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1345235

	registered interest
	date	08/07/2021
	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	Social Security Benefits: Overpayments
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much her Department recovered from overpayments that were as a result of her Department's and not the claimant's error in each month in the most recent period for which figures are available; and what the average amount of overpayment due to her Department's error was recovered from each such claimant.
	tabling member constituency	Weaver Vale
	tabling member printed	Mike Amesbury
	uin	29888
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/07/2021 answer text <p>In the last month for which figures are available DWP paid out almost £3.5bn in Universal Credit and it should be noted that fraud and error in the benefits system remains low, with 95% of benefits, worth more than £200bn. paid correctly in 2020/21. Official Error overpayments remained at 0.4% of benefit expenditure last year, with UC Official Error Overpayments falling from 1.3% to 0.9%.</p><p> </p><p>Deductions from UC are now capped at 25% (as of April 2021) having previously been 30%. Where requested deductions exceed the 25% maximum, or there is insufficient UC in payment for all deductions to be made, a priority order is applied, which determines the order in which items should be deducted. ‘Last resort’ deductions, such as rent or fuel costs, are at the top of the priority order, ensuring that claimant welfare is prioritised, followed by social obligation deductions, such as fines and child maintenance, and finally benefit debt, such as Social Fund loans and benefit overpayments.</p><p> </p><p>Anyone with overpayment deductions who does experience financial hardship is encouraged to contact the Department’s Debt Management unit. Where a person cannot afford the proposed rate of these deductions, a lower amount can be negotiated.</p><p> </p><p>Deductions in respect of UC Official Error debt for the last 6 months are shown below:</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Month</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Value of in month recovery where debt category is official error</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Average recovery per Customer in Month</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Jan-21</strong></p></td><td><p>£12,470,549</p></td><td><p>£67.47</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Feb-21</strong></p></td><td><p>£14,464,840</p></td><td><p>£67.15</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Mar-21</strong></p></td><td><p>£16,444,768</p></td><td><p>£70.11</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Apr-21</strong></p></td><td><p>£16,524,866</p></td><td><p>£69.95</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>May-21</strong></p></td><td><p>£13,563,717</p></td><td><p>£65.02</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Jun-21</strong></p></td><td><p>£14,584,640</p></td><td><p>£63.44</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>* The data shown in the above table is taken from operational data systems, and is not intended for publication. Therefore, the data itself is not quality assured to the standard of published Official Statistics and National Statistics.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 19/07/2021 15:38:13 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4667 label Biography information for Mike Amesbury

1685481

	registered interest
	date	29/01/2024
	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	Child Maintenance Service
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps the Child Maintenance Service is taking to improve collect and pay compliance.
	tabling member constituency	Weaver Vale
	tabling member printed	Mike Amesbury
	uin	11857
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/02/2024 answer text <p>The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) continues to take rigorous action to collect maintenance, combining robust negotiation activity with the highly effective use of its extensive range of Enforcement Powers. This approach is driven by the Payment Compliance strategy increasing CMS compliance influencing activities to tackle non-paying cases and challenge non-compliant behaviours. CMS applies a Continuous Improvement focus to Enforcement strategy and processes.</p><p>From the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/child-maintenance-service-statistics-data-to-september-2023" target="_blank">latest CMS official statistics</a>, in the quarter ending In the quarter ending September 2023, of 180,000 Paying Parents due to pay via the Collect and Pay service:</p><ul><li>57,000 (31%) paid no maintenance</li><li>130,000 (69%) paid some maintenance, of which: 40,000 (22%) paid up to 90% of the maintenance due for the quarter (further breakdowns of this group are available on <a href="https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/jsf/login.xhtml" target="_blank">Stat-Xplore</a>) 85,000 (47%) paid over 90% of the maintenance due for the quarter</li></ul><p>Further detail on compliance is provided in the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/child-maintenance-service-statistics-data-to-september-2023/child-maintenance-service-statistics-data-to-september-2023#About" target="_blank">About these statistics section</a> of this release.</p><p>As a result of this intense effort The Child Maintenance Service has a relatively low percentage of unpaid maintenance. Only 8% of the total maintenance due to be paid since the start of the CMS remains to be collected through Collect &amp; Pay. This was as high as 17% in March 2015.</p><p>CMS does not hesitate to step in and move a case to collect &amp; pay as soon as they are notified payments are not being made. Around 3% of direct pay arrangements move to collect and pay each quarter – a small percentage but this shows that parents can and do move to collect and pay to secure help in getting their child maintenance payments. With the focus of improving customer outcomes, there has been an increase from 64% to 69% of customers who are paying anything towards their maintenance via collect &amp; pay since September 2022.</p><p>The published statistics provides data to September 2023 - Section 6. Paying Parents and the Collect and Pay service and National Tables, table 5 <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/child-maintenance-service-statistics-data-to-september-2023" target="_blank">Child Maintenance Service statistics: data to September 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)</a></p><p>We’ve announced measures to significantly speed up CMS enforcement processes that will reduce the time it takes to secure a liability order from 22 weeks to as low as 6 weeks. A consultation on detailed proposals has recently concluded and the Government response will be published shortly.</p> answering member constituency Blackpool North and Cleveleys answering member printed Paul Maynard question first answered 06/02/2024 12:15:48 answering member 3926 label Biography information for Paul Maynard
	tabling member	4667 label Biography information for Mike Amesbury

1692560

	registered interest
	date	28/02/2024
	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	Housing Benefit: Supported Housing
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much his Department spent on exempt accommodation in each of the last three years.
	tabling member constituency	Weaver Vale
	tabling member printed	Mike Amesbury
	uin	16270
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/03/2024 answer text <p>Providing the requested information would incur disproportionate costs to the Department due to the resource required to resolve data quality issues on exempt accommodation, which is a particular type of supported housing.</p><p><em> </em></p><p>Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is working to resolve a historical data quality issue in relation to how supported housing status is captured on Housing Benefit claims. The resulting fix will be for new claims and will not address historic claims.</p><p> </p><p>In 2022, DWP made investments to deliver improvements to local authority (LA) IT systems, to accurately record all new Housing Benefit claims. This has substantially improved data quality for new claims. DWP have also taken action to improve data on existing claims. LAs have received funding to review their Housing Benefit caseload and set the supported housing status accurately by 31<sup>st</sup> March 2024.</p><p> </p><p>The Departments’ analysts will then make a final assessment of these case reviews in Summer 2024, once they have received the full relevant data set, and will determine whether it is sufficiently robust to support quantification of the scale and cost of specified accommodation.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 06/03/2024 11:16:50 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
	tabling member	4667 label Biography information for Mike Amesbury

1687968

	registered interest
	date	06/02/2024
	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	Playgrounds: Disability and Special Educational Needs
	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 make an assessment of the adequacy of the accessibility to local playgrounds for children with special educational needs and disabilities.
	tabling member constituency	Weaver Vale
	tabling member printed	Mike Amesbury
	uin	13415
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/02/2024 answer text <p>The department published the Disability Action Plan on 5 February 2024 which includes measures looking at the accessibility of playgrounds.</p><p> </p><p>A large amount of guidance about how to improve playground accessibility is already available, but practitioners are not always able to locate this advice. The Disability Unit will create an online hub of information for local authorities on creating accessible playgrounds with a new families disabled people’s experience panel helping to support the hub’s development.</p><p> </p><p>This is a national-level approach that should support improvements across many local authorities. We will continue to monitor this area, as well as working with partners to explore the potential for new or updated guidance.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 14/02/2024 13:55:18 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
	tabling member	4667 label Biography information for Mike Amesbury

1419289

	registered interest
	date	02/02/2022
	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	Vacancies
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment has her department made of the implications for her policies of the number of job vacancies in the labour market as of 2 February 2022 in (a) Weaver Vale constituency, (b) the North West and (c) the UK.
	tabling member constituency	Weaver Vale
	tabling member printed	Mike Amesbury
	uin	117060
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/02/2022 answer text <p>For October to December 2021 there were a record high 1.2 million vacancies nationally, many in key sectors. Official statistics are not available at a local level, but ONS publish experimental statistics based on online job adverts. These suggest that, as of 28 January 2022, there are almost 40% more job adverts online in the North West than they were in February 2020. Our labour market policies are designed to support claimants who can work to move into work, improving their financial situation and wellbeing; and to support employers who need to fill vacancies.</p><p> </p><p>To deliver the workforce needed by the labour market, the Government has launched ‘Way to Work’. This will apply the lessons from the Kickstart Scheme to bring employers and claimants together in our Jobcentres. This will expedite applications and interviews and speed up the process of getting people into work. We will also make it easier for employers to work with us to fill their vacancies through jobs fairs (both in person and online), Employer Hubs, our social media channels (including JobHelp), and advertising on FindAJob.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>This is good news for employers who need to fill their vacancies. It is also good for our claimants who will be better off financially in work.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 10/02/2022 14:55:21 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
	tabling member	4667 label Biography information for Mike Amesbury

1660305

	registered interest
	date	12/09/2023
	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	Housing Benefit: Supported Housing
	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 potential impact of benefits rules on levels of employment of residents of supported housing who have their housing costs supported through the housing benefit system.
	tabling member constituency	Weaver Vale
	tabling member printed	Mike Amesbury
	uin	199214
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/09/2023 answer text <p>The Department acknowledges the challenge presented by the interaction between Universal Credit and Housing Benefit for those working and living in supported housing as the two systems were never intended to run alongside one another.</p><p> </p><p>People in receipt of Housing Benefit are always better off in work. The income taper in Housing Benefit ensures people in work are better off than someone wholly reliant on benefits. In addition to any financial advantage, there are important non-financial benefits of working. These benefits include learning new skills, improved confidence and independence as well as a positive effect on an individual's mental and physical health.</p><p> </p><p>We are working to gain a broader understanding of the impact of benefit rules in Housing Benefit on residents of supported housing who are in employment including the impact on different claimant groups.</p><p> </p><p>After a successful bid to the Labour Market Evaluations and Pilot Fund, we are designing a proof of concept in conjunction with West Midlands Combined Authority. The voluntary PoC will test financial support for eligible 18–24-year-olds living in commissioned supported housing who move into work or increase their working hours and cease receiving Universal Credit. They will receive a top-up payment for 6 months. We are hopeful that this will provide new insight to inform future policy.</p><p> </p><p>Alongside the pilot, officials will continue to work to build our understanding of this topic and to impact future policy options.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 19/09/2023 11:29:10 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
	tabling member	4667 label Biography information for Mike Amesbury

1688000

	registered interest
	date	06/02/2024
	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	Homelessness: Local Housing Allowance
	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 potential merits of increasing discretionary housing payments to help reduce homelessness.
	tabling member constituency	Weaver Vale
	tabling member printed	Mike Amesbury
	uin	13440
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/02/2024 answer text <p>Current rental data and the broader fiscal context were considerations in the Secretary of State’s review of Local Housing Allowance rates last Autumn.</p><p> </p><p>As announced in the Autumn Statement (AS) from April 2024 the Government is investing £7bn over five years to increase Local Housing Allowance rates to the 30th percentile of local market rents in 2024/25. This is in addition to the around £30bn spent annually on housing support. Taken together with the wider benefits uprating, this will improve housing affordability for low-income households on benefits renting in the private sector, helping them afford their rent and reducing the risk of rent arrears and homelessness.</p><p> </p><p>Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) can be paid to those entitled to Housing Benefit or the housing element of Universal Credit who face a shortfall in meeting their housing costs This is not restricted to those who meet the statutory definition of being at risk or homeless, which allows DHPs to be used to stabilise tenancies and thus preventing the need to access to homelessness services.</p><p> </p><p>We’re providing £300m for DHPs between 2022-25. In addition to the central government contribution, English and Welsh local authorities can top up DHP funding up to a maximum of two and a half times this figure using their own funds.</p><p /><p>In addition, there has been an investment of over £1bn in DLUHC’s Homelessness Prevention Grant (HPG) over three years, including a £109m top-up this year (2023-24). There has also been funding of £120m to help councils address Ukraine and homelessness pressures in 2024/25, including funding for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 14/02/2024 14:00:17 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
	tabling member	4667 label Biography information for Mike Amesbury

1667758

	registered interest
	date	07/11/2023
	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	Housing Benefit
	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 the adequacy of the level of housing benefit.
	tabling member constituency	Weaver Vale
	tabling member printed	Mike Amesbury
	uin	442
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/11/2023 answer text <p>We are forecast to spend £31 billion in 2023/24 on housing support. Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates were boosted by almost £1 billion in 2020, this significant investment has been kept annually to maintain rates at 2020 levels.</p><p> </p><p>The level of LHA rates is reviewed annually by the Secretary of State. LHA rates are not intended to cover all rents in all areas. However, the Department monitors average rents and housing support levels provided to claimants to assess the impact of the policy.</p><p> </p><p>For those who face a shortfall in meeting their housing costs and need further support. Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) are available from local authorities. Since 2011 the Government has provided nearly £1.7 billion in DHP funding to local authorities</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 15/11/2023 11:35:43 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
	tabling member	4667 label Biography information for Mike Amesbury

1608803

	registered interest
	date	29/03/2023
	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	Support for Mortgage Interest
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when support for mortgage interest will be implemented; and what that figure will be.
	tabling member constituency	Weaver Vale
	tabling member printed	Mike Amesbury
	uin	176820
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/04/2023 answer text <p>An increase to the rate paid through the SMI scheme was triggered on Wednesday 29<sup>th</sup> March 2023. The rate will increase from 2.09% to 2.65% and will be implemented no later than 10<sup>th</sup> May 2023.</p><p> </p><p>The rate of SMI payments only changes when the Bank of England’s average mortgage rate differs by 0.5 percentage points or more from the standard interest rate.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 17/04/2023 10:46:47 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
	tabling member	4667 label Biography information for Mike Amesbury

1660306

	registered interest
	date	12/09/2023
	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	Housing Benefit
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he plans to review the 65p Housing Benefit taper rate; and if will make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing that rate in line with the Universal Credit taper rate in incentivising young people into work.
	tabling member constituency	Weaver Vale
	tabling member printed	Mike Amesbury
	uin	199215
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/09/2023 answer text <p>There are no plans to bring the Housing Benefit taper in line with that of Universal Credit. The two benefits have different treatment of earnings rules, both include tapers that ensure that all claimants are better off working than wholly reliant on benefits.</p><p> </p><p>At present, there is a broad spectrum of claimants receiving their rent support through Housing Benefit; those resident in supported housing or temporary accommodations as well as those claimants who have not yet migrated to Universal Credit. Any amendment to the Housing Benefit taper rate would apply to all of these groups and could result in Housing Benefit outstripping the provision provided by Universal Credit in some circumstances.</p><p> </p><p>The Department acknowledges the challenge presented by the interaction between Universal Credit and Housing Benefit for those working and living in supported housing and temporary accommodation. This issue is a complex one, and eradicating the financial cliff edge some individuals face as they incrementally increase their earnings could not be achieved by simply aligning the taper rates within the two benefits. Officials are working to explore this issue further considering the impact including impact on different groups and consider policy options.</p><p>It remains the department’s priority to ensure that those who can work are supported to enter the labour market and to sustain employment.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 19/09/2023 11:27:22 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
	tabling member	4667 label Biography information for Mike Amesbury