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1203816

	registered interest
	date	15/06/2020
	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	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 plans her Department has to align the universal credit standard allowance for claimants under the age of 25 living independently with the standard allowance for those over the age of twenty five.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
	uin	59623
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/06/2020 answer text <p>We have increased the Universal Credit standard allowance for all claimants (including those Under 25) by £20 per week for the next 12 months – equivalent to up to £1,040 a year.</p><p> </p><p>This is in addition to the 1.7% inflation increase (announced Nov 2019) as part of the Government’s decision to end the benefits freeze and means more financial support for millions of people across the UK.</p><p> </p><p>There are no plans to further increase the Universal Credit standard allowance for Under 25s.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 18/06/2020 16:41:11 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4786 label Biography information for Zarah Sultana

1367434

	registered interest
	date	09/11/2021
	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 recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of Universal Credit deductions on the risk of poverty among benefit claimants.
	tabling member constituency	Bolton South East
	tabling member printed	Yasmin Qureshi
	uin	72390
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/11/2021 answer text <p>No recent assessment has been made of the potential impact of Universal Credit deductions on the risk of poverty among benefit claimants.</p><p> </p><p>To enable households to retain more of their Universal Credit award towards day to day living costs we have reduced the normal maximum amount that can be deducted from Universal Credit, from 40% of the Universal Credit Standard Allowance, to 30% and from April 2021 to 25%. As a result, there were 792,000 people in May 2021 who potentially have had reduced deductions due to the most recent policy change. Customers can also contact DWP Debt Management if they are experiencing financial hardship to discuss a reduction in their rate of repayment of benefit overpayments, or a temporary suspension, depending on financial circumstances.</p> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley question first answered 17/11/2021 16:00:15 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley
	tabling member	3924 label Biography information for Yasmin Qureshi

1227582

	registered interest
	date	22/07/2020
	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	Universal Credit
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when she plans implement a policy change in response to the decision of the Court of Appeal of 22 June 2020 in the case Johnson, Woods, Barrett and Stewart vs the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions; and if she will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	North East Fife
	tabling member printed	Wendy Chamberlain
	uin	78862
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/09/2020 answer text <p>I refer the Hon Members to the answer I gave on 1 July 2020 to Question UIN 63208:</p><p><a href="https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2020-06-23/63208/" target="_blank">https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2020-06-23/63208/</a></p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince grouped question UIN 78706 question first answered 01/09/2020 15:10:34 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4765 label Biography information for Wendy Chamberlain

1247560

	registered interest
	date	30/10/2020
	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	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 estimate she has made of the cost to the public purse of changing carer's allowance status from unearned income to earned income for universal credit claimants.
	tabling member constituency	North East Fife
	tabling member printed	Wendy Chamberlain
	uin	109685
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/11/2020 answer text <p>No such estimate has been made.</p><p> </p><p>Carer’s Allowance is taken into account in the calculation of Universal Credit in the same way as the benefits it replaced.</p><p> </p><p>Universal Credit includes an additional amount for carers at the rate of £162.92 per monthly assessment period. This amount recognises the additional contribution and responsibilities associated with caring.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 06/11/2020 12:57:18 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4765 label Biography information for Wendy Chamberlain

1253347

	registered interest
	date	18/11/2020
	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	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 people who had their universal credit payments reduced due to the periodic assessment regulations error will receive compensation.
	tabling member constituency	North East Fife
	tabling member printed	Wendy Chamberlain
	uin	117374
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/11/2020 answer text <p>There is no change to the period of assessment for Universal Credit.</p><p> </p><p>The Court of Appeal’s Judgment in the case of <em>Johnson and others</em> affects a small minority of claimants in very specific circumstances and the estimated cost is expected to be minimal. Those affected receive two calendar monthly payments of earnings in one assessment period and may lose out if they are entitled to a work allowance. We know that this issue can occur when a claimant’s monthly pay date and the last day of their assessment period are close together.</p><p> </p><p>The legislation we laid on the 20<sup>th</sup> October, revises those arrangements and provides a remedy that satisfies the Court of Appeal Judgment in the case of <em>Johnson and Others. </em>This legislation came into force on 16<sup>th</sup> November and means that in future for cases affected by this issue, monthly earnings will be reallocated to another assessment period, which means that only one set of earnings will be taken into account rather than two, and certain claimants will be able to benefit from any applicable work allowance.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince grouped question UIN 117375 117376 question first answered 23/11/2020 16:16:56 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4765 label Biography information for Wendy Chamberlain

