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1167793

	registered interest
	date	01/11/2019
	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	Maternity Allowance
	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 31 October 2019 to Question 5404, what the working day turn around for maternity allowance claims was before 15 October 2019.
	tabling member constituency	Birkenhead
	tabling member printed	Frank Field
	uin	8582
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/11/2019 answer text <p>The working day turnaround for Maternity Allowance claims averaged 55 working days up to the end of September 2019 and increased to 60 days by 15 October 2019.</p> answering member constituency Eastleigh answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 05/11/2019 16:43:11 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
	tabling member	478 label Biography information for Frank Field

1167826

	registered interest
	date	01/11/2019
	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: Honours
	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 staff in his Department in receipt of each category of Honour in (a) December 2018 and (b) June 2019 were (i) from ethnic minority backgrounds and (ii) female aged (A) under 30, (B) 31 to 40, (C) 41 to 50 and (D) aged over 50.
	tabling member constituency	Feltham and Heston
	tabling member printed	Seema Malhotra
	uin	8610
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/11/2019 answer text <p>The Government is committed to ensuring that the honours system is fully representative of UK society. The proportion of women and people from ethnic minorities receiving recognition on each honours list is available on <a href="http://gov.uk/" target="_blank">GOV.UK</a>, as is a breakdown of ethnicities of recipients, published on the Ethnicity Facts and Figures website at <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/honours-recipients-by-ethnicity" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/honours-recipients-by-ethnicity</a>. Information on ages is not correlated with other diversity factors. We also publish the proportion of honours by independent committee on GOV.UK. The numbers of honours recipients in the Department for Work and Pensions are small and vary from year to year.</p> answering member constituency Eastleigh answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 05/11/2019 16:29:43 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
	tabling member	4253 label Biography information for Seema Malhotra

1167614

	registered interest
	date	31/10/2019
	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	Children: Maintenance
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many non-resident parents have had their passports revoked following a failure to make Child Maintenance Service payments since the new provisions came into effect.
	tabling member constituency	Romsey and Southampton North
	tabling member printed	Caroline Nokes
	uin	8252
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/11/2019 answer text <p>The number of passports revoked by Child maintenance Service is 4. This is clerically derived data, and therefore as with all clerically derived data, is subject to caveat.</p> answering member constituency Eastleigh answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 05/11/2019 16:23:00 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
	tabling member	4048 label Biography information for Caroline Nokes

1167615

	registered interest
	date	31/10/2019
	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	Children: Maintenance
	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 ensure that non-maintenance-paying parents do not request mandatory reconsiderations from the Child Maintenance Service to continue to avoid making payments.
	tabling member constituency	Romsey and Southampton North
	tabling member printed	Caroline Nokes
	uin	8253
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/11/2019 answer text <p>All clients, regardless of their role within the scheme, have the right to request a decision be reconsidered by the Child Maintenance Service (CMS). Mandatory reconsideration rights only apply to decisions relating to child maintenance liability. The standard timescale in which a revision may be requested is within 30 days of the date of notification of the decision. Our policy is that a mandatory reconsideration will only happen once in respect of any particular decision, after which a client accrues the right to appeal to an independent tribunal.</p><p> </p><p>If a client requests a mandatory reconsideration, their child maintenance liability will remain in place as usual until a decision is made. Where a mandatory reconsideration or appeal is ongoing, the Service will continue to attempt collection of any debt that is not covered by the appeal. The CMS may make a decision to suspend enforcement action on debt which is subject to an appeal, as this may result in reimbursement for the amount collected.</p> answering member constituency Eastleigh answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 04/11/2019 16:35:59 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
	tabling member	4048 label Biography information for Caroline Nokes

1167656

	registered interest
	date	31/10/2019
	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 she will make it her policy to collect data on the number of home visits being proactively offered to claimants of universal credit that have (a) a cancer diagnosis and (b) other health needs that would require a home visit; and if she will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	Brighton, Pavilion
	tabling member printed	Caroline Lucas
	uin	8227
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/11/2019 answer text <p>The Department are continuously reviewing and improving the service for vulnerable people, including those with a cancer diagnosis, who need to claim Universal Credit to ensure that it is supportive and responsive to their needs.</p><p> </p><p>Where claimants are unable to make or manage their Universal Credit claim online, telephone and face to face support in Jobcentres is available. Our staff already have the flexibility to respond to, or proactively suggest, that a home visit may be the best method of providing relevant support. The Department is committed to delivering what is right for a person’s circumstances and will conduct home visits when they are appropriate, recognising they are an important tool for those people with complex needs.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 05/11/2019 16:27:17 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	3930 label Biography information for Caroline Lucas

1167676

	registered interest
	date	31/10/2019
	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	Department for Work and Pensions: Digital Technology
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, who is responsible for digitisation in her Department; and what mechanisms the that person uses to champion digitisation.
	tabling member constituency	North Norfolk
	tabling member printed	Norman Lamb
	uin	8207
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/11/2019 answer text <p>Service transformation is one of the Department for Work and Pensions’ strategic objectives. Accountability is shared between the Director General for Digital and the Director General for Service Excellence. It is coordinated through the Service Transformation Board which provides governance for service improvements as well as the strategic approach to the digitalisation of the Department’s services. The work is championed across the Department, including via Transformation Portfolio Managers and Digital product owners.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Eastleigh answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 05/11/2019 11:34:51 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
	tabling member	1439 label Biography information for Norman Lamb

1167375

	registered interest
	date	30/10/2019
	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	Members: Correspondence
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when her Department plans to respond to the email from the hon. Member for Birkenhead on the disability living allowance award of his constituent Ella May Allinson.
	tabling member constituency	Birkenhead
	tabling member printed	Frank Field
	uin	7639
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/11/2019 answer text <p>A response was sent to the Rt Hon. Member on Friday 1 November 2019.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 04/11/2019 17:14:15 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	478 label Biography information for Frank Field

1167386

	registered interest
	date	30/10/2019
	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	Employment: Disability
	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 Written Statement of 5 March 2019, Health and Disability Announcement, HCWS1376, what progress her Department has made on undertaking a review of the commitment to get more disabled people into work.
	tabling member constituency	East Ham
	tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
	uin	7629
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/11/2019 answer text <p>We set out our continued commitment to improving employment rates for disabled people and people with long-term health conditions in Improving Lives: The Future of Work, Health and Disability. The goal is to see an increase in the number of disabled people in work from 3.5 million in Q1 2017 to 4.5 million in Q1 2027. In the first two years of the goal (Q1 2017 to Q1 2019), the number of disabled people in employment increased by 404,000. We welcome the continuing positive trends, and remain committed to unlocking the potential of all disabled people searching for work. We still have a significant way to go before achieving the goal.</p><p> </p><p>No single measure can capture everything that we want to achieve and we will continue to monitor improvements in the employment rate gap and other measures alongside the goal.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 04/11/2019 13:42:46 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	163 label Biography information for Stephen Timms

1167412

	registered interest
	date	30/10/2019
	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	Employment and Support Allowance: Telephone Services
	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 21 October 2019 to Question 198, what steps she is taking to improve telephone waiting times for the employment and support allowance telephone helpline.
	tabling member constituency	East Hampshire
	tabling member printed	Mr Damian Hinds
	uin	7707
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/11/2019 answer text <p>As a Department we regularly review the resource required to meet the demand on our telephony channels. Our aim is to provide our customers with the prompt service they deserve but at times high call volumes can have an impact on the service we provide - which may result in some of our customers experiencing extended wait times.</p><p> </p><p>Following a recent review, plans are in place for additional staffing to be deployed to handle Employment and Support Allowance calls and following this, we anticipate wait times to reduce.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 05/11/2019 13:51:15 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	3969 label Biography information for Mr Damian Hinds

1167436

	registered interest
	date	30/10/2019
	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	Employment: 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 her Department is taking to increase the number of disabled people in work.
	tabling member constituency	Southampton, Itchen
	tabling member printed	Royston Smith
	uin	7768
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/11/2019 answer text <p>The Government is committed to improving employment outcomes for disabled people. Improving Lives: The Future of Work, Health and Disability is our strategy for helping people with disabilities or health conditions enter and remain in employment. It includes details of a wide range of programmes and initiatives that will help support disabled people, in making a successful transition to employment. For example:</p><p> </p><ul><li>The Work and Health Programme will provide innovative support for around 275,000 people over five years. The majority of people of starting on the programme (around 220,000) will be disabled people, who can volunteer for the programme at any time.</li></ul><p> </p><ul><li>The Personal Support Package for people with health conditions and disabilities, with a range of new interventions and initiatives designed to provide support that is tailored to the individual needs of claimants.</li></ul><p> </p><ul><li>Access to Work is a demand-led, discretionary grant scheme which offers advice and in-work support to disabled people, above the level of statutory reasonable adjustments. An Access to Work customer may receive an award of up to £59,200 p.a. to pay for support to help them to enter or retain employment. This can include help with getting to work.</li></ul><p> </p><ul><li>Through the Disability Confident scheme, DWP is engaging with employers, offering online guidance and helping to promote the skills, talents and abilities of disabled people.</li></ul><p> </p><ul><li>The new Intensive Personalised Employment Support Programme, which will roll out by the end of 2019, will provide highly personalised packages of employment support for disabled people, who are at least a year away from moving into work.</li></ul><p> </p><p>Over the last 5 years the number of disabled people in employment has increased by around 1.06 million since Q2 2013, and currently stands at 7.7 million.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 05/11/2019 13:53:21 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	4478 label Biography information for Royston Smith

1167460

	registered interest
	date	30/10/2019
	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	Average Earnings
	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 year-on-year trends in the level of average weekly earnings in each year since 2010.
	tabling member constituency	Vale of Clwyd
	tabling member printed	Chris Ruane
	uin	7644
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/11/2019 answer text <p>Statistics on average weekly earnings growth are published by the independent Office for National Statistics.</p><p> </p><p>In August 2010, real (total) pay fell by 0.5%. In August 2019 the real (total) pay growth was 1.9% - an increase in the rate of real wage growth of 2.4 percentage points.</p><p> </p><p>The highest real (total) pay growth, between Aug 10 – Aug 19, was in Aug 15 (2.6%).</p><p> </p><p>Under the Triple Lock the basic State Pension and the full rate of the new State Pension will be raised the highest of: the rise in prices, the rise in earnings or 2.5%. The relevant measure for earnings is the year-on-year change in Average Weekly Earnings (AWE) from May to July published by the ONS in October, standing at 3.9%</p><p> </p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><p> </p><p /><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Date</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Growth in nominal average weekly total pay</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>August 2010</p></td><td><p>1.8 %</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>August 2011</p></td><td><p>2.6%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>August 2012</p></td><td><p>1.6%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>August 2013</p></td><td><p>0.7%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>August 2014</p></td><td><p>0.6%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>August 2015</p></td><td><p>3.0%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>August 2016</p></td><td><p>2.4%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>August 2017</p></td><td><p>2.3%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>August 2018</p></td><td><p>2.8%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>August 2019</p></td><td><p>3.8%</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p /> answering member constituency Eastleigh answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 05/11/2019 16:45:26 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
	tabling member	534 label Biography information for Chris Ruane

1167461

	registered interest
	date	30/10/2019
	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	Part-Time Employment
	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 number of people working less than 16 hours who wanted to work more in each of the last 10 years.
	tabling member constituency	Vale of Clwyd
	tabling member printed	Chris Ruane
	uin	7645
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/11/2019 answer text <p>I refer the Hon Member to the answer given to PQ 4936 in which I give details, published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), of the number of people whose usual weekly hours are less than six hours, and between 6 and 15 hours. Details are not available for the number of people working less than 16 hours who wanted to work more in each of the last 10 years.</p><p> </p><p>ONS does publish some related data: 1) the number of people in employment who want to work more hours, are available for work and are currently working below the hours threshold (40 hours a week for those under 18, 48 hours a week for those aged 18 or over), and 2) people working part-time who gave the reason as “could not find full-time job” as reason for working part-time. The tables below give extracts from the ONS published data, however, both these data series will include both those working less than, and more than, 16 hours a week.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Table 1: The number of people in employment who want to work more hours, are available for work and are currently working below the hours threshold</strong></p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Date</p></td><td><p>Level</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Apr-Jun 2010</p></td><td><p>2,754</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Apr-Jun 2011</p></td><td><p>2,841</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Apr-Jun 2012</p></td><td><p>3,061</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Apr-Jun 2013</p></td><td><p>3,090</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Apr-Jun 2014</p></td><td><p>2,977</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Apr-Jun 2015</p></td><td><p>2,786</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Apr-Jun 2016</p></td><td><p>2,601</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Apr-Jun 2017</p></td><td><p>2,460</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Apr-Jun 2018</p></td><td><p>2,390</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Apr-Jun 2019</p></td><td><p>2,479</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Source: Table EMP16, ONS, Labour Force Survey</p><p> </p><p><strong>Table 2: Part-time workers who gave the reason as “could not find full-time job” as reason for working part-time</strong></p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Date</p></td><td><p>Level</p></td><td><p>% of all Part Time Employed</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Apr-Jun 2010</p></td><td><p>1,084</p></td><td><p>14.0</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Apr-Jun 2011</p></td><td><p>1,275</p></td><td><p>16.2</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Apr-Jun 2012</p></td><td><p>1,438</p></td><td><p>17.9</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Apr-Jun 2013</p></td><td><p>1,467</p></td><td><p>18.3</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Apr-Jun 2014</p></td><td><p>1,347</p></td><td><p>16.5</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Apr-Jun 2015</p></td><td><p>1,285</p></td><td><p>15.7</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Apr-Jun 2016</p></td><td><p>1,149</p></td><td><p>13.6</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Apr-Jun 2017</p></td><td><p>1,019</p></td><td><p>12.1</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Apr-Jun 2018</p></td><td><p>968</p></td><td><p>11.5</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Apr-Jun 2019</p></td><td><p>907</p></td><td><p>10.6</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Source: Table EMP01NSA, ONS, Labour Force Survey</p><p> </p><p>At UK level people in full-time work have made up over three quarters of the overall increase in employment since 2010.</p> answering member constituency Eastleigh answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 04/11/2019 18:07:40 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
	tabling member	534 label Biography information for Chris Ruane

1167462

	registered interest
	date	30/10/2019
	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	Local Housing Allowance
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an (a) estimate of the cost to the public purse of restoring local housing allowance to cover the cheapest third of local rents over three years, (b) assessment of the potential effect of that policy on the number of (i) individuals and (ii) families including children (A) able to remain in existing accommodation and (B) no longer classed as being in poverty and (C) assessment of the potential effect on the public purse of changes resulting from that policy in the level of demand for temporary accommodation and other homelessness services.
	tabling member constituency	Brighton, Pavilion
	tabling member printed	Caroline Lucas
	uin	7721
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/11/2019 answer text <p>We estimate the cost of restoring Local Housing Allowance rates to the 30<sup>th</sup> percentile of local rents would be about £800 million in 2020/21, £1,000 million in 2021/22 and £1,200 million in 2022/23. This excludes any changes in behaviour by tenants and landlords.</p><p> </p><p>We have not made an estimate of the effect on staying in the same accommodation, or on savings that might arise in temporary accommodation and other homelessness services.</p><p> </p><p>Poverty projections are inherently speculative as they require projecting how income will change for every individual in society, and this is affected by a huge range of factors.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 05/11/2019 11:40:30 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	3930 label Biography information for Caroline Lucas

1167475

	registered interest
	date	30/10/2019
	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	Bereavement Benefits: Cohabitation
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she has made an assessment of the amount of money bereaved partners potentially missed by not being eligible to receive bereavement benefits reserved for married couples in the last 12 months.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
	tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
	uin	7636
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/11/2019 answer text <p>We are still refining our methodology in our assessment of cohabitees that have not received bereavement benefits, and therefore cannot provide a final estimate of expenditure.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 05/11/2019 16:20:48 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

1167508

	registered interest
	date	30/10/2019
	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	Personal Care Services: Health and Safety
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions she has had with representatives from the Local Government Association on the adequacy of health and safety registration procedures in relation to hair salons.
	tabling member constituency	Blackpool South
	tabling member printed	Gordon Marsden
	uin	7651
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/11/2019 answer text <p>We have not had any discussions with representatives from the Local Government Association on the adequacy of health and safety registration procedures in relation to hair salons.</p> answering member constituency Eastleigh answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 04/11/2019 16:25:06 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
	tabling member	465 label Biography information for Gordon Marsden

1167513

	registered interest
	date	30/10/2019
	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	Employment: Disability
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many employers in (a) Crawley and (b) the UK have signed up to the Disability Confident scheme; and how many jobs have been created (i) in and (ii) under that scheme.
	tabling member constituency	Crawley
	tabling member printed	Henry Smith
	uin	7743
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/11/2019 answer text <p>The Disability Confident (DC) scheme was launched in November 2016 and supports the Government’s commitment of helping one million more disabled people into work by 2027. Disability Confident provides employers with the knowledge, skills and confidence they need to attract, recruit, retain and develop disabled people in the workplace. The scheme is designed as a journey, with all employers starting at Level 1 and progressing through the scheme at their own pace. Accreditation for each level lasts for 3 years. No employer is too small or new to start the journey and even the most experienced employer will still find new techniques and best practice that can help them.</p><p> </p><p>As of 13/9/2019, the latest published figures show that over 13,600 employers are signed up to the scheme nationally at the following levels: Level 1 - DC Committed (10,031), Level 2 - DC Employer (3,336), Level 3 - DC Leader (244) of those, 62% are small or micro employers and 80% are SMEs. All main Government departments are DC Leaders (Level 3) and over 83% of Local Authorities signed up, with good penetration of NHS and blue-light services. In Crawley there are 17 Disability Confident organisations; 7 DC Committed (Level 1) and 10 DC Employer (Level 2).</p><p> </p><p>Of the 157,000 jobs currently advertised on the DWP Find a Job website, over 20,000 are from DC employers – totalling 13%. Over the last 5 years the number of disabled people in employment has increased by around 1.06 million since Q2 2013, and currently stands at 7.7 million.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 05/11/2019 13:49:31 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	3960 label Biography information for Henry Smith

1167518

	registered interest
	date	30/10/2019
	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	Department for Work and Pensions: Daily Mail and Metro Newspaper
	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 17 October 2019 to Question 323, when he plans to place the memorandum in the Library.
	tabling member constituency	High Peak
	tabling member printed	Ruth George
	uin	7797
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/11/2019 answer text <p>The Department has sent a copy of the memorandum of 2 May 2019 to the House’s Library. We have been advised by the Library that it is currently processing the deposit of this document.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 04/11/2019 17:19:58 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4662 label Biography information for Ruth George

