Show Search Form

Search Results

registered interest	true false
date	exactly: or between: and
answering body
answering dept id
answering dept short name
answering dept sort name
hansard heading
house id
legislature	pref label
question text
tabling member constituency
tabling member printed
uin
answer	is ministerial correction true false date of answer exactly: or between: and answer text answering member constituency answering member printed question first answered question first ministerially corrected answering member label previous answer version answering member constituency answering member printed answering member label
tabling member	label

Search

1105758

	registered interest
	date	27/03/2019
	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	Work Capability Assessment
	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 whether Maximus is meeting the SC12 and SC13 targets in schedule 2.2 of the Health and Disability Assessment Services contract; and whether the Government collates data from individual assessment centres on those targets.
	tabling member constituency	Falkirk
	tabling member printed	John McNally
	uin	237797
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/04/2019 answer text <p>The supplier aims to deliver quality assessments as efficiently as possible. Our priority is to ensure that claimants who attend an assessment centre are seen and the supplier is achieving the SC1<ins class="ministerial">3</ins><del class="ministerial">2</del> target which measures the percentage of claimants sent home unseen. Currently, more people are waiting longer in assessment centres than we would like; the supplier is currently just below the SC1<ins class="ministerial">2</ins><del class="ministerial">3</del> target level which measures waiting times in assessment centres. SC12 and SC13 are national contractual service levels, but the Department does monitor performance at assessment centre-level. We are working closely with the supplier to improve waiting times for more claimants while ensuring the length of the assessment meets the individual claimant’s needs and claimants who attend for an assessment are seen.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 04/04/2019 13:46:25 question first ministerially corrected 29/04/2019 16:36:42 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson previous answer version 112078 answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	4424 label Biography information for John McNally

1126921

	registered interest
	date	15/05/2019
	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	State Retirement Pensions: British Nationals Abroad
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimates he has made of the potential cost to the public purse of uprating state pensions for pensioners who live overseas.
	tabling member constituency	Romford
	tabling member printed	Andrew Rosindell
	uin	254754
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/05/2019 answer text <p><del class="ministerial">All political parties since WW2 have</del> <ins class="ministerial">Successive post-war Governments have followed</ins> the same policy. Up-rating UK State Pensions for recipients who are overseas residents is longstanding; state Pensions are payable worldwide and are up-rated where there is a legal requirement to do so.</p><p> </p><p>The policy on the up-rating of UK State Pensions paid to recipients living outside the UK has been in place for over 70 years. The UK State Pension is payable worldwide without regard to nationality. Entitlement to the UK State Pension is based on the national insurance contributions on a person’s national insurance record. The annual index-linked increases to UK State Pensions are paid to recipients overseas only where there is a legal requirement to do so, for example in EEA countries or in countries where there is a reciprocal agreement in place that provides for the up-rating of the UK State Pension. The Government has no plans to change the policy <ins class="ministerial">upheld by all previous Governments, Labour, Coalition and Conservative for the past 70 years.</ins> <del class="ministerial">of all Governments, Labour, Coalition or Conservative since WW2.</del></p><p> </p><p>The estimated costs of up-rating state pensions overseas where they are currently not up-rated are available at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/estimated-costs-of-uprating-state-pension-in-frozen-rate-countries" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/estimated-costs-of-uprating-state-pension-in-frozen-rate-countries</a></p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 23/05/2019 16:41:54 question first ministerially corrected 20/06/2019 15:16:55 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman previous answer version 119892 answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
	tabling member	1447 label Biography information for Andrew Rosindell

1144092

	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	Poverty
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government, following the report by the Social Metrics Commission Measuring Poverty 2019, published in July, and the appointment of the new Prime Minister on 24 July, what plans they have to revise their strategy for tackling poverty.
	tabling member printed	Lord Bird
	uin	HL17580
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text <p><del class="ministerial">It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.</del><ins class="ministerial">The Government is committed to delivering a sustainable, long-term solution to poverty through reforming the welfare system so that it works with the tax system and the Labour market to support employment and higher pay. Promoting full-time work through work incentives are a key feature of this approach, reinforced by the National Living Wage and the rising Personal Tax Allowance, which work together to promote independence from benefits.</ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">Universal Credit, which is now reaching over 2 million households, has already shown that it is more effective in getting people into work than the legacy benefits it replaces. Nine months into a UC claim, 40% of claimants are working for an employer in a paid role, compared with only 23% at the start of their claim. </ins><br /> <br /><ins class="ministerial"> The number of people in employment has increased by over 3.7 million since 2010. Three-quarters of the growth in employment has been in full-time work which substantially reduces the chances of being in poverty.</ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">The Government is working with the Social Metrics Commission, and other experts in the field, to develop new experimental statistics which will help us to find new and better ways to analyse poverty in this country. These will be published in 2020 and, in the long-run, could help us target support more effectively.</ins></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Stedman-Scott question first answered 09/09/2019 15:23:29 question first ministerially corrected 30/09/2019 14:54:43 answering member 4174 label Biography information for Baroness Stedman-Scott previous answer version 134826 answering member printed Baroness Stedman-Scott answering member 4174 label Biography information for Baroness Stedman-Scott
	tabling member	4564 label Biography information for Lord Bird

1144129

	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	Pension Credit
	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 22 July (HL16979), whether they will provide details of the funding for charities that work with older people to support the take-up of Pension Credit in each of the three years specified in the original question.
	tabling member printed	Lord Foulkes of Cumnock
	uin	HL17617
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text <p><del class="ministerial">It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.</del><ins class="ministerial">The Government works with a wide range of stakeholders including charitable organisations to promote the take-up of Pension Credit. However, the DWP does not provide specific funding to such organisations for Pension Credit take-up related activities. Support is available through a variety of information resources including the Pension Credit toolkit, which is an on-line tool for organisations to use in order to encourage people to claim Pension Credit.</ins></p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Stedman-Scott question first answered 09/09/2019 15:36:02 question first ministerially corrected 02/10/2019 14:06:45 answering member 4174 label Biography information for Baroness Stedman-Scott previous answer version 134866 answering member printed Baroness Stedman-Scott answering member 4174 label Biography information for Baroness Stedman-Scott
	tabling member	579 label Biography information for Lord Foulkes of Cumnock

1144160

	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	Housing Benefit
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the case for increasing the (1) scope, and (2) total amount, of housing benefit, including any resulting savings on temporary accommodation and other costs.
	tabling member printed	Lord Hylton
	uin	HL17648
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text <p><del class="ministerial">It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.</del></p><p><strong><ins class="ministerial">No assessment has been made of the case for increasing the scope of housing support. Housing support in the private rented sector is based on the Local Housing Allowance and decisions on the uprating of Local Housing Allowance from April 2020 will form part of the discussions in support fiscal events later this year.</ins></strong></p> answering member printed Baroness Stedman-Scott question first answered 09/09/2019 15:39:15 question first ministerially corrected 30/09/2019 12:02:40 answering member 4174 label Biography information for Baroness Stedman-Scott previous answer version 134928 answering member printed Baroness Stedman-Scott answering member 4174 label Biography information for Baroness Stedman-Scott
	tabling member	2018 label Biography information for Lord Hylton

1144170

	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	Poverty
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government why the objectives listed in the departmental plan for the Department for Work and Pensions makes no reference to (1) reducing poverty, and (2) the Sustainable Development Goal on poverty.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Lister of Burtersett
	uin	HL17658
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text <p><del class="ministerial">It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.</del></p><p><ins class="ministerial">As clearly set out in the Government’s published response to the Voluntary National Review of the Sustainable Development Goal 1, we are committed to delivering a sustainable, long-term solution to reducing poverty through welfare reforms that ensure that the benefits system works with the tax system and the labour market to support employment and higher pay. There is clear evidence that full-time work dramatically reduces the risk of poverty for working families; for example, there is only a 7% chance of a child being in poverty (relative, after housing costs) if both parents work full-time compared with 66% for children in (two-parent) families with only part-time work. </ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial"><ins class="ministerial"><ins class="ministerial">Although not directly referenced, our approach to reducing poverty is already reflected in our Single Departmental Plan which sets out how we plan to achieve our key strategic objectives including delivering an effective labour market strategy that boosts employment among under-represented and disadvantaged groups and facilitating progression; and consolidating the delivery of Universal Credit so that it works for everyone.</ins></ins></ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial"><ins class="ministerial"><ins class="ministerial"><ins class="ministerial"><ins class="ministerial">Universal Credit, at the heart of our reforms, has already shown that it is more effective in getting people into work than the legacy benefits it replaces. Nine months into a UC claim, 40% of claimants are working for an employer in a paid role, compared with only 23% at the start of their claim. This is a key approach to provide a sustainable solution to reducing poverty.</ins></ins></ins></ins></ins></p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Stedman-Scott question first answered 09/09/2019 15:42:45 question first ministerially corrected 03/10/2019 13:26:53 answering member 4174 label Biography information for Baroness Stedman-Scott previous answer version 134986 answering member printed Baroness Stedman-Scott answering member 4174 label Biography information for Baroness Stedman-Scott
	tabling member	4234 label Biography information for Baroness Lister of Burtersett

