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1148890

	registered interest
	date	14/10/2019
	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	Bereavement Support Payment
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many claims for bereavement support payment, in the most recent period for which figures are available, were refused because the claimant did not apply within 21 months of the death.
	tabling member constituency	Birkenhead
	tabling member printed	Frank Field
	uin	55
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/10/2019 answer text <p>The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 17/10/2019 09:15:14 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead

1148891

	registered interest
	date	14/10/2019
	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	Bereavement Support Payment
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when her Department plans to evaluate the adequacy of the bereavement support payment.
	tabling member constituency	Birkenhead
	tabling member printed	Frank Field
	uin	56
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/10/2019 answer text <p>Bereavement Support Payment is still a comparatively new benefit and it is key to ensure enough time has elapsed to ensure an evaluation is meaningful. We will set a date for publication once sufficient data is available.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 17/10/2019 09:31:19 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead

1148206

	registered interest
	date	03/10/2019
	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
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an estimate of the cost of increasing the child element of the universal credit payment by (a) £10 a week and (b) 70 per cent; and how many children would be taken out of poverty as a result of each.
	tabling member constituency	Wirral South
	tabling member printed	Alison McGovern
	uin	294147
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/10/2019 answer text <p>The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 08/10/2019 09:38:38 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4083 label Biography information for Alison McGovern

1148208

	registered interest
	date	03/10/2019
	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
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the most recent annual estimate is of the cost of ending the two child limit for universal credit between now and 2033/34.
	tabling member constituency	Wirral South
	tabling member printed	Alison McGovern
	uin	294148
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/10/2019 answer text <p>No assessment has been made up to 2033/34, however we estimate that the cost of ending this policy to be around £5bn up to 23/24.</p><p> </p><p>The Government’s view is that providing support for a maximum of two children or qualifying young persons in Universal Credit and Child Tax Credit ensures fairness between claimants on the one hand and, on the other, those taxpayers who support themselves solely through work. Where they are able to, Individuals should consider whether they are financially prepared to support a new child without relying on benefits.</p><p> </p><p>We recognise that some claimants are not able to make the same choices about the number of children in their family, which is why exceptions have been put in place to protect certain groups. On migration to Universal Credit families’ existing entitlement will be protected, so long as they remain responsible for the same children and entitled to benefit.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 08/10/2019 10:16:30 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4083 label Biography information for Alison McGovern

1147772

	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
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent estimate she has made of the number of (a) delays and (b) errors in universal credit awards as a result of (ii) inaccurate in Real Time Information and (iii) differences in the operating systems used by (A) her Department and (B) HMRC; and if she will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	East Ham
	tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
	uin	293422
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/10/2019 answer text <p>The Department has been working closely with HMRC since Universal Credit went live in 2013 to support and inform employers who report earnings to emphasise the importance of timely reporting via the Real Time Information (RTI) system.</p><p> </p><p>HMRC have updated their guidance to reiterate to employers the importance of reporting accurate dates and the impact on payment cycles; the Financial Secretary to the Treasury is also working closely with HMRC and employers to do this.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 08/10/2019 10:05:09 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

1147781

	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
	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 of 30 September to Question 290673 on Universal Credit, whether a reduction in the monthly repayments of a court fine from 40 per cent to a lower amount will return to the 40 per cent rate in the following month if a person has no other deductions attached to a universal credit claim.
	tabling member constituency	Birkenhead
	tabling member printed	Frank Field
	uin	293470
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/10/2019 answer text <p>Our deductions policy strikes a fair balance between a claimant’s need to meet their obligations and a claimant’s ability to ensure they can meet their day-to-day needs. From October 2019, deductions will be capped at 30% of a claimant’s standard allowance down from 40% to better achieve this balance.</p><p> </p><p>In the scenario outlined, if a person has no other deductions, the most that would be deducted for a court fine in the following assessment period is £108.35. This is because the maximum deduction for court fines is based on a fixed figure in regulations rather than a percentage. If the £108.35 figure were more than 30% of the claimant’s standard allowance, the deduction would be reduced to 5% of the standard allowance, ensuring the 30% cap was not exceeded. The policy was designed to deduct either the minimum or maximum set out in regulations and avoid inconsistencies that may arise if discretion was to be exercised for each claimant’s deduction.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 08/10/2019 09:55:53 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead

1147807

	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	Welfare Assistance Schemes: Families and Young People
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what support her Department provides to local authorities to ensure the provision of (a) local welfare assistance and (b) other services to (i) families and (ii) young people in crisis.
	tabling member constituency	North Cornwall
	tabling member printed	Scott Mann
	uin	293657
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/10/2019 answer text <p>The Welfare Reform Act 2012 abolished Social Fund Crisis Loans and Community Grants from April 2013. The funding was passed over to local authorities in England and devolved administrations in Scotland and Wales on a non-ringfenced basis, and with no statutory duties attached.</p><p> </p><p>DWP provides a network of around 300 specialised work coaches for the cross government Troubled Families Programme. These Troubled Families Employment Advisers (TFEAs) support families across all local authority areas in England, providing tailored, one to one employment and welfare support. TFEAs also upskill local authorities and partners on employment matters.</p><p> </p><p>DWP is working with all top tier local authorities in England to help them to address parental conflict, which can harm children’s outcomes. 98% of local authorities have taken up our offer of training for frontline practitioners and support for strategic leaders, to increase local capability in addressing parental conflict.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 08/10/2019 13:24:41 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4496 label Biography information for Scott Mann

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

1147855

	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	Poverty: Females
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent estimate she has made of the number of women and girls living below the poverty line.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
	uin	293446
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/10/2019 answer text <p>National Statistics on the number of children in relative and absolute low income are set out in the annual &quot;Households Below Average Income&quot; (HBAI) publication.</p><p> </p><p>In the latest low income statistics, the number of women (including those of pension age) and female children below the poverty line decreased in three out of four measures compared to 2009/10. In 2017/18 there were 3.8 million women in absolute poverty before housings costs, down from 3.9 million in 2009/10. In 2017/18 there were 1.2 million female children in poverty in absolute poverty before housing costs, down from 1.3 million in 2009/10.</p><p> </p><p>The above information has been sourced from the Households Below Average Income (HBAI) statistics using Stat-Xplore. Stat-Xplore can be accessed using: <a href="https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/" target="_blank">https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/</a></p><p> </p><p>Guidance on how to use Stat-Xplore can be found here:</p><p><a href="https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/index.html" target="_blank">https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/index.html</a>.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 07/10/2019 12:58:16 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

1147904

	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
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions her Department has had with social landlords on rent arrears caused by the time between a claimant’s universal credit being paid and the housing costs being sent to the landlord via APA on the next bulk payment run.
	tabling member constituency	Slough
	tabling member printed	Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi
	uin	293707
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/10/2019 answer text <p>Initial analytical work we have carried out with a single housing provider suggests that many tenants are arriving on Universal Credit with pre-existing rent arrears, supporting research carried out by the National Federation of ALMOs which shows over three quarters of their tenants come onto Universal Credit with pre-existing rent arrears. It also shows that 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 housing providers. It will be published when completed.</p><p>The Department encourages all Universal Credit claimants to actively consider how best to manage their personal budget which includes making their own rent payments to landlords, with additional advice and support available from work coaches and case managers where needed. We regularly engage with a range of stakeholders, including landlords, to ensure we understand concerns which helps us to design improvements to Universal Credit.</p><p> </p><p>Alternative Payment Arrangements (APAs), such as a managed payment to landlord (MPTL), are available to enable the housing costs element to be paid directly to the landlord if the tenant is likely to have difficulty in managing their rent payments or is in rent arrears. APAs will only be considered where a lack of financial capability poses a risk to the claimant, or their family, and the decision to implement one is assessed on a case by case basis.</p><p> </p><p>The Department issues a schedule of payments to Social Rented Sector (SRS) landlords, and our Third Party Creditor system - currently used to pay SRS landlords - uses a 28-day payment cycle. We are currently working with a range of landlords to design, develop and test a better services with the intention of having a solution in place by the end of this year.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince grouped question UIN 293708 question first answered 08/10/2019 09:58:48 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4638 label Biography information for Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi