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818788

	registered interest
	date	08/01/2018
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Universal Credit: Refugees
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for the Home Department on ensuring that newly recognised refugees receive the first payment of universal credit within 28 days of their application.
	tabling member constituency	Bristol West
	tabling member printed	Thangam Debbonaire
	uin	121552
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/01/2018 answer text <p>DWP and the Home Office have recently introduced a supported handover process to assist newly recognised refugees needing assistance to claim benefits. This enables those participating in the process to access benefits by the end of the 28 day move on period, either through their claim to legacy benefits being processed by day 28, or through the offer of an advance payment of benefit that is made at their work-focused interview if they are being considered for Universal Credit. New claimants can already receive an advance of up to 50% of their estimated entitlement and this will increase to 100% later this month. Their repayment period may also move from six months to 12 months accordingly.</p> answering member constituency North West Hampshire answering member printed Kit Malthouse question first answered 15/01/2018 15:30:03 answering member 4495 label Biography information for Kit Malthouse
	tabling member	4433 label Biography information for Thangam Debbonaire

819044

	registered interest
	date	09/01/2018
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Social 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 she has made of the effect on low-income families in different local authorities of the devolution of control over the Social Fund; and if she will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	Oxford East
	tabling member printed	Anneliese Dodds
	uin	121721
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/01/2018 answer text <p>The reforms to the Social Fund in 2013 have allowed local authorities in England and the devolved administrations in Scotland and Wales to deliver their own local provision for people who are in need of urgent help.</p><p> </p><p>Our 2014 review found that local authorities delivered support more effectively than the previous provision under the Social Fund, and that local authorities are best placed to ensure help is targeted at those who need it most, alongside their other local services.</p> answering member constituency North West Hampshire answering member printed Kit Malthouse question first answered 15/01/2018 15:35:02 answering member 4495 label Biography information for Kit Malthouse
	tabling member	4657 label Biography information for Anneliese Dodds

818994

	registered interest
	date	09/01/2018
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Jobcentres: Harassment
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what information her Department holds on the number of reports of abuse and harassment of staff at jobcentres by location over the last five years.
	tabling member constituency	Walthamstow
	tabling member printed	Stella Creasy
	uin	121671
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/01/2018 answer text <p>DWP takes any form of abuse and harassment of its staff by customers and claimants very seriously and has robust controls in place to mitigate the risk of Unacceptable Customer Behaviour (UCB), nonetheless there will be occasions when it does unfortunately occur. We encourage our people to report each and every instance of unacceptable behaviour and we do take action against the perpetrator, with measures proportionate to the seriousness of the incident.</p><p> </p><p>Information collected includes:</p><ul><li>Details of Customer/Claimant details</li><li>Events leading to Incident and location of incident</li><li>Incident Category (Actual, Attempted, Verbal Assault, Threat, Written and Other)</li><li>Incident Type (depending on category) but can include Face to Face, Telephone, Object Thrown. If Verbal Abuse / Threat then Abuse type (Ageist, Cultural, Disability, Emotional, Gender, Personal, Racist, Sexual) may also be recorded</li><li>A narrative of the incident</li></ul> answering member constituency North West Hampshire answering member printed Kit Malthouse question first answered 15/01/2018 17:09:13 answering member 4495 label Biography information for Kit Malthouse
	tabling member	4088 label Biography information for Stella Creasy

819824

	registered interest
	date	10/01/2018
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Jobcentres: Glasgow
	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 carry out an assessment of the potential effect of the closure of Maryhill and Possilpark Jobcentre on levels of poverty in the area served by those jobcentres.
	tabling member constituency	Glasgow North East
	tabling member printed	Mr Paul Sweeney
	uin	121896
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/01/2018 answer text <p>There are no plans to assess poverty levels in connection with closures of individual sites such as Maryhill Jobcentre.</p><p> </p><p>I would stress that the office mergers are not about reducing services but about taking the opportunity to stop spending money on empty space so we can spend more on supporting those in need. The face-to-face support our work coaches offer at jobcentres will continue to be a core part of the service we deliver.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>National statistics on the number of individuals in relative low income are set out in DWP’s annual ‘Households Below Average Income’ publication. Latest 3-year estimates for Scotland in 2013/14 - 2015/16 show the rate of individuals in low income households at 15%, before housing costs. The number and proportion of individuals in relative low income is not available at a local authority or constituency level because the survey sample sizes are too small to support the production of robust estimates at this geography. Estimates to 2016/17 have been pre-announced to be published in March 2018.</p> answering member constituency North West Hampshire answering member printed Kit Malthouse question first answered 15/01/2018 17:21:28 answering member 4495 label Biography information for Kit Malthouse
	tabling member	4642 label Biography information for Mr Paul Sweeney

820762

	registered interest
	date	11/01/2018
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Jobcentres: Coventry
	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 assessment of the potential effect of the closure of Tile Hill jobcentre on levels of poverty in the area served by that jobcentre.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
	uin	122180
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/01/2018 answer text <p>There are no plans to assess poverty levels in connection with closures of individual sites such as Tile Hill Jobcentre.</p><p> </p><p>I would stress that the office mergers are not about reducing services but about taking the opportunity to stop spending money on empty space so we can spend more on supporting those in need. The face-to-face support our work coaches offer at jobcentres will continue to be a core part of the service we deliver.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>National statistics on the number of individuals in relative low income are set out in DWP’s annual ‘Households Below Average Income’ publication. Latest 3-year estimates for the West Midlands region in 2013/14 - 2015/16 show the rate of individuals in low income households at 19%, before housing costs.</p><p> </p><p>The number and proportion of individuals in relative low income is not available at a local authority or constituency level because the survey sample sizes are too small to support the production of robust estimates at this geography. Estimates to 2016/17 have been pre-announced to be published in March 2018.</p> answering member constituency North West Hampshire answering member printed Kit Malthouse question first answered 16/01/2018 12:00:42 answering member 4495 label Biography information for Kit Malthouse
	tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

818790

	registered interest
	date	08/01/2018
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Universal Credit: Refugees
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he plans to add newly recognised refugees to the list of groups exempt from the seven day waiting period for universal credit.
	tabling member constituency	Bristol West
	tabling member printed	Thangam Debbonaire
	uin	121554
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/01/2018 answer text <p>From February 2018, newly recognised refugees, like all other claimants will be eligible for Universal Credit from the first day they claim it (subject to satisfying the conditions of entitlement), removing the seven days some households currently have to wait. The most vulnerable refugees such as those with serious illnesses are already exempt.</p> answering member constituency North West Hampshire answering member printed Kit Malthouse question first answered 16/01/2018 12:05:12 answering member 4495 label Biography information for Kit Malthouse
	tabling member	4433 label Biography information for Thangam Debbonaire

818795

	registered interest
	date	08/01/2018
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Employment: Refugees
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what support his Department provides to refugees to find employment; and if he will make it his Department’s policy to work with local authorities to increase such support.
	tabling member constituency	Bristol West
	tabling member printed	Thangam Debbonaire
	uin	121559
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/01/2018 answer text <p>Jobcentre Plus work coaches provide tailored support to claimants with complex needs, including refugees, to help them find employment. Refugees will have early access to the Work and Health Programme which will help people who face additional barriers find work. Partnership managers work with a range of stakeholders, including local authorities, to establish what support is available locally, to encourage partnership working and to ensure claimants are signposted appropriately.</p> answering member constituency North West Hampshire answering member printed Kit Malthouse question first answered 16/01/2018 12:07:45 answering member 4495 label Biography information for Kit Malthouse
	tabling member	4433 label Biography information for Thangam Debbonaire

823094

	registered interest
	date	15/01/2018
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Housing Benefit: Supported Housing
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the cost to the public purse of providing housing benefit for people in (a) short-term and (b) long-term supported housing was in the most recent 12 months for which data is available.
	tabling member constituency	East Ham
	tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
	uin	122777
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/01/2018 answer text <p>The information requested is not available.</p> answering member constituency North West Hampshire answering member printed Kit Malthouse question first answered 18/01/2018 13:09:55 answering member 4495 label Biography information for Kit Malthouse
	tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

819805

	registered interest
	date	10/01/2018
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	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 the average length of time is for her Department to close a case when a Child Maintenance Service order expires; and what targets are in place for such cases to be closed.
	tabling member constituency	Wansbeck
	tabling member printed	Ian Lavery
	uin	121877
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/01/2018 answer text <p>We have interpreted the expiring of a Child Maintenance Service order to mean the ending of Child Maintenance liability on a Child Support Agency (CSA) case as part of our case closure process.</p><p> </p><p>The process to end the liabilities (stop accruing maintenance) in all Child Support Agency cases began in 2014. The Case closure process involves sending the customer 3 letters over the case closure journey to instigate, remind and confirm liability is ending, enabling the customer to make alternate arrangements over the period. .</p><p> </p><p>At end of liability, clients are told that their Child Support Agency child maintenance arrangement has ended. The Non Resident Parent will be told when to make a final maintenance payment and to keep paying any arrears. The Child Support Agency (CSA) will continue to collect and pay arrears payments that are made prior to the case fully closing - but regular maintenance collections and payments will stop after a 6 month fixed period.</p><p> </p><p>When liability has ended the case enters “arrears cleanse”. The purpose of this period (which may take up to a further 6 months) is to examine the debt balances on the case to address any anomalies and so calculate a “stable” arrears figure. This involves reviewing any suspended and deferred debt. It includes the write off of debt in circumstances covered by existing debt write off powers.</p><p> </p><p>A case can only close once all arrears have been cleared or collected. For those cases where the child maintenance liability ended on or after 1<sup>st</sup> April 2014 as part of this process the average length of time for the Department to close a case was 27 weeks, this is based on data up 31<sup>st</sup> September 2017. The department aims to end liability on all Child Support Agency cases by 31 December 2018.</p><p> </p><p>In terms of targets, the department have a clear timeline for ending liability for individual cases 6 months after selection but there time taken to actually close the case will be dependant on the arrears position and the amount of work outstanding.. Whilst there are no specific targets for the process of closing cases once liability has ended, for most cases this should be around 6 months, and the exact time will depend on case circumstances. This relates to Child Support Agency cases only, and only those cases that are subject to the case closure programme. We have no specific closure data for Child Maintenance Service (CMS) cases, and they are not part of the case closure programme.</p> answering member constituency North West Hampshire answering member printed Kit Malthouse question first answered 18/01/2018 14:00:10 answering member 4495 label Biography information for Kit Malthouse
	tabling member	4139 label Biography information for Ian Lavery

819851

	registered interest
	date	10/01/2018
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Department for Work and Pensions: Disability
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many members of staff in her Department with complex physical and mental health disabilities requiring IT adaptations were employed in each of the last ten years for which figures are available; and how many of those employees had their employment terminated in each of those years.
	tabling member constituency	Altrincham and Sale West
	tabling member printed	Sir Graham Brady
	uin	121923
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/01/2018 answer text <p>The information requested is not held centrally. Retrieval of data would be a disproportionate cost.</p><p> </p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>At the end of December 2017 the Department had 883 employees who were using accessibility software. We are unable to say when they were employed.</p> answering member constituency North West Hampshire answering member printed Kit Malthouse question first answered 18/01/2018 14:07:22 answering member 4495 label Biography information for Kit Malthouse
	tabling member	435 label Biography information for Sir Graham Brady