekly on a Monday and, because of the way the calendar falls every 5 or 6 years, seeks 53 rent payments in a year, with the 53rd payment in part covering the tenancy for the first few days of the following year.</p><p>Universal Credit payments are designed to mirror the world of work, with monthly payments reflecting the way many working people are paid. This model of monthly payments allows claimants to take responsibility for budgeting their own income and helps prepare them for getting back to work. The Money and Pension Service can provide debt advice and money guidance to claimants if they need support managing their monthly Universal Credit payments.</p><p>We are aware of a separate issue with respect to the way the calculation in the Universal Credit regulations converts a weekly liability into a monthly allowance. The conversion is achieved by multiplying the weekly rent by 52 and then dividing by 12. This effectively means one day’s rent a year (two days in a leap years) are not covered by UC. We are currently considering whether this formulation around weekly rents, and potentially other weekly amounts in the UC calculation, should be amended.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 15/04/2019 14:48:11 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

1110743

	registered interest
	date	09/04/2019
	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: Audit
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the difference is between her Department's Quality Team and Auditors.
	tabling member constituency	Motherwell and Wishaw
	tabling member printed	Marion Fellows
	uin	242877
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/04/2019 answer text <p>The Department’s quality teams look at the quality of the decision making process delivered internally by the Department, whilst the Independent Audit provides assurance to the Department regarding the quality of the assessment reports delivered by the assessment providers.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 16/04/2019 14:13:15 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4440 label Biography information for Marion Fellows

1110744

	registered interest
	date	09/04/2019
	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	Child Maintenance Service: Complaints
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many complaints have been logged with the Child Maintenance Service for each year since 2015.
	tabling member constituency	Motherwell and Wishaw
	tabling member printed	Marion Fellows
	uin	242878
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/04/2019 answer text <p>The latest statistics on complaints received by the Child Maintenance Service are published in Table 17 of the Child Maintenance Service statistics, which highlights the number of complaints received by the Child Maintenance Service each quarter. It is available online at:</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-on-the-2012-statutory-child-maintenance-scheme" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-on-the-2012-statutory-child-maintenance-scheme</a></p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 15/04/2019 14:55:31 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4440 label Biography information for Marion Fellows

1110746

	registered interest
	date	09/04/2019
	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	Children: Maintenance
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many open cases (a) the Child Maintenance Service, and (b) the Child Support Agency have had each year since 2015.
	tabling member constituency	Motherwell and Wishaw
	tabling member printed	Marion Fellows
	uin	242879
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/04/2019 answer text <p>The latest statistics on the number of child maintenance arrangements managed by the Child Maintenance Service are published in Table 4 of the Child Maintenance Service: August 2013 to September 2018 (experimental) publication, available online at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/child-maintenance-service-august-2013-to-september-2018-experimental" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/child-maintenance-service-august-2013-to-september-2018-experimental</a>.</p><p> </p><p>The latest statistics on the number of cases managed by the Child Support Agency are published in Table 1 of the Child Support Agency quarterly summary of Statistics which are currently available up to December 2018.</p><p>They can be accessed online at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/child-support-agency-quarterly-summary-of-statistics-december-2018" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/child-support-agency-quarterly-summary-of-statistics-december-2018</a>.”</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 15/04/2019 10:34:41 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4440 label Biography information for Marion Fellows

1110875

	registered interest
	date	09/04/2019
	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 Fund
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many social fund loan cases have been moved from the social fund computer system to debt manager since 2016.
	tabling member constituency	Birkenhead
	tabling member printed	Frank Field
	uin	242715
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/04/2019 answer text <p>The migration of Social Fund debts onto Debt Manager commenced in August 2016.</p><p> </p><p>From August 2016 to 10 April 2019 we have migrated 1.12m Social Fund debts onto Debt Manager. As claimants may have had multiple Social Fund debts, the number of debtors will be significantly lower than this.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>We continue to build in the appropriate checks and balances to ensure that Social Fund cases migrate correctly. Where an incorrect balance has been identified we take steps to correct the case.</p><p> </p><p>Corrections can be applied for different reasons, which mean we cannot estimate the volume of adjustments made to date.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince grouped question UIN 242716 242717 question first answered 16/04/2019 14:29:35 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead

1110876

	registered interest
	date	09/04/2019
	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 Fund
	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 estimate how many social fund loan cases moved from the social fund computer system to debt manager show an incorrect outstanding balance.
	tabling member constituency	Birkenhead
	tabling member printed	Frank Field
	uin	242716
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/04/2019 answer text <p>The migration of Social Fund debts onto Debt Manager commenced in August 2016.</p><p> </p><p>From August 2016 to 10 April 2019 we have migrated 1.12m Social Fund debts onto Debt Manager. As claimants may have had multiple Social Fund debts, the number of debtors will be significantly lower than this.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>We continue to build in the appropriate checks and balances to ensure that Social Fund cases migrate correctly. Where an incorrect balance has been identified we take steps to correct the case.</p><p> </p><p>Corrections can be applied for different reasons, which mean we cannot estimate the volume of adjustments made to date.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince grouped question UIN 242715 242717 question first answered 16/04/2019 14:29:35 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead