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998932

	registered interest
	date	31/10/2018
	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
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether legacy benefits provided to claimants transitioning to Universal Credit will come to an end within a fixed time period.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Thomas of Winchester
	uin	HL11179
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/11/2018 answer text <p>We are working collaboratively to ensure that managed migration works for everyone, building in safeguards so that all claimants are fully supported and that we cater for the diverse needs of the different claimant groups, including the most vulnerable, moving to Universal Credit.</p><p> </p><p>Using feedback on the draft regulations we have made a change to the regulations, laid in Parliament on 5 November, which propose to give claimants a minimum of three months to make a claim for Universal Credit and set no maximum period in which a claim must be made. With unlimited flexibility to extend claim periods we will work with representative groups to produce guidance that will ensure adequate support for each individual claimant’s needs.</p><p>In the Autumn Budget 2018 we also announced a further £4.5bn package of support across the next five years. This includes a £1bn package of changes, providing 2 additional weeks of DWP legacy benefits for those moved onto Universal Credit – a one-off non-repayable sum that will provide claimants with extra money during the period before they receive their first Universal Credit payment.</p> answering member printed Baroness Buscombe question first answered 14/11/2018 17:09:04 answering member 3349 label Biography information for Baroness Buscombe
	tabling member	3785 label Biography information for Baroness Thomas of Winchester

998930

	registered interest
	date	31/10/2018
	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
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what process they plan to use to identify vulnerable claimants who will require additional support to transition to Universal Credit.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Thomas of Winchester
	uin	HL11178
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/11/2018 answer text <p>We are committed to delivering managed migration in a way which supports claimants. In 2019, we will have a preparation period before testing and refining our approach with no more than 10,000 claimants from July 2019, to ensure it supports claimants onto Universal Credit, before we take on larger volumes in 2020.</p><p> </p><p>As part of this, we are engaging with claimants, charities, experts and other stakeholders, on the design, making sure that it works for everyone and building in safeguards to ensure that vulnerable claimants are fully supported. To complete managed migration successfully, we will continue to engage with key stakeholders, experts and claimants throughout the process.</p><p> </p><p>As announced at the Autumn Budget 2018 we will put an extra £1.7bn a year into work allowances, increasing them by £1,000 a year, resulting in 2.4m families keeping substantially more of their earnings before the earnings taper applies. Furthermore, it was announced that payment of Income Support and the income related elements of Employment and Support Allowance and Jobseeker’s Allowance will continue for two weeks after a claim for Universal Credit has been made, effective from July 2020, benefitting 1.1 million households. Claimants will therefore receive one two week run-on payment when being migrated to Universal Credit. This builds upon the similar two week run-on of Housing Benefit that was announced at Autumn Budget 2017, and which was introduced in April this year.</p><p> </p><p>We have also improved how our work coaches and case workers view the claimant’s Universal Credit account so they clearly know when a claimant is vulnerable and what support they may need.</p> answering member printed Baroness Buscombe question first answered 14/11/2018 16:52:38 answering member 3349 label Biography information for Baroness Buscombe
	tabling member	3785 label Biography information for Baroness Thomas of Winchester

998929

	registered interest
	date	31/10/2018
	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: Disability
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government how the additional funding announced in the Budget will be used to support disabled claimants in their transition to Universal Credit.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Thomas of Winchester
	uin	HL11177
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/11/2018 answer text <p>At Autumn Budget 2018 we announced that payment of income related legacy benefits (Income Support, income related Employment and Support Allowance and income based Jobseeker’s Allowance) will continue for two weeks after a claim for Universal Credit has been made. This change will support vulnerable claimants financially when moving to Universal Credit. From April 2019, the amount people with disabilities (and also households with children) can earn before their Universal Credit award begins to be withdrawn – the Work Allowance – will be increased by £1000, meaning they can keep an extra £630 per year.</p><p> </p><p>Earlier this year we announced transitional payments for former recipients of Severe Disability Premium (SDP), and protections for those who are receiving SDP as part of their existing benefit entitlement. Claimants will now only move to Universal Credit under managed migration with transitional protection. Those who have already moved to Universal Credit will receive transitional protection back-dated to the start of their Universal Credit claim and will also receive on-going monthly payments. The regulations that include these provisions are currently before Parliament for scrutiny and approval. Universal Credit provides a higher level of support for the most severely disabled people than the benefit it replaces, worth up to £328.32 per month.</p> answering member printed Baroness Buscombe question first answered 14/11/2018 17:56:31 answering member 3349 label Biography information for Baroness Buscombe
	tabling member	3785 label Biography information for Baroness Thomas of Winchester

998921

	registered interest
	date	31/10/2018
	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: Contracts
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Buscombe on 23 October (HL10674), whether they include in supplier contracts a specific requirement that they do nothing to harm public confidence in the person of the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions; and if so, whether this is a new policy, and when it was introduced.
	tabling member printed	Lord Myners
	uin	HL11170
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/11/2018 answer text <p>Contractual provisions that impose obligations on suppliers not to harm the reputation of the purchasing authority or otherwise bring it into disrepute are not new policy, such provisions are well-established and widely used in both the public and private sector and are transparent throughout the tendering process. These provisions ensure that contractors adhere to good working practices and governance, for example by ensuring they do not break employment law or use dangerous, unfair or unethical practices which may bring the Authority into disrepute or harm public confidence. Such provisions do not stop any contract holders or affiliates from criticising any specific government department, government policy or politicians.</p> answering member printed Baroness Buscombe question first answered 12/11/2018 16:51:13 answering member 3349 label Biography information for Baroness Buscombe
	tabling member	3869 label Biography information for Lord Myners

997762

	registered interest
	date	30/10/2018
	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: Disability
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department has made an estimate of the number of disabled people who previously received a disability premium that have been migrated onto universal credit without transitional protections.
	tabling member constituency	Cardiff Central
	tabling member printed	Jo Stevens
	uin	185631
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/12/2018 answer text <p>We are not currently migrating any claimants from legacy benefits to Universal Credit. Claimants only move from existing benefits to Universal Credit through natural migration when they experience a significant change in their circumstances that triggers a new claim to benefit. Their entitlement is then calculated on the rules of their new benefit. This is a long-established principle which we maintain for Universal Credit.</p><p> </p><p>Subject to Parliamentary approval of the Managed Migration regulations, we will be spending £3.1 billion on transitional protections to ensure that no one loses out at the point of transition. This includes those currently receiving Severe Disability Premium (SDP). These regulations will prevent these claimants from moving over before the managed migration process, and provide financial protection for those who have already moved over.</p><p> </p><p>We do not hold data on all disabled people receiving all disability premiums that have moved onto Universal Credit; however, published data shows that of the 42,000 people who were on Employment Support Allowance (ESA) and started a claim on Universal Credit Full Service within one month of closing their claim between May 2015 and February 2018, 15,000 were on ESA (Income Related) with Enhanced Disability Premium (EDP) and/or SDP. Of those, 1,000 were in receipt of SDP only, 11,000 in receipt of EDP only and 3,000 in receipt of EDP and SDP.</p><p> </p><p>This is published here:</p><p><a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/714479/ad-hoc-statistics-income-related-employment-and-support-allowance-february-2018.pdf" target="_blank">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/714479/ad-hoc-statistics-income-related-employment-and-support-allowance-february-2018.pdf</a></p> answering member constituency Truro and Falmouth answering member printed Sarah Newton question first answered 20/12/2018 12:03:36 answering member 4071 label Biography information for Sarah Newton previous answer version 83317 answering member constituency Truro and Falmouth answering member printed Sarah Newton answering member 4071 label Biography information for Sarah Newton
	tabling member	4425 label Biography information for Jo Stevens

997365

	registered interest
	date	29/10/2018
	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 Security Benefits
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of working people in receipt of top up benefits are resident in (a) Ashfield constituency, (b) in each region of the UK and (c) in the UK.
	tabling member constituency	Ashfield
	tabling member printed	Gloria De Piero
	uin	184954
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/12/2018 answer text <p>The numbers of in work families receiving tax credits are in table 1.1 of the Child and Working Tax Credits statistics: finalised annual awards - 2016 to 2017 published by HMRC can be accessed at:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/720570/Main_publication_-_final_tables.xlsx" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/720570/Main_publication_-_final_tables.xlsx</a></p><p> </p><p>Geographical breakdowns including constituency level figures are available at:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/720739/Main_geographical_-_final_tables.xlsx" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/720739/Main_geographical_-_final_tables.xlsx</a></p><p> </p><p>Universal Credit and Housing Benefit statistics for Great Britain are regularly published and the latest statistics for September 2018 and May 2018 respectively can be accessed at:</p><p><a href="https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk" target="_blank">https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk</a></p><p> </p><p>Guidance for users is available at:</p><p><a href="https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started.html" target="_blank">https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started.html</a></p><p> </p><p>The information available for the number of employed individuals that are in receipt of Income Support, Jobseeker’s Allowance and Employment and Support Allowance in May 2018 in geographical areas of Great Britain can be found in the following table.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 10/12/2018 18:17:56 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma attachment 1 file name People Table 184954.docx title Working people in receipt of IS, JSA or ESA previous answer version 82637 answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	3915 label Biography information for Gloria De Piero

992740

	registered interest
	date	22/10/2018
	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
	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 claimants used implicit consent to make a benefits claim under the legacy system.
	tabling member constituency	Airdrie and Shotts
	tabling member printed	Neil Gray
	uin	182259
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/12/2018 answer text <p>Implicit Consent is usually used when a third party wants to check the progress of a claim or assist a customer with a question about their entitlement. For more vulnerable claimants unable to mange their own affairs, an appointee or corporate acting body will make the claim on their behalf. If implicit consent was used to make a new claim there is no specific area that the details are held on the legacy system.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 03/12/2018 16:30:22 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	4365 label Biography information for Neil Gray

992737

	registered interest
	date	22/10/2018
	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
	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 potential merits of creating a work allowance for second earners as part of universal credit.
	tabling member constituency	Airdrie and Shotts
	tabling member printed	Neil Gray
	uin	182256
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/12/2018 answer text <p>We have not made an assessment.</p><p> </p><p>Universal Credit targets resources towards reducing the number of workless households, by increasing the incentive for at least one member of the household to enter work. Compared to children from working families, children who grow up in workless families are almost twice as likely to not reach the expected attainment level at all stages of their education, and are also more likely to be workless themselves in adult life. Helping at least one person into work could help break the cycle of worklessness in a family.</p><p> </p><p>As announced at Autumn Budget 2018, on 29 October 2018, work allowances will be increased by £1000 a year from April 2019. This increase for working parents and people with disabilities, means 2.4 million households will be up to £630 better off per year, in a package worth £1.7bn by 2023/24.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 11/12/2018 10:28:12 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	4365 label Biography information for Neil Gray

992670

	registered interest
	date	22/10/2018
	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
	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 extend universal credit transitional protection to people (a) whose eligibility for support has recently changed, (b) living in temporary and supported accommodation and (c) affected by the benefit cap.
	tabling member constituency	Glasgow North East
	tabling member printed	Mr Paul Sweeney
	uin	182223
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/12/2018 answer text <p>Natural migration to Universal Credit occurs when a claimant experiences a change in their circumstances and they are required to make a new claim to Universal Credit. This new award is calculated based on claimants’ new circumstances, which ensures they are paid the correct amount. As such, they are not eligible for transitional protection which is designed to ensure that those moved without a change in circumstances do not lose out financially.</p><p> </p><p>The Universal Credit (Managed Migration) 2018 regulations which have been laid before Parliament ensure that those living in temporary and supported accommodation will have access to transitional protection if they are managed migrated. These claimants will remain in receipt of their existing Housing Benefit while they continue to live in this form of accommodation and, therefore, no support paid for housing will be taken into account when considering if transitional protection should be awarded. This transitional protection is dependent on the Managed Migration regulations receiving Parliamentary approval.</p><p> </p><p>When claimants are migrated to Universal Credit the comparison of total legacy benefit and Universal Credit will be calculated once the benefit cap has been applied to both amounts. The benefit cap rules continue to apply so Universal Credit claimants will not receive above the level of the benefit cap unless they meet one of the exemption criteria. Households who are exempt from the Benefit Cap, including those who earn at least £542 a month, will be unaffected.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 03/12/2018 16:02:20 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	4642 label Biography information for Mr Paul Sweeney

992786

	registered interest
	date	22/10/2018
	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
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how exceptional circumstances is defined when determining whether a universal credit claimant in receipt of a universal credit advance payment is eligible for the three-month discretionary period after the first universal credit instalment before repayments of that advance begin.
	tabling member constituency	Garston and Halewood
	tabling member printed	Maria Eagle
	uin	182115
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/01/2019 answer text <p>The maximum value of an advance payment of Universal Credit is the claimant’s standard allowance plus any additional amounts to provide for extra needs such as housing, children or disability, up to 100% of the claimant’s indicative award and can be repaid over 12 months.</p><p>There is not a prescriptive list of exceptional circumstances to allow the deferral of the advance repayment. Consideration is given to whether the household would face genuine hardship.</p><p>During the recovery of the advance, exceptional circumstances may occur that were not foreseen when the advance was taken out. For example hospital visits resulting in unexpected and regular bus/taxi fares. If these circumstances push the claimant into genuine hardship resulting in difficulty repaying the advance over the agreed recovery time, a maximum 3 month deferral can be considered. Full recovery must currently be made within 12 months. However, from October 2021, the recovery period for advances will increase from 12 to 16 months.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma grouped question UIN 182114 question first answered 03/01/2019 17:29:14 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	483 label Biography information for Maria Eagle