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174488

	registered interest
	date	19/01/2015
	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	Winter Fuel Payment: British Nationals Abroad
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, on what basis the French Southern and Antarctic Lands, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Saint Barthélemy, French Polynesia, Wallis and Futuna and New Caledonia are excluded from his calculations for the purposes of establishing the average mean winter temperature for France in connection with winter fuel payments.
	tabling member constituency	North Thanet
	tabling member printed	Sir Roger Gale
	uin	221255
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/01/2015 answer text <p /> <p> </p><p>The French Government and European Union law makes a distinction between the <em>pays et territoires d’outre-mer</em> (PTOM) and the <em>départements d’outre mer (DOMs). </em>The PTOM include Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, Saint Barthélémy, French Polynesia, Wallis and Futuna and New Caledonia. These territories benefit from association with the EU but community law does not generally apply. With the exception of Saint- Barthélémy they have their own social protection schemes and are legally and financially autonomous. UK Winter Fuel Payments are not paid to residents in the PTOMs.</p><p> </p><p>The French Government treats its DOMs as integral parts of the French State and they are subject to the application of EU social security co-ordination regulations. Winter Fuel Payments are payable to residents in the DOMs, however this will end from September 2015.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 22/01/2015 12:35:10 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	87 label Biography information for Sir Roger Gale

172933

	registered interest
	date	09/01/2015
	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	Widowed Parent's Allowance
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has conducted an impact assessment of proposed changes to the widowed parent's allowance; and if he will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	North Ayrshire and Arran
	tabling member printed	Katy Clark
	uin	220244
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/01/2015 answer text <p /> <p>Bereavement benefits including Widowed Parent’s Allowance will be replaced by Bereavement Support Payment from April 2017. Those already in receipt of the existing benefit will not be affected by the change.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>An impact assessment was published in April 2014: “Replacement of existing Bereavement Benefits for New Claims from April 2017 – Bereavement Benefits for the 21<sup>st</sup> Century (in Great Britain)”</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/311318/pensions-act-ia-annex-d-bereavement-support-payment.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/311318/pensions-act-ia-annex-d-bereavement-support-payment.pdf</a></p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 16/01/2015 14:01:49 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	1590 label Biography information for Baroness Clark of Kilwinning

169047

	registered interest
	date	09/12/2014
	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	Funeral Payments: Motherwell and Wishaw
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many applications for funeral payments were awarded by his Department in Motherwell and Wishaw constituency in each of the last three years; and what the average such award was in each of those years.
	tabling member constituency	Motherwell and Wishaw
	tabling member printed	Mr Frank Roy
	uin	217930
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/12/2014 answer text <p /> <p>DWP does not hold data on Funeral Payments at constituency level.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 11/12/2014 12:20:38 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	626 label Biography information for Mr Frank Roy

169963

	registered interest
	date	11/12/2014
	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	Winter Fuel Payment
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps =he is taking to ensure that pensioners become better aware of their right to claim winter fuel allowance.
	tabling member constituency	Barnsley Central
	tabling member printed	Dan Jarvis
	uin	218426
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/12/2014 answer text <p /> <p>In over 95 per cent of cases, people over women’s State Pension age receive a Winter Fuel Payment automatically, and do not need to make a claim since the Department already holds the information necessary to make the payment.</p><p> </p><p>However, details of eligibility and how to make a claim are available on <a href="http://www.GOV.uk" target="_blank">www.GOV.uk</a></p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 16/12/2014 11:58:02 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	4243 label Biography information for Dan Jarvis

174820

	registered interest
	date	20/01/2015
	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	Winter Fuel Payment: British Nationals Abroad
	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 to Question 220107, if he will make it his policy to exclude French Overseas Departments in the calculation of average temperature for France for the purposes of determining eligibility for winter fuel payments to UK citizens.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
	tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
	uin	221473
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/01/2015 answer text <p /> <p>It is the French Government that defines itself as the mainland and its outermost regions, and as such are included in the EU social security co-ordination regulations, used and applied by all member states.</p><p> </p><p>It is because of this that the French Overseas Departments<em> (départments d’outre mer</em> or DOMs) are treated in the same way as mainland France with regard to Winter Fuel Payments, which are currently made to those entitled who live there. Therefore, the hotter French Overseas Departments have to be included in the calculation of the average temperature of France. We are being consistent with our policy approach.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 23/01/2015 11:29:58 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

170553

	registered interest
	date	15/12/2014
	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	Public Health Funerals
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of paupers' funerals in (a) the UK, (b) Scotland, (c) Wales, (d) England and (e) Northern Ireland in each of the last four years for which figures are available.
	tabling member constituency	Airdrie and Shotts
	tabling member printed	Pamela Nash
	uin	218762
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/12/2014 answer text <p /> <p>My department does not collect data on the number of Local Authority funerals.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 18/12/2014 11:57:14 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	3909 label Biography information for Pamela Nash

166611

	registered interest
	date	27/11/2014
	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	Public Health Funerals
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of pauper's funerals in each of the last three years; and what steps his Department is taking to support families on low incomes with the costs of funerals.
	tabling member constituency	Birkenhead
	tabling member printed	Mr Frank Field
	uin	216270
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/12/2014 answer text <p /> <p>My department does not collect data on the number of Local Authority funerals.</p><p> </p><p>The Social Fund Funeral Payment scheme continues to provide help towards a simple, respectful, low-cost funeral and in 2013/14, over 33,000 awards were made worth £44.7 million, with an average award of £1,347.</p><p> </p><p>Social Fund Budgeting Loans are also available to those on income related benefits to cover costs relating to funeral expenses.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 02/12/2014 11:44:12 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead

222678

	registered interest
	date	20/02/2015
	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	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 arrangements his Department has put in place for situations where application forms requesting an increase in local housing allowance (LHA) to cover an increase in rent applied to an eligible LHA claimant are lost by his Department and the applicant consequently faces eviction.
	tabling member constituency	Newport West
	tabling member printed	Paul Flynn
	uin	224845
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/02/2015 answer text <p /> <p>The Department for Work and Pensions provides funding for Housing Benefit to Local Authorities in Great Britain. Responsibility for the day to day administration of Housing Benefit lies with Local Authorities.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 25/02/2015 10:59:53 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	545 label Biography information for Paul Flynn

172617

	registered interest
	date	07/01/2015
	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	Winter Fuel Payment: British Nationals Abroad
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the reasons are for the inclusion of French Overseas Departments in the calculation of average temperature for France for the purposes of determining eligibility for winter fuel payments to UK citizens.
	tabling member constituency	South Shields
	tabling member printed	Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck
	uin	220107
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/01/2015 answer text <p /> <p>The French Government treats its French Overseas Departments<em> (départments d’outre mer</em> or DOMs) as integral parts of the French State and so they are not subject to any separate rules relating to the application of EU social security co-ordination.</p><p> </p><p>Winter Fuel Payments are currently available to those entitled in the DOMs, and are not restricted to UK citizens but are available to all EU residents who have an entitlement to a UK Winter Fuel Payment.</p><p> </p><p>The calculation of the average winter temperatures for Spain and Portugal also includes these countries’ respective, relevant overseas territories, where the same EU social security coordination rules apply.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 12/01/2015 11:58:29 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	4277 label Biography information for Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck

173486

	registered interest
	date	13/01/2015
	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	Funeral Payments
	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 2 December 2014 to Question 216270, whether the average payment made by the Social Fund Funeral Payment scheme is intended to cover the whole cost of a simple, respectful, low-cost funeral; by what methodology he has assessed the total cost of such a funeral; and if he will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	Brighton, Pavilion
	tabling member printed	Caroline Lucas
	uin	220516
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/01/2015 answer text <p /> <p>The Social Fund Funeral Expenses Payment has from its creation, as the claim form and guidance makes clear, provided help towards the cost of funerals for eligible claimants. This includes those necessary costs of burial or cremation, which will be met in full and a significant contribution of up to £700 towards other costs.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 20/01/2015 12:14:04 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	3930 label Biography information for Caroline Lucas

173506

	registered interest
	date	13/01/2015
	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	Workplace Pensions: Fees and Charges
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if his Department will publish a list of the high charging pension schemes referred to by the Independent Project Board in its report, Defined contribution workplace pensions: The audit of charges and benefits in legacy schemes, published in December 2014.
	tabling member constituency	Glasgow North East
	tabling member printed	Mr William Bain
	uin	220645
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/01/2015 answer text <p /> <p>The recent audit of charges and benefits in legacy pension schemes was undertaken by an Independent Project Board, on which the Department for Work and Pensions was represented. The data collected as part of the legacy audit which was shared with members of the Independent Project Board was aggregated and anonymised. We do not therefore hold provider or scheme specific information.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 16/01/2015 14:17:40 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	1610 label Biography information for Mr William Bain

177607

	registered interest
	date	03/02/2015
	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	Winter Fuel Payment
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the average proportion of pensioners' energy bills that was met by the winter fuel payment in winter (a) 2003-04 and (b) 2013-14.
	tabling member constituency	Edinburgh East
	tabling member printed	Sheila Gilmore
	uin	223155
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/02/2015 answer text <p /> <p>This information is not available.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 09/02/2015 11:28:25 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	3965 label Biography information for Sheila Gilmore

169964

	registered interest
	date	11/12/2014
	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	Winter Fuel Payment
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of eligible pensioners who have not claimed the winter fuel allowance in each year since May 2010.
	tabling member constituency	Barnsley Central
	tabling member printed	Dan Jarvis
	uin	218424
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/12/2014 answer text <p /> <p>We do not hold this information.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 16/12/2014 11:45:51 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	4243 label Biography information for Dan Jarvis

174817

	registered interest
	date	20/01/2015
	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	Winter Fuel Payment: British Nationals Abroad
	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 take steps to ensure that UK pensioners living in France receive winter fuel payments when the temperature where they live is below freezing.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
	tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
	uin	221343
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/01/2015 answer text <p /> <p>Winter Fuel Payments are intended to give older people in the UK reassurance that they can keep warm during cold weather. Winter Fuel Payments are payable to UK pensioners in France, however this will end from September 2015. Winter Fuel Payments are not triggered by temperature either in the UK or abroad.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 23/01/2015 11:24:30 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

224057

	registered interest
	date	26/02/2015
	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, how many first contact notice of closure letters have been sent to (a) Segment 1 and (b) Segment 2 CSA cases in (i) the UK, (ii) Scotland, (iii) England, (iv) Wales and (v) Northern Ireland.
	tabling member constituency	Airdrie and Shotts
	tabling member printed	Pamela Nash
	uin	225652
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/03/2015 answer text <p /> <p> </p><p /> <p /> <p>The table below shows the total number of segment 1 first contact notice of closure letters that have been sent up to the 21 February 2015. Management information regarding segment 2 letters is not yet available as it is currently under development and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p>Number of Letters sent</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Total</p></td><td><p>345,900</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>England</p></td><td><p>278,700</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Scotland</p></td><td><p>30,800</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Wales</p></td><td><p>21,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Northern Ireland</p></td><td><p>500</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Other</p></td><td><p>14,900</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>Notes:</p><p> </p><ol start="1" type="1"><li>Numbers are rounded to the nearest 100.</li><li>Numbers include Proactive and Reactive case closure letters.</li><li>Northern Ireland cases include cases managed by the CSA in Great Britain where the Parent with Care or Non Resident Parent lives in Northern Ireland. This does not include cases managed by the Northern Ireland Child Maintenance Enforcement Division (CMED).</li><li>Cases included in the ‘Other’ category are cases where the Parent with Care or Non Resident Parent has moved abroad, or where the area of the Parent with Care or Non Resident Parent is not available on the management information.</li></ol><p><strong> </strong></p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 04/03/2015 14:51:21 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	3909 label Biography information for Pamela Nash

179075

	registered interest
	date	10/02/2015
	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	Members: Correspondence
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when he expects to reply to the letter from the right hon. Member for Birkenhead dated 20 October 2014 regarding the Government's Child Poverty Strategy.
	tabling member constituency	Birkenhead
	tabling member printed	Mr Frank Field
	uin	224092
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/02/2015 answer text <p /> <p> </p><p>A reply is going out today, Monday 23 February.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 23/02/2015 14:58:52 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead

175526

	registered interest
	date	23/01/2015
	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	Funerals
	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 5 January 2015 to Question 219706, what criteria he has used to (a) specify the costs which are necessary for a simple, respectful, low-cost funeral and (b) determine the level of those costs.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Hall Green
	tabling member printed	Mr Roger Godsiff
	uin	221826
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/02/2015 answer text <p /> <p> </p><p>The Social Fund Funeral Expenses Payment provides help towards the cost of funerals for eligible claimants. The amount allowable covers in full the necessary costs, for a burial or cremation. The scheme also provides a significant contribution of up to £700 towards other costs.</p><p> </p><p>Full details about the scheme can be found on the gov.uk website at <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/373209/dmgch39.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/373209/dmgch39.pdf</a> paragraph 39261 onwards.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 02/02/2015 13:16:26 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	304 label Biography information for Mr Roger Godsiff

223061

	registered interest
	date	23/02/2015
	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: Glasgow
	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 housing benefit in Glasgow South West constituency are in part-time work.
	tabling member constituency	Glasgow South West
	tabling member printed	Mr Ian Davidson
	uin	224880
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/02/2015 answer text <p /> <p> </p><p>The information requested is not available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb grouped question UIN 224885 question first answered 26/02/2015 13:03:48 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	611 label Biography information for Mr Ian Davidson

170555

	registered interest
	date	15/12/2014
	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, how much was outstanding in child maintenance arrears in each (a) parliamentary constituency and (b) local authority area in each of the last four years.
	tabling member constituency	Airdrie and Shotts
	tabling member printed	Pamela Nash
	uin	218713
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/12/2014 answer text <p /> <p>(a) The attached document (CM arrears by Parliamentary Constituency) provides a breakdown of outstanding child maintenance arrears on cases administered by the Child Support Agency (CSA) by parliamentary constituency, as at June 2014.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Outstanding child maintenance arrears, on cases administered by the CSA, broken down by local authority is published in the six-monthly regional tables. The latest published regional figures contain data as at June 2014 which can be found at the following link:<a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/347756/csa_qtr_summ_stats_regional_jun14.xls" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/347756/csa_qtr_summ_stats_regional_jun14.xls</a></p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 18/12/2014 13:31:08 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb attachment 1 file name CM arrears by Parliamentary Constituency.xls title CM arrears by Parliamentary Constituency
	tabling member	3909 label Biography information for Pamela Nash

179073

	registered interest
	date	10/02/2015
	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	Pensions Regulator
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans his Department has for reform of the Pensions Regulator.
	tabling member constituency	Ribble Valley
	tabling member printed	Mr Nigel Evans
	uin	223972
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/02/2015 answer text <p /> <p><strong> </strong></p><p>A report on the Triennial Review of pensions bodies was published by the Department on 9 January 2014. It concluded that the Pensions Regulator should continue in its current role and retain its status as a Non-Departmental Public Body. Accordingly there are no plans for reform of the Pensions Regulator.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 23/02/2015 10:39:12 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	474 label Biography information for Mr Nigel Evans

174260

	registered interest
	date	16/01/2015
	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	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 steps his Department has taken to ensure that the shared accommodation rate reflects the real cost of renting shared accommodation.
	tabling member constituency	Cambridge
	tabling member printed	Dr Julian Huppert
	uin	221129
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/01/2015 answer text <p /> <p><strong> </strong></p><p>Currently, increases to Local Housing Allowance rates are limited to one per cent. However, in areas where there have been the greatest divergences, we are increasing rates by up to 4 per cent subject to the funding available. In 2014/15, this meant that 56 out of the 192 Shared Accommodation Rates were increased by 4 per cent. In 2015/16, we will be increasing 63 out of the 192 Shared Accommodation Rates by 4 per cent.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 21/01/2015 15:21:43 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	3931 label Biography information for Dr Julian Huppert

169041

	registered interest
	date	09/12/2014
	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	Staff
	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 has spent on (a) consultants, (b) temporary staff and (c) contingent labour in each of the last five years; how many people have been so employed; what the length of contract of each such person was; and what equivalent civil service salary band each was on.
	tabling member constituency	Manchester Central
	tabling member printed	Lucy Powell
	uin	217787
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/12/2014 answer text <p /> <p><strong>Spend on consultants, temporary staff and contingent labour over the last 5 years: </strong></p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong> </strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2009/10</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2010/11</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2011/12</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2012/13</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2013/14</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Consultants</strong></p></td><td><p>£27,554,654</p></td><td><p>£11,267,277</p></td><td><p>£6,507,648</p></td><td><p>£12,650,325</p></td><td><p>£11,662,269</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Temporary Staff*</strong></p></td><td><p>£22,179,497</p></td><td><p>£2,448,477</p></td><td><p>£1,272,341</p></td><td><p>£19,038,479</p></td><td><p>£6,710,259</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Contingent Labour</strong></p></td><td><p>£63,155,793</p></td><td><p>£30,277,388</p></td><td><p>£10,913,144</p></td><td><p>£14,459,590</p></td><td><p>£12,995,091</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>*Temporary Staff includes Casuals and Fixed Term Appointments employed for less than 12 months only.</p><p> </p><p>Spend on consultancy, contingent labour and temporary staff reduced in 2011/12 as the Cabinet Office Spend Controls introduced by the coalition government in May 2010 took effect. Whilst these controls are still being applied spend in these areas has since increased in response to the need for specialist external support to meet the demands of DWP major change programmes such as UC and PIP, and in response to business needs for temporary staff mainly in Operations.</p><p> </p><p>All requests for the recruitment of temporary staff are subject to recruitment freeze dispensations and are subject to Ministerial approval.</p><p> </p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>Number of consultants, temporary staff and contingent labour employed, length of contract and equivalent civil service salary:</strong></p><p> </p><p>Consultants:</p><p> </p><p>Consultants are not engaged on an individual basis. Consultancy services are delivered by a consultancy company which deploys resource according to the requirements of the engagement. Extracting data on the length of engagement of each consultant would be at disproportionate cost. Consultants do not have an equivalent civil service salary band.</p><p> </p><p>Temporary Staff:</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p><strong>As at </strong><strong>31 March 2010</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>As at </strong><strong>31 March 2011</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>As at </strong><strong>31 March 2012</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>As at </strong><strong>31 March 2013</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>As at </strong><strong>31 March 2014</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Band A/AA</strong></p></td><td><p>169</p></td><td><p>4</p></td><td><p>3</p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Band B/AO</strong></p></td><td><p>2,333</p></td><td><p>57</p></td><td><p>360</p></td><td><p>993</p></td><td><p>247</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Band C/EO</strong></p></td><td><p>922</p></td><td><p>16</p></td><td><p>1</p></td><td><p>61</p></td><td><p>2</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Band D/HEO</strong></p></td><td><p>16</p></td><td><p>2</p></td><td><p>5</p></td><td><p>13</p></td><td><p>2</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Band E/SEO</strong></p></td><td><p>7</p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Band F/G7</strong></p></td><td><p>6</p></td><td><p>4</p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p>2</p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Band G/G6</strong></p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p>1</p></td><td><p>1</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>SCS</strong></p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p>2</p></td><td><p>1</p></td><td><p>2</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Other/Not Known</strong></p></td><td><p>1</p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Total</strong></p></td><td><p>3,454</p></td><td><p>83</p></td><td><p>371</p></td><td><p>1,071</p></td><td><p>254</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>The above figures are for temporary staff engaged for less than 12 months only. No further breakdown of the length of engagement is available.</p><p> </p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong> </strong></p></td><td><p><strong>As at </strong><strong>31 March 2010</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>As at </strong><strong>31 March 2011</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>As at </strong><strong>31 March 2012</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>As at </strong><strong>31 March 2013</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>As at </strong><strong>31 March 2014</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Contingent Labour</strong></p></td><td><p>760</p></td><td><p>138</p></td><td><p>81</p></td><td><p>121</p></td><td><p>85</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>We are unable to extract data on the length of engagement of each contingent labour worker or the equivalent civil service salary band as this would be at disproportionate cost.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 16/12/2014 13:46:25 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	4263 label Biography information for Lucy Powell

223069

	registered interest
	date	23/02/2015
	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, what proportion of the child maintenance arrears owed in respect of Child Support Agency cases where a child could still benefit is owed by a parent who is self-employed or a director of a private company.
	tabling member constituency	Bishop Auckland
	tabling member printed	Helen Goodman
	uin	224863
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/03/2015 answer text <p /> <p>As at December 2014, 12.4%<sup>1</sup> of the amount of arrears where there is a qualifying child remaining on the case is owed by non resident parents who are self-employed.</p><p> </p><p>Information on the job title of non-resident parents is not routinely recorded for management information purposes and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.</p><p> </p><p>Note:</p><p>1. Data sourced from CSCS and CS2 computer systems. Employment status is not available for cases managed off system.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 02/03/2015 13:07:29 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	1484 label Biography information for Helen Goodman

223070

	registered interest
	date	23/02/2015
	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, what proportion of Child Support Agency cases with a child who could benefit are known to concern a non-resident parent who is self-employed or a director of a private company.
	tabling member constituency	Bishop Auckland
	tabling member printed	Helen Goodman
	uin	224864
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/03/2015 answer text <p /> <p>As at December 2014, of the live cases where there is a qualifying child remaining on the case, 8.5%<sup>1</sup> are in relation to a non resident parent who is self-employed.</p><p> </p><p>Information on the job title of non-resident parents is not routinely recorded for management information purposes and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.</p><p> </p><p>Note:</p><p>1. Data sourced from CSCS and CS2 computer systems. Employment status is not available for cases managed off system.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 02/03/2015 13:12:19 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	1484 label Biography information for Helen Goodman

223072

	registered interest
	date	23/02/2015
	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, how much of the Child Support Agency arrears owed in respect of a child who could still benefit are regarded as (a) temporarily and (b) permanently collectable.
	tabling member constituency	Bishop Auckland
	tabling member printed	Helen Goodman
	uin	224866
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/03/2015 answer text <p /> <p>As at December 2014, the amount of arrears where there is a qualifying child remaining on the case that is (a) temporarily<sup>1</sup> and (b) permanently<sup>2</sup> uncollectable is £4.8 million and £10.3 million respectively.</p><p> </p><p>Notes:</p><p>1. We have interpreted temporarily uncollectable as arrears on cases where the case is under surveillance, we are unable to trace the NRP, the NRP is abroad or the debt is suspended.</p><p>2. We have interpreted permanently uncollectable as arrears on cases where the non-resident parent or parent with care is deceased, where the arrears are deferred or where the arrears are classed as Interim Maintenance Assessment Gap (money that cannot be collected due to it not being covered by legislation).</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 02/03/2015 13:31:42 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	1484 label Biography information for Helen Goodman

