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1092728

	registered interest
	date	21/03/2019
	answering body	Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
	answering dept id	7
	answering dept short name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
	answering dept sort name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
	hansard heading	Council Tax Reduction Schemes
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether mixed-age couples will continue to be able to claim council tax support under the default scheme when changes to their entitlement to pension credit take effect from 15 May 2019; and if he will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	East Ham
	tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
	uin	235231
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/03/2019 answer text <p>Whether mixed-aged couples can claim council tax support depends on a range of factors including the age of a claimant, the benefits they and/or their partner receive, and the design of local schemes. The changes to pension credit due to take effect from 15 May 2019 may mean some households are no longer eligible for the pensioner element of council tax support schemes, but may be eligible for local working-age schemes.</p> answering member constituency Richmond (Yorks) answering member printed Rishi Sunak question first answered 26/03/2019 15:02:34 answering member 4483 label Biography information for Rishi Sunak
	tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

1083633

	registered interest
	date	07/03/2019
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Apprentices: Greater London
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many companies in London have transferred support for apprenticeships arising from their apprenticeship levy payments to other employers to date.
	tabling member constituency	East Ham
	tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
	uin	229615
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/03/2019 answer text <p>As at 31 January 2019, there were 200 commitments in England entered into the Apprenticeship Service, where the transfer of funds between apprenticeship service accounts has been approved (a commitment is where a potential apprentice, who is expected to go on to start an apprenticeship, has been recorded with the Apprenticeship Service). Of these transferred commitments as at 31 January 2019, there were 130 transferred commitments that had materialised into apprenticeship starts. Further statistics can be found here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/apprenticeship-and-levy-statistics-february-2019" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/apprenticeship-and-levy-statistics-february-2019</a>.</p><p>Information on companies transferring apprenticeship levy funds in each region of England is not available in the format requested. Many levy-paying employers are headquartered in one region but operate across the country meaning that we cannot attribute levy-funds transferred in individual locations. Individual employers have control of the expenditure (and transfer) of apprenticeship levy funds based on their current and future skills needs.</p><p>It should be noted that, from April this year, levy-paying employers can transfer 25% of their levy funds to other employers.</p> answering member constituency Guildford answering member printed Anne Milton question first answered 12/03/2019 17:35:43 answering member 1523 label Biography information for Anne Milton
	tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

1027741

	registered interest
	date	18/12/2018
	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	Universal Credit: Disability
	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 effect of imposing sanctions on disabled claimants of universal credit on (a) the subsequent time they spend in receipt of benefit and (b) the likelihood of those claimants subsequently entering and remaining in employment.
	tabling member constituency	East Ham
	tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
	uin	203221
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/03/2019 answer text <p>The Department has not made an assessment of the effect of imposing sanctions on disabled Universal Credit claimants. In our response to the Work and Pensions Select Committee Report on Benefit Sanctions (Nineteenth Report of Session 2017-19), the Department committed to evaluating the effectiveness of reforms to welfare conditionality and sanctions. The Department will focus its evaluation on whether the sanctions regime within Universal Credit is effective at supporting claimants to search for work.</p><p> </p><p>Sanctions are only used in a small percentage of cases, and that is when people fail to meet their agreed commitments without good reason. Latest data, published on 19 February 2019 in the Benefit Sanction Statistics, shows that in November 2018, 2.8% of people subject to conditionality on Universal Credit had a deduction taken from their benefit award as a result of a sanction.</p><p> </p><p>When considering whether a sanction is appropriate, a Decision Maker will take all the claimant’s individual circumstances, including any health conditions or disabilities and any evidence of good cause, into account before deciding whether a sanction is warranted.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 20/03/2019 14:28:39 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma previous answer version 94108 answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

1037783

	registered interest
	date	08/01/2019
	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: Disqualification
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the number of hardship payment awards to sanctioned claimants of universal credit was in each conditionality category for (a) live and (b) full service claimants in each month since August 2015.
	tabling member constituency	East Ham
	tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
	uin	206209
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/03/2019 answer text <p>The information requested by each conditionality group is not readily available for Universal Credit Full and Live Service claimants and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.</p><p>Sanctions are only used in a small percentage of cases, and that is when people fail to meet their agreed commitments without good reason. When considering whether a sanction is appropriate, a Decision Maker will take all the claimant’s individual circumstances, including any health conditions or disabilities and any evidence of good reason, into account before deciding whether a sanction is warranted.</p><p>However, the information that is readily available is displayed in the table below. This shows the number of Universal Credit Full Service sanction decisions which were followed by a Recoverable Hardship Payment during 2017 and 2018.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Sanction decision month</p></td><td><p>Number of UC Full Service sanction decisions which were followed by a Recoverable Hardship Payment<sup>1</sup></p></td><td><p>Number of people on Universal Credit<sup>2</sup></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Jan-17</p></td><td><p>100</p></td><td><p>437,751</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Feb-17</p></td><td><p>0</p></td><td><p>458,742</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Mar-17</p></td><td><p>0</p></td><td><p>481,592</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Apr-17</p></td><td><p>100</p></td><td><p>504,748</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>May-17</p></td><td><p>400</p></td><td><p>513,481</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Jun-17</p></td><td><p>300</p></td><td><p>527,535</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Jul-17</p></td><td><p>300</p></td><td><p>551,088</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Aug-17</p></td><td><p>400</p></td><td><p>574,802</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Sep-17</p></td><td><p>300</p></td><td><p>601,921</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Oct-17</p></td><td><p>400</p></td><td><p>623,565</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Nov-17</p></td><td><p>300</p></td><td><p>650,145</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Dec-17</p></td><td><p>200</p></td><td><p>692,039</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Jan-18</p></td><td><p>600</p></td><td><p>717,523</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Feb-18</p></td><td><p>500</p></td><td><p>762,909</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Mar-18</p></td><td><p>500</p></td><td><p>801,401</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Apr-18</p></td><td><p>700</p></td><td><p>856,280</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>May-18</p></td><td><p>400</p></td><td><p>902,317</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Jun-18</p></td><td><p>1100</p></td><td><p>961,643</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Jul-18</p></td><td><p>2200</p></td><td><p>1,019,181</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Aug-18</p></td><td><p>2400</p></td><td><p>1,093,073</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>Notes:</p><p> </p><ol><li>The information provided in the provided table is based on preliminary analysis of internal management information and may be subject to future revision. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 100. Subsequently, figures in the table that are 0 are less than 50.</li><li>The number of people on Universal Credit is published on Stat-Xplore. (<a href="https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/jsf/login.xhtml" target="_blank">stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk</a>)</li></ol><p> </p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 20/03/2019 14:09:07 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma previous answer version 94873 answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

