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947127

	registered interest
	date	23/07/2018
	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	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what are their plans to address payment errors and delays for people attempting to claim Universal Credit.
	tabling member printed	Lord Taylor of Warwick
	uin	HL9817
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 31/07/2018 answer text <p>Around 80 per cent of new claims are paid in full and on time. In many cases, where full payment is not made on time by the end of the first assessment period, this is as a result of unresolved issues such as: some claimants have not signed their Claimant Commitment or passed identity checks, and the others have outstanding verification issues, such as for housing and self-employed earnings. Whilst their verification is on-going, many of these claimants receive a part payment for those elements of the claim that have been resolved. Within five weeks of the payment due date, 95 per cent of claims are paid in full.</p><p>DWP continues to monitor payment timeliness and we have made changes to improve payment timeliness. For example, we have built processes into the system to make it easier and quicker for people to verify information such as their housing costs.</p><p> </p><p>Advances are available to provide financial support until the first payment and these can now be repaid over a course of 12 months and can consist of up to 100 per cent of the indicative monthly award. We have also abolished waiting days and now provide 2 weeks of housing support to claimants moving to Universal Credit from Housing Benefit.</p><p> </p><p>If a claim has been delayed due to error, DWP can also consider awarding an ex-gratia payment, as set out in the guide of Financial Redress for Maladministration, available on gov.uk, and which is attached.</p> answering member printed Baroness Buscombe question first answered 31/07/2018 13:50:40 question first ministerially corrected 31/07/2018 14:41:10 answering member 3349 label Biography information for Baroness Buscombe attachment 1 file name HL9817 Financial Redress for Maladministration FR.PDF title Financial Redress for Maladministration previous answer version 72633 answering member printed Baroness Buscombe answering member 3349 label Biography information for Baroness Buscombe
	tabling member	1796 label Biography information for Lord Taylor of Warwick

944443

	registered interest
	date	18/07/2018
	answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	answering dept id	16
	answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	hansard heading	British Overseas Territories
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have received any proposals from the governments of any of the British Overseas Territories to alter the status of those Territories' relationships with the United Kingdom.
	tabling member printed	Viscount Waverley
	uin	HL9677
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 31/07/2018 answer text <p>As I have stated previously, and as set out in the 2012 White Paper, we believe that the fundamental structure of our constitutional relationship with the Overseas Territories is the right one. However, we are happy to consider any proposals on changes to constitutions put forward by any of the Overseas Territories. Officials are currently reviewing two such proposals.</p> answering member printed Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon question first answered 31/07/2018 14:54:27 answering member 4210 label Biography information for Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
	tabling member	1744 label Biography information for Viscount Waverley

943411

	registered interest
	date	17/07/2018
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Revenue and Customs: Data Protection
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether HMRC is able to access UK citizens' bank accounts and other personal data without their permission and without judicial oversight.
	tabling member printed	Viscount Thurso
	uin	HL9622
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 31/07/2018 answer text <p>Under longstanding powers HMRC can require banks and building societies to provide data on interest paid to, or collected on behalf of, their customers, without the customer’s permission or judicial approval.</p><p> </p><p>With the approval of the taxpayer or the First Tier Tribunal, HMRC can require additional information from banks about a specific taxpayer that is reasonably required to check the taxpayer’s tax position. These data and information gathering powers, some of which have been in continual use since their introduction at the end of the eighteenth century, are regularly reviewed.</p> answering member printed Lord Bates question first answered 31/07/2018 11:58:02 answering member 1091 label Biography information for Lord Bates
	tabling member	1399 label Biography information for Viscount Thurso

944925

	registered interest
	date	19/07/2018
	answering body	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
	answering dept id	201
	answering dept short name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
	answering dept sort name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
	hansard heading	Fire Resistant Materials
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they take to ensure that all flame retardants are safe (1) in normal use, (2) during fires, and (3) at the end of life when they are disposed of.
	tabling member printed	The Countess of Mar
	uin	HL9708
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 31/07/2018 answer text <p>Manufacturers and distributors must ensure all consumer products are safe before they are placed on the UK market, including those that use flame retardants. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs have lead responsibility for environmental policy and restrictions on chemicals.</p> answering member printed Lord Henley question first answered 31/07/2018 12:15:26 answering member 2616 label Biography information for Lord Henley
	tabling member	1861 label Biography information for The Countess of Mar

945560

	registered interest
	date	20/07/2018
	answering body	Department for International Trade
	answering dept id	202
	answering dept short name	International Trade
	answering dept sort name	International Trade
	hansard heading	Overseas Trade: South East Asia
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether he plans to allocate more departmental resources to South East Asia in order to increase trading opportunities in that region.
	tabling member constituency	Gloucester
	tabling member printed	Richard Graham
	uin	166486
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 31/07/2018 answer text <p>We are looking at doing more to support UK businesses in high growth markets, including regular government-to-government dialogues in trade and investment and supporting trade reviews to identify key market access barriers in parts of Southeast Asia.</p><p>In February DIT established the first UK Export Finance post in Indonesia to improve access for UK businesses to trade finance. More recently we have appointed a new commercial cyber envoy in Singapore, and three new trade policy posts in Singapore, Vietnam and Indonesia, jointly funded by DIT and FCO.</p><p>We have recently appointed Natalie Black as HM Trade Commissioner to Asia Pacific. Natalie will be based in Singapore and will be personally responsible for delivering our regional trade plan and overseeing this work in Southeast Asia.</p> answering member constituency Beverley and Holderness answering member printed Graham Stuart question first answered 31/07/2018 15:42:19 answering member 1482 label Biography information for Graham Stuart
	tabling member	3990 label Biography information for Richard Graham

944940

	registered interest
	date	19/07/2018
	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	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what success they have had in identifying and tracking claimants of Universal Credit whom they deem vulnerable.
	tabling member printed	Lord Touhig
	uin	HL9723
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 31/07/2018 answer text <p>Where notified by a Local Authority or a claimant, DWP staff currently updates the claimant profile with any temporary or long term complex needs and how that affects the claimant’s ability to use the service. This enables Universal Credit agents and work coaches to provide individuals with appropriate personalised support.</p><p>Underlying this approach is the principle that not all individuals with a disability, health condition or other set of personal circumstances will necessarily require support, while some will only need support for a period of time. Our work coaches deliver a personalised journey based on individual claimant needs.</p><p>The Department is looking to further improve our system to better identify vulnerable claimants with the use of a new ‘pinning’ function. This involves testing methods to extract data on information recorded in the claimant profile using text matching techniques. We have plans to introduce a function to ‘pin’ key profile notes so they are instantly visible to all staff helping a claimant. The Department is beginning wider work to examine how claimants tell us about their complex needs, how we record them and how we can extract data which can help us monitor and improve support.</p> answering member printed Baroness Buscombe question first answered 31/07/2018 12:19:38 answering member 3349 label Biography information for Baroness Buscombe
	tabling member	542 label Biography information for Lord Touhig

944941

	registered interest
	date	19/07/2018
	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	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government how they (1) identify, and (2) measure the number of, people having difficulties with claiming Universal Credit.
	tabling member printed	Lord Touhig
	uin	HL9724
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 31/07/2018 answer text <p>The Department is continually working to improve the claimant journey for Universal Credit. The Universal Credit Full Service Claimant Survey found that 98 per cent of claims are made online, and that nearly half of claimants had help from others or from their jobcentre adviser to do so, demonstrating that those who need it are accessing the support available to them.</p><p> </p><p>The survey also found that 31 per cent of claimants said they need more on-going support with using their Universal Credit digital account. To address this, we are investing up to £200 million into budgeting and digital support, to help claimants with the transition to Universal Credit. This is delivered by the Department and through partners such as local authorities and other third party organisations.</p><p> </p><p>All jobcentres across the country have free Wi-Fi, and there are more than 8,000 computers available to support customers who need help with making their claim digitally and applying for jobs online. Work coaches will also assist anyone who needs assistance. If people cannot get online we have also a freephone helpline available.</p> answering member printed Baroness Buscombe question first answered 31/07/2018 12:17:53 answering member 3349 label Biography information for Baroness Buscombe
	tabling member	542 label Biography information for Lord Touhig

944942

	registered interest
	date	19/07/2018
	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	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they measure the number of claimants of Universal Credit who are experiencing financial hardship; and if so, how many such claimants there are.
	tabling member printed	Lord Touhig
	uin	HL9725
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 31/07/2018 answer text <p>For many people who do experience financial difficulties, these pre-date their claim to Universal Credit. For example, in their report published on 11 July 2018, the National Federation of Arms-Length Management Organisations (ALMOs) of Social Housing providers found that of those Universal Credit households in rent arrears, 76 per cent had arrears prior to moving onto Universal Credit.</p><p> </p><p>In the Universal Credit Claimant survey, published in June 2018, 4 in 10 claimants reported they were having difficulties keeping up with bills. In 2011/12 in the report “Work and the welfare system: a survey of benefits and tax credits recipients” from 2011/12, one in three main claimants said they run out of money before the end of the week/month always or most of the time, and a further third said this happens more often than not or sometimes. Both surveys are available on gov.uk.</p><p> </p><p>Unlike in the legacy system, we are investing around £200 million over the Universal Credit implementation period into Universal Support to help claimants with budget management and digital support. Our work coaches work closely with claimants, ensuring they can identify any vulnerabilities such as financial hardship at an early stage. They can then tailor support according to claimants’ individual needs and help to address these issues.</p><p> </p><p>We also have a system of advances and budgeting support to help people with the transition to Universal Credit. From 3 January 2018, we increased the repayment period of Universal Credit advances to 12 months, with claimants able to get up to 100 per cent of their estimated monthly entitlement upfront. These advances are available to claimants interest-free, and from July 2018, can be applied for online.</p> answering member printed Baroness Buscombe question first answered 31/07/2018 12:18:44 answering member 3349 label Biography information for Baroness Buscombe
	tabling member	542 label Biography information for Lord Touhig

944943

	registered interest
	date	19/07/2018
	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	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to reduce the number of Universal Credit claimants experiencing financial difficulties from four in 10, as reported in their Universal Credit Full Source Survey, published in June.
	tabling member printed	Lord Touhig
	uin	HL9726
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 31/07/2018 answer text <p>We have introduced a number of measures to support and reduce the number of claimants facing financial difficulties.</p><p>We are investing up to £200 million into budgeting and digital support, to help claimants with the transition to Universal Credit and our work coaches work closely with claimants, ensuring they can identify any vulnerabilities or specific needs, such as financial difficulties, at an early stage. We have also invested £1.5 billion in a package of measures to support claimants financially in the first assessment period.</p><p>From 3 January, claimants have been getting advances of up to 100 per cent of their indicative monthly entitlement within a few days. From 14 February, waiting days were removed, and from 11 April, claimants transitioning to Universal Credit from Housing Benefit have been getting an additional 2 weeks of housing cost payments.</p><p>In June, we announced additional protection for people who receive Severe Disability Premium – they will stay on legacy benefits until Transitional Protection applies and we will introduce protection for those who have already moved on to Universal Credit.</p> answering member printed Baroness Buscombe question first answered 31/07/2018 12:21:49 answering member 3349 label Biography information for Baroness Buscombe
	tabling member	542 label Biography information for Lord Touhig

944944

	registered interest
	date	19/07/2018
	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	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what improvements in payment timelines they expect to achieve for claimants of Universal Credit in 2018.
	tabling member printed	Lord Touhig
	uin	HL9727
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 31/07/2018 answer text <p>Around 80 per cent of new claims are paid in full and on time. In many cases, where full payment is not made on time by the end of the first assessment period, this is as a result of unresolved issues such as: some claimants have not signed their Claimant Commitment or passed identity checks, and the others have outstanding verification issues, such as for housing and self-employed earnings. Whilst their verification is on-going, many of these claimants receive a part payment for those elements of the claim that have been resolved. Within five weeks of the payment due date, 95 per cent of claims are paid in full.</p><p>DWP continues to monitor payment timeliness and we have made changes to improve payment timeliness. For example, we have built processes into the system to make it easier and quicker for people to verify information such as their housing costs.</p> answering member printed Baroness Buscombe question first answered 31/07/2018 12:22:38 answering member 3349 label Biography information for Baroness Buscombe
	tabling member	542 label Biography information for Lord Touhig