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1002030

registered interest
date	05/11/2018
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: Scotland
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 Government news release of 1 October 2018 entitled Citizens Advice to provide support to Universal Credit claimants, how much funding she plans to allocate to Citizens Advice in Scotland to provide that support; and what plans she has to provide funding for areas that do not have a Citizens Advice office.
tabling member constituency	Inverclyde
tabling member printed	Ronnie Cowan
uin	188154
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/11/2018 answer text <p>For Citizens Advice Scotland the grant award is £1,323,412 in 2018/19 and £4,085,919 in 2019/20. Citizens Advice Scotland is committed to providing a Universal Support service across Scotland</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 16/11/2018 14:42:10 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Lord Sharma
tabling member	4465 label Biography information for Ronnie Cowan

1016125

registered interest
date	28/11/2018
answering body	Scotland Office
answering dept id	2
answering dept short name	Scotland
answering dept sort name	Scotland
hansard heading	Universal Credit: Scotland
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	What recent assessment the Government has made of the effect on low-income families of the roll-out of universal credit throughout Scotland.
tabling member constituency	West Lancashire
tabling member printed	Rosie Cooper
uin	907841
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/11/2018 answer text <p>Evidence shows that Universal Credit is working. It empowers people to move into work, work more hours and earn more, and I am pleased that the budget announced a £4.5bn cash boost for it, including measures that will allow millions of low-income families, many of them in Scotland, to keep more of what they earn.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Selby and Ainsty answering member printed Nigel Adams question first answered 28/11/2018 16:42:11 answering member 4057 label Biography information for Nigel Adams
tabling member	1538 label Biography information for Rosie Cooper

1042207

registered interest
date	16/01/2019
answering body	Scotland Office
answering dept id	2
answering dept short name	Scotland
answering dept sort name	Scotland
hansard heading	Universal Credit: Scotland
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	What assessment he has made of the effect on low-income families of the roll-out of universal credit in Scotland.
tabling member constituency	Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill
tabling member printed	Hugh Gaffney
uin	908518
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/01/2019 answer text <p>Evidence shows that Universal Credit is working. It empowers people to move into work and I am pleased that the budget announced a £4.5 billion cash boost for it, including measures that will allow millions of families to keep more of what they earn.</p> answering member constituency Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale answering member printed David Mundell question first answered 16/01/2019 17:34:31 answering member 1512 label Biography information for David Mundell
tabling member	4614 label Biography information for Hugh Gaffney

1060754

registered interest
date	13/02/2019
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: Scotland
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the effect of the roll-out of universal credit in Scotland on provision of services for lone parents and disadvantaged families by (a) local authorities and (b) third sector organisations.
tabling member constituency	Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath
tabling member printed	Lesley Laird
uin	221025
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/02/2019 answer text <p>We have not made an assessment of the effect of the roll-out of universal credit in Scotland on provision of services for lone parents and disadvantage families by Local Authorities and third party sector organisations.</p><p>We are committed to helping parents into work. Childcare is essential in enabling parents to work, although we recognise that this can cause additional financial difficulty.</p><p>Universal Credit claimants are able to claim up to 85 per cent of their childcare costs, compared to 70 per cent on the legacy system. People with an offer of paid work can also get childcare costs paid a month in advance.</p><p>On 11 January 2019, Secretary of State Rt. Hon Amber Rudd MP announced measures that will provide increased support for Universal Credit (UC) claimants. This included piloting a more flexible approach to claimants reporting childcare costs, which will allow people to be reimbursed for childcare even when they aren’t able to provide immediate evidence.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 21/02/2019 14:07:46 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	4660 label Biography information for Lesley Laird

1105936

registered interest
date	28/03/2019
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: Scotland
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in receipt of universal credit in Scotland have a mental health condition.
tabling member constituency	Airdrie and Shotts
tabling member printed	Neil Gray
uin	238368
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/04/2019 answer text <p>Currently we do not report aggregate information about whether or not a claimant has a mental health condition and to collate and quality assure this information would incur disproportionate costs.</p><p> </p><p>Our work coaches receive training to ensure they can offer effective support to different claimant groups. This enables them to provide tailored support and gain an excellent understanding of whether their claimants have, have had in the past, or might cycle in and out of having a mental health condition or extra support needs.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 04/04/2019 15:49:43 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Lord Sharma
tabling member	4365 label Biography information for Neil Gray

1105937

registered interest
date	28/03/2019
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: Scotland
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what mental health training is provided to work coaches; and how many work coaches in Scotland have received mental health training to date.
tabling member constituency	Airdrie and Shotts
tabling member printed	Neil Gray
uin	238369
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/04/2019 answer text <p>DWP is committed to providing the best possible support for all our claimants, including the most vulnerable in society. We are continuously reviewing and improving the service for vulnerable people to ensure that it is accessible and responsive to their needs.</p><p> </p><p>Work Coaches undergo a comprehensive training programme designed to equip them with the skills and knowledge required to provide a high quality service to all claimants. Specific training and guidance is provided for working with different vulnerable groups and those with complex needs including claimants with mental health conditions.</p><p> </p><p>In addition, Work Coaches have completed a two-day workshop, designed by experts in mental health and psychologists, and delivered where possible alongside external mental health partners. The training began in November 2017 and was completed at the end of March 2019. April 2019 will see the start of delivering this training to staff across the entire organisation who are employed in a claimant facing role, whether they engage with claimants by telephone, face to face or digitally.</p><p> </p><p>At the end of March 2019 all 1589 Work Coaches in Scotland had received Mental Health Training.</p><p> </p><p>* The data supplied is derived from unpublished management information, which was collected for internal Departmental use only and has not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standard. The data should therefore be treated with caution</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 04/04/2019 16:37:06 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Lord Sharma
tabling member	4365 label Biography information for Neil Gray

1130982

registered interest
date	10/06/2019
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: Scotland
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she has made an assessment of the effect of universal credit on the level of rent arrears owed to Scottish local authorities; and if she will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill
tabling member printed	Hugh Gaffney
uin	262433
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/06/2019 answer text <p>The Department has not made an assessment of this nature.</p><p> </p><p>Caution should be exercised when considering any assessment of arrears derived from local authority level data which seeks to compare the legacy and Universal Credit welfare systems. This is because they do not compare groups with the same characteristics; typically, the legacy benefit group have been on benefits for some time, where the arrears may be under long-term management. The Universal Credit group, on the other hand, are often new to benefits, and are likely to have experienced a change in their circumstances – for example, a debt-creating event like losing a job or separation. Any arrears for this group will not have been under management and had time to clear.</p><p> </p><p>The initial analytical work we have carried out with a housing provider suggests that many tenants are arriving on Universal Credit with pre-existing rent arrears, that their arrears tend to increase prior to making a claim for Universal Credit, and that Universal Credit actually appears to be helping to clear arrears over time. We are currently extending this analysis to include a number of other housing providers. It will be published when completed. Furthermore, according to latest figures in November 2018 about 8 per cent of social rented households were on Universal Credit; therefore, it is difficult to see how a national trend can be attributed to Universal Credit.</p><p> </p><p>We have, however, responded to concerns in this area by putting a number of safeguards in place, such as 100% advances repayable over 12 months, increasing to 16 months in October 2021; a two-week Transition to Universal Credit Housing Payment; a new Help to Claim service to assist people to make their claim more easily; and Managed Payment to Landlord Arrangements, which allow for payments direct to the landlord if the tenant is likely to have difficulty in managing their rent payments, is unlikely to pay their rent or is in rent arrears equivalent to two months.</p><p> </p><p>Furthermore, in Scotland, the Department delivers Universal Credit Scottish choices on behalf of the Scottish Government, providing the option of Universal Credit being paid twice a month rather than monthly, and having Universal Credit housing element being paid directly to landlords.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 18/06/2019 15:28:46 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	4614 label Biography information for Hugh Gaffney

1147829

registered interest
date	02/10/2019
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: Scotland
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 effect of the time taken for universal credit payments to be made to claimants on trends in the level of food bank use in Scotland.
tabling member constituency	Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill
tabling member printed	Hugh Gaffney
uin	293692
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/10/2019 answer text <p>The Department does not keep official statistics on food bank use, so no such assessment has been completed. Some food aid providers produce statistics on the number of food parcels distributed, but the Government has no plans to require individual food banks to keep records as this would place a significant burden on charitable and voluntary organisations.</p><p> </p><p>We have listened to feedback on how we can improve Universal Credit to support our claimants and acted quickly, making improvements such as extending advances, removing waiting days, and introducing housing benefit run on. These changes are giving support to vulnerable people who need it most, whilst at the same time helping people get into work faster.</p><p> </p><p>Furthermore, in Scotland, the Department delivers Universal Credit Scottish choices on behalf of the Scottish Government, providing the option of Universal Credit being paid twice a month rather than monthly, and having Universal Credit housing element being paid directly to landlords.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p> </p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 08/10/2019 10:07:32 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	4614 label Biography information for Hugh Gaffney

1172526

registered interest
date	22/01/2020
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: Scotland
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans her Department to provide additional funding to Citizens Advice Scotland to assist universal credit claimants to maintain their online claim.
tabling member constituency	Linlithgow and East Falkirk
tabling member printed	Martyn Day
uin	6722
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 31/01/2020 answer text <p>Comprehensive support is available to claimants to use our digital service, however we recognise there will be occasions when people are unable to maintain their claim online, so telephone support is available. In these instances, information normally available through a claimant’s online account will be communicated in an alternative format, which is best suited to an individual’s circumstances.</p><p>The Department is committed to providing the best possible support for all our claimants, including the most vulnerable in society, in both making and maintaining their claim. Help to Claim delivered through Citizens Advice Scotland offers tailored, practical support to help people make a Universal Credit claim up to receiving their first full correct payment on time.</p><p>The Department is assessing the performance and outcomes of the support delivered by Citizens Advice and Citizens Advice Scotland through the Help to Claim pilot. We will share the decision about the future of Help to Claim beyond March 2020 in due course.</p><p /><p /> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 31/01/2020 15:30:54 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	4488 label Biography information for Martyn Day

1189315

registered interest
date	22/04/2020
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: Scotland
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much funding is being allocated to extend the Help to Claim universal credit scheme for a further financial year in Scotland.
tabling member constituency	Inverclyde
tabling member printed	Ronnie Cowan
uin	39005
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/05/2020 answer text <p>Help to Claim assists people to make a Universal Credit claim and receive their first full payment on time through tailored practical support from Citizen’s Advice Scotland advisers.</p><p> </p><p>To maintain this support, the Department has agreed to fund Citizens Advice Scotland up to a further £4.1m for a second year of Help to Claim.</p><p> </p><p><strong> </strong></p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 01/05/2020 12:12:26 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	4465 label Biography information for Ronnie Cowan