1082329

	registered interest
	date	05/03/2019
	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
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, in what circumstances a universal credit claimant will be advised by a work coach to close his or her current application and make a new application; and if she will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	East Ham
	tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
	uin	228541
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/03/2019 answer text <p>Comprehensive guidance is available to all staff and is very clear when a claim should be closed. A claim may close for various reasons including an increase in income.</p><p> </p><p>Universal Credit is an in and out of work benefit to encourage claimants to move into employment and increase their earnings.</p><p> </p><p>Re-claims provides a simple route back onto Universal Credit for claimants who have a short break in entitlement, for example, entering temporary work. Re-claims will allow most claimants who return to Universal Credit within six assessment periods of their previous award ending, to retain their previous Universal Credit assessment period and payment dates, as long as they continue to meet the basic conditions of entitlement.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 21/03/2019 10:53:11 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma previous answer version 106854 answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

1083631

	registered interest
	date	07/03/2019
	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
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of universal credit claimants have been able to verify their identity successfully online; and if she will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	East Ham
	tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
	uin	229601
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/03/2019 answer text <p>Thirty-eight per cent of people successfully use GOV.UK Verify to identify themselves. For those who prefer to do this face to face in a Jobcentre that option continues to remain open.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 12/03/2019 16:30:11 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

1083632

	registered interest
	date	07/03/2019
	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
	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 taken is for a universal credit claim to be verified manually when the claimant is not able to verify their identity online.
	tabling member constituency	East Ham
	tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
	uin	229614
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/03/2019 answer text <p>The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 12/03/2019 16:30:41 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

1087241

	registered interest
	date	12/03/2019
	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
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of universal credit claimants have verified their identity face-to-face in a jobcentre in each year for which information is available.
	tabling member constituency	East Ham
	tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
	uin	231352
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/03/2019 answer text <p>The table below shows the proportion of UC Full Service claimants that attended a face to face meeting in order to provide evidence of their identification.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Calendar Year</p></td><td><p>Proportion of Claimants</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2016</p></td><td><p>88%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2017</p></td><td><p>78%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2018</p></td><td><p>68%</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p><strong>Notes:</strong></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><p><strong> </strong></p><p>We have previously answered a PQ stating that 38% of claimants verify their identity successfully online. The percentages may not appear to add up for the following reasons:</p><p> </p><p>We cannot rule out the possibility that some of the people in the table above also tried the verify their ID online. However, if there are any such people they are likely to be small in number.</p><p> </p><p>The figures are based upon claims that successfully had their ID verified and accepted a claimant commitment. This is to ensure consistency with other Departmental figures on UC claims.</p><p> </p><p>All figures have been rounded to the nearest percentage point.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 15/03/2019 14:08:34 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

1087242

	registered interest
	date	12/03/2019
	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
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what methods universal credit claimants can use to confirm their identity other than face-to-face at a jobcentre or using GOV.UK Verify.
	tabling member constituency	East Ham
	tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
	uin	231353
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/03/2019 answer text <p>Claimants can verify their identity by one or more of the following:</p><ul><li>GOV.UK Verify</li><li>documentary evidence</li><li>biographical test</li><li>biographical check</li><li>gather and confirm</li><li>know and recognise</li></ul><p> </p><p>If a claimant is unable to confirm their identity at a Jobcentre or using our Verify system, a home visit can be arranged.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 15/03/2019 15:29:40 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

1088716

	registered interest
	date	14/03/2019
	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
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the universal credit system has access to information provided to the Government’s Tell Us Once system for registering births and deaths; and if she will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	East Ham
	tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
	uin	232505
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/03/2019 answer text <p>The Government’s Tell Us Once service allows people to report a birth or death to most Government Departments in one go, eliminating the need to contact several different Departments, multiple times, to notify them of a change of circumstance. If the change affects a Universal Credit claim, the case manager of the relevant case is informed, who will follow the appropriate process.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 19/03/2019 13:59:47 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms