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1170408

	registered interest
	date	13/01/2020
	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 plans her Department has to reduce the five-week wait for universal credit.
	tabling member constituency	Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross
	tabling member printed	Jamie Stone
	uin	2660
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/01/2020 answer text No one has to wait five weeks for their first payment. New claim advances are available to support those in financial need until their first payment is made.<p /><p /><p />Claimants can access up to 100% of the total expected monthly award, which they can pay back over a period of up to 12 months. We have announced that from October 2021, the repayment period for these advances will be extended further, to 16 months.<p /><p /><p>Our Work Coaches gauge claimants’ financial needs from their first interview. As part of this, every claimant is offered an advance payment on application. Proposed repayments of the advance are explained, and all claimants are advised to request a level of advance which is manageable both now and when considering the repayments required.</p><p />Work Coaches can also refer claimants to more specialist support for personal budgeting and money guidance if required.<p /><p /><p>The Department has delivered a number of improvements to support claimants during their first assessment period, such as removing waiting days and paying those claimants moving from Housing Benefit onto Universal Credit 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><p /><p /> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 16/01/2020 17:19:51 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4612 label Biography information for Jamie Stone

1279758

	registered interest
	date	25/01/2021
	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: Coronavirus
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	What recent assessment she has made of the potential effect of removing the £20 uplift to universal credit on recipients in each (a) region and (b) population demographic.
	tabling member constituency	Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross
	tabling member printed	Jamie Stone
	uin	911295
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/01/2021 answer text <p>The £20 per week uplift to Universal Credit and Working Tax Credit was announced by the Chancellor as a temporary measure in March 2020 to support those facing the most financial disruption as a result of the public health emergency. This measure remains in place until March 2021. As the Government has done throughout this pandemic, it will continue to assess how best to support low-income families, which is why we will look at the economic and health context before making any decisions.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 25/01/2021 17:23:49 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4612 label Biography information for Jamie Stone

1344716

	registered interest
	date	07/07/2021
	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: Lone Parents
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department has plans to review the universal credit policy that means single parents under the age of 25 claim universal credit at a lower rate than those aged 25 or over.
	tabling member constituency	Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross
	tabling member printed	Jamie Stone
	uin	29130
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/07/2021 answer text <p>The rates for claimants under 25 years reflect the fact that they are more likely to live in someone else's household and have lower living costs and lower earnings expectations. It also reinforces the stronger work incentives that Universal Credit creates for this age group.</p><p> </p><p>Universal Credit offers excellent employment support for this age group, including the Department’s £2bn Kickstart scheme which is already creating thousands of high-quality jobs for young people.</p><p> </p><p>For claimants who live independently, Universal Credit already includes separate elements to provide support for housing costs, children and childcare costs and support for disabled people and carers.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 12/07/2021 14:33:31 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4612 label Biography information for Jamie Stone

1150705

	registered interest
	date	18/10/2019
	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	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 her Department will introduce a bus voucher system for universal credit claimants who may not be able to afford public transport costs to attend job centres.
	tabling member constituency	Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross
	tabling member printed	Jamie Stone
	uin	1925
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/10/2019 answer text <p>Since the introduction of Universal Credit, claimants have been supported by Jobcentre Work Coaches applying a more flexible approach to contact, with much greater use of digital and telephone channels. This enables claimants to continue to engage with the Department, receive appropriate support and satisfy the conditions of their personalised Claimant Commitment without having to always attend an appointment in person.</p><p>To assist with the affordability of public transport, and where an appointment at a Jobcentre has been agreed as necessary, Work Coaches are able to consider the reimbursement of a claimant’s travel costs. The Department publishes clear guidance to its staff of when mandatory awards for travel must be made from the Flexible Support Fund – a copy of this is available in the House of Commons’ Library. In exceptional situations, where a claimant’s requirements cannot be met in any other way, an advance payment can be made.</p><p>The Department works closely with partner organisations in Northern Scotland to deliver services in locations convenient for the local population it serves. Local Jobcentres have the flexibility to work alongside organisations to support the needs of their communities, providing our most vulnerable claimants with help tailored to their circumstances. For those who find it the most challenging to attend in person, we operate a 'Remote Customer Service Delivery' service, within the Wick area, which maximises the use of telephone and postal services to reduce the frequency of face-to-face appointments to make and maintain a claim to Universal Credit.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince grouped question UIN 1926 question first answered 23/10/2019 15:32:01 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4612 label Biography information for Jamie Stone

1150706

	registered interest
	date	18/10/2019
	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	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 her Department has made of the affordability of public transport costs for those attending (a) Wick Job Centre and (b) job centres; and whether her Department is taking steps to provide advance funding to universal credit claimants for those costs.
	tabling member constituency	Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross
	tabling member printed	Jamie Stone
	uin	1926
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/10/2019 answer text <p>Since the introduction of Universal Credit, claimants have been supported by Jobcentre Work Coaches applying a more flexible approach to contact, with much greater use of digital and telephone channels. This enables claimants to continue to engage with the Department, receive appropriate support and satisfy the conditions of their personalised Claimant Commitment without having to always attend an appointment in person.</p><p>To assist with the affordability of public transport, and where an appointment at a Jobcentre has been agreed as necessary, Work Coaches are able to consider the reimbursement of a claimant’s travel costs. The Department publishes clear guidance to its staff of when mandatory awards for travel must be made from the Flexible Support Fund – a copy of this is available in the House of Commons’ Library. In exceptional situations, where a claimant’s requirements cannot be met in any other way, an advance payment can be made.</p><p>The Department works closely with partner organisations in Northern Scotland to deliver services in locations convenient for the local population it serves. Local Jobcentres have the flexibility to work alongside organisations to support the needs of their communities, providing our most vulnerable claimants with help tailored to their circumstances. For those who find it the most challenging to attend in person, we operate a 'Remote Customer Service Delivery' service, within the Wick area, which maximises the use of telephone and postal services to reduce the frequency of face-to-face appointments to make and maintain a claim to Universal Credit.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince grouped question UIN 1925 question first answered 23/10/2019 15:32:01 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4612 label Biography information for Jamie Stone