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1202405

	registered interest
	date	10/06/2020
	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	Social Security Benefits: Medical Examinations
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many assessments for (a) personal independence payments, (b) employment and support allowance and (c) the limited capability for work component of universal credit were scheduled to take place after 1 March 2020; and how many of those assessments have taken place.
	tabling member constituency	Glasgow South West
	tabling member printed	Chris Stephens
	uin	58015
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/07/2020 answer text <p>Our priority throughout this Covid-19 period continues to be to protect the public and staff, while ensuring people receive the benefits they are entitled to quickly and safely. We suspended face-to-face assessments, reviews and reassessments. We continue to assess people based on written evidence alone, where that is possible, and have introduced telephone assessments. We also automatically extended awards where necessary for certain health and disability benefits, providing reassurance to those in receipt of them. This action enabled us to prioritise activity on new claims and changes of circumstances.</p><p> </p><p>The number of assessments that were scheduled to have taken place between 1 March 2020 and 30 May 2020 and the number of assessments that took place during that time can be found in the table below:</p><p /><p><strong> </strong></p><table><tbody><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p><strong>Assessments</strong> <strong>Scheduled</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Assessments</strong> <strong>Completed</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>PIP</p></td><td><p>187,700</p></td><td><p>117,050</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>ESA</p></td><td><p>20,370</p></td><td><p>14,500</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>UC</p></td><td><p>34,530</p></td><td><p>19,890</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p><p>Please note:</p><p>Data has been rounded to the nearest 10.</p><p>Figures do not include paper based reviews.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>PIP</strong></p><p>The Assessments Scheduled data has been produced by the assessment providers (Capita and Independent Assessment Services).</p><p>The Assessments Completed data is derived from unpublished contractual management information produced by the assessment providers which was collected for internal departmental use only and has not been quality assured to Official Statistics Publication standards.</p><p> </p><p>Face-to-face assessments for PIP were paused due to Covid-19 from 17 March 2020. Telephone assessments began a piloted roll out from 23 March 2020 for Capita and 03 April 2020 for IAS.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>ESA and UC</strong></p><p>Face-to-face assessments for UC and ESA were paused due to Covid-19 from 17 March 2020. Telephone assessments began a piloted roll out from 04 May 2020 where only Limited Capability for Work Related Activity recommendations were being made.</p><p> </p><p>The department continues to process both New Claims and Changes of Circumstance and encourage anyone with a change in their needs to contact the Department so that we can ensure they are receiving the correct level of support.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 17/07/2020 14:07:10 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson previous answer version 28975 answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	4463 label Biography information for Chris Stephens

1180346

	registered interest
	date	25/02/2020
	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: Complaints
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many cases involving universal credit claims have been (a) through her Department's complaints process, (b) decided by an Independent Case Examiner and (c) referred to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman.
	tabling member constituency	Glasgow South West
	tabling member printed	Chris Stephens
	uin	20528
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/04/2020 answer text <p>The Department has received a total of number of 39,187 Universal Credit complaints up to January 2020.</p><p> </p><p>Details of the number of complaints concerning Universal Credit that have been decided on by the Independence Case Examiner’s is 185 (please note the data is only available from July 2016 to January 2020)</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>All ICE Reports signpost the complainant to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman’s Office, via a Member of Parliament, in the event that they are dissatisfied with the outcome of the ICE investigation. We do not hold information about the number of complaints about Universal Credit which were subsequently referred by an MP to the Ombudsman’s Office.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>For context, the latest figures show that there are 3 million people on Universal Credit as of 12 March 2020.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 28/04/2020 14:34:04 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies previous answer version 9749 answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
	tabling member	4463 label Biography information for Chris Stephens

1568604

	registered interest
	date	19/01/2023
	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: Trade Unions
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what human resources information their Department shares with trade unions on a regular basis.
	tabling member constituency	Glasgow South West
	tabling member printed	Chris Stephens
	uin	127787
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/01/2023 answer text <p>Senior Departmental officials meet with Departmental Trade Union Side to discuss resourcing issues including finance, demand, and recruitment.</p><p>As part of the annual delegated pay negotiations, the department provides the three trade unions that are recognised in DWP with detailed information on pay, including pay scales and where employees currently sit within these.</p><p> </p><p>Individual Departmental Directors with responsibility for Service Delivery meet trade unions annually to discuss the resourcing position specific to their area of work. In addition, Departmental Directors meet trade unions regularly to update and share information on issues such as resources, staffing, workloads, performance, health and safety and wellbeing.</p><p> </p><p>There is also a range of publicly available HR information published on GOV.UK.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 25/01/2023 16:56:21 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies previous answer version 49841 answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
	tabling member	4463 label Biography information for Chris Stephens

1588194

	registered interest
	date	22/02/2023
	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: Disability
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps they have taken to operate a disability confident scheme for those seeking promotion in their Department; and how many and what proportion of those candidates who declared themselves as having a disability and who applied under the scheme were (a) interviewed and (b) promoted in (i) 2021 and (ii) 2022.
	tabling member constituency	Glasgow South West
	tabling member printed	Chris Stephens
	uin	150533
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/02/2023 answer text <p>In line with the commitment made in the Civil Service Workforce Plan all DWP recruitment has been ‘External by Default’ since August 2020. It is therefore departmental policy that all permanent vacancies, including those that would result in promotion for an existing employee, are advertised externally unless there is clear rationale for not doing so.</p><p> </p><p>To comply with CS Commission Recruitment Principles, our external recruitment is Fair, Open and Merit based and as a Disability Confident Leader all our advertised campaigns, internal or external, carries the Disability Confident Logo to make this clear to applicants. We are committed to offering an interview to any disabled candidate, internal or external, who applies under the Disability Confident Scheme and meets the minimum criteria for the role.</p><p> </p><p>It is only within internal recruitment exercises, where candidates are asked if they are applying on promotion, as such, we only hold data on promotion figures for internally advertised campaigns.</p><p> </p><p>The figures in the table show the number of DWP candidates who declared themselves as having a disability, or who applied for internal vacancies under the Guaranteed Interview Scheme, and their progression through the recruitment process.</p><p> </p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Internal Recruitment Campaigns Only </strong>(applying on promotion) **</p></td><td><p><strong>2021</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2022</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Applications received from DWP candidates who <strong>declared</strong> themselves as having a disability, <strong>or</strong> who applied under the Guaranteed Interview Scheme.</p></td><td><p><strong>152</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>244</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Number of the above candidates who were successful at sift stage and invited to interview.</p></td><td><p><strong>28</strong> (18.4%)</p></td><td><p><strong>37</strong> (15.2%)</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Number of the above candidates who were successful at interview stage and made an offer.</p></td><td><p><strong>9</strong> (5.9%)</p></td><td><p><strong>6</strong> (2.5%)</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p><strong>.</strong><strong>** </strong>Applications made by internal DWP candidates for internally advertised DWP / Cross Government vacancies, on promotion.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 27/02/2023 18:49:59 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies previous answer version 58181 answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
	tabling member	4463 label Biography information for Chris Stephens

1542909

	registered interest
	date	16/11/2022
	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: Disqualification
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many benefit claims were subject to sanctions in the last three months for which data is available by constituency; and how much was the (a) total and (b) average sum of benefit income lost by claimants due to sanctions in each constituency.
	tabling member constituency	Glasgow South West
	tabling member printed	Chris Stephens
	uin	88916
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/11/2022 answer text <p>Monthly Universal Credit full service sanction rate statistics are published every three months on <a href="https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/" target="_blank">Stat-Xplore</a>.</p><p>The information requested for part a) and b) is provided in the attached spreadsheet.</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 22/11/2022 17:56:40 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman attachment 1 file name 88916 wo.xlsx title 88916 workbook previous answer version 36037 answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
	tabling member	4463 label Biography information for Chris Stephens

1172108

	registered interest
	date	20/01/2020
	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	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 value of deductions to universal credit payments under each reason for deduction in the latest period for which figures are available.
	tabling member constituency	Glasgow South West
	tabling member printed	Chris Stephens
	uin	5465
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/01/2020 answer text <p>The Department’s deductions policy strikes a fair balance between a claimant’s need to meet their obligations and their ability to ensure they can meet their day-to-day needs. From October 2019, Universal Credit deductions have been reduced to 30% of a claimant’s standard allowance down from 40% to better achieve these objectives.</p><p> </p><p>In the latest period for which figures are available (August 2019), £1.3 billion of Universal Credit was paid, of which £94 million (7%) was deducted. The table below provides a breakdown of the deductions by reason.</p><p> </p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Deduction reason</p></td><td><p>Value of Deductions (£)</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>UC advance repayments</p></td><td><p>50,252,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Tax Credit overpayments</p></td><td><p>14,295,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>DWP overpayments</p></td><td><p>8,042,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Social fund loans</p></td><td><p>5,466,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Arrears of rent and/or service charges</p></td><td><p>5,001,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Fines</p></td><td><p>4,931,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>HB overpayments</p></td><td><p>1,771,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Arrears of Community Charge or Council Tax</p></td><td><p>1,285,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>UC Recoverable Hardship payments</p></td><td><p>843,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>DWP Fraud overpayments</p></td><td><p>742,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Fuel and Water Ongoing consumption</p></td><td><p>615,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Child maintenance</p></td><td><p>527,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Arrears of water charges</p></td><td><p>273,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>HB and DWP Civil Penalties</p></td><td><p>121,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>HB Fraud overpayments</p></td><td><p>113,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>HB and DWP Administrative Penalties</p></td><td><p>76,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Arrears of fuel (electric and gas)</p></td><td><p>67,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Arrears of Eligible loans</p></td><td><p>51,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Arrears of Integration loans</p></td><td><p>44,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Tax Credit Fraud overpayments</p></td><td><p>1,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Mortgage interest</p></td><td><p>less than 500</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p><p><strong>Notes:</strong></p><p>1. Values of deductions in the table are rounded to the nearest thousand. The total value of all deductions and the amount of universal credit paid is rounded to the nearest £1,000,000.</p><p>2. Deductions include advance repayments, third party deductions and all other deductions, but exclude sanctions and fraud penalties which are reductions of benefit rather than deductions.</p><p>3. Amount of Universal Credit paid reflects the amount of money paid to claimants and their landlords as part of their award, including the amount which they would have been entitled to had it not been deducted. It does not include other payments such as advances and hardship payments.</p><p>4. Figures are provisional and are subject to retrospective change as later data becomes available.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 27/01/2020 18:05:44 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince previous answer version 2667 answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4463 label Biography information for Chris Stephens

1180558

	registered interest
	date	25/02/2020
	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 and what proportion of universal credit claims that have had a deduction applied had (a) up to 20 per cent, (b) between 21 and 30 per cent, (c) between 31 and 40 per cent and (d) more than 41 per cent deducted in the latest period for which data is available.
	tabling member constituency	Glasgow South West
	tabling member printed	Chris Stephens
	uin	20637
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/03/2020 answer text <p>This Government is committed to providing a strong welfare safety-net for those who need it. There is a well-established system of hardship payments, benefit advances and budgeting loans for those who need extra support.</p><p> </p><p>Our deductions policy strikes a fair balance between a claimant’s need to meet their financial obligations and their ability to ensure they can meet their day-to-day needs. Since October 2019, Universal Credit deductions are a maximum of 30% of a claimant’s standard allowance down from 40% previously.</p><p> </p><p>We also recognise the importance of safeguarding the welfare of claimants who have incurred debt, so last resort deductions over the 30% cap can be applied to protect vulnerable claimants from eviction and/or having their fuel supply disconnected, by providing a repayment method for arrears of these essential services.</p><p> </p><p>Of all eligible claims to Universal Credit Full Service due a payment in November 2019, 58% (1,307,000 claims) had a deduction.</p><p> </p><p>Of this 1,307,000 claims with a deduction:</p><p> </p><p>a) 44% (569,000 claims) had deductions up to and including 20% of the Standard Allowance (25% of all eligible claims).</p><p> </p><p>b) 52% (681,000 claims) had deductions between 20% and 30% of the Standard Allowance (30% of all eligible claims).</p><p> </p><p>For last resort deductions –</p><p> </p><p>c) 4% (51,000 claims) had deductions between 30% and 40% of their Standard Allowance (2% of all eligible claims).</p><p> </p><p>d) 1% (7,000 claims) had deductions above 40% of their Standard Allowance (0.3% of all eligible claims).</p><p> </p><p>Notes:</p><p> </p><p>1. Claim numbers may not match official statistics caseloads due to small methodological differences.</p><p>2. Claim numbers are rounded up to the nearest 1,000.</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. Deduction bands exclude the lower limit but include the upper limit, i.e. 'between 20% and 30% of the Standard Allowance' includes claimants having 30% of their standard allowance deducted but not those having 20% deducted.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 03/03/2020 11:05:40 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince previous answer version 9751 answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4463 label Biography information for Chris Stephens

