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1131990

	registered interest
	date	13/06/2019
	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: Pensioners
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether pensioner couples who are no longer eligible for pension credit and housing benefit because one of the couple is below state pension age, will still be eligible to have their rent paid directly to their landlord under universal credit.
	tabling member constituency	East Ham
	tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
	uin	264296
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/06/2019 answer text <p>Mixed age couples already claiming Pension Credit and/or Housing Benefit for pensioners immediately before the implementation date on 15 May 2019 will not be affected by the policy, so long as they remain entitled to either benefit.</p><p> </p><p>Those making a new claim to Universal Credit, or already claiming it, will be able to have a conversation with their work coach or case manager, in the same way as other claimants, so that a managed payment to their landlord can be considered in Universal Credit for their housing costs.</p><p> </p><p>Couples who would have been eligible for Pension Credit or Housing Benefit for pensioners under the previous rules but had not claimed before 15 May 2019, will have up to 13 August 2019 to make a backdated claim to 14 May 2019.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 18/06/2019 15:07:20 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

1132014

	registered interest
	date	13/06/2019
	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: Chief Scientific Advisers
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many meetings she has held with her Department’s Chief Scientific Adviser between 1 March 2019 and 31 May 2019.
	tabling member constituency	North Norfolk
	tabling member printed	Norman Lamb
	uin	264367
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/06/2019 answer text <p>The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions held no meetings with the Department’s Chief Scientific Advisor between 1 March 2019 and 31 May 2019.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 21/06/2019 13:04:55 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	1439 label Biography information for Norman Lamb

1132050

	registered interest
	date	13/06/2019
	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: Overpayments
	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 5 June 2019 to Question 257458, how many (a) successful and (b) unsuccessful applications there have been for a reduction in repayment rates for benefits overpayment in each year since 2013.
	tabling member constituency	Birkenhead
	tabling member printed	Frank Field
	uin	264327
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/06/2019 answer text <p>The information requested is not available.</p><p> </p><p>Our systems do not hold data on the recovery rates that were applied to debts that have either been fully repaid, or have been written off. It is therefore not possible to give a complete figure for the total number of successful, or unsuccessful applications for a reduction in an overpayment recovery rate.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 18/06/2019 15:00:09 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead

1132054

	registered interest
	date	13/06/2019
	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, what steps he is taking to ensure that universal credit claimants paying rent weekly do not face a one-week shortfall in their universal credit housing element in 2020.
	tabling member constituency	Ogmore
	tabling member printed	Chris Elmore
	uin	264450
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/06/2019 answer text <p>No-one will face a one-week shortfall in their Universal Credit (UC) housing element in 2020 as no year contains 53 weeks. This perceived issue of there being a one-week shortfall due to there 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, requiring 53 rent payments in a year, with the 53<sup>rd</sup> payment in part covering the tenancy for the first few days of the following year.</p><p> </p><p>Where a tenant makes a 53<sup>rd</sup> rent payment in a given year, this payment will cover some days in the subsequent year. This will mean the following month only has four payment dates and, as such, the claimant will be ‘overpaid’ for their housing and their shortfall will be recovered.</p><p> </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.</p><p> </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 21/06/2019 11:44:35 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4572 label Biography information for Chris Elmore

1132055

	registered interest
	date	13/06/2019
	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 his Department will work with housing associations to share data to support tenants when undergoing transfer from legacy benefits onto universal credit.
	tabling member constituency	Ogmore
	tabling member printed	Chris Elmore
	uin	264451
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/06/2019 answer text <p>We are working with Trusted Partners, including Housing Associations, to identify how best to support claimants within the Harrogate Move to UC pilot as they move from legacy benefits to UC. We will explore whether data sharing is required as part of this support.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 21/06/2019 13:22:16 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	4572 label Biography information for Chris Elmore

1132056

	registered interest
	date	13/06/2019
	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 he will bring forward the extension of the repayment period of the Advance Payment Loan available to universal credit claimants.
	tabling member constituency	Ogmore
	tabling member printed	Chris Elmore
	uin	264452
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/06/2019 answer text <p>Advances are not loans; they are an interest free advance payment of benefit, available to help people who need immediate financial support, which is then recovered over an agreed period.</p><p> </p><p>We have carefully considered the impact and deliverability of the measures announced in the Autumn Budget 2018 for Universal Credit. The delivery dates we announced achieve the best balance between continually improving Universal Credit to respond to claimant need and ensuring the service is technically and operationally scalable as the volumes on Universal Credit continue to rise through 2019 and 2020.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 21/06/2019 13:14:28 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	4572 label Biography information for Chris Elmore

