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1471967

	registered interest
	date	21/06/2022
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	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 publish the financial criteria for eligibility for the Social Fund Funeral Payment scheme; and what was the average proportion of funeral costs that this scheme covered in the last 12 months.
	tabling member constituency	Chesterfield
	tabling member printed	Mr Toby Perkins
	uin	22396
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/06/2022 answer text <p>The Funeral Expenses Payments (FEP) scheme provides an important contribution towards the cost of a simple, respectful funeral arranged by someone who is in receipt of certain income related benefits or tax credits.</p><p><br> The scheme meets the necessary costs of a burial or cremation in full and offers up to £1000 to meet other funeral expenses such as, the cost of a coffin, church and funeral director fees. In April 2020, we increased the maximum amount families can claim for these additional costs by 43%, from £700 to £1000, providing vital financial support to families grieving the loss of a loved one.</p><p> </p><p>The average FEP award in 2020/21 was £1,838, while the average cost of a cremation was £3,765 and average cost for a burial funeral was £4,927. (Costs vary significantly by region).</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 29/06/2022 15:38:34 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
	tabling member	3952 label Biography information for Mr Toby Perkins

1472208

	registered interest
	date	21/06/2022
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	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 she has made a recent assessment of the level of risk of incorrect child maintenance calculations being made as a result of fraudulent informal arrangements relating to other children.
	tabling member constituency	Ellesmere Port and Neston
	tabling member printed	Justin Madders
	uin	22451
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/06/2022 answer text <p>The Child Maintenance Group keeps the risk of fraud within its business under review, and any cases [where it seems likely fraud has occurred] are investigated. Where fraud is found in informal arrangements relating to other children, the investigation staff may support a new maintenance assessment or use other criminal powers as necessary.</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 29/06/2022 15:42:06 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
	tabling member	4418 label Biography information for Justin Madders

1472117

	registered interest
	date	21/06/2022
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	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 steps she is taking to ensure that a means test on the income of both parties is taken into account when determining the levels of child maintenance payments; and if she will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	Tewkesbury
	tabling member printed	Mr Laurence Robertson
	uin	22341
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/06/2022 answer text <p>Child maintenance liabilities are calculated based on the taxable income and assets of the paying parent and represent an amount of money that is broadly commensurate with the amount a paying parent would spend on the child if they were still living with them, irrespective of the receiving parent’s income or assets as they are the child’s primary carer.</p><p> </p><p>Applying a means test to both parents would result in complexity in the calculation process which would delay getting money to children.</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 27/06/2022 15:01:56 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
	tabling member	253 label Biography information for Mr Laurence Robertson

1472243

	registered interest
	date	21/06/2022
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Department for Work and Pensions: Correspondence
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many new enquiries her Department's MP Urgent Enquiries inbox handled in each month in from January 2021 to May 2022; what steps her Department is taking to manage the (a) performance and (b) case management of those teams; what steps she is taking to oversee the performance of the Urgent Enquiry inbox; and if she will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	Newport East
	tabling member printed	Jessica Morden
	uin	22377
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/06/2022 answer text <p>DWP does not operate a single inbox dedicated to urgent enquiries from MPs.</p><p> </p><p>We offer a range of ways for MPs to contact DWP, with some product lines operating dedicated email addresses where MPs can contact us. This is in addition to dedicated telephone hotlines for MPs within Disability Services, Retirement Services and Child Maintenance. MPs can also contact the Ministerial Correspondence Team by email, telephone or in writing.</p><p> </p><p>We also triage incoming correspondence to identify urgent queries, so we can take action to address these issues quickly and support our customers.</p><p> </p><p>We recognise the importance of MP enquiries and the important role MPs play in supporting their constituents. Information about how MPs and their staff can best contact us is published on the Parliamentary website and this information is regularly updated. Individual product lines also conduct regular engagement with MPs, including bespoke sessions with MPs and their support teams.</p><p> </p><p>Information relating to the numbers of enquiries received by the DWP email addresses which receive MP contact is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.</p><p> </p><p>Emails received from MPs about operational issues are managed as part of DWP’s correspondence teams. We closely monitor the performance of these teams and regularly review the resource allocated to this work and where process improvements can be made.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 27/06/2022 14:49:26 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
	tabling member	1548 label Biography information for Jessica Morden