1183047

	registered interest
	date	05/03/2020
	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, pursuant to the Answer of 5 February 2020 to Question 10759, how many claimants had deductions taken from their universal credit payments in each parliamentary constituency in August 2019.
	tabling member constituency	Glasgow South West
	tabling member printed	Chris Stephens
	uin	25696
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/04/2020 answer text <p>This Government is committed to providing a strong welfare safety-net for those who need it. Our deductions policy strikes a fair balance between a claimant’s need to meet their financial obligations and their ability to ensure they can meet their day-to-day needs. Since October 2019, Universal Credit deductions are set at a maximum of 30% of a claimant’s standard allowance, down from 40% previously.</p><p> </p><p>The requested information surrounding deductions to Universal Credit payments by parliamentary constituency is shown in the attached table.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince grouped question UIN 25694 question first answered 24/04/2020 08:30:03 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince attachment 1 file name PQs 25694, 25696- Chris Stephens- Additional Data Deductions incl. table.xlsx title Additional data deductions table previous answer version 11689 answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4463 label Biography information for Chris Stephens

1050523

	registered interest
	date	29/01/2019
	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	Work Capability Assessment: Slavery
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether victims of modern slavery are exempt from the requirement to take an annual work capability assessment; and if she will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	Gedling
	tabling member printed	Vernon Coaker
	uin	213946
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/02/2019 answer text <p>Ending modern slavery is one of this Government’s top priorities, and we are sensitive to the challenges faced by victims. We have worked with the Salvation Army to improve the service provided by DWP to victims. The purpose of the Work Capability Assessment (WCA) is to assess the impact of mental and physical health conditions, including any resulting from being a victim of modern slavery on a person, so that the right level of benefit and support can be provided. There are no exemptions from being assessed for those claiming Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), or Universal Credit (UC) due to illness or disability. In addition to completing the application form or forms people or those supporting them are encouraged to provide additional evidence, including medical reports, to support their claim. If it is possible for the assessor to provide advice to the decision maker without requiring the claimant to attend a face-to-face assessment, they will do so.</p><p><br></p><p>The WCA is not an annual assessment. Re-referral dates can be up to 24 months for those found to have limited capability for work, and up to 3 years for those found to have limited capability for work-related activity. Furthermore, from 29 September 2017 those placed in ESA’s Support Group and the UC equivalent who have the most severe and lifelong health conditions or disabilities, whose level of function would always mean that they would have Limited Capability for Work and Work-Related Activity, and be unlikely ever to be able to move into work, will no longer be routinely reassessed.</p> answering member constituency Truro and Falmouth answering member printed Sarah Newton question first answered 04/02/2019 16:42:28 answering member 4071 label Biography information for Sarah Newton
	tabling member	360 label Biography information for Lord Coaker

1051454

	registered interest
	date	30/01/2019
	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	Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the Government's timescale is for (a) acknowledging the concluding observations from the UN convention on the rights of persons with disabilities and (b) responding to that convention's recommendations.
	tabling member constituency	Bury North
	tabling member printed	James Frith
	uin	214659
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/02/2019 answer text <p><strong> </strong></p><p>The Government is committed to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and to the progressive realisation of the rights for disabled people that it sets out.</p><p> </p><p>We have provided our first report to the UN Committee as requested. We published this report on 6 September 2018. This report and accompanying ministerial letter setting out the UK's progress are available on GOV.UK website:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/disabled-peoples-rights-information-following-the-uks-first-periodic-review" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/disabled-peoples-rights-information-following-the-uks-first-periodic-review</a></p><p> </p><p>I tabled a Written Statement (HCWS938) on 6 September 2018, providing an update on the UK’s follow-up response to the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: <a href="https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2018-09-06/HCWS938" target="_blank">https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2018-09-06/HCWS938</a></p><p> </p><p>We will be responding to the recommendations in the Concluding Observations during our next periodic review, currently scheduled for 2023. In the meantime, we will be preparing in due course, as recommended by the UN Committee, a progress update on the 2016 inquiry recommendations.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Truro and Falmouth answering member printed Sarah Newton question first answered 08/02/2019 12:57:03 answering member 4071 label Biography information for Sarah Newton
	tabling member	4637 label Biography information for James Frith