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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

1287081

	registered interest
	date	19/02/2021
	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, whether renters that receive income for payment of rent from (a) Income Protection and (b) other insurance policies have that income amount deducted pound for pound from their universal credit housing allowance.
	tabling member constituency	North Warwickshire
	tabling member printed	Craig Tracey
	uin	155251
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/02/2021 answer text <p>Universal Credit is not paid to claimants who have sufficient income available from other sources to support themselves. Where claimants have income available to meet their everyday living costs, their entitlement to Universal Credit is adjusted accordingly.</p><p> </p><p>Regular income payments that are paid to meet living costs, including individual income protection insurance payments<strong>, </strong>result in reductions in the claimant’s Universal Credit entitlement pound for pound.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 26/02/2021 14:16:55 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4509 label Biography information for Craig Tracey

1201807

	registered interest
	date	09/06/2020
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Food Banks
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when she plans to place in the Library a copy of her Department's internal review of the drivers of food bank usage.
	tabling member constituency	Glasgow South West
	tabling member printed	Chris Stephens
	uin	57261
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/06/2020 answer text <p>The Department is conducting a literature review on the factors driving the use of food banks, which we aim to publish before the end of the summer; at which point it will be placed in the Library.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 17/06/2020 16:31:17 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4463 label Biography information for Chris Stephens

1276721

	registered interest
	date	14/01/2021
	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 and Working Tax Credit: Coronavirus
	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 she has made of the number of universal credit claimants who would be affected by the removal of the £20 per week uplift to universal credit and working tax credits in (a) Barnsley Central constituency, (b) the Sheffield city region and (c) Yorkshire and the Humber.
	tabling member constituency	Barnsley Central
	tabling member printed	Dan Jarvis
	uin	137928
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/01/2021 answer text <p>The available information on the number of claimants on Universal Credit by Parliamentary Constituency is published and can be found at:<a href="https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/" target="_blank">https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/</a></p><p> </p><p>Guidance on how to extract the information required can be found at: <a href="https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started.html" target="_blank">https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started.html</a></p><p> </p><p>The £20 per week uplift to Universal Credit and Working Tax Credit was announced by the Chancellor as a temporary measure in March 2020 to support those facing the most financial disruption as a result of the public health emergency. This measure remains in place until March 2021. As the Government has done throughout this crisis, it will continue to assess how best to support low-income families, which is why we will look at the economic and health context before making any decisions.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince grouped question UIN 137927 question first answered 19/01/2021 17:14:29 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4243 label Biography information for Dan Jarvis

1201806

	registered interest
	date	09/06/2020
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Poverty: Children
	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 potential effect of the two-child limit on the (a) extent and (b) depth of child poverty.
	tabling member constituency	Glasgow South West
	tabling member printed	Chris Stephens
	uin	57260
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/06/2020 answer text <p>The Government has committed to annual statistics releases related to the operation of this policy.</p><p> </p><p>Statistics for 2018/19 can be found at <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/child-tax-credit-and-universal-credit-claimants-statistics-related-to-the-policy-to-provide-support-for-a-maximum-of-2-children-april-2019" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/child-tax-credit-and-universal-credit-claimants-statistics-related-to-the-policy-to-provide-support-for-a-maximum-of-2-children-april-2019</a></p><p>Statistics related to 2019/20 will be published in the summer.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 17/06/2020 16:55:35 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4463 label Biography information for Chris Stephens

1172108

	registered interest
	date	20/01/2020
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	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 value of deductions to universal credit payments under each reason for deduction in the latest period for which figures are available.
	tabling member constituency	Glasgow South West
	tabling member printed	Chris Stephens
	uin	5465
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/01/2020 answer text <p>The Department’s deductions policy strikes a fair balance between a claimant’s need to meet their obligations and their ability to ensure they can meet their day-to-day needs. From October 2019, Universal Credit deductions have been reduced to 30% of a claimant’s standard allowance down from 40% to better achieve these objectives.</p><p> </p><p>In the latest period for which figures are available (August 2019), £1.3 billion of Universal Credit was paid, of which £94 million (7%) was deducted. The table below provides a breakdown of the deductions by reason.</p><p> </p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Deduction reason</p></td><td><p>Value of Deductions (£)</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>UC advance repayments</p></td><td><p>50,252,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Tax Credit overpayments</p></td><td><p>14,295,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>DWP overpayments</p></td><td><p>8,042,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Social fund loans</p></td><td><p>5,466,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Arrears of rent and/or service charges</p></td><td><p>5,001,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Fines</p></td><td><p>4,931,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>HB overpayments</p></td><td><p>1,771,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Arrears of Community Charge or Council Tax</p></td><td><p>1,285,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>UC Recoverable Hardship payments</p></td><td><p>843,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>DWP Fraud overpayments</p></td><td><p>742,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Fuel and Water Ongoing consumption</p></td><td><p>615,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Child maintenance</p></td><td><p>527,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Arrears of water charges</p></td><td><p>273,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>HB and DWP Civil Penalties</p></td><td><p>121,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>HB Fraud overpayments</p></td><td><p>113,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>HB and DWP Administrative Penalties</p></td><td><p>76,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Arrears of fuel (electric and gas)</p></td><td><p>67,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Arrears of Eligible loans</p></td><td><p>51,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Arrears of Integration loans</p></td><td><p>44,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Tax Credit Fraud overpayments</p></td><td><p>1,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Mortgage interest</p></td><td><p>less than 500</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p><p><strong>Notes:</strong></p><p>1. Values of deductions in the table are rounded to the nearest thousand. The total value of all deductions and the amount of universal credit paid is rounded to the nearest £1,000,000.</p><p>2. Deductions include advance repayments, third party deductions and all other deductions, but exclude sanctions and fraud penalties which are reductions of benefit rather than deductions.</p><p>3. Amount of Universal Credit paid reflects the amount of money paid to claimants and their landlords as part of their award, including the amount which they would have been entitled to had it not been deducted. It does not include other payments such as advances and hardship payments.</p><p>4. Figures are provisional and are subject to retrospective change as later data becomes available.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 27/01/2020 18:05:44 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince previous answer version 2667 answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4463 label Biography information for Chris Stephens

1287080

	registered interest
	date	19/02/2021
	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 she has made of the the number of benefit claimants that face a shortfall between their actual rent and the amount for rent included in their universal credit payment; and what assessment she has made of the average size of that shortfall in each region.
	tabling member constituency	North Warwickshire
	tabling member printed	Craig Tracey
	uin	155250
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/03/2021 answer text <p>This is published in the supplementary tables available here:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/universal-credit-statistics-29-april-2013-to-14-january-2021" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/universal-credit-statistics-29-april-2013-to-14-january-2021</a>.</p><p> </p><p>For those that do experience a shortfall, Discretionary Housing Payments are available. Since 2011 we have provided over £1 billion in Discretionary Housing Payment funding, enabling local authorities to support households that need additional help by making financial awards to people experiencing financial difficulty with housing costs who qualify for Housing Benefit or the housing costs element of Universal Credit.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p><strong>Universal Credit household shortfalls November 2020</strong></p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p>Average monthly shortfall</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>East Midlands</p></td><td><p>£126</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>East of England</p></td><td><p>£181</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>London</p></td><td><p>£259</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>North East</p></td><td><p>£92</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>North West</p></td><td><p>£116</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Scotland</p></td><td><p>£114</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>South East</p></td><td><p>£194</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>South West</p></td><td><p>£142</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Wales</p></td><td><p>£112</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>West Midlands</p></td><td><p>£130</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Yorkshire and The Humber</p></td><td><p>£107</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Great Britain</p></td><td><p>£154</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 03/03/2021 16:43:15 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4509 label Biography information for Craig Tracey

1172107

	registered interest
	date	20/01/2020
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	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 who have had a (a) waiver and (b) reduction in deductions to their monthly payments on the grounds of hardship in the latest period for which figures are available.
	tabling member constituency	Glasgow South West
	tabling member printed	Chris Stephens
	uin	5464
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/01/2020 answer text <p>The Department has an obligation to ensure that public funds are administered responsibly and to abide by the principles set out in Her Majesty’s Treasury’s guidance on Managing Public Money. Waiver applications have to be considered in line with this guidance. Debts can only be waived if recovery is causing substantial medical and/or financial hardship to a claimant or their immediate family.</p><p> </p><p>In 2019/20 (up to 31<sup>st</sup> December 2019), there were 10 Universal Credit claimants who had their debts waived.</p><p> </p><p>We understand the impact that debt can have on the wellbeing of claimants and we endeavour to ensure that the recovery of any overpayment is managed in a way that takes account of the claimant’s individual circumstances. Where a person says they cannot afford the proposed rate of recovery, a reduction in their rate of repayment may be agreed.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>In 2019/20 (up to 31<sup>st</sup> December 2019), 159,000 Universal Credit claimants had the rate at which they were repaying a benefit overpayment reduced.</p><p> </p><p><em>*The figures provided in this response have been sourced from internal management information and were not intended for public release. They should therefore not be compared to any other similar figures subsequently released by the Department. The figure relating to the number of debts waived has been rounded to the nearest 10, and the figure relating to reductions in repayment rates has been rounded to the nearest 1,000. It is important to note that debts waived may not all relate to Universal Credit.</em></p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 23/01/2020 16:30:45 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4463 label Biography information for Chris Stephens

1172106

	registered interest
	date	20/01/2020
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	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 children living in households where claimants have had deductions made to their monthly universal credit payments in the latest period for which figures are available.
	tabling member constituency	Glasgow South West
	tabling member printed	Chris Stephens
	uin	5463
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/01/2020 answer text <p>The information requested 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 28/01/2020 11:17:12 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4463 label Biography information for Chris Stephens

1276720

	registered interest
	date	14/01/2021
	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 and Working Tax Credit: Coronavirus
	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 effect of removing the £20 per week uplift to universal credit and working tax credits on the Yorkshire economy.
	tabling member constituency	Barnsley Central
	tabling member printed	Dan Jarvis
	uin	137927
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/01/2021 answer text <p>The available information on the number of claimants on Universal Credit by Parliamentary Constituency is published and can be found at:<a href="https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/" target="_blank">https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/</a></p><p> </p><p>Guidance on how to extract the information required can be found at: <a href="https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started.html" target="_blank">https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started.html</a></p><p> </p><p>The £20 per week uplift to Universal Credit and Working Tax Credit was announced by the Chancellor as a temporary measure in March 2020 to support those facing the most financial disruption as a result of the public health emergency. This measure remains in place until March 2021. As the Government has done throughout this crisis, it will continue to assess how best to support low-income families, which is why we will look at the economic and health context before making any decisions.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince grouped question UIN 137928 question first answered 19/01/2021 17:14:28 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4243 label Biography information for Dan Jarvis