1471969

	registered interest
	date	21/06/2022
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Employment: Autism
	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 is taking steps to support young people with autism into work.
	tabling member constituency	Strangford
	tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
	uin	22428
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/06/2022 answer text <p>Employment support is a transferred matter in Northern Ireland. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is committed to supporting young people with learning disabilities and/or autism move closer to the labour market or into work, and we have a number of initiatives to support people with Autism through Jobcentres across Great Britain.</p><p> </p><p>The DWP Youth Offer provides intensive support through the Youth Employment Programme, Youth Employability Coaches for young people with additional barriers to work, and Youth hubs. Our Work Coaches and Youth Employability Coaches are supported by Disability Employment Advisers (DEAs) who offer advice and expertise on how best to help disabled people into work.</p><p> </p><p>DWP has been working with the National Autistic Society to design and develop a service delivery framework for people with Autism. The service delivery framework aims to transform the service available to jobseekers on the autism spectrum. This trial is now complete with all 15 sites having passed their accreditation test. We are considering how best to take the Jobcentre Plus Autism Accreditation forward.</p><p> </p><p>For those learning disabled and autistic people who do find themselves excluded from the workplace, starting this Autumn, DWP will invest £7.2 million in Local Supported Employment services, working with around 20 Local Authorities to enable more social care users with a learning disability and autistic social care users to access the support needed to help them get into work and remain in employment.</p><p> </p><p>Furthermore, Young people with Autism can access further employment support through Jobcentres including priority access to the Work and Health Programme in England and Wales, for people with health conditions, and Intensive Personalised Employment Support provision across the UK, which provides highly personalised packages of employment support for disabled people and people with health conditions who require specialist support to achieve sustained employment. Access to Work is also available, which is a demand-led discretionary grant scheme that provides funding for the extra disability-related costs people have when starting work or maintaining employment.</p><p> </p><p>Additionally, Supported Internships are aimed at young people with a learning disability or autism who have an Education, Health, and Care (EHC) plan. Supported internships usually last for 12 months and provide support from a specialist job coach. Whilst the Department for Education lead on this in England, the Department for Work and Pensions provides support through Access to Work where needed.</p> answering member constituency Norwich North answering member printed Chloe Smith question first answered 29/06/2022 14:24:39 answering member 1609 label Biography information for Chloe Smith
	tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1472167

	registered interest
	date	21/06/2022
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Employment: Disability
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department has taken in this Parliament to help disabled people get into work and close the disability employment gap.
	tabling member constituency	Delyn
	tabling member printed	Rob Roberts
	uin	22577
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/06/2022 answer text <p>A range of DWP initiatives are supporting disabled people and people with health conditions to live independent lives and start, stay and succeed in work. These include the Work and Health Programme, the Intensive Personalised Employment Support programme, Access to Work, Disability Confident. and support in partnership with the health system, including Employment Advice in NHS Improving Access to Psychological Therapy services.</p><p> </p><p>Over the next three years we will invest £1.3bn in employment support for disabled people and people with health conditions.</p><p> </p><p>In 2017 the Government set a goal to see one million more disabled people in employment between 2017 and 2027. The latest figures released for Q1 2022 show that between Q1 2017 and Q1 2022 the number of disabled people in employment increased by 1.3m – meaning the goal has been met after only five years.</p><p> </p><p>The disability employment gap was 28.2 percentage points in Q1 2022. This is a decrease of 0.2 percentage points on the year, a decrease of 0.5 percentage points since Q1 2020 and an overall decrease of 5.6 percentage points since the same quarter in 2014.</p> answering member constituency Norwich North answering member printed Chloe Smith question first answered 27/06/2022 15:53:06 answering member 1609 label Biography information for Chloe Smith
	tabling member	4810 label Biography information for Mr Rob Roberts

1472206

	registered interest
	date	21/06/2022
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Personal Independence Payment: Standards
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average waiting time is for an assessment for Personal Independence Payment from the point of the initial claim.
	tabling member constituency	Ellesmere Port and Neston
	tabling member printed	Justin Madders
	uin	22450
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/06/2022 answer text <p>The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.</p><p> </p><p>Available data on journey times for PIP New Claims is published in Table 1A of Personal Independence Payment statistics to April 2022, published on 14 June 2022 <a href="https://view.officeapps.live.com/op/view.aspx?src=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.publishing.service.gov.uk%2Fgovernment%2Fuploads%2Fsystem%2Fuploads%2Fattachment_data%2Ffile%2F1082040%2Ftables-pip-statistics-to-april-2022.xlsx&amp;wdOrigin=BROWSELINK" target="_blank">here</a>.</p> answering member constituency Norwich North answering member printed Chloe Smith question first answered 27/06/2022 15:41:21 answering member 1609 label Biography information for Chloe Smith
	tabling member	4418 label Biography information for Justin Madders

1472008

	registered interest
	date	21/06/2022
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Refugees: Ukraine
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what (a) pension and (b) pension credit entitlements are pension-age refugees from Ukraine able to access in the UK.
	tabling member constituency	York Central
	tabling member printed	Rachael Maskell
	uin	22480
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/06/2022 answer text <p>The UK State Pension is payable without regard to nationality to those who meet the qualifying conditions. Entitlement is based on an individual’s National Insurance record.</p><p> </p><p>In March 2022 DWP laid regulations which enabled those who were residing in Ukraine immediately before 1 January 2022, and who had fled in response to the Russian Invasion on 24 February 2022, to access Pension Credit, and other means-tested benefits from day one of their arrival in the UK. To be eligible for Pension Credit, people need to be over State Pension age and on a low income.</p><p> </p><p>As well as help with daily living costs of up to £182.60 per week for single people and £278.70 for couples, Pension Credit also opens up access to other support, such as help with rent and council tax, heating bills, free NHS dental care and free TV licenses for the over-75s. The easiest way for Ukrainian nationals to apply for Pension Credit is by phone and the department has made translation services available to help new arrivals with their applications. The Freephone number: 0800 99 1234, is available Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm.</p><p> </p><p>DWP staff are also delivering additional face-to-face assistance to those who need it, including advice on benefit eligibility and support with online applications.</p><p /> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 27/06/2022 15:10:19 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
	tabling member	4471 label Biography information for Rachael Maskell

1471995

	registered interest
	date	21/06/2022
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Refugees: Ukraine
	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 take steps to help remove requirements for Ukrainian refugees to provide references for previous employment when applying for a job.
	tabling member constituency	York Central
	tabling member printed	Rachael Maskell
	uin	22469
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/06/2022 answer text <p>DWP is aware of the challenges those fleeing Ukraine may face in providing references for previous employment.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>Jobcentres do not place requirements on customers to provide references when applying for vacancies. However, to address the challenges Ukrainian citizens may face in providing references for previous employment, DWP are working with BEIS to encourage employers and sector regulators to consider adopting a pragmatic approach to requirements for job references and checkable work histories for Ukrainian evacuees.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies grouped question UIN 22468 question first answered 27/06/2022 12:57:30 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
	tabling member	4471 label Biography information for Rachael Maskell

1471994

	registered interest
	date	21/06/2022
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Refugees: Ukraine
	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 is providing to job centres on the difficulty of obtaining job references for Ukrainian refugees.
	tabling member constituency	York Central
	tabling member printed	Rachael Maskell
	uin	22468
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/06/2022 answer text <p>DWP is aware of the challenges those fleeing Ukraine may face in providing references for previous employment.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>Jobcentres do not place requirements on customers to provide references when applying for vacancies. However, to address the challenges Ukrainian citizens may face in providing references for previous employment, DWP are working with BEIS to encourage employers and sector regulators to consider adopting a pragmatic approach to requirements for job references and checkable work histories for Ukrainian evacuees.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies grouped question UIN 22469 question first answered 27/06/2022 12:57:30 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
	tabling member	4471 label Biography information for Rachael Maskell