1253348

	registered interest
	date	18/11/2020
	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	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 the estimated cost to the public purse is of the new periodic assessment regulations.
	tabling member constituency	North East Fife
	tabling member printed	Wendy Chamberlain
	uin	117375
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/11/2020 answer text <p>There is no change to the period of assessment for Universal Credit.</p><p> </p><p>The Court of Appeal’s Judgment in the case of <em>Johnson and others</em> affects a small minority of claimants in very specific circumstances and the estimated cost is expected to be minimal. Those affected receive two calendar monthly payments of earnings in one assessment period and may lose out if they are entitled to a work allowance. We know that this issue can occur when a claimant’s monthly pay date and the last day of their assessment period are close together.</p><p> </p><p>The legislation we laid on the 20<sup>th</sup> October, revises those arrangements and provides a remedy that satisfies the Court of Appeal Judgment in the case of <em>Johnson and Others. </em>This legislation came into force on 16<sup>th</sup> November and means that in future for cases affected by this issue, monthly earnings will be reallocated to another assessment period, which means that only one set of earnings will be taken into account rather than two, and certain claimants will be able to benefit from any applicable work allowance.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince grouped question UIN 117374 117376 question first answered 23/11/2020 16:16:56 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4765 label Biography information for Wendy Chamberlain

1253349

	registered interest
	date	18/11/2020
	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	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 many people's universal credit payments will be affected by the change to periodic assessment regulations.
	tabling member constituency	North East Fife
	tabling member printed	Wendy Chamberlain
	uin	117376
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/11/2020 answer text <p>There is no change to the period of assessment for Universal Credit.</p><p> </p><p>The Court of Appeal’s Judgment in the case of <em>Johnson and others</em> affects a small minority of claimants in very specific circumstances and the estimated cost is expected to be minimal. Those affected receive two calendar monthly payments of earnings in one assessment period and may lose out if they are entitled to a work allowance. We know that this issue can occur when a claimant’s monthly pay date and the last day of their assessment period are close together.</p><p> </p><p>The legislation we laid on the 20<sup>th</sup> October, revises those arrangements and provides a remedy that satisfies the Court of Appeal Judgment in the case of <em>Johnson and Others. </em>This legislation came into force on 16<sup>th</sup> November and means that in future for cases affected by this issue, monthly earnings will be reallocated to another assessment period, which means that only one set of earnings will be taken into account rather than two, and certain claimants will be able to benefit from any applicable work allowance.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince grouped question UIN 117374 117375 question first answered 23/11/2020 16:16:56 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4765 label Biography information for Wendy Chamberlain

1253811

	registered interest
	date	19/11/2020
	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	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 estimate her Department has made of the cost to the public purse of compensating people who had their universal credit payments reduced due to the periodic assessment regulations.
	tabling member constituency	North East Fife
	tabling member printed	Wendy Chamberlain
	uin	118109
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/11/2020 answer text <p>There is no change to the period of assessment for Universal Credit. The Court of Appeal ruled that the way the Department calculated Universal Credit awards involving earnings in an assessment period was a correct application of the regulations, but called on it to consider the impact on the specific cases of those paid calendar monthly who are affected by ‘a non-banking day salary shift’.</p><p> </p><p>The legislation we laid on 20<sup>th</sup> October, and which came into force on 16<sup>th</sup> November, revises those arrangements and provides a remedy that satisfies the Court of Appeal Judgment in the case of <em>Johnson and Others. </em>The Court of Appeal’s Judgment affects a small minority of claimants in very specific circumstances and the estimated cost is expected to be minimal.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 24/11/2020 17:11:38 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4765 label Biography information for Wendy Chamberlain

1285088

	registered interest
	date	09/02/2021
	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, with reference to relation to the Minister for Welfare Delivery's correspondence of 21 December 2020 to the Chair of the Work and Pensions Select Committee on automating the identification of affected claimants following the Johnson case at the Court of Appeal, what the cost is of the automated fix; and whether the automated fix will require a full rebuild of the universal credit system.
	tabling member constituency	North East Fife
	tabling member printed	Wendy Chamberlain
	uin	151857
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/02/2021 answer text <p>No estimates have been made for the cost of an automated approach and there are no plans for this as each instance can be complex.</p><p> </p><p>The Universal Credit (Earned Income) Amendment Regulations 2020 were laid in October 2020, so for cases affected by this issue, monthly earnings can be reallocated to another assessment period. To support this, we have designed a tool which interacts with the Universal Credit Service to allow the redistribution of earnings where appropriate, with guidance having been issued to staff to ensure that where an issue is identified, the correct remedial action is taken.</p><p> </p><p>Automated identification of affected claimants is expected to be implemented in early 2021. This will allow us to proactively correct Universal Credit awards before they are paid without the claimant needing to raise the issue.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 22/02/2021 13:19:30 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4765 label Biography information for Wendy Chamberlain

1382989

	registered interest
	date	29/11/2021
	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 impact of ending the £20 uplift to universal credit on levels of foodbank use in the UK.
	tabling member constituency	North East Fife
	tabling member printed	Wendy Chamberlain
	uin	83491
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/12/2021 answer text <p>The uplift to Universal Credit was a temporary measure, that is why an assessment has not been completed on its withdrawal.</p><p> </p><p>Foodbanks are independent, charitable organisations and the Department for Work and Pensions does not have any role in their operation. There is no consistent and accurate measure of food bank usage at a constituency or national level. We understand the data limitations in this area, and thus from April 2021 we introduced a set of questions into the Family Resources Survey (FRS) to measure and track food bank usage. The first results of these questions are due to be published in March 2023 subject to usual quality assurance. These questions will allow us to gauge where people in food security are seeking help and over time will allow us to build a time series on the scale of food bank usage.</p><p> </p><p>This Government is wholly committed to supporting low-income families, including through spending over £110 billion on welfare support for people of working age in 2021/22 and by increasing the National Living Wage by 6.6% to £9.50 from April 2022.</p><p> </p><p>With the success of the vaccine rollout and record job vacancies, our focus now is on continuing to support people into and to progress in work. Our multi-billion-pound Plan for Jobs, which has recently been expanded by £500 million, will help people across the UK to find work and to boost their wages and prospects.</p><p> </p><p>In addition, Universal Credit recipients in work will soon benefit from a reduction in the Universal Credit taper rate from 63% to 55%, while eligible in-work claimants will also benefit from changes to the Work Allowance. These measures represent, for the lowest paid in society, an effective tax cut of around £2.2 Billion in 2022-23, and will benefit almost two million of the lowest paid workers by £1000 a year on average.</p><p> </p><p>We recognise that some people may require extra support over the winter as we enter the final stages of recovery, which is why vulnerable households across the country will now be able to access a new £500 million support fund to help them with essentials. The Household Support Fund will provide £421 million to help vulnerable people in England with the cost of food, utilities and wider essentials. The Barnett Formula will apply in the usual way, with the devolved administrations receiving almost £80 million (£41m for the Scottish Government, £25m for the Welsh Government and £14m for the NI Executive), for a total of £500 million.</p><p> </p><p>To support low income families further we have also increased the value of Healthy Start Food Vouchers from £3.10 to £4.25, helping eligible low income households buy basic foods like milk, fruit and vitamins, and we are investing over £200m a year from 2022 to continue our Holiday Activities and Food programme, which is already providing enriching activities and healthy meals to children in all Local Authorities in England.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley question first answered 03/12/2021 11:03:53 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley
	tabling member	4765 label Biography information for Wendy Chamberlain