Show Search Form

Search Results

registered interest	true false
date	exactly: or between: and
answering body
answering dept id
answering dept short name
answering dept sort name
hansard heading
house id
legislature	pref label
question text
tabling member constituency
tabling member printed
uin
answer	is ministerial correction true false date of answer exactly: or between: and answer text answering member constituency answering member printed question first answered answering member label previous answer version answering member constituency answering member printed answering member label
tabling member	label

Search

1002036

	registered interest
	date	05/11/2018
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Universal Credit
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many hours of training is planned to be given to her Department's decision-makers to identify people who may be vulnerable or have complex needs for the purposes of the universal credit managed migration.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Edgbaston
	tabling member printed	Preet Kaur Gill
	uin	188159
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/01/2019 answer text <p>All DWP staff working with customers complete training that prepares them for their role. This includes developing the skills they need to support and communicate with a diverse range of customers, and specific training is provided for working with different vulnerable groups.</p><p> </p><p>We are taking a slow, measured approach to managed migration and this will allow for on-going evaluation of the process to ensure that it is working successfully, which will enable us to refine our methods to support claimants.</p><p> </p><p>The revised draft regulations now before Parliament provide that we must give claimants a minimum of three months in which to make a claim for Universal Credit and sets no maximum period in which a claim must be made. With unlimited flexibility to extend claim periods we will work with representative groups to produce guidance that will ensure adequate support for each individual claimant’s needs.</p><p> </p><p>Decision makers and all our customer facing staff undertake learning related to supporting vulnerable claimants. Decision Makers receive 19.5 hours of training on dealing with vulnerable groups and line managers review whether there is a need to refresh the knowledge / learning with individuals where appropriate.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 07/01/2019 16:15:59 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	4603 label Biography information for Preet Kaur Gill

1002762

	registered interest
	date	06/11/2018
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Universal Credit
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what funding the Government has allocated for transitional payments for people moving onto universal credit; and by what process claimants will receive such payments.
	tabling member constituency	Glasgow South West
	tabling member printed	Chris Stephens
	uin	188877
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/12/2018 answer text <p>We recently laid the draft Universal Credit (Managed Migration) Regulations 2018 in Parliament. These will introduce a transitional payment to those eligible claimants who were in receipt of the Severe Disability Premium whilst on an existing benefit and who have already moved to Universal Credit.</p><p> </p><p>As announced in the 2018 Autumn Budget, the income related elements of Employment and Support Allowance and Jobseeker’s Allowance, and Income Support will continue for two weeks after a claim for Universal Credit has been made from July 2020. Claimants will therefore receive one two week run-on payment when being migrated to Universal Credit. Both of these measures are subject to parliamentary approval. These payments are in addition to the 2 week run-on of Housing Benefit, which we introduced in April 2018.</p><p> </p><p>The Government has also committed to ensuring that claimants who are moved onto Universal Credit as part of the managed migration process see no decrease in their benefit entitlement, providing their circumstances remain the same.</p><p> </p><p>The Government will be spending over £3bn on transitional protection over the next 10 years to ensure that claimants who are migrated onto Universal Credit as part of the managed migration process do not experience a financial loss at the point of transition.</p><p> </p><p>Transitional protection will be calculated based on the claimant’s circumstances on the last day of their entitlement to existing benefits. To do this we will make a comparison between the total amount of all relevant existing benefits to which the claimant was entitled at this point and the total amount of Universal Credit to which the claimant would be entitled as calculated based on the same set of circumstances. If the entitlement to the existing benefits is the greater amount then the difference will be awarded as a Transitional Element. When awarded, this Transitional Element will be taken into account with any other applicable Elements to determine a claimant’s Universal Credit award in each Assessment Period.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 13/12/2018 14:37:05 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma previous answer version 84612 answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	4463 label Biography information for Chris Stephens

1010330

	registered interest
	date	19/11/2018
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Universal Credit
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate her Department has made of the effect of delaying managed migration of existing social security claimants to universal credit on the cost to the public purse of universal credit transitional protection; and whether those estimates constitute a saving to the public purse.
	tabling member constituency	Kensington
	tabling member printed	Emma Dent Coad
	uin	192949
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/12/2018 answer text <p>It is not possible to disaggregate the spending impact of delaying managed migration. HM Treasury did publish an overall spending impact of the budget changes, which can be accessed at:</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/752208/Budget_2018_policy_costings_PDF.pdf" target="_blank">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/752208/Budget_2018_policy_costings_PDF.pdf</a>.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 13/12/2018 14:47:53 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	4683 label Biography information for Emma Dent Coad

