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1140242

	registered interest
	date	18/07/2019
	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	Social Security Benefits: Disability
	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 effect of the two-child limit for universal credit and tax credits on disabled parents with more than two children.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
	uin	278905
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/07/2019 answer text <p>It is the Department’s view that providing support for a maximum of two children or qualifying young persons in Universal Credit and Child Tax Credit ensures fairness between those supporting themselves solely through work and those receiving benefits.</p><p> </p><p>The Government assessed the impact of the policy from an equality and human rights perspective throughout its development and in preparation for its implementation. The Department published statistics related to the first year of policy implementation in June 2018 and will publish updated statistics on 31<sup>st</sup> July.</p><p> </p><p>An impact assessment of the policy of providing support for a maximum of two children in Child Tax Credits and Universal Credit, which considered the impact of the policy on families and other protected groups, including those with disabilities, was published in July 2015 and is available at:</p><p><a href="https://www.parliament.uk/documents/impact-assessments/ia15-006e.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.parliament.uk/documents/impact-assessments/ia15-006e.pdf</a></p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 23/07/2019 09:26:16 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

1140398

	registered interest
	date	18/07/2019
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Universal Credit: Northern Ireland
	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 merits of twice monthly universal credit payments in Northern Ireland.
	tabling member constituency	Vale of Clwyd
	tabling member printed	Chris Ruane
	uin	278916
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/07/2019 answer text <p>Social security matters are the responsibility of the Department for Communities in Northern Ireland. The Department for Communities therefore delivers Universal Credit with the support of DWP and its Universal Credit Programme. Mitigations agreed as part of the Fresh Start Agreement allow the Department for Communities to deliver UC differently from the way it is delivered in GB, and responsibility for evaluating the effectiveness of the mitigations package rests with them.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 23/07/2019 16:39:17 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	534 label Biography information for Chris Ruane

1139898

	registered interest
	date	17/07/2019
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Universal Credit: Fraud
	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 15 July 2019 to Question 275665 on universal credit: fraud, what recourse is available to people who without their full knowledge have had their information used to make a fraudulent claim.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
	tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
	uin	278344
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/07/2019 answer text <p>The Department takes benefit fraud very seriously and ensures that all cases are investigated thoroughly.</p><p> </p><p>If a claimant has been the victim of fraud, and has not benefitted financially in any way, they will not be asked to repay the money. The Department considers all cases on their own merits and decisions are made on the strength of the evidence provided.</p><p> </p><p>The Department remains committed to tackling the issue of fraudulent Universal Credit advance claims. We have set up a dedicated team of investigators to work on advances fraud cases, released a campaign on social media to raise awareness and remind people of the importance of safeguarding their identity and have been working with Social Media sites to shut down pages which promote this fraud, having shut down 52 so far.</p><p /><p>If any claimant has concerns about the safety of their personal information, they should speak to a member of Jobcentre staff or get help from Action Fraud.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 22/07/2019 14:46:55 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

