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1135341

	registered interest
	date	27/06/2019
	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	Refugees: 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 refugees resettled under the resettlement scheme will be subject to the two-child limit for universal credit.
	tabling member constituency	Manchester, Gorton
	tabling member printed	Afzal Khan
	uin	270446
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/07/2019 answer text <p>Refugees resettled under resettlement schemes are able to work and have access to some DWP benefits upon arrival.</p><p>In the same way as other claimants, they are included in the policy not to provide extra benefit entitlements for more than two children unless those children were born before 6 April 2017 or an exception applies.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 02/07/2019 14:50:47 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	4671 label Biography information for Afzal Khan

1136666

	registered interest
	date	03/07/2019
	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: East Ayrshire
	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 the oral contribution of 1 July 2019, Official Report, Column 903, what additional funding has been made available to East Ayrshire Council to mitigate the costs associated with the roll-out of universal credit.
	tabling member constituency	Kilmarnock and Loudoun
	tabling member printed	Alan Brown
	uin	272890
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/07/2019 answer text <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><p> </p><p>The East Ayrshire Council has received £169k from the Department in New Burden funding.</p><p> </p><p>We continue to work with number of Local Authorities to further understand their service costs to inform future funding requirements.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma grouped question UIN 272891 question first answered 12/07/2019 13:52:47 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	4470 label Biography information for Alan Brown

1136668

	registered interest
	date	03/07/2019
	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: East Ayrshire
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to her oral contribution on 1 July 1 2019, Official Report Vol 662, whether her investigation on the costs associated with the rollout of universal credit will consider the economic effects of that rollout on East Ayrshire Council.
	tabling member constituency	Kilmarnock and Loudoun
	tabling member printed	Alan Brown
	uin	272891
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/07/2019 answer text <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><p> </p><p>The East Ayrshire Council has received £169k from the Department in New Burden funding.</p><p> </p><p>We continue to work with number of Local Authorities to further understand their service costs to inform future funding requirements.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma grouped question UIN 272890 question first answered 12/07/2019 13:52:47 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	4470 label Biography information for Alan Brown

1010287

	registered interest
	date	19/11/2018
	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, for what reasons MPs offices have implicit consent arrangements for universal credit applications and advice services require explicit consent to support claimants.
	tabling member constituency	Stockton North
	tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
	uin	192887
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/11/2018 answer text <p>On 13 March 2017 <a href="http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2017-03-13/HCWS528/" target="_blank">Written Statement - HCWS528</a> outlined the implicit consent arrangements for MPs.</p><p>Where explicit consent is needed it can be quickly given in different ways. For example, claimants only need to put a note in their journal to give consent; this is a far simpler and more straightforward process than in legacy systems. Once consent is given, advisers will work with the claimant’s representatives.</p><p>In our response to the Social Security Advisory Committee we agreed to explore options for improving the process of explicit consent in relation to Universal Credit in collaboration with the Committee to consider how current practices could be enhanced and to publish a report on our joint conclusions.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 27/11/2018 17:56:29 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

1027356

	registered interest
	date	17/12/2018
	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	Unemployment
	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 help people that are unable to find full-time employment.
	tabling member constituency	Leeds North West
	tabling member printed	Alex Sobel
	uin	202850
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/12/2018 answer text <p>Jobcentre Plus work coaches offer all claimants, including those unable to find full-time employment, a comprehensive package of support, including skills provision and job search support. Work coaches are further supported by specialist expertise, both in-house and external, to help claimants with more complex barriers to enter employment.</p><p> </p><p>Universal Credit is helping claimants to find work by providing an enhanced level of tailored support. This includes back to work support, such as volunteering opportunities, skills support and work experience. Claimants may also be able to access the Flexible Support Fund, which is a flexible and discretionary fund which provides non-repayable support to claimants, in financial need, to move into work.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 27/12/2018 11:50:07 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	4658 label Biography information for Alex Sobel

1035251

	registered interest
	date	04/01/2019
	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: Christmas Bonus
	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 financial saving to the public purse as a result of removing the Christmas £10 bonus from universal credit.
	tabling member constituency	Leeds North West
	tabling member printed	Alex Sobel
	uin	205411
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/01/2019 answer text <p>The Department has not made an estimate. As outlined in the answer to Question <a href="https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Lords/2018-12-18/HL12406/" target="_blank">HL12406</a> on 7 January 2019, the income-related working age benefits that Universal Credit replaces were not treated as a qualifying benefit for Christmas Bonuses and therefore the payment of Universal Credit does not directly produce entitlement to a Christmas Bonus.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 14/01/2019 18:00:58 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	4658 label Biography information for Alex Sobel

1086570

	registered interest
	date	11/03/2019
	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	Universal Credit: Yorkshire and the Humber
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many claimants took advance payments during the five-week waiting period for their first universal credit payment in (a) October, (b) November and (c) December 2018 in Yorkshire and the Humber.
	tabling member constituency	Leeds North West
	tabling member printed	Alex Sobel
	uin	230874
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/03/2019 answer text <p>New Claim and Benefit Transfer Advances are available to support claimants until their first Universal Credit payment. The table below gives the number of these advances paid in Yorkshire and the Humber for the months requested.</p><p> </p><p>The Universal Credit caseload continued to increase in 2018 as the number of offices delivering Full Service increased. Subject to some fluctuation, the rate of advance take-up has been broadly consistent, at around 60%.</p><p> </p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Month</p></td><td><p>Number of Paid New Claims, Nationally</p></td><td><p>Number of New Claim and Benefit Transfer Advances</p></td><td><p>Proportion of New Claim and Benefit Transfer Advances</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Oct-18</p></td><td><p>129,100</p></td><td><p>8,010</p></td><td><p>62%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Nov-18</p></td><td><p>132,200</p></td><td><p>9,400</p></td><td><p>71%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Dec-18</p></td><td><p>149,200</p></td><td><p>9,350</p></td><td><p>63%</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Notes</p><ol><li>The number of New Claim and Benefit Transfer advances is rounded to the nearest 10</li><li>Paid New Claims are rounded to the nearest 100</li><li>Proportions are rounded to the nearest per cent</li><li>The data supplied is derived from unpublished management information, which was collected for internal Departmental use only and has not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standard. The data should therefore be treated with caution.</li></ol><p><strong> </strong></p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 19/03/2019 13:48:48 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	4658 label Biography information for Alex Sobel

1129307

	registered interest
	date	03/06/2019
	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	Department for Work and Pensions: Metro Newspaper
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she plans to rectify any potentially misleading messages on universal credit published in the Metro newspaper in May 2019.
	tabling member constituency	Leeds North West
	tabling member printed	Alex Sobel
	uin	259428
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/06/2019 answer text <p>We are the biggest Government Department with a day to day operation on which around 22 million citizens depend. We have a responsibility to advertise Universal Credit and have been doing so for some time. This helps ensure people understand the benefits they may be entitled to and that they have the information they need when it comes to making a claim.</p><p>The Department has a responsibility to ensure claimants do not miss out on their full entitlements and to encourage people to make their claim as quickly as possible.</p><p>To identify complaint cases concerning the Universal Credit campaign in the Metro newspaper would require every complaint case to be examined. So, this data could only be collated at a disproportionate cost to the Department.</p><p>In November 2018 Ministers agreed to the principle of national media partnership. The specific Metro campaign was taken forward by Departmental officials. Ministers agreed the content of the launch products.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma grouped question UIN 259429 question first answered 11/06/2019 14:26:37 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	4658 label Biography information for Alex Sobel

1129310

	registered interest
	date	03/06/2019
	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	Department for Work and Pensions: Metro Newspaper
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, which minister in her Department authorised the recent universal credit campaign in the Metro newspaper in May 2019.
	tabling member constituency	Leeds North West
	tabling member printed	Alex Sobel
	uin	259429
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/06/2019 answer text <p>We are the biggest Government Department with a day to day operation on which around 22 million citizens depend. We have a responsibility to advertise Universal Credit and have been doing so for some time. This helps ensure people understand the benefits they may be entitled to and that they have the information they need when it comes to making a claim.</p><p>The Department has a responsibility to ensure claimants do not miss out on their full entitlements and to encourage people to make their claim as quickly as possible.</p><p>To identify complaint cases concerning the Universal Credit campaign in the Metro newspaper would require every complaint case to be examined. So, this data could only be collated at a disproportionate cost to the Department.</p><p>In November 2018 Ministers agreed to the principle of national media partnership. The specific Metro campaign was taken forward by Departmental officials. Ministers agreed the content of the launch products.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma grouped question UIN 259428 question first answered 11/06/2019 14:26:37 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	4658 label Biography information for Alex Sobel

1059859

	registered interest
	date	12/02/2019
	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: Telephone Services
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average time is for a call to the universal credit hotline to be answered.
	tabling member constituency	Wirral South
	tabling member printed	Alison McGovern
	uin	220206
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/02/2019 answer text <p>Universal Credit is a 24 hour, seven day a week, digital service that allows claimants to manage their own data and account online at a time which is convenient for them. Via their account claimants can check their Universal Credit benefit payments, notify us of changes and record notes via an online journal facility. In addition, established claimants who call the Freephone Universal Credit helpline are connected directly to the person or team who are dealing with the case.</p><p> </p><p>The average waiting time for a person calling the Universal Credit Full Service helpline in the month of January 2019 was 4 minutes and 53 seconds.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>Our Average Speed of Answer (ASA) measure is the average customer wait time from the point of entering a queue to connection to an agent. This excludes any time spent in pre-queue messaging and any wait time for calls ultimately abandoned by callers prior to answer.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Notes:</strong></p><p> </p><p>Data Source: BT - OPMIS and Historical Management Information (GI2 – HMI)</p><p>Outsourced partner data is included.</p><p>The data supplied is derived from unpublished management information, which was collected for internal Departmental use only and has not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standard. The data should therefore be treated with caution.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 20/02/2019 17:48:33 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	4083 label Biography information for Alison McGovern