1020613

	registered interest
	date	06/12/2018
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Universal Credit
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the effect of universal credit being paid into a single bank account on the (a) independence of women and (b) balance of power in their relationships.
	tabling member constituency	Brent Central
	tabling member printed	Dawn Butler
	uin	199798
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/12/2018 answer text <p>I refer the hon. Member to my answer to Question <a href="https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2018-04-27/139032/" target="_blank">139032</a> on 2 May 2018.</p><p> </p><p>Additionally, research carried out for the Department suggests that only 2 per cent of married couples and 7 per cent of cohabiting couples keep their finances completely separate, so payments into a single bank account for couples fit with how the majority of couples organise their lives.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 13/12/2018 16:50:12 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	1489 label Biography information for Dawn Butler

1020691

	registered interest
	date	06/12/2018
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Universal Credit
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the number of universal credit claimants living in households without internet access in (a) Brent Central and (b) England.
	tabling member constituency	Brent Central
	tabling member printed	Dawn Butler
	uin	199800
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/12/2018 answer text <p>This information requested is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.</p><p> </p><p>Our Universal Credit Claimant Survey, published on 8 June 2018, found that 98 per cent of claimants did claim online, and the majority of those said they found the claim process overall to be straightforward. This can be accessed at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/universal-credit-full-service-claimant-survey" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/universal-credit-full-service-claimant-survey</a></p><p> </p><p>For those claimants requiring help, assistance is available through Assisted Digital Support (part of our Universal Support offer). This provides help, support and skills claimants need to make and maintain their digital account online.</p><p> </p><p>All jobcentres across the country have Wi-Fi and computers available for claimants to access the internet. For those that are still unable to access or use digital services, or are not able to travel, assistance to make and maintain their claim is available via the Freephone Universal Credit helpline. In exceptional circumstances, a home visit can be arranged to support a claimant in making and maintaining their claim.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 14/12/2018 12:22:36 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	1489 label Biography information for Dawn Butler

1023013

	registered interest
	date	10/12/2018
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Universal Credit
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of people that were in receipt legacy payments are financially better off as a result of the move to universal credit.
	tabling member constituency	Streatham
	tabling member printed	Chuka Umunna
	uin	200719
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/12/2018 answer text <p>The information requested is not centrally collated and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.</p><p> </p><p>We are spending over £3 billion over 10 years on Transitional Protections for 1.1 million households, to ensure that people don’t lose out at the point of transition.</p><p> </p><p>Once managed migration has been completed there will be an additional £2.1 billion spend per year on Universal Credit compared to the current legacy system it replaces.</p><p> </p><p>Simplification of welfare through Universal Credit will lead to increased take-up of entitlement as only one application is required where previously there may have been several. This will be worth £2.4 billion per year for claimants when Universal Credit is fully rolled out, as set out in the Universal Credit Full Business Case Summary. Universal Credit also provides more help with childcare costs, scraps the 16-hour ‘cliff edge’ and the prohibitive tax rates should someone start work.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 18/12/2018 18:14:58 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	4128 label Biography information for Chuka Umunna

1023051

	registered interest
	date	10/12/2018
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Universal Credit
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate the Government has made of the number of people at risk of experiencing rising debt as a result of the six week transitory wait from legacy to universal credit.
	tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
	tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
	uin	200652
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/12/2018 answer text <p>I refer the hon. Member to my answer the response to Question <a href="https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2018-11-29/197443/" target="_blank">197443</a> on 4 December 2018.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 13/12/2018 16:41:32 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah

1023298

	registered interest
	date	11/12/2018
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Universal Credit
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many universal credit claimants subject to recovery of recoverable hardship payments have them recovered at a rate of 40 per cent.
	tabling member constituency	Shipley
	tabling member printed	Philip Davies
	uin	201202
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/12/2018 answer text <p>For eligible Universal Credit Full Service claims paid in September 2018, 5,300, which is less than 1%, had repayments taken for a Recoverable Hardship Payment (rounded to the nearest 100). Of these, only 12% have an RHP repayment at 40% of the Standard Allowance whereas, the majority (68%) have a recovery rate of 30% or less.</p><p> </p><p>The claim count figure in this answer will not match the official statistics due to methodological differences.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 18/12/2018 10:16:25 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	1565 label Biography information for Sir Philip Davies