1167519

	registered interest
	date	30/10/2019
	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	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, pursuant to the Answer of 17 October 2019 to Question 316, whether the graphics used in the six-week long advertising campaign entitled, Universal Credit Uncovered, in The Metro were designed by (a) staff in her Department or (b) Associated Newspapers.
	tabling member constituency	High Peak
	tabling member printed	Ruth George
	uin	7798
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/11/2019 answer text <p>The information used in the ‘Universal Credit Uncovered’ Metro campaign was sourced by Departmental officials. The campaign graphics were designed by Metro’s in-house design team as part of the Department’s media partnership with them.</p><p> </p><p>We went to great lengths to ensure the factual accuracy of the campaign through extensive consultation within the Department, including the Government Legal Department. We also consulted with the Advertising Standards Authority Copy Advice Team prior to the launch and continued to do so throughout the campaign lifetime.</p><p> </p><p>The Metro partnership was designed to increase understanding of Universal Credit and ensure people have the right factual information they need to make a claim and understand their potential entitlement.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 04/11/2019 17:20:19 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4662 label Biography information for Ruth George

1167537

	registered interest
	date	30/10/2019
	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	Housing Benefit: Social Rented Housing
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking in response to the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights in J.D and A v. the United Kingdom that the under-occupation reduction of housing benefit or the ‘bedroom tax’ unlawfully discriminates against women at serious risk of domestic violence.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Lister of Burtersett
	uin	HL545
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/11/2019 answer text <p>We are carefully considering the European Court of Human Rights Judgment in the case of A.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>We welcome the decision in the case of JD which confirmed in this case that the application of the RSRS policy was not discriminatory.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Stedman-Scott question first answered 05/11/2019 13:04:58 answering member 4174 label Biography information for Baroness Stedman-Scott
	tabling member	4234 label Biography information for Baroness Lister of Burtersett

1167004

	registered interest
	date	29/10/2019
	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	Local Housing Allowance
	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 2 July 2019 research, Cover the cost: restoring local housing allowance rates to prevent homelessness, commissioned by Crisis on 2 July 2019, if her Department will undertake a cost-benefit analysis to assess the potential effect of restoring local housing allowance rates to the level of the cheapest third of local rents.
	tabling member constituency	Walthamstow
	tabling member printed	Stella Creasy
	uin	7137
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/11/2019 answer text <p>We estimate the cost would be about £800 million in 2020/21, excluding any changes in behaviour by tenants and landlords.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 04/11/2019 18:29:26 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4088 label Biography information for Stella Creasy

1167020

	registered interest
	date	29/10/2019
	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	Department for Work and Pensions: International Men's Day
	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 mark International Men's Day on 19 November 2019.
	tabling member constituency	Shipley
	tabling member printed	Philip Davies
	uin	7099
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/11/2019 answer text <p>No one should suffer unfair treatment because of their gender. Every year International Men’s Day offers an opportunity to highlight how outcomes for men and boys can be improved and to talk about some of the important work going on every day across Government to do this.</p><p> </p><p>The work ranges from the introduction of shared parental leave, which allows men to take time away from the workplace and bond with their new children, benefitting that crucial long-term relationship for both parent and child, to our programme tackling LGBT bullying in schools which seeks to protect those who may be victimised by outdated and stereotypical ideas of what it means to be a ‘real man’.</p><p> </p><p>Government is also working with local authorities to ensure their suicide prevention plans support more men, and in the Domestic Abuse Bill we propose to create a statutory definition of domestic abuse that makes clear men also can be victims of this abhorrent crime.</p><p /><p>In DWP we have a series of national events taking place over the coming weeks to mark International Men’s Day. DWP have partnered with external organisations (The Good Lad initiative and Springboard Consultancy) to give a platform to raise awareness of the challenges that men face in life and raising awareness of men’s wellbeing. We have also invited DWP senior positive role models to talk about their journey, DWP User Researchers to talk about the issues that impact on men at work and the DWP Women’s Network to lead a session on allies and how allies benefit us all.</p> answering member constituency Eastleigh answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 05/11/2019 16:37:40 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
	tabling member	1565 label Biography information for Philip Davies

1167098

	registered interest
	date	29/10/2019
	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	Social Security Benefits: Disqualifications
	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 number of hardship payments made by her Department which have been directly attributed to the imposition of benefit sanctions in (a) Vale of Clwyd parliamentary constituency, (b) Wales and (c) the UK in each of the last four years.
	tabling member constituency	Vale of Clwyd
	tabling member printed	Chris Ruane
	uin	7077
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/11/2019 answer text <p>Hardship payments provide financial protection for claimants whose benefit is reduced by a Fraud Loss of Benefit penalty or a Benefit Sanction.</p><p> </p><p>For a) and b), the information requested is not readily available at a country or constituency level and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.</p><p> </p><p>For c) the requested data is provided for Great Britain in the following two tables for Jobseekers Allowance (JSA) and Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) respectively. Please note, figures supplied are derived from data which has not been quality assured to Official Statistics publication standard. These results can change retrospectively as further information is received. They should therefore be treated with caution. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 1,000.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="5"><p>JSA - Number of hardship payments awarded as a result of a sanction</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015</p></td><td><p>2016</p></td><td><p>2017</p></td><td><p>2018</p></td><td><p>2019 (year to Aug 19)</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>120,000</p></td><td><p>58,000</p></td><td><p>29,000</p></td><td><p>10,000</p></td><td><p>Fewer than 1,000</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="5"><p>ESA - Number of hardship payments awarded as a result of a sanction</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015</p></td><td><p>2016</p></td><td><p>2017</p></td><td><p>2018</p></td><td><p>2019 (year to Aug 19)</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>4,000</p></td><td><p>2,000</p></td><td><p>1,000</p></td><td><p>Fewer than 1,000</p></td><td><p>Fewer than 1,000</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>For Universal Credit, the data cannot be disaggregated to identify the hardship payments that have been directly attributed to the application of a benefit sanction from those resulting from a fraud penalty.</p> answering member constituency Eastleigh answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 04/11/2019 18:04:16 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
	tabling member	534 label Biography information for Chris Ruane

1167120

	registered interest
	date	29/10/2019
	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	Access to Work Programme
	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 has taken to enable Access to Work (a) advisors and (b) assessors to follow-up with claimants to ensure that recommended support has been implemented effectively.
	tabling member constituency	East Ham
	tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
	uin	7036
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/11/2019 answer text <p>Access to Work advisers work with customers and their employers where there are difficulties in procuring the support awarded under the grant. Where there is a dispute about whether a piece of equipment should be procured, Access to Work has no legal power to intervene in the dispute. Where there is a dispute between the customer and the employer Access to Work will signpost the customer and their employer to the Government Equalities Office who will advise on matters relating to disputes over reasonable adjustments.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 04/11/2019 17:23:13 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	163 label Biography information for Stephen Timms

1167121

	registered interest
	date	29/10/2019
	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	Access to Work Programme
	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 undertake a review of section 4.05 of the Access to Work Holistic Assessments Provider Guidance, published on 7 August 2019 which states that a report may be deemed not to meet the specified standard (and therefore rejected) if it is evident that the Assessor has been influenced by customer preference and has not considered the minimum requirements.
	tabling member constituency	East Ham
	tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
	uin	7037
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/11/2019 answer text <p>DWP is not looking to review paragraph 4.05 of the Access to Work Holistic Assessment Provider Guidance.</p><p> </p><p>AtW recognises the importance of the holistic assessment for customers and as a result introduced a measure for quality as part of these new holistic assessments contracts that went live in June 2017.</p><p> </p><p>Access to Work advisers and the holistic assessment suppliers will always consider customer preference in determining if similar support is available to the same specification providing a more cost effective solution.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 04/11/2019 13:45:06 answering member 4105