1144202

	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	Food Banks: Schools
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports that there has been an increase in the number of food banks set up in UK schools.
	tabling member printed	Lord Taylor of Warwick
	uin	HL17690
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text <p><del class="ministerial">It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.</del></p><p><ins class="ministerial">There is no official data or record of the number of foodbanks in the UK. However, the Government wants to develop a better understanding of household food needs to help ensure that support is targeted at those who need it most. This is why the Government has worked with food insecurity experts, the Office for National Statistics and the Scottish Government to introduce a new set of food security questions in the Family Resources Survey starting from April 2019. This means that we will in future be able to able to monitor the prevalence and severity of household food insecurity across the UK and for specific groups, to better understand the drivers of food insecurity and identify which groups are most at risk.</ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">To help families on low incomes we are supporting 1.3 million children with free school meals, investing up to £26 million in school breakfast clubs, providing approximately 2.3 million children aged 4-6 with a portion of fresh fruit or vegetables each day at school, and, through the Healthy Start Programme, hundreds of thousands of low income families benefit from vouchers which can be redeemed against fruit, vegetables, milk and infant formula.</ins></p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Stedman-Scott question first answered 09/09/2019 15:53:12 question first ministerially corrected 30/09/2019 14:57:52 answering member 4174 label Biography information for Baroness Stedman-Scott previous answer version 135004 answering member printed Baroness Stedman-Scott answering member 4174 label Biography information for Baroness Stedman-Scott
	tabling member	1796 label Biography information for Lord Taylor of Warwick

1166820

	registered interest
	date	28/10/2019
	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	Affordable Housing: Scotland
	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 affordability of the housing market in Scotland for families in receipt of benefits.
	tabling member constituency	Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill
	tabling member printed	Hugh Gaffney
	uin	6486
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/11/2019 answer text <p><del class="ministerial">The Secretary of State is required to make an annual assessment of LHA rates, which will be completed by the end of 2019.</del></p><p><ins class="ministerial">The proportion of Scottish private market rents that are at or below the LHA rate, by room entitlement, is set out below. This is based on rent officer data and the 2019/20 LHA rates published here <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-housing-allowance-lha-rates-applicable-from-april-2019-to-march-2020" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-housing-allowance-lha-rates-applicable-from-april-2019-to-march-2020</a>.</ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial"> </ins></p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><ins class="ministerial">Shared room</ins></p></td><td><p><ins class="ministerial">1 bedroom</ins></p></td><td><p><ins class="ministerial">2 bedroom</ins></p></td><td><p><ins class="ministerial">3 bedroom</ins></p></td><td><p><ins class="ministerial">4+ bedroom</ins></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><ins class="ministerial">14%</ins></p></td><td><p><ins class="ministerial">22%</ins></p></td><td><p><ins class="ministerial">17%</ins></p></td><td><p><ins class="ministerial">18%</ins></p></td><td><p><ins class="ministerial">17%</ins></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 05/11/2019 16:57:02 question first ministerially corrected 05/11/2019 17:42:41 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince previous answer version 4444 answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4614 label Biography information for Hugh Gaffney

1170672

	registered interest
	date	14/01/2020
	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	Local Housing Allowance: Young People
	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 introducing secondary legislation to include people aged under 25 in the shared accommodation rate exemption for homeless people.
	tabling member constituency	Ealing Central and Acton
	tabling member printed	Dr Rupa Huq
	uin	3266
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/01/2020 answer text <p>There is an exemption from the shared accommodation rate for those aged 25-34 who have previously spent 3 months<ins class="ministerial">,</ins> <del class="ministerial">(</del>which doesn’t have to be continuous<del class="ministerial">)</del> <ins class="ministerial">,</ins> in a homeless hostel/hostels specialising in rehabilitation and resettlement. There are no current plans to make legislative changes to extend this exemption to those under the age of 25 but as with all our policies, this will continue to be kept under review.</p><p> </p><p>For individuals who may require more support and whose circumstances may make it difficult for them to share accommodation, Discretionary Housing Payments are available.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 20/01/2020 15:06:33 question first ministerially corrected 20/01/2020 15:57:26 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince previous answer version 1620 answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4511 label Biography information for Dr Rupa Huq

1171008

	registered interest
	date	15/01/2020
	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	Employment and Support Allowance
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what savings have accrued to the public purse under the £30 reduction for claimants of employment and support allowance in the work-related activity group in each month since that reduction was implemented.
	tabling member constituency	Motherwell and Wishaw
	tabling member printed	Marion Fellows
	uin	3794
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/01/2020 answer text <p><del class="ministerial">There are no savings from the removal of the Employment and Support Allowance Work Related Activity Component for new claims from April 2017.</del></p><p> </p><p><del class="ministerial">This change enabled the Department to recycle money into providing practical support that will make a significant difference to the life chances of those in the Work-Related Activity Group. We have invested £330m over 4 years with £100m available in 2020/21 and will support those with limited capability for work to move towards and into suitable employment.</del></p><p> </p><p><ins class="ministerial"><em>The information requested on the savings accrued from the removal of the Work Related Activity Component (WRAC) is not available. It would incur disproportionate cost to calculate any actual net savings from the removal of the WRAC. </em></ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial"><em> </em></ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial"><em>When the WRAC was removed we made a clear commitment to instead provide practical support that will make a significant difference to the life chances of those in the Work-Related Activity Group. We have been investing an additional £330m over 4 years to support those with limited capability for work to move towards and into suitable employment. </em></ins></p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 20/01/2020 15:00:20 question first ministerially corrected 24/01/2020 14:36:26 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson previous answer version 1615 answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	4440 label Biography information for Marion Fellows