1139921

	registered interest
	date	17/07/2019
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Universal Credit
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of claimants of universal credit that have taken an advance payment have seen payments reduced by (a) up to 20 percent (b) between 21 and 30 per cent, (c) 31 to 40 per cent and (d) over 40 percent of the initial amount in each of the last three years.
	tabling member constituency	Vale of Clwyd
	tabling member printed	Chris Ruane
	uin	278385
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/07/2019 answer text <p>Universal Credit (UC) new claim advances provide access to a payment for those in financial need, which can be accessed on the same day, until their first UC payment is due. Claimants can access up to 100% of the total expected monthly award, for which they can pay back over a period of up to 12 months.</p><p> </p><p>The Department has taken a number of steps to ensure that advances meet the needs of claimants and that recovery arrangements are personalised and reasonable. The maximum rate of deductions cannot normally exceed 40 per cent of the Universal Credit standard allowance and does not reduce other components of an award, such as money paid for children, housing or when someone is caring for a severely disabled person. From October 2019 this will be reduced to 30 per cent and from October 2021 we are increasing the maximum recovery period for advances from 12 to 16 months.</p><p> </p><p>However, the Government recognises the importance of safeguarding the welfare of claimants who have incurred debt, so last resort deductions can be applied to protect vulnerable claimants from eviction and/or having their fuel supply (gas/electricity) cut off, by providing a last resort repayment method for arrears of these essential services. In these cases, when it is considered to be in the best interests of the claimant and their family, deductions may be taken above the 40 per cent limit.</p><p> </p><p>If a claimant is in financial difficulty as a result of the level of deductions being made they can contact the Department to request that a reduction in deductions be considered.</p><p> </p><p>The latest available data for eligible claims to UC Full Service is provided in table 1:</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Table 1</p></td><td colspan="3"><p>Month Payment Due</p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p>Feb-17</p></td><td><p>Feb-18</p></td><td><p>Feb-19</p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p>%</p></td><td><p>%</p></td><td><p>%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>up to 20 percent of Standard Allowance</p></td><td><p>42%</p></td><td><p>49%</p></td><td><p>47%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>between 21 and 30 per cent of Standard Allowance</p></td><td><p>20%</p></td><td><p>19%</p></td><td><p>18%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>31 to 40 per cent of Standard Allowance</p></td><td><p>35%</p></td><td><p>31%</p></td><td><p>33%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>over 40 percent of Standard Allowance</p></td><td><p>3%</p></td><td><p>1%</p></td><td><p>2%</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p><p>Notes</p><p>1. The latest month for which data is available is February 2019.</p><p>2. When categorising claims into the groups above, the figures for the percentage of the Standard Allowance for individual claims have been rounded to the nearest percent.</p><p>3. Deductions include advance repayments and all other deductions, but exclude sanctions and fraud penalties which are reductions of benefit rather than deductions.</p><p>4. A claim can have more than one type of deduction applied to a given payment e.g. the total deduction could be the total of both an advance repayment and another deduction type.</p><p>5. Figures are for Universal Credit Full Service only; Universal Credit full service was fully rolled out by the end of 2018.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 22/07/2019 15:03:58 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	534 label Biography information for Chris Ruane

1139350

	registered interest
	date	16/07/2019
	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	European 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 estimate she has made of the number of employment support projects that are funded by the European Social Fund.
	tabling member constituency	Weaver Vale
	tabling member printed	Mike Amesbury
	uin	277848
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/07/2019 answer text <p>European Social Fund (ESF) projects aim to increase labour market participation, promote social inclusion and develop the skills of the potential and existing workforce, including amongst the most vulnerable people in society.</p><p> </p><p>To date, 363 projects have set out to achieve this within the current England ESF programme (this figure excludes technical assistance projects), amounting to total investment worth £3.65 billion, around £2 billion of which is EU funded. This figure will increase as further projects are agreed and delivered over the lifetime of the programme.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 22/07/2019 14:34:47 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	4667 label Biography information for Mike Amesbury

1138941

	registered interest
	date	15/07/2019
	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	Children: Maintenance
	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 plans to undertake a public consultation on changing the sequence by which deductions from benefits are ordered to ensure that child maintenance payments take priority over debts to private companies.
	tabling member constituency	Bristol South
	tabling member printed	Karin Smyth
	uin	277210
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/07/2019 answer text <p>Under Universal Credit there is a structured approach to deductions from benefit, which simplifies the current complex arrangements of the legacy system.</p><p>The aims of the deductions policy in Universal Credit are to protect vulnerable claimants by providing a last resort repayment method for arrears of essential services, to enforce social obligations and to recover Government debt in a cost effective manner.</p><p>Deductions are made following the priority order, which determines the order in which items should be deducted. ‘Last resort’ deductions, such as rent or fuel costs, are at the top of the priority order, ensuring that claimant welfare is prioritised, followed by social obligation deductions, such as child maintenance, and finally benefit debt, such as Social Fund loans and benefit overpayments.</p><p>We prioritise the welfare of claimants, as this is the best way to support them and to help them to move towards work and off benefits.</p><p>The Deduction Priority Order can be found here (p. 72) - <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/683470/benefit-overpayment-recovery-guide.pdf" target="_blank">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/683470/benefit-overpayment-recovery-guide.pdf</a></p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 23/07/2019 09:28:18 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	4444 label Biography information for Karin Smyth

1138630

	registered interest
	date	12/07/2019
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Welfare Assistance Schemes
	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 is taking to (a) promote and (b) fund local welfare assistance.
	tabling member constituency	Morley and Outwood
	tabling member printed	Andrea Jenkyns
	uin	276564
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/07/2019 answer text <p>The reforms to the Social Fund in 2013 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. Local authorities are best placed to decide how to promote and target flexible help to support local welfare needs. The Government has no further plans to review provision.</p><p> </p><p>The Local Government Finance Settlement for 2015-16 identifies a notional amount relating to local welfare provision in each upper-tier and unitary authority’s general grant, totalling £129.6 million for England. The notional allocation for local welfare provision remains at £129.6 million in England in the Local Government Financial Settlement until 2019/20. There are no plans to ring-fence this notional allocation.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma grouped question UIN 276565 276576 question first answered 22/07/2019 15:11:48 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	4490 label Biography information for Dame Andrea Jenkyns

1138631

	registered interest
	date	12/07/2019
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Welfare Assistance Schemes
	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 allocate additional funding for local welfare assistance.
	tabling member constituency	Morley and Outwood
	tabling member printed	Andrea Jenkyns
	uin	276565
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/07/2019 answer text <p>The reforms to the Social Fund in 2013 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. Local authorities are best placed to decide how to promote and target flexible help to support local welfare needs. The Government has no further plans to review provision.</p><p> </p><p>The Local Government Finance Settlement for 2015-16 identifies a notional amount relating to local welfare provision in each upper-tier and unitary authority’s general grant, totalling £129.6 million for England. The notional allocation for local welfare provision remains at £129.6 million in England in the Local Government Financial Settlement until 2019/20. There are no plans to ring-fence this notional allocation.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma grouped question UIN 276564 276576 question first answered 22/07/2019 15:11:48 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	4490 label Biography information for Dame Andrea Jenkyns

1138693

	registered interest
	date	12/07/2019
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Universal Credit: Fraud
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent steps he is taking to tackle universal credit fraud.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
	uin	276511
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/07/2019 answer text <p>The Department takes its obligation to prevent, detect and investigate fraud very seriously and will investigate all claims where fraud may have been committed. We have recently set up a dedicated team to investigate a specific type of emergent fraud, and we are also committed to the use of penalties such as prosecutions and tough financial penalties to discourage fraudulent behaviour.</p><p> </p><p>The Department has also recently been working to further improve knowledge and awareness of Universal Credit (UC) fraud amongst Jobcentre and Service Centre staff. Guidance has also been issued to ensure that all staff are aware how to quickly refer cases of suspected fraud to the Department’s Counter-fraud team.</p><p> </p><p>Most welfare losses, across Government, arise from claimants failing to report changes of circumstances. UC provides a single, digital interface through which claimants can more easily report these changes. UC also allows us to adjust benefit entitlement in line with changing circumstances in real time. Internal and external data matches are increasingly helping to inform benefit payments and alerting staff to check for any undeclared changes in people’s circumstances. Once UC is fully rolled out, we expect cross-welfare losses to fraud, error and overpayments to be reduced by around £1 billion per year</p><p> </p><p>As of June 2019, potential fraudulent advance claims equate to less than 1 per cent of all Universal Credit claims.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 17/07/2019 12:58:00 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

1138694

	registered interest
	date	12/07/2019
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Universal Credit: Proof of Identity
	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 accurate verification of universal credit claimants who request an advance.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
	uin	276512
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/07/2019 answer text <p>As of June 2019, potential fraudulent advance claims equate to less than 1 per cent of all Universal Credit claims.</p><p> </p><p>The Department has been working to improve knowledge and awareness of advances fraud amongst Jobcentre and Service Centre staff. Guidance has also been issued to ensure that staff are aware how to refer cases of suspected fraud to the Department’s Counter-fraud team.</p><p> </p><p>We are developing our service iteratively and improving any areas in the service that may currently be presenting issues, to minimise the risk of fraud while ensuring that we can continue to provide financial support to those claimants who need it.</p><p>We cannot share advance detail of the specific security improvements we are making but this includes improving our process for verifying a claimant’s circumstances.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 17/07/2019 12:46:01 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham