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48050

	registered interest
	date	09/04/2014
	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 he will provide a simple route for people to donate their universal benefits back to the state; and if he will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	Windsor
	tabling member printed	Adam Afriyie
	uin	196078
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/04/2014 answer text <p> </p><p> </p><p>The majority of winter fuel payments are sent out automatically. However, people can simply return their winter fuel payment to the office that issues it. They can also write to the Department requesting not to receive a winter fuel payment for future years, either in advance of first getting a payment, or after they have received one or more payments.</p><p> </p><p>Anyone aged 75 or over is entitled to a free TV Licence for their main address. The free licence is not issued automatically and needs to be applied for. Once issued, licences are renewed automatically every year unless the customer does not have a National Insurance Number in which case TV Licensing will contact them to confirm their circumstances have not changed each year. An over 75 licence can be cancelled at any time and a paid-for licence requested.</p><p> </p><p>The concessionary travel benefit is optional. An eligible person can choose not to take up the entitlement. The National Travel Survey 2011 shows that in GB, 79 per cent of people eligible for an older persons' bus pass held one.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 28/04/2014 12:00:00 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	1586 label Biography information for Adam Afriyie

48392

	registered interest
	date	10/04/2014
	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, what recent assessment he has made of extending the triple lock guarantee to all British pensioners resident abroad; and if he will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	High Peak
	tabling member printed	Andrew Bingham
	uin	196233
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/04/2014 answer text <p> </p><p> </p><p>The triple lock guarantee is intended to reflect the circumstances of pensioners living in the UK. It means that for this Parliament the basic State Pension will increase by the highest of the growth in average earnings or price increases or 2.5 per cent, for pensioners in the UK and for those who live overseas and currently receive an up-rated basic State Pension.</p><p> </p><p>There are no plans to change the up-rating arrangements for UK State Pension paid to pensioners overseas.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 28/04/2014 12:00:00 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	3994 label Biography information for Andrew Bingham

48396

	registered interest
	date	10/04/2014
	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, what estimate he has made of the number of British pensioners resident abroad whose pensions have been frozen.
	tabling member constituency	High Peak
	tabling member printed	Andrew Bingham
	uin	196242
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/04/2014 answer text <p /> <p /> <p>The information as requested by nationality of State Pension recipient is not available.</p><p>However statistics on State Pensioners residing abroad by frozen and non frozen rate countries are available on the Department's website at:-</p><p> </p><p><a href="http://83.244.183.180/100pc/sp/tabtool_sp.html" target="_blank">http://83.244.183.180/100pc/sp/tabtool_sp.html</a></p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 28/04/2014 12:00:00 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	3994 label Biography information for Andrew Bingham

47705

	registered interest
	date	08/04/2014
	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, pursuant to the Answer to the right hon. Member for West Ham of 3 February 2014, Official Report, column 100W, on housing benefit: social rented housing, what work his Department would need to undertake in order to assess the potential effects of the under-occupancy penalty on the level of child poverty in the UK; and if he will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne North
	tabling member printed	Catherine McKinnell
	uin	195681
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/04/2014 answer text <p /> <p /> <p>To assess the impact the Department would need to adapt simulation models and undertake validation work to ensure consistency with published measures of child poverty. This would incur disproportionate cost.</p><p>This Government has made good progress in tackling the root causes of child poverty and has recently published the 2014-17 draft child poverty strategy for consultation which outlines the actions we are taking. The latest figures from 2011-12 show that 2.3 million children (17%) are in relative income poverty-down 300,000 since 2009-10. These are the lowest levels since the mid-1980s. The number of children in workless households has fallen by more than 270,000 since 2010, which is key to driving down poverty.</p> answering member constituency Wirral West answering member printed Esther McVey question first answered 28/04/2014 12:00:00 answering member 4084 label Biography information for Esther McVey
	tabling member	4125 label Biography information for Catherine McKinnell

47373

	registered interest
	date	07/04/2014
	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, which five companies were used most often to provide temporary workers for his Department in the last financial year; and how much in agency fees was paid to each of them.
	tabling member constituency	Nottingham East
	tabling member printed	Chris Leslie
	uin	195565
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/04/2014 answer text <p /> <p /> <p>In the last financial year 2013-14 DWP used the services of Capita Resourcing Limited and Capita Business Services to provide temporary workers. The amounts paid in agency fees were as follows:</p><p> </p><p>Capita Resourcing Limited £9,517,163<strong> </strong></p><p>Capita Business Services £1,108,082</p><p> </p><p>Both Capita Resourcing Ltd and Capita Business Services provided a managed service to DWP to provide interim personnel and specialist contractors. The figures represent the total fee paid to Capita including the fees paid by Capita to the workers.</p> answering member constituency Hemel Hempstead answering member printed Mike Penning question first answered 28/04/2014 12:00:00 answering member 1528 label Biography information for Sir Mike Penning
	tabling member	422 label Biography information for Mr Chris Leslie

47388

	registered interest
	date	07/04/2014
	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, which 10 consultancy firms were paid the most by his Department in the last financial year; and how much each of those firms was paid.
	tabling member constituency	Nottingham East
	tabling member printed	Chris Leslie
	uin	195587
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/04/2014 answer text <p /> <p /> <p>The top 10 consultancy firms by spend in 2013/2014 were:</p><p> </p><p>PriceWaterhouse Coopers £2,964,276</p><p>KPMG £2,573,186</p><p>WS Atkins PLC £2,155,486</p><p>Capgemini PLC £1,520,975</p><p>Ernst &amp; Young £1,195,116</p><p>Deloitte MCS Ltd £836,116</p><p>Methods Consulting Ltd £35,400</p><p>Compass Management Consulting Ltd £31,250</p><p>British Telecom PLC £27,250</p><p>Experian Group Ltd £12,500</p> answering member constituency Hemel Hempstead answering member printed Mike Penning question first answered 28/04/2014 12:00:00 answering member 1528 label Biography information for Sir Mike Penning
	tabling member	422 label Biography information for Mr Chris Leslie

47709

	registered interest
	date	08/04/2014
	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, what assessment he has made of the performance of Capita on the delivery of personal independence payments for those who are terminally ill.
	tabling member constituency	Vale of Clwyd
	tabling member printed	Chris Ruane
	uin	195868
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/04/2014 answer text <p> </p><p>Personal independence payment (PIP) is a new benefit and processes are currently bedding in. The Department's contracts with Capita and Atos Healthcare for the delivery of assessments for personal independence payment include a full set of service level agreements setting out the Department's expectations for service delivery, including quality of assessments and the number of days to provide advice to the Department.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Officials meet regularly with both assessment providers to discuss performance. We are closely monitoring their progress against the Department's expectations for service delivery and are taking action to drive up performance where this does not meet the required standards. In particular, for both providers, the end-to-end process for many claimants is taking significantly longer than originally anticipated. We are working with the providers to ensure that they are taking all necessary steps to improve performance, speed up the process and ensure claimants receive a satisfactory experience. Special rules claims for terminally ill claimants are dealt with urgently by our assessment providers. The latest published statistics show that over 99% of people with terminal illnessess who have applied have been awarded the benefit, which means over 9,500 terminally ill claimants are now receiving personal independence payment.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Although limited data has started to feed through, we need to wait until the Department has quality assured, meaningful figures for publication. We intend to publish official statistics on PIP from spring 2014 in line with our publication strategy. An ad-hoc release of PIP information was published on 11 February 2014.</p><p> </p><p /> answering member constituency Hemel Hempstead answering member printed Mike Penning grouped question UIN 195828 195870 question first answered 28/04/2014 12:00:00 answering member 1528 label Biography information for Sir Mike Penning
	tabling member	534 label Biography information for Chris Ruane

47710

	registered interest
	date	08/04/2014
	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, what guidance his Department has issued on the amount of time to be taken for an individual to be assessed for a personal independence payment.
	tabling member constituency	Vale of Clwyd
	tabling member printed	Chris Ruane
	uin	195869
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/04/2014 answer text <p /> <p /> <p>The Department does not have a target for completion of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) claims whilst processes are bedding in. Clearly, we want to minimise the length of time claimants have to wait for assessments but the key requirement is to produce high quality assessments, to enable DWP decision makers to make the right decisions about benefit entitlement.</p><p> </p><p>We are committed to driving up PIP performance and are in regular contact with our assessment providers to do this. We already monitor performance closely and liaise with assessment providers on a daily basis, supplemented by formal monthly performance review meetings. We will continue to work closely with assessment providers on an ongoing basis to monitor quality.</p><p> </p><p>Our original Departmental operational delivery plans assumed a larger volume of assessment provider referrals than we are currently receiving and we have retained this surplus capacity using it to consolidate learning or carry out other duties. This will be available for deployment as cases are returned to the Department for decision maker action. The Department has contingency plans in place to secure additional capacity from other areas of the Department should assessment provider volumes exceed plans.</p><p> </p><p>From 10 March we have included with the PIP2 ‘How your disability affects you' questionnaire, issued to PIP claimants, communications explaining how long they might be expected to wait for a PIP assessment. This information is also available on Gov.uk.</p> answering member constituency Hemel Hempstead answering member printed Mike Penning grouped question UIN 195877 195878 195880 question first answered 28/04/2014 12:00:00 answering member 1528 label Biography information for Sir Mike Penning
	tabling member	534 label Biography information for Chris Ruane

47711

	registered interest
	date	08/04/2014
	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, what outstanding commercial risks that might affect operational security his Department has identified in its relationship with contracted assessment providers.
	tabling member constituency	Vale of Clwyd
	tabling member printed	Chris Ruane
	uin	195876
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/04/2014 answer text <p>In the area of contracted assessment providers who are delivering Work Capability Assessments under the Medical Services Contract and Personal Independence Payment Assessments, the Department has no commercial risks that might affect operational security. Any commercial risks that might affect operational security are managed within the Department's standard risk management framework and procedures.</p> answering member constituency Hemel Hempstead answering member printed Mike Penning question first answered 28/04/2014 12:00:00 answering member 1528 label Biography information for Sir Mike Penning
	tabling member	534 label Biography information for Chris Ruane

47712

	registered interest
	date	08/04/2014
	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, what assessment he has made of the performance of Capita in the delivery of personal independence payments in Wales.
	tabling member constituency	Vale of Clwyd
	tabling member printed	Chris Ruane
	uin	195870
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/04/2014 answer text <p> </p><p>Personal independence payment (PIP) is a new benefit and processes are currently bedding in. The Department's contracts with Capita and Atos Healthcare for the delivery of assessments for personal independence payment include a full set of service level agreements setting out the Department's expectations for service delivery, including quality of assessments and the number of days to provide advice to the Department.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Officials meet regularly with both assessment providers to discuss performance. We are closely monitoring their progress against the Department's expectations for service delivery and are taking action to drive up performance where this does not meet the required standards. In particular, for both providers, the end-to-end process for many claimants is taking significantly longer than originally anticipated. We are working with the providers to ensure that they are taking all necessary steps to improve performance, speed up the process and ensure claimants receive a satisfactory experience. Special rules claims for terminally ill claimants are dealt with urgently by our assessment providers. The latest published statistics show that over 99% of people with terminal illnessess who have applied have been awarded the benefit, which means over 9,500 terminally ill claimants are now receiving personal independence payment.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Although limited data has started to feed through, we need to wait until the Department has quality assured, meaningful figures for publication. We intend to publish official statistics on PIP from spring 2014 in line with our publication strategy. An ad-hoc release of PIP information was published on 11 February 2014.</p><p> </p><p /> answering member constituency Hemel Hempstead answering member printed Mike Penning grouped question UIN 195828 195868 question first answered 28/04/2014 12:00:00 answering member 1528 label Biography information for Sir Mike Penning
	tabling member	534 label Biography information for Chris Ruane