223073

	registered interest
	date	23/02/2015
	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, what (a) number and (b) proportion of Child Support Agency cases are known to concern a non-resident parent who is (i) self-employed and (ii) a director of a private company.
	tabling member constituency	Bishop Auckland
	tabling member printed	Helen Goodman
	uin	224867
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/03/2015 answer text <p /> <p>As at December 2014, there were 102,300<sup>1</sup> (7.5%) live cases where the non resident parent was self-employed.</p><p> </p><p>Information on the job title of non-resident parents is not routinely recorded for management information purposes and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.</p><p> </p><p>Note:</p><p>1. Data sourced from CSCS and CS2 computer systems. Employment status is not available for cases managed off system.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 02/03/2015 13:01:59 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	1484 label Biography information for Helen Goodman

223074

	registered interest
	date	23/02/2015
	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, in what proportion of Child Support Agency arrears cases where there is a child who could still benefit are there arrears which have been (a) temporarily and (b) permanently suspended.
	tabling member constituency	Bishop Auckland
	tabling member printed	Helen Goodman
	uin	224868
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/03/2015 answer text <p /> <p>As of December 2014 approximately 36%<sup>1</sup> of cases with arrears where there is a qualifying child remaining on the case contained an amount of suspended arrears.</p><p> </p><p>Information regarding arrears that have been temporarily or permanently suspended is not readily available and has not previously been published as official statistics. We will consider whether it is feasible to produce the statistics requested within the disproportionate cost limit, and if so, will issue them in an official statistics release in accordance with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics.</p><p> </p><p>Notes:</p><p>1. Management information on suspended debt is not available for off system cases, therefore the proportion of suspended arrears has been calculated using CS2 and CSCS cases only.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 02/03/2015 13:36:36 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	1484 label Biography information for Helen Goodman

178226

	registered interest
	date	05/02/2015
	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: Young People
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many claimants of housing benefit are 18 to 21 years old; and how much his Department spent in each of the last three years on housing benefit for 18 to 21 year olds.
	tabling member constituency	Bishop Auckland
	tabling member printed	Helen Goodman
	uin	223553
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/02/2015 answer text <p /> <p>At August 2014, the latest period for which data is available, there were 115,935 Housing Benefit claimants aged 18 to 21.</p><p> </p><p>Expenditure information is in the table below.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="3"><p>Housing Benefit expenditure for 18 to 21 year olds, £millions</p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p>Nominal terms</p></td><td><p>Real terms, 2014/15 prices</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2011/12</p></td><td><p>776</p></td><td><p>818</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012/13</p></td><td><p>750</p></td><td><p>778</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2013/14</p></td><td><p>685</p></td><td><p>698</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p><strong> </strong></p><p>Source: Single Housing Benefit Extract and Local Authority subsidy returns.</p><p> </p><p>Notes:</p><p>1. Benefit expenditure is available for financial years only.</p><p>2. Figures at 2014/15 prices are deflated using GDP deflators published following the 2014 Autumn Statement at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/383988/GDP_Deflators_Autumn_Statement_December_2014_update.xls" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/383988/GDP_Deflators_Autumn_Statement_December_2014_update.xls</a></p><p>3. Information on the number of Housing Benefit claimants is published on Stat-Xplore at <a href="https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/" target="_blank">https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/</a></p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 10/02/2015 14:03:09 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	1484 label Biography information for Helen Goodman

168727

	registered interest
	date	08/12/2014
	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, if he will make an assessment of the effect of the inclusion of a threshold of a 25 per cent change in income before child maintenance payments are adjusted in the 2012 child maintenance scheme on people paying child maintenance who are (a) self-employed and (b) in insecure work.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Northfield
	tabling member printed	Richard Burden
	uin	217727
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/12/2014 answer text <p /> <p>At this point in time there are no plans to include this in the overall impact assessment of the reforms.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 11/12/2014 11:55:08 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	301 label Biography information for Richard Burden

177605

	registered interest
	date	03/02/2015
	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	Telephone Services
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many calls were made to the winter fuel payment helpline 08459 151515 in each of the last five financial years; how much revenue was generated by these calls; and when he expects to end the use of this number.
	tabling member constituency	Birkenhead
	tabling member printed	Mr Frank Field
	uin	223167
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/02/2015 answer text <p /> <p>Calls to the winter fuel payment helpline were:</p><p> </p><p>· 2013/14 226,672</p><p>· 2012/13 303,610</p><p>· We do not hold data for the three financial years before 2012/13</p><p> </p><p>For the financial years of 2009/10 – 2013/14, the Department for Work and Pensions did not receive any revenue for the telephone number 08459 151515.</p><p> </p><p>The Winter Fuel Payment Helpline service can also be accessed by dialling 0345 9151515. Callers to 0845 9151515 are informed of the availability of the 0345 number option. There is still evidence that the 0845 option can be cheaper for some callers and as a result there are currently no plans to discontinue this number.</p><p> </p><p>DWP use of 0845 numbers will be reviewed once the impacts of Ofcom changes to 08 numbers are known. These changes are currently scheduled to be implemented in July 2015.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 09/02/2015 14:03:42 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead

169044

	registered interest
	date	09/12/2014
	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	Older Workers
	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 working in his Department are over 65 years old; and if he will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	Brighton, Kemptown
	tabling member printed	Simon Kirby
	uin	217836
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/12/2014 answer text <p /> <p>DWP employs 91,272 staff of which 1531 of them are aged 65 and over. (data supplied as at 30 September 2014)</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 15/12/2014 13:21:12 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	3929 label Biography information for Simon Kirby

171228

	registered interest
	date	17/12/2014
	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, how much and what proportion of annual expenditure on housing benefit is allocated to the costs of administering that benefit.
	tabling member constituency	Birkenhead
	tabling member printed	Mr Frank Field
	uin	219154
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/01/2015 answer text <p /> <p>DWP has contributed £304m to the costs of local authorities administering Housing Benefit for 2015/16. The amount allocated to local authorities for more financial years can be found in the link below.</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/housing-benefit-for-local-authorities-subsidy-circulars" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/housing-benefit-for-local-authorities-subsidy-circulars</a></p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 05/01/2015 10:14:48 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead

167383

	registered interest
	date	02/12/2014
	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	Renewable Energy
	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 capacity of his Departmental buildings for the micro-generation of renewable energy; and if he will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	Brighton, Kemptown
	tabling member printed	Simon Kirby
	uin	216737
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/12/2014 answer text <p /> <p>DWP has outsourced the provision of its estate until 31st March 2018 under a 20-year PFI contract with its private sector partner Telereal Trillium.</p><p> </p><p>Telereal Trillium’s technical experts have undertaken regular extensive reviews (both site based and desk-top studies) of the Department’s estate with a view to assessing the practical and financial viability of investing in micro-generation. These have included:</p><p> </p><p>• solar photo-voltaic and wind turbine generation of electricity; and</p><p> </p><p>• solar and bio-mass generation of heat.</p><p> </p><p>Following this review 18 sites were identified for a site visit and more detailed examination by Telereal Trillium’s technical experts and potential suppliers. Detailed business cases were then developed for the biomass sites offering the quickest payback and with the potential to meet the Department’s investment criteria. Unfortunately, although these sites offered a practical means of generating renewable energy they did not meet the Department’s investment criteria and so have not been pursued. Solar photo-voltaic and wind turbine generation projects had even longer payback periods.</p><p> </p><p>The Department also commissioned EDF to undertake independent surveys at five sites. These confirmed the results of the work undertaken by Telereal Trillium’s technical experts in that the break-even periods were too long to meet the Department’s investment criteria.</p><p> </p><p>Telereal Trillium are continuing to assess whether reductions in costs and/or improvements in technology will improve the financial viability of micro-generation.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 08/12/2014 13:04:50 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	3929 label Biography information for Simon Kirby

167868

	registered interest
	date	03/12/2014
	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	Energy
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he has taken to insulate his Departmental estate in order to improve energy efficiency; and if he will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	Brighton, Kemptown
	tabling member printed	Simon Kirby
	uin	217054
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/12/2014 answer text <p /> <p>DWP has outsourced the provision of its estate until 31st March 2018 under a 20-year contract with its private sector partner Telereal Trillium (TT), leasing back fully serviced accommodation, via a PFI Contract known as PRIME.</p><p> </p><p>The buildings occupied by DWP under this PFI arrangement are generally multi-storey offices and roof space is therefore limited, resulting in most significant heat loss being via the walls, which are predominantly windows for good natural light.</p><p> </p><p>As part of on-going life cycle replacement projects planned by TT, for windows and to recover roofs, the work is carried out to the current building standard which includes modern insulating requirements.</p><p> </p><p>Additionally, during estate rationalisation DWP carefully consider the energy rating of a building as part of the decision process and where possible moves out of poorly insulated buildings.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 10/12/2014 15:15:32 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	3929 label Biography information for Simon Kirby

173254

	registered interest
	date	12/01/2015
	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	Innovation Fund
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has issued guidance on the evaluation of Innovation Fund projects to support separated families.
	tabling member constituency	Bishop Auckland
	tabling member printed	Helen Goodman
	uin	220471
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/01/2015 answer text <p /> <p>DWP officials work closely with all Innovation Fund projects as they deliver their services for separated families and collect relevant data for use in evaluation. The methodology of the formal evaluation will be agreed between DWP and the external evaluator with support from suppliers.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 15/01/2015 11:46:21 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	1484 label Biography information for Helen Goodman

166453

	registered interest
	date	26/11/2014
	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	Catering
	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 has spent on catering and hospitality since May 2010.
	tabling member constituency	Leicester South
	tabling member printed	Jonathan Ashworth
	uin	216193
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/12/2014 answer text <p /> <p>Departmental expenditure on Hospitality from the start of the 2010 financial year up to 31<sup>st</sup> October 2014, the latest date for which information is available, is shown in the graph attached. Expenditure on catering is not specifically identified but expenditure on Working Lunches and Refreshments is held and this information is also included in the graph.</p><p> </p><p>Expenditure should be seen in the context of the number of staff employed by the Department, Currently 79,514 (as at 31 October 2014), which works out at a cost per head of £1.45 per year.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 02/12/2014 13:10:57 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb attachment 1 file name Catering & Hospitality May 2010-31 Oct 2014.PDF title Catering & Hospitality May 2010-31 Oct 2014
	tabling member	4244 label Biography information for Jonathan Ashworth

179704

	registered interest
	date	12/02/2015
	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	Members: Correspondence
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when he intends to reply to the letter to him dated 2 January 2015 from the right hon. Member for Manchester Gorton with regards to Mr Marwan Saleh.
	tabling member constituency	Manchester, Gorton
	tabling member printed	Sir Gerald Kaufman
	uin	224384
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/02/2015 answer text <p /> <p>Despite an extensive search, I am afraid the Department has no trace of the letter.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 23/02/2015 11:52:53 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	451 label Biography information for Sir Gerald Kaufman

169915

	registered interest
	date	11/12/2014
	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	Travel
	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 has spent on (a) taxis, (b) first class train tickets and (c) business class air travel in each of the last five years.
	tabling member constituency	Manchester Central
	tabling member printed	Lucy Powell
	uin	218486
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/12/2014 answer text <p /> <p>Expenditure should be viewed in the context of the size of the DWP workforce. The Department is a geographically-dispersed organisation employing around 90,000 staff across some 870 sites, delivering services directly to around 22 million customers. The table below shows the expenditure on taxis, 1<sup>st</sup> class rail and business class air travel for the years in question.</p><p> </p><p>The average spend per head on a taxi for 2013-14 was in the region of £1.67. Expenditure on taxis includes journeys to enable disabled members of staff to travel to and from work and respresents contractual spend and it does not include taxis claimed through expenses, as this could only be provided at disproportionate costs to the Department.</p><p> </p><p>The DWP introduced a restriction stopping staff travelling 1<sup>st</sup> class rail in 2011. Only DWP staff with disabilities are permitted to travel using 1<sup>st</sup> class rail, if there are no suitable standard class facilities available.</p><p> </p><p>The current DWP air travel policy only permits staff to book business class air tickets for single journeys greater than 2.5 hours in duration.</p><p> </p><p><strong> </strong></p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Financial Years (£m)</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Taxis (£m)</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>1st Class Rail (£m)</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Business Class Air (£m)</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2009/10</p></td><td><p>*</p></td><td><p>13.3</p></td><td><p>0.38</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2010/11</p></td><td><p>0.26</p></td><td><p>2.2</p></td><td><p>0.12</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2011/12</p></td><td><p>0.21</p></td><td><p>0.35</p></td><td><p>0.07</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012/13</p></td><td><p>0.20</p></td><td><p>0.29</p></td><td><p>0.13</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2013/14</p></td><td><p>0.16</p></td><td><p>0.14</p></td><td><p>0.14</p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>*Data is not available for taxi travel before 2010.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 18/12/2014 12:50:38 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	4263 label Biography information for Lucy Powell

176597

	registered interest
	date	28/01/2015
	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, with reference to the Answer of 11 March 2014, Official Report, column 141W, on children: maintenance, what progress he has made on the development of statistics on compliance, collections and enforcement under the statutory child maintenance scheme; and when he will publish these statistics.
	tabling member constituency	Eastbourne
	tabling member printed	Stephen Lloyd
	uin	222370
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/02/2015 answer text <p /> <p>Experimental Official Statistics on the Child Maintenance Service have been published on a regular quarterly cycle since March 2014. The series of reports can be found at the following link:</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-on-the-2012-statutory-child-maintenance-scheme" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-on-the-2012-statutory-child-maintenance-scheme</a></p><p> </p><p>The statistics remain in the early stages of development with new measures added when they are fully assured and meet Official Statistics standards.</p><p> </p><p>The next release is scheduled for the end of March 2015.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 03/02/2015 11:39:04 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	3968 label Biography information for Stephen Lloyd

170549

	registered interest
	date	15/12/2014
	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, how many liability orders for oustanding child maintenance arrears have been issued to non-resident parents in each of the last four years for which figures are available in (a) the UK, (b) Scotland, (c) Wales, (d) England, (e) Northern Ireland, (f) each local authority area and (g) each Parliamentary constituency.
	tabling member constituency	Airdrie and Shotts
	tabling member printed	Pamela Nash
	uin	218761
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/12/2014 answer text <p /> <p>Figures on the number of liability orders granted in relation to cases administered by the Child Support Agency is published in table 17 (page 44) of the latest <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/child-support-agency-quarterly-summary-statistics-september-2014" target="_blank">Child Support Agency Quarterly Summary of Statistics</a>, which contains data up to September 2014. Information on liability orders broken down by country is not routinely recorded for management information purposes and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.</p><p> </p><p>We are not yet in a position to release full statistics on the 2012 Scheme, administered by the Child Maintenance Service, but when system data becomes available and fully assured they will be released as part of a managed process, which will be pre-announced and in line with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 18/12/2014 11:52:45 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	3909 label Biography information for Pamela Nash

223704

	registered interest
	date	25/02/2015
	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	Means-tested Benefits: Pensions
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what guidance his Department issues to central and local government officials responsible for processing housing benefit and council tax benefit claims on withdrawal of pension fund money under the pension freedom rules that come into force in April 2015.
	tabling member constituency	Preston
	tabling member printed	Mark Hendrick
	uin	225351
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/03/2015 answer text <p /> <p>For Housing Benefit, guidance will be with local authorities shortly, to assist local authority decision makers who might have to deal with queries about flexible pension products.</p><p> </p><p>Council Tax Benefit ended in April 2013 and was replaced by local council tax reduction schemes. Guidance on those is the responsibility of the Department for Communities and Local Government and the Scottish and Welsh governments.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 09/03/2015 15:47:32 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	473 label Biography information for Sir Mark Hendrick

173248

	registered interest
	date	12/01/2015
	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, how many people have appealed against child maintenance decisions since the introduction of the mandatory reconsideration period.
	tabling member constituency	Bishop Auckland
	tabling member printed	Helen Goodman
	uin	220436
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/01/2015 answer text <p /> <p>For cases managed by the Child Support Agency (1993/2003 Schemes) figures on the number of people who have appealed against child maintenance decisions since the introduction of mandatory reconsideration is published in table 18 (page 46) of the latest <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/child-support-agency-quarterly-summary-statistics-september-2014" target="_blank">Child Support Agency Quarterly Summary of Statistics</a>, which contains data up to September 2014.</p><p> </p><p>We are not yet in a position to release full statistics on the 2012 Scheme, administered by the Child Maintenance Service, but when system data become available and fully assured they will be released as part of a managed process, which will be pre-announced and in line with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 16/01/2015 14:11:10 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	1484 label Biography information for Helen Goodman

223092

	registered interest
	date	23/02/2015
	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 the caseload onflow onto local housing authority housing benefit was in each of the last three years.
	tabling member constituency	Bishop Auckland
	tabling member printed	Helen Goodman
	uin	224966
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/02/2015 answer text <p /> <p>I have interpreted the question to relate to a time series of the Housing Benefit (HB) local housing allowance (LHA) caseloads.</p><p> </p><p>This information is available and published at:</p><p><a href="https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/" target="_blank">https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/</a></p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Guidance on how to extract the information required can be found at:</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Stat-Xplore_User_Guide.htm" target="_blank">https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Stat-Xplore_User_Guide.htm</a></p><p> </p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 26/02/2015 12:56:53 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	1484 label Biography information for Helen Goodman

168741

	registered interest
	date	08/12/2014
	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 Protection Fund
	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 sufficiency of the payment protection fund budget in (a) 2014-15 and (b) 2015-16 to meet current and backdated claims.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Northfield
	tabling member printed	Richard Burden
	uin	217645
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/12/2014 answer text <p /> <p>I have understood the question to be about the Pension Protection Fund (PPF), which pays compensation to members of eligible pension schemes where the employer is insolvent and the scheme can not afford the PPF level of compensation.</p><p> </p><p>The Board of the PPF is responsible for ensuring that it has sufficient funds to pay compensation. The Fund only has to meet the costs of compensation payments as they fall due.</p><p>The funding of the PPF has been designed to be robust in the long term.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 11/12/2014 12:00:51 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	301 label Biography information for Richard Burden

173501

	registered interest
	date	13/01/2015
	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	State Retirement Pensions
	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 he has made of the number of people who will reach state pension age within 12 months from the start of the single tier pension who will be eligible to receive state pension at the full rate; and what proportion of the total number of recipients those people will be.
	tabling member constituency	Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East
	tabling member printed	Gregg McClymont
	uin	220631
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/01/2015 answer text <p /> <p>I will respond to the Member for Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East shortly.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb grouped question UIN 220632 question first answered 16/01/2015 14:54:22 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	3949 label Biography information for Gregg McClymont

173259

	registered interest
	date	12/01/2015
	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 the £2,000 tax free childcare allowance is available to those on universal credit.
	tabling member constituency	Bishop Auckland
	tabling member printed	Helen Goodman
	uin	220463
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/01/2015 answer text <p /> <p>In 2013 Budget, the Government announced a new childcare scheme called Tax-Free Childcare to provide further support for working families who do not receive Universal Credit. Tax-Free Childcare will offer working families, where neither parent is an additional rate tax payer, 20% support towards qualifying childcare costs – the equivalent of basic tax relief.</p><p> </p><p>Childcare support is offered to parents on Universal Credit as part of a welfare system designed to make sure that work pays for those who need the most support. Childcare costs are taken into account in calculating working parents’ Universal Credit awards, and it is therefore right that a parent in receipt of Universal Credit cannot receive support under this scheme at the same time. The new Tax-Free Childcare scheme will support families as they increase their income and, for the first time, families can be sure that support for childcare costs will be available as they move off benefits altogether.</p><p> </p><p>Whilst parents can only receive support from one scheme at any time, where families are eligible for both they will have the freedom to choose the scheme which best meets their needs and will be able to move freely between schemes when they experience a relevant change in circumstances. Draft guidance for parents on Tax-Free Childcare has already been published online for consultation.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 15/01/2015 12:10:13 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	1484 label Biography information for Helen Goodman

177753

	registered interest
	date	04/02/2015
	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	Cold Weather Payments
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the criteria for awarding cold weather payments have changed since May 2010.
	tabling member constituency	Brecon and Radnorshire
	tabling member printed	Roger Williams
	uin	223329
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/02/2015 answer text <p /> <p>In April 2013 Universal Credit was added as a qualifying benefit and Council Tax Benefit was removed as a qualifying benefit as it ceased to exist. Otherwise, the criteria for awarding Cold Weather Payments have remained the same.</p><p> </p><p>This Government have also, from 2010, permanently increased the value of a Cold Weather Payment from £8.50 to £25.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 09/02/2015 14:07:44 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	1394 label Biography information for Roger Williams

169621

	registered interest
	date	10/12/2014
	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, what criteria he used to determine that the threshold at which a change in income can lead to an adjustment in child maintenance payments should be set at 25 per cent.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Northfield
	tabling member printed	Richard Burden
	uin	218234
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/12/2014 answer text <p /> <p>In determining the level of threshold the criteria considered were: to set a threshold which offered a stable maintenance liability to provide greater certainty to both parents whilst also remaining fair in dealing with unexpected and major changes in circumstances; and, to also set the threshold at a level which supports operational efficiency and secures the right balance between recalculating maintenance and collection and enforcement activity.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 15/12/2014 12:43:46 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	301 label Biography information for Richard Burden

171235

	registered interest
	date	17/12/2014
	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, what proportion of parents in the survey conducted by his Department of parents' contact with the Child Maintenance Options Service between February 2013 and March 2014 chose to make a statutory maintenance arrangement following contact with the Service; and how many children such statutory arrangements covered.
	tabling member constituency	Edinburgh East
	tabling member printed	Sheila Gilmore
	uin	219095
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/01/2015 answer text <p /> <p>Information around different arrangement types is under development and while not included in this publication, once assured, it will be included in future releases of this publication.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 05/01/2015 15:04:00 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	3965 label Biography information for Sheila Gilmore

171320

	registered interest
	date	17/12/2014
	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 the (a) actual and (b) percentage change was in the number of (i) all households and (ii) working households in receipt of housing benefit in each English local authority area between April 2010 and the latest date for which figures are available.
	tabling member constituency	Westminster North
	tabling member printed	Ms Karen Buck
	uin	219195
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/01/2015 answer text <p /> <p>Information on the number of Housing Benefit (HB) recipients in each English local authority since April 2010 is published and available at:</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/" target="_blank">https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk</a></p><p>Guidance on how to extract the information required can be found at:</p><p><a href="https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Stat-Xplore_User_Guide.htm" target="_blank">https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Stat-Xplore_User_Guide.htm</a></p><p> </p><p>Note: the economic status of all HB recipients is not available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost. The information is only available for HB recipients whose claim is not passported: that is, for those who do not receive Income Support, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, income-related Employment and Support Allowance, or the guarantee element of Pension Credit.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 05/01/2015 10:55:43 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	199 label Biography information for Ms Karen Buck