1132082

	registered interest
	date	13/06/2019
	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 provide universal credit claimants (a) with payments rather than advance payment loans and (b) with those payments earlier than five weeks to ensure that they do not fall into rent arrears.
	tabling member constituency	Ogmore
	tabling member printed	Chris Elmore
	uin	264458
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/06/2019 answer text <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.</p><p> </p><p>Advance payments of Universal Credit are not loans. They are Universal Credit paid early, which is then recovered over an agreed period via deductions from the claimant’s Universal Credit award. No claimant has to go five weeks without receiving support, as advances, worth up to 100 per cent of a claimant’s indicative award, are available up front, if there is need. 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 Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 21/06/2019 13:05:34 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	4572 label Biography information for Chris Elmore

1132084

	registered interest
	date	13/06/2019
	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, how many universal credit claimants (a) received and (b) did not receive an advance payment in 2018-19.
	tabling member constituency	Birkenhead
	tabling member printed	Frank Field
	uin	264328
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/06/2019 answer text <p>Universal Credit new claim advances provide access to a payment for those in financial need, which can be accessed on the same day, until their first payment is due. Claimants can access up to 100% of the total expected monthly award, for which they can pay back over a period of up to 12 months. From October 2021, this maximum repayment period will be extended from 12 to 16 months.</p><p> </p><p>The Department ensures claimants are made aware of their maximum advance entitlement and informed that their Universal Credit award will be adjusted over the relevant recovery period to take into account the advance of benefit they received.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>There were 1,046,000 claims made to Universal Credit during January to December 2018 which went into payment. Of these claims, 598,000 (57%) received an advance by end of February 2019 and 449,000 (43%) did not receive an advance.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Notes:</strong></p><ol><li>Figures relate to Universal Credit full service</li><li>Figures capture all advances types</li><li>Figures are rounded to the nearest 1,000</li><li>Advances paid are provided for claims which went into payment in the 2018 calendar year to ensure enough time has elapsed to be certain these claims did actually progress to payment</li></ol> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 18/06/2019 14:57:13 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead

1132085

	registered interest
	date	13/06/2019
	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, how many universal credit claimants had (a) an advance payment repayment deduction, (b) a historic debt repayment and (c) both attached to their claim in 2018-19.
	tabling member constituency	Birkenhead
	tabling member printed	Frank Field
	uin	264329
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/06/2019 answer text <p>The Department recognises the importance of safeguarding the welfare of claimants who have incurred debt. Under Universal Credit there is a structured approach to deductions from benefit, which simplifies the complex arrangements that exists within legacy benefits. From October 2019 the maximum rate of deductions from a claimant’s standard allowance will be reduced from 40% to 30%. From October 2021 we are increasing the recovery period for advances from 12 to 16 months, further supporting those in financial need.</p><p> </p><p>If a claimant considers that they are facing financial hardship because of the amount that is being deducted from their Universal Credit award, they can ask the Department to consider reducing their deductions. Furthermore, work coaches can pause some repayments in certain circumstances to ensure they are manageable. This is called a financial hardship decision.</p><p> </p><p>During 2018/19 there were: (a) 1.043m claimants with deductions from UC for UC Advance repayments; (b) 0.749m claimants with deductions from UC for non-UC debts; and; (c) 0.491m claimants with deductions from UC for both UC Advance repayments and non-UC debts in 2018/19 (this volume is included in volumes for (a) and (b).</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 18/06/2019 15:20:34 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead

1132124

	registered interest
	date	13/06/2019
	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	Pension 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 people aged over 75 in receipt of pension credit.
	tabling member constituency	Vale of Clwyd
	tabling member printed	Chris Ruane
	uin	264338
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/06/2019 answer text <p>Latest published information shows that at end of November 2018, there were 943,954 Pension Credit claimants aged 75 and over</p><p /><p>Source: DWP Stat-Xplore</p><p> </p><p>This information is published and available at Stat-Xplore:</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk" target="_blank">https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk</a></p><p> </p><p>Guidance for users is available at:</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started.html" target="_blank">https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started.html</a></p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 18/06/2019 15:15:23 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
	tabling member	534 label Biography information for Chris Ruane