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 grouped question UIN question first answered answering member label
tabling member	label

Search

1133553

	registered interest
	date	20/06/2019
	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 discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport on promoting pension credit to people affected by the BBC's decision to end the provision of free TV licences to people aged over 75 years.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Ladywood
	tabling member printed	Shabana Mahmood
	uin	267239
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/06/2019 answer text <p>The policy for the TV licence concession for those aged 75 and over is currently the responsibility of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media &amp; Sport and will pass to the BBC in June 2020.</p><p>DWP officials are in discussion with DCMS officials regarding issues resulting from the BBC’s decision to end from June 2020 the free TV licence concession to those people aged 75 or over who are not receiving Pension Credit. The BBC has undertaken to write to all those who may be affected.</p><p>The Government remains committed to ensuring that older people receive the support they are entitled to using a wide range of channels to communicate information about benefits to potential customers; including information in leaflets and on <a href="https://gov.uk/" target="_blank">https://gov.uk/</a>. Potential customers can use the Pension Credit <a href="https://www.gov.uk/pension-credit-calculator" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/pension-credit-calculator</a> to check if they are likely to be eligible and get an estimate of what they may receive. People wishing to claim Pension Credit can do so by calling 0800 99 1234.</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 25/06/2019 14:19:32 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
	tabling member	3914 label Biography information for Shabana Mahmood

1133554

	registered interest
	date	20/06/2019
	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	Television Licences: Older People
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to ensure people over the age of 75 are supported financially to afford the TV licence fee.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Ladywood
	tabling member printed	Shabana Mahmood
	uin	267240
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/06/2019 answer text <p>The policy for the TV licence concession for those aged 75 and over is currently the responsibility of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media &amp; Sport and will pass to the BBC in June 2020.</p><p>We are forecast to spend over £120 billion on benefits for pensioners in 2019-20, this includes over £99 billion of expenditure on the State Pension.</p><p>We are committed to the Triple Lock for the remainder of this Parliament, guaranteeing that up to the full amounts of the basic and new State Pensions will rise by the highest of average earnings growth, price inflation, or 2.5% and in 2019/20 the increase was 2.6%.</p><p>The full rate of the basic State Pension will be worth over £1,600 more in 2019/20 than in 2010 in cash terms - £675 more than if it had been increased only in line with earnings.</p><p>Pension Credit and Housing Benefit for pensioners provide support for poorer pensioners. From April 2019, the Standard Minimum Guarantee in Pension Credit has also been increased by earnings. This will be the equivalent of over £1,800 per year higher in cash terms for single people and over £2,700 per year higher in cash terms for couples than it was in 2010.</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 25/06/2019 14:30:21 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
	tabling member	3914 label Biography information for Shabana Mahmood

1133560

	registered interest
	date	20/06/2019
	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: Correspondence
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many pieces of unstructured white mail have been directed to the Derby contact centre to deal with since the creation of the team established to retrieve all such correspondence; and how many items of that mail are still awaiting redirection to the correct department in that centre.
	tabling member constituency	Bethnal Green and Bow
	tabling member printed	Rushanara Ali
	uin	267244
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/06/2019 answer text <p>Unstructured White Mail is post that is received but does not have a prescribed structure, such as handwritten letters or non DWP forms.</p><p> </p><p>There is no centre to deal specifically with unstructured white mail. There is, however, a team in Derby Contact Centre which receives mail that cannot be attributed to a specific customer or benefit stream and their role is to identify the customer details and benefit stream so that the mail can then be scanned into the relevant systems. The Department does not keep records of volume.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 25/06/2019 16:10:39 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4138 label Biography information for Rushanara Ali

1133561

	registered interest
	date	20/06/2019
	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, whether there is a minimum level of income that a claimant of universal credit must retain after a 40 per cent reduction to repay an advance.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
	tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
	uin	267165
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/06/2019 answer text <p>There is no set minimum level Universal Credit award for a claimant to retain. A claimant’s award will reflect their individual circumstances, topping up any earnings or other income that they may have, so their Universal Credit might just constitute a small proportion of their total income. Deductions from the award are calculated in relation to the Universal Credit standard allowance and the maximum rate of deductions cannot normally exceed 40 per cent of the Universal Credit standard allowance. From October 2019 this will be reduced to 30 per cent.</p><p /><p> </p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma grouped question UIN 266652 question first answered 24/06/2019 16:41:12 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

1133566

	registered interest
	date	20/06/2019
	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	Children: Maintenance
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she plans to review the Government's decision to calculate child maintenance liabilities as a proportion of gross rather than net parental income; and if she will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	Bristol North West
	tabling member printed	Darren Jones
	uin	267247
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/06/2019 answer text <p>The paying parent’s gross income is taken directly from HM Revenue and Customs for the latest tax year available. Using the paying parent’s gross income allows calculations to be made quickly and accurately.</p><p>There are no plans to change the way the Child Maintenance Service calculates child maintenance liabilities.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 26/06/2019 12:37:04 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4621 label Biography information for Darren Jones

1133568

	registered interest
	date	20/06/2019
	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	Television Licences: Older People
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the cost to the public purse was of providing free TV licences to people over the age of 75 for qualifying residents in (a) Luton North constituency, and (b) Luton local authority area in (i) 2017-18 and (ii) 2018-19.
	tabling member constituency	Luton North
	tabling member printed	Kelvin Hopkins
	uin	267153
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/06/2019 answer text <p>In the 2015 funding settlement, the Government agreed with the BBC that responsibility for the concession will transfer to the BBC in June 2020.</p><p>The government and the BBC agreed this is a fair deal for the BBC - in return we closed the iPlayer loophole and committed to increase the licence fee in line with inflation. And to help with financial planning, we agreed to provide phased transitional funding over 2 years to gradually introduce the cost to the BBC.</p><p>This reform was subject to public discussion and debated extensively during the passage of the Digital Economy Act 2017 through Parliament.</p><p>On 10 June 2019, the BBC <a href="https://www.bbc.com/aboutthebbc/reports/consultation/age-related-tv-licence-policy" target="_blank">announced</a> that the current scheme will end. From 1 June 2020, a free TV licence will only be available to a household with someone aged over 75 who receives Pension Credit.</p><p>The table below provides estimates of the costs for 2017/18 of providing free TV licences to people aged 75 and over in the geographical areas requested, in nominal prices. The figures for 2018/19 will be available in September.</p><p /><table><tbody><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p><strong>Expenditure (£m) (Nominal)</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong> </strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2017-18</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>(a) Luton North constituency</strong></p></td><td><p>£0.90</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>(b) Luton local authority area</strong></p></td><td><p>£1.55</p></td></tr></tbody></table> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 27/06/2019 15:08:11 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
	tabling member	2 label Biography information for Kelvin Hopkins

1133577

	registered interest
	date	20/06/2019
	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	Television Licences: Older People
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the cost to the public purse was of providing free TV licences to people over the age of 75 for qualifying residents in (a) Cardiff Central constituency and (b) Cardiff local authority area in (i) 2017-18 and (ii) 2018-19.
	tabling member constituency	Cardiff Central
	tabling member printed	Jo Stevens
	uin	267256
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/06/2019 answer text <p>In the 2015 funding settlement, the Government agreed with the BBC that responsibility for the concession will transfer to the BBC in June 2020.</p><p>The government and the BBC agreed this is a fair deal for the BBC - in return we closed the iPlayer loophole and committed to increase the licence fee in line with inflation. And to help with financial planning, we agreed to provide phased transitional funding over 2 years to gradually introduce the cost to the BBC.</p><p>This reform was subject to public discussion and debated extensively during the passage of the Digital Economy Act 2017 through Parliament.</p><p>On 10 June 2019, the BBC <a href="https://www.bbc.com/aboutthebbc/reports/consultation/age-related-tv-licence-policy" target="_blank">announced</a> that the current scheme will end. From 1 June 2020, a free TV licence will only be available to a household with someone aged over 75 who receives Pension Credit.</p><p>The table below provides estimates of the costs for 2017/18 of providing free TV licences to people aged 75 and over in the geographical areas requested, in nominal prices. The figures for 2018/19 will be available in September.</p><p /><table><tbody><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p><strong>Expenditure (£m) (Nominal)</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong> </strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2017-18</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>(a) Cardiff Central constituency</strong></p></td><td><p>£0.57</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>(b) Cardiff local authority area</strong></p></td><td><p>£2.88</p></td></tr></tbody></table> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 25/06/2019 16:22:56 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
	tabling member	4425 label Biography information for Jo Stevens

1133583

	registered interest
	date	20/06/2019
	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 assessment she has made of the effect on universal credit claimants of the 53-week rent year in the 2019-20 financial year.
	tabling member constituency	Knowsley
	tabling member printed	Sir George Howarth
	uin	267199
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/06/2019 answer text <p>Neither tenants or landlords lose a week’s rent in a 53 weekly rent payment year as has been alleged; no year contains 53 weeks. The problem is alignment between weekly and monthly cycles. Each month the UC housing element is a constant figure but claimants with weekly tenancy agreements will be required to make either four or five rent payments within this period. If the claimant always pays their rent on time, in five payment months they are effectively making payment for part of the following month. That month will always be a four rent payment month, so the combination of the advance payment and the ‘overpayment’ of housing support during that month will get the claimant back on track.</p><p>Where a landlord charges rent weekly on a Monday, because of the way the calendar falls every 5 or 6 years, they will seek 53 rent payments in a year, with the 53rd payment in part covering the tenancy for the first few days of the following year. The effect of this is that, over the course of the next housing association rental year, a tenant’s UC payments will accurately reflect their liability, irrespective of the 53 payment weeks.</p><p>There is 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 26/06/2019 12:28:22 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	481 label Biography information for Sir George Howarth

1133586

	registered interest
	date	20/06/2019
	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	Television Licences: Older People
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the cost to the public purse was of providing free TV licences to people over the age of 75 for qualifying residents in (a) Dwyfor Meirionnydd constituency, (b) Gwynedd local authority area and (c) Wales in (i) 2017-18 and (ii) 2018-19.
	tabling member constituency	Dwyfor Meirionnydd
	tabling member printed	Liz Saville Roberts
	uin	267260
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/06/2019 answer text <p>In the 2015 funding settlement, the Government agreed with the BBC that responsibility for the concession will transfer to the BBC in June 2020.</p><p>The government and the BBC agreed this is a fair deal for the BBC - in return we closed the iPlayer loophole and committed to increase the licence fee in line with inflation. And to help with financial planning, we agreed to provide phased transitional funding over 2 years to gradually introduce the cost to the BBC.</p><p>This reform was subject to public discussion and debated extensively during the passage of the Digital Economy Act 2017 through Parliament.</p><p>On 10 June 2019, the BBC <a href="https://www.bbc.com/aboutthebbc/reports/consultation/age-related-tv-licence-policy" target="_blank">announced</a> that the current scheme will end. From 1 June 2020, a free TV licence will only be available to a household with someone aged over 75 who receives Pension Credit.</p><p>The table below provides estimates of the costs for 2017/18 of providing free TV licences to people aged 75 and over in the geographical areas requested, in nominal prices. The figures for 2018/19 will be available in September.</p><p /><table><tbody><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p><strong>Expenditure (£m) (Nominal)</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong> </strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2017-18</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>(a) Dwyfor Meirionnydd constituency</strong></p></td><td><p>£0.85</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>(b) Gwynedd local authority area</strong></p></td><td><p>£1.41</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>(c) Wales</strong></p></td><td><p>£34.11</p></td></tr></tbody></table> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 27/06/2019 15:17:52 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
	tabling member	4521 label Biography information for Liz Saville Roberts

1133632

	registered interest
	date	20/06/2019
	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	Television Licences: Older People
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the cost to the public purse was of providing free television licences to people over the age of 75 for qualifying residents in (a) Kensington constituency and (b) Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea local authority area in (i) 2017-18 and (ii) 2018-19.
	tabling member constituency	Kensington
	tabling member printed	Emma Dent Coad
	uin	267288
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/06/2019 answer text <p>In the 2015 funding settlement, the Government agreed with the BBC that responsibility for the concession will transfer to the BBC in June 2020.</p><p>The government and the BBC agreed this is a fair deal for the BBC - in return we closed the iPlayer loophole and committed to increase the licence fee in line with inflation. And to help with financial planning, we agreed to provide phased transitional funding over 2 years to gradually introduce the cost to the BBC.</p><p>This reform was subject to public discussion and debated extensively during the passage of the Digital Economy Act 2017 through Parliament.</p><p>On 10 June 2019, the BBC <a href="https://www.bbc.com/aboutthebbc/reports/consultation/age-related-tv-licence-policy" target="_blank">announced</a> that the current scheme will end. From 1 June 2020, a free TV licence will only be available to a household with someone aged over 75 who receives Pension Credit.</p><p>The table below provides estimates of the costs for 2017/18 of providing free TV licences to people aged 75 and over in the geographical areas requested, in nominal prices. The figures for 2018/19 will be available in September.</p><p /><table><tbody><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p><strong>Expenditure (£m) (Nominal)</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong> </strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2017-18</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>(a) Kensington constituency</strong></p></td><td><p>£0.69</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>(b) Royal Borough of Kensington &amp; Chelsea local authority area</strong></p></td><td><p>£1.00</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 26/06/2019 12:44:04 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
	tabling member	4683 label Biography information for Emma Dent Coad