1024003

	registered interest
	date	12/12/2018
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Universal Credit
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the number of payments of universal credit paid to claimants on time and correct at (a) first assessment and (b) second assessment; what the average amount of time taken has been to resolve such payments; and what the longest outstanding claim has been by number of weeks before it was resolved in (i) Merthyr Tydfil, (ii) South Wales and (iii) the UK.
	tabling member constituency	Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney
	tabling member printed	Gerald Jones
	uin	201719
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/12/2018 answer text <p>Universal Credit Full Service rolled out in Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney on 27 June 2018. For new claims to Universal Credit Full Service in ‘Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney constituency’, that were due a first payment in August 2018, our internal data shows that 85% were paid in full on time and 92% were paid in part on time. The information requested for data on payment timeliness for second assessment period payments is not held as the sample size is not sufficient to provide a robust measure of payment timeliness for these claims.</p><p> </p><p>The information requested for data on payment timeliness details for South Wales is not held.</p><p> </p><p>Our most recent payment timeliness statistics for claims in Great Britain have been published on gov.uk and can be accessed at:</p><p><a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/755723/universal-credit-statistics-to-11-october-2018.pdf" target="_blank">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/755723/universal-credit-statistics-to-11-october-2018.pdf</a></p><p> </p><p>This shows that for Great Britain, for first Assessment Periods where the payment was due in August 18: 84% were paid in full on time, and 89% paid in part on time. Our internal data shows for second Assessment Periods where the payment was due in August 18: 92% were paid in full on time and 96% paid in part on time.</p><p> </p><p>Social Security is a devolved matter in Northern Ireland and the delivery of Universal Credit in Northern Ireland is the responsibility of the Department for Communities, part of the Northern Ireland Executive.</p><p> </p><p>To provide analysis of the longest wait for payment would incur disproportionate cost as the information is not readily available.</p><p> </p><p>In many cases where full payment is not made on time, it is due to unresolved issues such as: claimants not accepting their Claimant Commitment or passing identity checks, or having outstanding verification issues, such as housing costs and self-employed earnings. In order to support claimants to claim, we have taken steps to improve verification processes. For example, we have listened to feedback and built processes into the system to make it easier and quicker for people to verify their housing costs, for example through the landlord portal.</p><p>For anyone waiting for their first Universal Credit payment, advances are available, so no one should be left without means of support.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 20/12/2018 09:47:50 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma previous answer version 92378 answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	4501 label Biography information for Gerald Jones

1024057

	registered interest
	date	12/12/2018
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Universal Credit
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people have had deductions from their universal credit of (a) 40 per cent and (b) 30 per cent for the repayment of advances on that benefit.
	tabling member constituency	Makerfield
	tabling member printed	Yvonne Fovargue
	uin	201678
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/12/2018 answer text <p>Of the eligible Universal Credit Full Service claims due a payment in October 2018 (990,000 claims – rounded to the nearest 10,000):</p><ul><li>11,000 (rounded to the nearest 1,000) were repaying advances at 40% of their Standard Allowance. This is 1% of eligible claims and 3% of claims that were repaying an advance.</li><li>4,000 (rounded to the nearest 1,000) were repaying advances at 30% of their Standard Allowance. This is less than 0.5% of eligible claims and 1% of claims that were repaying an advance.</li></ul><p> </p><p>The claim count figures in this text will not match the official statistics due to methodological differences.</p><p> </p><p>At Autumn Budget 2018 we announced that from October 2019, we will reduce the maximum rate at which deductions can be made from a Universal Credit award from 40% to 30% of the standard allowance. The total saving for claimants is £25 million in 2019/20, increasing to £65 million in 2023/24.</p><p> </p><p>This is detailed in Table 1.8 in the Budget 2018 which can be accessed at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/budget-2018-documents/budget-2018" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/budget-2018-documents/budget-2018</a></p><p> </p><p>This will ensure that those on Universal Credit are supported to repay debts in a more sustainable and manageable way. Additionally, from October 2021, the government will also increase the period over which advances will be recovered, from 12 to 16 months.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 20/12/2018 15:51:24 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	4034 label Biography information for Yvonne Fovargue