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1187058

	registered interest
	date	20/03/2020
	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	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 steps he is taking to ensure limited social interaction in relation to appointments for new universal credit claimants since 16 March 2020.
	tabling member constituency	Wentworth and Dearne
	tabling member printed	John Healey
	uin	33408
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 31/03/2020 answer text <p><del class="ministerial">As both the Prime Minister and Chancellor have made clear, the Government will do whatever it takes to support people affected by COVID 19 and we have been clear in our intention that no one should be penalised for doing the right thing. These are rapidly developing circumstances, we continue to keep the situation under review and will keep Parliament updated accordingly.</del></p><p><del class="ministerial">The Department is taking all appropriate steps to protect colleagues and customers, in line with Government advice.</del></p><p><ins class="ministerial">DWP has always followed Public Health England guidelines on social distancing. As of 24th March, Jobcentres are only offering face-to-face appointments – conducted in accordance with PHE guidelines on social distancing - for the small number of claimants who would otherwise not be able to receive support. This helps us to continue to deliver our critical services whilst keeping our customers and staff safe.</ins></p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 31/03/2020 10:07:19 question first ministerially corrected 15/04/2020 14:58:50 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies previous answer version 15508 answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
	tabling member	400 label Biography information for John Healey

1187061

	registered interest
	date	23/03/2020
	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	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 steps his Department is taking to provide (a) phone and (b) online appointments for new universal credit claimants.
	tabling member constituency	Wentworth and Dearne
	tabling member printed	John Healey
	uin	33410
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 31/03/2020 answer text <p><del class="ministerial">As both the Prime Minister and Chancellor have made clear, the Government will do whatever it takes to support people affected by COVID 19 and we have been clear in our intention that no one should be penalised for doing the right thing. These are rapidly developing circumstances, we continue to keep the situation under review and will keep Parliament updated accordingly.</del></p><p><del class="ministerial">The Department is taking all appropriate steps to protect colleagues and customers, in line with Government advice.</del></p><p><ins class="ministerial">We have temporarily suspended the requirement for face-to-face Jobcentre Plus appointments for all claimants in Universal Credit, Job Seekers’ Allowance (JSA), Employment Support Allowance (ESA) and Income Support. Advances for all new UC claimants are now available online / via phone, with no requirement to attend a job centre.</ins></p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 31/03/2020 10:07:19 question first ministerially corrected 15/04/2020 14:58:26 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies previous answer version 15510 answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
	tabling member	400 label Biography information for John Healey

1187062

	registered interest
	date	23/03/2020
	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	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 new universal credit claimants have been required to attend in-person appointments after a phone assessment since 16 March 2020.
	tabling member constituency	Wentworth and Dearne
	tabling member printed	John Healey
	uin	33411
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 31/03/2020 answer text <p><del class="ministerial">As both the Prime Minister and Chancellor have made clear, the Government will do whatever it takes to support people affected by COVID 19 and we have been clear in our intention that no one should be penalised for doing the right thing. These are rapidly developing circumstances, we continue to keep the situation under review and will keep Parliament updated accordingly.</del></p><p><del class="ministerial">The Department is taking all appropriate steps to protect colleagues and customers, in line with Government advice.</del></p><p><ins class="ministerial">We have temporarily suspended the requirement for face-to-face Jobcentre Plus appointments for all claimants in Universal Credit, Job Seekers’ Allowance (JSA), Employment Support Allowance (ESA) and Income Support. Advances for all new UC claimants are now available online / via phone, with no requirement to attend a job centre.</ins></p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 31/03/2020 10:07:19 question first ministerially corrected 15/04/2020 14:58:09 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies previous answer version 15511 answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
	tabling member	400 label Biography information for John Healey

1142872

	registered interest
	date	02/09/2019
	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	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 universal credit claimants, who are affected by the policy to provide support for a maximum of two children, have received (a) a payment advance on their claim, (b) a budgeting advance on their claim and (c) both.
	tabling member constituency	Birkenhead
	tabling member printed	Frank Field
	uin	284273
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text <p>Of the 21,700 claims affected by the policy to provide support for a maximum of two children on Universal Credit in April 2019; 11,500 (53%) received either a new claim or benefit transfer advance, 5,000 (23%) received a budgeting advance. Of those with new claim or benefit transfer advance 3,100 (14%) also received a budgeting advance.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 09/09/2019 16:03:20 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead

1143160

	registered interest
	date	02/09/2019
	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	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 make an assessment of the compatibility of her Department’s policy of universal credit being digital by default with her Department’s Debt Management office being contactable only by (a) fax and (b) post rather than by secure email.
	tabling member constituency	Alyn and Deeside
	tabling member printed	Mark Tami
	uin	284838
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text <p>Currently, most claimants who want to contact Debt Management call via one of the free phone numbers. However, we recognise the need for an online service to allow claimants to more easily manage any debts that they may have. Therefore, we are developing the Digital Debt Service as a replacement for our current Debt Manager system.</p><p>This new system will allow claimants to view details of any debts they have (including the current balance) and make repayments online.</p> answering member constituency Eastleigh answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 09/09/2019 12:22:03 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
	tabling member	1383 label Biography information for Mark Tami

1143324

	registered interest
	date	02/09/2019
	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	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 she has made an estimate of the number of claimants of universal credit that have fallen into (a) council tax and (b) local authority rent arrears after transitioning from legacy benefits.
	tabling member constituency	Kingston upon Hull North
	tabling member printed	Diana Johnson
	uin	284560
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text <p>We have not made an assessment of this nature, we do not hold the data requested for council tax arrears and any change in rent arrears is not solely attributed to Universal Credit.</p><p>The initial analytical work we have carried out with a single housing provider suggests that many tenants are arriving on Universal Credit with pre-existing rent arrears, supporting research carried out by the National Federation of ALMOs which shows over three quarters of their tenants come onto Universal Credit with pre-existing rent arrears. It also shows that arrears tend to increase prior to making a claim for Universal Credit, and that Universal Credit actually appears to be helping to clear arrears over time. We are currently extending this analysis to include a number of housing providers. It will be published when completed.</p><p> </p><p>We have responded to concerns in this area by putting a number of safeguards in place – 100 per cent advances repayable over 12 months, increasing to 16 months in October 2021; a two-week transition to Universal Credit Housing Payment; a new Help to Claim service; and Managed Payment to Landlord Arrangements, which allow for payments direct to the landlord if the tenant is likely to have difficulty in managing their rent payments, is unlikely to pay their rent or is in rent arrears equivalent to two months.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 09/09/2019 11:17:21 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	1533 label Biography information for Dame Diana Johnson

1143378

	registered interest
	date	02/09/2019
	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	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 discussions she has had with local authority leaders on the effect of the roll-out of universal credit on the level of demand for councils’ Local Welfare Provision schemes.
	tabling member constituency	Kingston upon Hull North
	tabling member printed	Diana Johnson
	uin	284844
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text <p>The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions has regular contact with a range of partner organisations concerning Universal Credit including representatives from local government.</p><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 target flexible help to support local welfare needs.</p><p>We passed funding over to local authorities and devolved administrations from April 2013. This gave them maximum flexibility to deliver services as they see fit according to local needs.</p><p>New Burdens funding has been provided to councils to cover additional costs associated with Universal Credit. In 2017/18 the Department paid £13m in New Burdens funding and paid £14m in New Burdens for 2018/19. Last year we worked with a number of Local Authorities to refresh these costs resulting in £18m in New Burdens being paid in 2019/20. 67 Local Authorities received a total of £4.7m in extra payments to recognise alleged additional costs caused in the early stages of roll out.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 09/09/2019 15:40:52 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	1533 label Biography information for Dame Diana Johnson

1143790

	registered interest
	date	02/09/2019
	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	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 he she has made an assessment of the potential merits of extending the repayment period for universal credit advance payments beyond twelve months.
	tabling member constituency	Kingston upon Hull North
	tabling member printed	Diana Johnson
	uin	285236
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text <p>Universal Credit new claim advances provide access to a payment for those in financial need, which can be accessed urgently, 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>The Department more broadly wants to ensure that vulnerable claimants receive the financial support they need, which is why we announced the addition of SDP payments. By August 29th, we had already paid over 6,300 claims, which together are worth over £16 million.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 09/09/2019 12:58:37 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	1533 label Biography information for Dame Diana Johnson

1144292

	registered interest
	date	03/09/2019
	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	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 effect of the benefits freeze on the wellbeing of universal credit claimants.
	tabling member constituency	Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill
	tabling member printed	Hugh Gaffney
	uin	286335
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text <p>An Impact Assessment of the benefit freeze was published in 2015, this is available in the link below.</p><p><a href="https://www.parliament.uk/documents/impact-assessments/IA15-006C.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.parliament.uk/documents/impact-assessments/IA15-006C.pdf</a></p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 09/09/2019 16:33:35 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4614 label Biography information for Hugh Gaffney

1144372

	registered interest
	date	03/09/2019
	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	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 options her Department is considering to reduce the five week waiting time for universal credit claimants.
	tabling member constituency	East Ham
	tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
	uin	286082
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text <p>Nobody has to wait for five weeks for a payment following an application for Universal Credit (UC).</p><p> </p><p>UC new claim advances provide access to a payment for those in financial need, which can be accessed urgently, until their first regular 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 UC 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>This is just one of a number of measures the Department has put in place to support claimants such as paying those claimants moving from Housing Benefit to UC a two week ‘transitional housing payment’. We are also introducing a two-week run on for eligible claimants of Income Support, Jobseeker’s Allowance and Employment and Support Allowance from July 2020.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 09/09/2019 15:32:16 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms