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1147079

	registered interest
	date	30/09/2019
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Access to Work Programme
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what training on the Access to Work scheme is provided to work coaches or advisors who support disabled young people receiving employment and support allowance.
	tabling member constituency	Washington and Sunderland West
	tabling member printed	Mrs Sharon Hodgson
	uin	292168
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/10/2019 answer text <p>Work Coaches are supported by Disability Employment Advisers (DEA’s) who provide coaching and mentoring to Work Coaches on disability issues. Technical learning for DEA’s includes a workshop on Provision and Support for claimants with a disability, this learning covers the Access to Work Scheme.</p><p> </p><p>The topic of the Access to Work scheme is covered in a number of learning products for Access to Work advisors who support applicants, some of whom may be in receipt of ESA, through the Access to Work process. This learning includes an Access to Work Workshop. There is also an Access to Work Disability Awareness Workbook which details how Access to Work can help a disabled person.</p><p> </p><p>In addition, each member of staff in the DWP, including work coaches, has regular performance conversations with their line manager. These conversations include identifying any learning needs particular to their role, including Access to Work if appropriate.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 08/10/2019 10:50:21 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	1521 label Biography information for Mrs Sharon Hodgson

1182330

	registered interest
	date	03/03/2020
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Access to Work Programme: GovTech Fund
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she has taken to publicise the availability of the Tech Fund for employees applying for Access to Work to (a) organisations and (b) disabled people.
	tabling member constituency	Washington and Sunderland West
	tabling member printed	Mrs Sharon Hodgson
	uin	24287
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/03/2020 answer text <p>The Access to Work Tech Fund is only available for people applying for Access to Work where assistive technology replaces existing or proposed human support.</p><p> </p><p>Since its announcement in Spring 2018, take up of Tech Fund has been low (fewer than 10 applicants). As a result, we are currently reviewing this and engaging with stakeholders to further understand the issues that they may be facing or those preventing them from benefiting from the Tech Fund. We are keen to find new ways of helping Access to Work recipients to become aware of, and benefit from, the latest assistive technology that best meets their needs, and would welcome further views on this.</p><p> </p><p>Access to Work has not undertaken any publicising of the Tech Fund specifically. Access to Work continues to undertake targeted marketing and awareness raising activities. For example, the scheme is promoted to benefit claimants through Jobcentre Plus and to a range of business leaders through the Disability Confident scheme. We have also worked with a variety of stakeholder organisations to market Access to Work to their clients, including sharing information about how individuals can apply for support.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson grouped question UIN 24288 24289 24290 question first answered 10/03/2020 10:57:51 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	1521 label Biography information for Mrs Sharon Hodgson

1254885

	registered interest
	date	24/11/2020
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Covid Winter Grant Scheme
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps families of children who are eligible for Free School Meals will need to take to access support from the Covid Winter Grant Scheme during the Christmas holidays.
	tabling member constituency	Washington and Sunderland West
	tabling member printed	Mrs Sharon Hodgson
	uin	119987
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/12/2020 answer text <p>The Covid Winter Support Grant is a new £170m fund which will enable local authorities in England to support vulnerable households this winter with food and key utilities. To ensure those most in need benefit from this funding, grants to local authorities are being made under Section 31 of the Local Government Act 2003 and carry conditions to ensure the primary focus of the scheme is on supporting vulnerable families with children affected by the pandemic, including but not restricted to households who are eligible for free school meals. Local authorities will develop their own criteria.</p><p> </p><p>We have provided these grants to upper tier authorities, recognising they have the statutory responsibility regarding children and are well placed to identify and respond to local need. A wide range of data is already available to them to help target their support, including access to the benefits system, social services, health visitors and relationships with schools. Local authorities already have local welfare assistance responsibility and many have support programmes already in place. Jobcentres will share information with claimants about the support available in their local area.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Detailed guidance has been shared with local authorities and was published on gov.uk on 24 November: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-winter-grant-scheme" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-winter-grant-scheme</a></p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince grouped question UIN 119315 119988 119989 119991 question first answered 01/12/2020 18:06:11 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	1521 label Biography information for Mrs Sharon Hodgson

1254889

	registered interest
	date	24/11/2020
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Covid Winter Grant Scheme
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the proportion of the support available under the Covid Winter Grant Scheme that will be granted to families with children who are eligible for Free School Meals.
	tabling member constituency	Washington and Sunderland West
	tabling member printed	Mrs Sharon Hodgson
	uin	119990
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/12/2020 answer text <p>The primary focus of the £170 million Covid Winter Grant Scheme is on supporting vulnerable families with children affected by the pandemic, including, but not restricted to, families who are eligible for free school meals. As local authorities have flexibility to decide how best to identify and support those most in need in their local area, within the grant conditions, no such assessment has been made.</p><p> </p><p>Detailed guidance for local authorities was published on gov.uk on 24 November.</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-winter-grant-scheme" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-winter-grant-scheme</a></p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 02/12/2020 14:12:13 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	1521 label Biography information for Mrs Sharon Hodgson

1254890

	registered interest
	date	24/11/2020
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Covid Winter Grant Scheme
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department will take to ensure families with children who are eligible for Free School Meals access support under the Covid Winter Grant Scheme.
	tabling member constituency	Washington and Sunderland West
	tabling member printed	Mrs Sharon Hodgson
	uin	119991
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/12/2020 answer text <p>The Covid Winter Support Grant is a new £170m fund which will enable local authorities in England to support vulnerable households this winter with food and key utilities. To ensure those most in need benefit from this funding, grants to local authorities are being made under Section 31 of the Local Government Act 2003 and carry conditions to ensure the primary focus of the scheme is on supporting vulnerable families with children affected by the pandemic, including but not restricted to households who are eligible for free school meals. Local authorities will develop their own criteria.</p><p> </p><p>We have provided these grants to upper tier authorities, recognising they have the statutory responsibility regarding children and are well placed to identify and respond to local need. A wide range of data is already available to them to help target their support, including access to the benefits system, social services, health visitors and relationships with schools. Local authorities already have local welfare assistance responsibility and many have support programmes already in place. Jobcentres will share information with claimants about the support available in their local area.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Detailed guidance has been shared with local authorities and was published on gov.uk on 24 November: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-winter-grant-scheme" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-winter-grant-scheme</a></p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince grouped question UIN 119315 119987 119988 119989 question first answered 01/12/2020 18:06:11 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	1521 label Biography information for Mrs Sharon Hodgson

1256037

	registered interest
	date	26/11/2020
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Covid Winter Grant Scheme
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what mechanism was used to determine how much each local authority will receive from the Covid Winter Grant Scheme.
	tabling member constituency	Washington and Sunderland West
	tabling member printed	Mrs Sharon Hodgson
	uin	121201
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/12/2020 answer text <p>The Covid Winter Grant Scheme is a new £170m fund which will enable local authorities to support vulnerable households this winter with food and key utilities. Grants to local authorities will be made under Section 31 of the Local Government Act 2003 and will carry conditions to ensure the primary focus of the scheme is on supporting vulnerable families with children affected by the pandemic. Within the conditions, local authorities will have flexibility to decide how best to identify and support those most in need in their local area.</p><p> </p><p>In line with the £63m grant fund made available to local authorities earlier in the year, funding will be dispersed according to an authority’s population, weighted by a function of the English Index of Multiple Deprivation.</p><p> </p><p>Funding allocations for each upper tier Local Authority were published on gov.uk on 24 November: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-winter-grant-scheme/indicative-funding-levels-per-county-council-or-unitary-authority" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-winter-grant-scheme/indicative-funding-levels-per-county-council-or-unitary-authority</a></p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 03/12/2020 15:16:32 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	1521 label Biography information for Mrs Sharon Hodgson

1254887

	registered interest
	date	24/11/2020
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Covid Winter Grant Scheme and Free School Meals
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to ensure that families of children who are eligible for Free School Meals are aware of the need to access the Covid Winter Grant Scheme to receive food provision support over the Christmas holidays.
	tabling member constituency	Washington and Sunderland West
	tabling member printed	Mrs Sharon Hodgson
	uin	119988
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/12/2020 answer text <p>The Covid Winter Support Grant is a new £170m fund which will enable local authorities in England to support vulnerable households this winter with food and key utilities. To ensure those most in need benefit from this funding, grants to local authorities are being made under Section 31 of the Local Government Act 2003 and carry conditions to ensure the primary focus of the scheme is on supporting vulnerable families with children affected by the pandemic, including but not restricted to households who are eligible for free school meals. Local authorities will develop their own criteria.</p><p> </p><p>We have provided these grants to upper tier authorities, recognising they have the statutory responsibility regarding children and are well placed to identify and respond to local need. A wide range of data is already available to them to help target their support, including access to the benefits system, social services, health visitors and relationships with schools. Local authorities already have local welfare assistance responsibility and many have support programmes already in place. Jobcentres will share information with claimants about the support available in their local area.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Detailed guidance has been shared with local authorities and was published on gov.uk on 24 November: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-winter-grant-scheme" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-winter-grant-scheme</a></p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince grouped question UIN 119315 119987 119989 119991 question first answered 01/12/2020 18:06:11 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	1521 label Biography information for Mrs Sharon Hodgson

1254888

	registered interest
	date	24/11/2020
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Covid Winter Grant Scheme and Free School Meals
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to (a) inform families of children who are eligible for Free School Meals how to access support under the Covid Winter Grant Scheme and (b) support those families to access that scheme.
	tabling member constituency	Washington and Sunderland West
	tabling member printed	Mrs Sharon Hodgson
	uin	119989
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/12/2020 answer text <p>The Covid Winter Support Grant is a new £170m fund which will enable local authorities in England to support vulnerable households this winter with food and key utilities. To ensure those most in need benefit from this funding, grants to local authorities are being made under Section 31 of the Local Government Act 2003 and carry conditions to ensure the primary focus of the scheme is on supporting vulnerable families with children affected by the pandemic, including but not restricted to households who are eligible for free school meals. Local authorities will develop their own criteria.</p><p> </p><p>We have provided these grants to upper tier authorities, recognising they have the statutory responsibility regarding children and are well placed to identify and respond to local need. A wide range of data is already available to them to help target their support, including access to the benefits system, social services, health visitors and relationships with schools. Local authorities already have local welfare assistance responsibility and many have support programmes already in place. Jobcentres will share information with claimants about the support available in their local area.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Detailed guidance has been shared with local authorities and was published on gov.uk on 24 November: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-winter-grant-scheme" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-winter-grant-scheme</a></p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince grouped question UIN 119315 119987 119988 119991 question first answered 01/12/2020 18:06:11 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	1521 label Biography information for Mrs Sharon Hodgson

1461176

	registered interest
	date	10/05/2022
	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: Washington
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether additional travel support will be provided to civil servants employed at the Durham House site which has been identified for consolidation.
	tabling member constituency	Washington and Sunderland West
	tabling member printed	Mrs Sharon Hodgson
	uin	108
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/05/2022 answer text <p>The changes the Department is making to estates will both improve the working environment for staff, become greener by becoming smaller, helping meet the Government’s carbon reduction target, and provide value for money for the taxpayer.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>As of March 2022, 905 colleagues located in Washington Durham House are being asked to relocate, with their role, to Sunderland Wearview House. Each colleague will have a discussion with their line manager to assess the impact of the move on them and if they are able to relocate. The Department’s priority will be to retain, retrain and redeploy colleagues either within DWP, or within other Government Departments in the area. As a responsible employer, we will make provision for redundancies if it is necessary. However, this will be a very last resort after all efforts to redeploy have been exhausted.</p><p> </p><p>An overarching Equality Assessment has been completed which considers the impact on colleagues. This has been made available in the House Library. Individual site Assessments have also been prepared. The planning of an office closure includes consideration of factors including the ‘Index of Multiple Deprivation’ for each location, which considers many factors, including:</p><ul><li>Income Deprivation</li><li>Employment Deprivation</li><li>Education, Skills and Training Deprivation</li><li>Health Deprivation and Disability</li><li>Crime</li><li>Barriers to Housing and Services</li><li>Living Environment Deprivation</li></ul><p> </p><p>The Department currently expects to exit Washington Durham House by November 2022. Should redeployment mean additional travel costs, colleagues may qualify for an Excess Fares payment to cover those costs. These costs would be paid for up to three years.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies grouped question UIN 104 105 106 107 question first answered 18/05/2022 12:28:40 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
	tabling member	1521 label Biography information for Mrs Sharon Hodgson

1461178

	registered interest
	date	10/05/2022
	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: Washington
	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 of the consolidation of Durham House on levels of hybrid working among affected civil servants.
	tabling member constituency	Washington and Sunderland West
	tabling member printed	Mrs Sharon Hodgson
	uin	110
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/05/2022 answer text <p>The adoption of hybrid working practices has been carefully and fully considered. The introduction of hybrid working arrangements by the Department for back of house functions means that staff will only need to work on average 40% of their working week in the new location. DWP aims to utilise its hybrid working policy to help facilitate more inclusive workplaces, which are capable of adapting to the needs of employees and the Department.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 18/05/2022 12:05:56 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
	tabling member	1521 label Biography information for Mrs Sharon Hodgson