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169047

	registered interest
	date	09/12/2014
	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	Funeral Payments: Motherwell and Wishaw
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many applications for funeral payments were awarded by his Department in Motherwell and Wishaw constituency in each of the last three years; and what the average such award was in each of those years.
	tabling member constituency	Motherwell and Wishaw
	tabling member printed	Mr Frank Roy
	uin	217930
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/12/2014 answer text <p /> <p>DWP does not hold data on Funeral Payments at constituency level.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 11/12/2014 12:20:38 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	626 label Biography information for Mr Frank Roy

169963

	registered interest
	date	11/12/2014
	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	Winter Fuel Payment
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps =he is taking to ensure that pensioners become better aware of their right to claim winter fuel allowance.
	tabling member constituency	Barnsley Central
	tabling member printed	Dan Jarvis
	uin	218426
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/12/2014 answer text <p /> <p>In over 95 per cent of cases, people over women’s State Pension age receive a Winter Fuel Payment automatically, and do not need to make a claim since the Department already holds the information necessary to make the payment.</p><p> </p><p>However, details of eligibility and how to make a claim are available on <a href="http://www.GOV.uk" target="_blank">www.GOV.uk</a></p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 16/12/2014 11:58:02 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	4243 label Biography information for Dan Jarvis

170553

	registered interest
	date	15/12/2014
	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	Public Health Funerals
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of paupers' funerals in (a) the UK, (b) Scotland, (c) Wales, (d) England and (e) Northern Ireland in each of the last four years for which figures are available.
	tabling member constituency	Airdrie and Shotts
	tabling member printed	Pamela Nash
	uin	218762
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/12/2014 answer text <p /> <p>My department does not collect data on the number of Local Authority funerals.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 18/12/2014 11:57:14 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	3909 label Biography information for Pamela Nash

166611

	registered interest
	date	27/11/2014
	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	Public Health Funerals
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of pauper's funerals in each of the last three years; and what steps his Department is taking to support families on low incomes with the costs of funerals.
	tabling member constituency	Birkenhead
	tabling member printed	Mr Frank Field
	uin	216270
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/12/2014 answer text <p /> <p>My department does not collect data on the number of Local Authority funerals.</p><p> </p><p>The Social Fund Funeral Payment scheme continues to provide help towards a simple, respectful, low-cost funeral and in 2013/14, over 33,000 awards were made worth £44.7 million, with an average award of £1,347.</p><p> </p><p>Social Fund Budgeting Loans are also available to those on income related benefits to cover costs relating to funeral expenses.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 02/12/2014 11:44:12 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead

169964

	registered interest
	date	11/12/2014
	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	Winter Fuel Payment
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of eligible pensioners who have not claimed the winter fuel allowance in each year since May 2010.
	tabling member constituency	Barnsley Central
	tabling member printed	Dan Jarvis
	uin	218424
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/12/2014 answer text <p /> <p>We do not hold this information.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 16/12/2014 11:45:51 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	4243 label Biography information for Dan Jarvis

170555

	registered interest
	date	15/12/2014
	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 much was outstanding in child maintenance arrears in each (a) parliamentary constituency and (b) local authority area in each of the last four years.
	tabling member constituency	Airdrie and Shotts
	tabling member printed	Pamela Nash
	uin	218713
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/12/2014 answer text <p /> <p>(a) The attached document (CM arrears by Parliamentary Constituency) provides a breakdown of outstanding child maintenance arrears on cases administered by the Child Support Agency (CSA) by parliamentary constituency, as at June 2014.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Outstanding child maintenance arrears, on cases administered by the CSA, broken down by local authority is published in the six-monthly regional tables. The latest published regional figures contain data as at June 2014 which can be found at the following link:<a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/347756/csa_qtr_summ_stats_regional_jun14.xls" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/347756/csa_qtr_summ_stats_regional_jun14.xls</a></p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 18/12/2014 13:31:08 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb attachment 1 file name CM arrears by Parliamentary Constituency.xls title CM arrears by Parliamentary Constituency
	tabling member	3909 label Biography information for Pamela Nash

169041

	registered interest
	date	09/12/2014
	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	Staff
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much his Department has spent on (a) consultants, (b) temporary staff and (c) contingent labour in each of the last five years; how many people have been so employed; what the length of contract of each such person was; and what equivalent civil service salary band each was on.
	tabling member constituency	Manchester Central
	tabling member printed	Lucy Powell
	uin	217787
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/12/2014 answer text <p /> <p><strong>Spend on consultants, temporary staff and contingent labour over the last 5 years: </strong></p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong> </strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2009/10</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2010/11</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2011/12</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2012/13</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2013/14</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Consultants</strong></p></td><td><p>£27,554,654</p></td><td><p>£11,267,277</p></td><td><p>£6,507,648</p></td><td><p>£12,650,325</p></td><td><p>£11,662,269</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Temporary Staff*</strong></p></td><td><p>£22,179,497</p></td><td><p>£2,448,477</p></td><td><p>£1,272,341</p></td><td><p>£19,038,479</p></td><td><p>£6,710,259</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Contingent Labour</strong></p></td><td><p>£63,155,793</p></td><td><p>£30,277,388</p></td><td><p>£10,913,144</p></td><td><p>£14,459,590</p></td><td><p>£12,995,091</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>*Temporary Staff includes Casuals and Fixed Term Appointments employed for less than 12 months only.</p><p> </p><p>Spend on consultancy, contingent labour and temporary staff reduced in 2011/12 as the Cabinet Office Spend Controls introduced by the coalition government in May 2010 took effect. Whilst these controls are still being applied spend in these areas has since increased in response to the need for specialist external support to meet the demands of DWP major change programmes such as UC and PIP, and in response to business needs for temporary staff mainly in Operations.</p><p> </p><p>All requests for the recruitment of temporary staff are subject to recruitment freeze dispensations and are subject to Ministerial approval.</p><p> </p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>Number of consultants, temporary staff and contingent labour employed, length of contract and equivalent civil service salary:</strong></p><p> </p><p>Consultants:</p><p> </p><p>Consultants are not engaged on an individual basis. Consultancy services are delivered by a consultancy company which deploys resource according to the requirements of the engagement. Extracting data on the length of engagement of each consultant would be at disproportionate cost. Consultants do not have an equivalent civil service salary band.</p><p> </p><p>Temporary Staff:</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p><strong>As at </strong><strong>31 March 2010</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>As at </strong><strong>31 March 2011</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>As at </strong><strong>31 March 2012</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>As at </strong><strong>31 March 2013</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>As at </strong><strong>31 March 2014</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Band A/AA</strong></p></td><td><p>169</p></td><td><p>4</p></td><td><p>3</p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Band B/AO</strong></p></td><td><p>2,333</p></td><td><p>57</p></td><td><p>360</p></td><td><p>993</p></td><td><p>247</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Band C/EO</strong></p></td><td><p>922</p></td><td><p>16</p></td><td><p>1</p></td><td><p>61</p></td><td><p>2</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Band D/HEO</strong></p></td><td><p>16</p></td><td><p>2</p></td><td><p>5</p></td><td><p>13</p></td><td><p>2</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Band E/SEO</strong></p></td><td><p>7</p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Band F/G7</strong></p></td><td><p>6</p></td><td><p>4</p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p>2</p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Band G/G6</strong></p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p>1</p></td><td><p>1</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>SCS</strong></p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p>2</p></td><td><p>1</p></td><td><p>2</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Other/Not Known</strong></p></td><td><p>1</p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Total</strong></p></td><td><p>3,454</p></td><td><p>83</p></td><td><p>371</p></td><td><p>1,071</p></td><td><p>254</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>The above figures are for temporary staff engaged for less than 12 months only. No further breakdown of the length of engagement is available.</p><p> </p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong> </strong></p></td><td><p><strong>As at </strong><strong>31 March 2010</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>As at </strong><strong>31 March 2011</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>As at </strong><strong>31 March 2012</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>As at </strong><strong>31 March 2013</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>As at </strong><strong>31 March 2014</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Contingent Labour</strong></p></td><td><p>760</p></td><td><p>138</p></td><td><p>81</p></td><td><p>121</p></td><td><p>85</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>We are unable to extract data on the length of engagement of each contingent labour worker or the equivalent civil service salary band as this would be at disproportionate cost.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 16/12/2014 13:46:25 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	4263 label Biography information for Lucy Powell

168727

	registered interest
	date	08/12/2014
	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, if he will make an assessment of the effect of the inclusion of a threshold of a 25 per cent change in income before child maintenance payments are adjusted in the 2012 child maintenance scheme on people paying child maintenance who are (a) self-employed and (b) in insecure work.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Northfield
	tabling member printed	Richard Burden
	uin	217727
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/12/2014 answer text <p /> <p>At this point in time there are no plans to include this in the overall impact assessment of the reforms.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 11/12/2014 11:55:08 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	301 label Biography information for Richard Burden

169044

	registered interest
	date	09/12/2014
	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	Older Workers
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people working in his Department are over 65 years old; and if he will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	Brighton, Kemptown
	tabling member printed	Simon Kirby
	uin	217836
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/12/2014 answer text <p /> <p>DWP employs 91,272 staff of which 1531 of them are aged 65 and over. (data supplied as at 30 September 2014)</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 15/12/2014 13:21:12 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	3929 label Biography information for Simon Kirby

167383

	registered interest
	date	02/12/2014
	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	Renewable Energy
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the capacity of his Departmental buildings for the micro-generation of renewable energy; and if he will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	Brighton, Kemptown
	tabling member printed	Simon Kirby
	uin	216737
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/12/2014 answer text <p /> <p>DWP has outsourced the provision of its estate until 31st March 2018 under a 20-year PFI contract with its private sector partner Telereal Trillium.</p><p> </p><p>Telereal Trillium’s technical experts have undertaken regular extensive reviews (both site based and desk-top studies) of the Department’s estate with a view to assessing the practical and financial viability of investing in micro-generation. These have included:</p><p> </p><p>• solar photo-voltaic and wind turbine generation of electricity; and</p><p> </p><p>• solar and bio-mass generation of heat.</p><p> </p><p>Following this review 18 sites were identified for a site visit and more detailed examination by Telereal Trillium’s technical experts and potential suppliers. Detailed business cases were then developed for the biomass sites offering the quickest payback and with the potential to meet the Department’s investment criteria. Unfortunately, although these sites offered a practical means of generating renewable energy they did not meet the Department’s investment criteria and so have not been pursued. Solar photo-voltaic and wind turbine generation projects had even longer payback periods.</p><p> </p><p>The Department also commissioned EDF to undertake independent surveys at five sites. These confirmed the results of the work undertaken by Telereal Trillium’s technical experts in that the break-even periods were too long to meet the Department’s investment criteria.</p><p> </p><p>Telereal Trillium are continuing to assess whether reductions in costs and/or improvements in technology will improve the financial viability of micro-generation.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 08/12/2014 13:04:50 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	3929 label Biography information for Simon Kirby

167868

	registered interest
	date	03/12/2014
	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	Energy
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he has taken to insulate his Departmental estate in order to improve energy efficiency; and if he will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	Brighton, Kemptown
	tabling member printed	Simon Kirby
	uin	217054
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/12/2014 answer text <p /> <p>DWP has outsourced the provision of its estate until 31st March 2018 under a 20-year contract with its private sector partner Telereal Trillium (TT), leasing back fully serviced accommodation, via a PFI Contract known as PRIME.</p><p> </p><p>The buildings occupied by DWP under this PFI arrangement are generally multi-storey offices and roof space is therefore limited, resulting in most significant heat loss being via the walls, which are predominantly windows for good natural light.</p><p> </p><p>As part of on-going life cycle replacement projects planned by TT, for windows and to recover roofs, the work is carried out to the current building standard which includes modern insulating requirements.</p><p> </p><p>Additionally, during estate rationalisation DWP carefully consider the energy rating of a building as part of the decision process and where possible moves out of poorly insulated buildings.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 10/12/2014 15:15:32 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	3929 label Biography information for Simon Kirby

166453

	registered interest
	date	26/11/2014
	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	Catering
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much his Department has spent on catering and hospitality since May 2010.
	tabling member constituency	Leicester South
	tabling member printed	Jonathan Ashworth
	uin	216193
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/12/2014 answer text <p /> <p>Departmental expenditure on Hospitality from the start of the 2010 financial year up to 31<sup>st</sup> October 2014, the latest date for which information is available, is shown in the graph attached. Expenditure on catering is not specifically identified but expenditure on Working Lunches and Refreshments is held and this information is also included in the graph.</p><p> </p><p>Expenditure should be seen in the context of the number of staff employed by the Department, Currently 79,514 (as at 31 October 2014), which works out at a cost per head of £1.45 per year.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 02/12/2014 13:10:57 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb attachment 1 file name Catering & Hospitality May 2010-31 Oct 2014.PDF title Catering & Hospitality May 2010-31 Oct 2014
	tabling member	4244 label Biography information for Jonathan Ashworth

169915

	registered interest
	date	11/12/2014
	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	Travel
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much his Department has spent on (a) taxis, (b) first class train tickets and (c) business class air travel in each of the last five years.
	tabling member constituency	Manchester Central
	tabling member printed	Lucy Powell
	uin	218486
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/12/2014 answer text <p /> <p>Expenditure should be viewed in the context of the size of the DWP workforce. The Department is a geographically-dispersed organisation employing around 90,000 staff across some 870 sites, delivering services directly to around 22 million customers. The table below shows the expenditure on taxis, 1<sup>st</sup> class rail and business class air travel for the years in question.</p><p> </p><p>The average spend per head on a taxi for 2013-14 was in the region of £1.67. Expenditure on taxis includes journeys to enable disabled members of staff to travel to and from work and respresents contractual spend and it does not include taxis claimed through expenses, as this could only be provided at disproportionate costs to the Department.</p><p> </p><p>The DWP introduced a restriction stopping staff travelling 1<sup>st</sup> class rail in 2011. Only DWP staff with disabilities are permitted to travel using 1<sup>st</sup> class rail, if there are no suitable standard class facilities available.</p><p> </p><p>The current DWP air travel policy only permits staff to book business class air tickets for single journeys greater than 2.5 hours in duration.</p><p> </p><p><strong> </strong></p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Financial Years (£m)</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Taxis (£m)</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>1st Class Rail (£m)</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Business Class Air (£m)</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2009/10</p></td><td><p>*</p></td><td><p>13.3</p></td><td><p>0.38</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2010/11</p></td><td><p>0.26</p></td><td><p>2.2</p></td><td><p>0.12</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2011/12</p></td><td><p>0.21</p></td><td><p>0.35</p></td><td><p>0.07</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012/13</p></td><td><p>0.20</p></td><td><p>0.29</p></td><td><p>0.13</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2013/14</p></td><td><p>0.16</p></td><td><p>0.14</p></td><td><p>0.14</p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>*Data is not available for taxi travel before 2010.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 18/12/2014 12:50:38 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	4263 label Biography information for Lucy Powell

170549

	registered interest
	date	15/12/2014
	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 liability orders for oustanding child maintenance arrears have been issued to non-resident parents in each of the last four years for which figures are available in (a) the UK, (b) Scotland, (c) Wales, (d) England, (e) Northern Ireland, (f) each local authority area and (g) each Parliamentary constituency.
	tabling member constituency	Airdrie and Shotts
	tabling member printed	Pamela Nash
	uin	218761
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/12/2014 answer text <p /> <p>Figures on the number of liability orders granted in relation to cases administered by the Child Support Agency is published in table 17 (page 44) of the latest <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/child-support-agency-quarterly-summary-statistics-september-2014" target="_blank">Child Support Agency Quarterly Summary of Statistics</a>, which contains data up to September 2014. Information on liability orders broken down by country is not routinely recorded for management information purposes and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.</p><p> </p><p>We are not yet in a position to release full statistics on the 2012 Scheme, administered by the Child Maintenance Service, but when system data becomes available and fully assured they will be released as part of a managed process, which will be pre-announced and in line with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 18/12/2014 11:52:45 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	3909 label Biography information for Pamela Nash

168741

	registered interest
	date	08/12/2014
	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	Pension Protection Fund
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the sufficiency of the payment protection fund budget in (a) 2014-15 and (b) 2015-16 to meet current and backdated claims.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Northfield
	tabling member printed	Richard Burden
	uin	217645
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/12/2014 answer text <p /> <p>I have understood the question to be about the Pension Protection Fund (PPF), which pays compensation to members of eligible pension schemes where the employer is insolvent and the scheme can not afford the PPF level of compensation.</p><p> </p><p>The Board of the PPF is responsible for ensuring that it has sufficient funds to pay compensation. The Fund only has to meet the costs of compensation payments as they fall due.</p><p>The funding of the PPF has been designed to be robust in the long term.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 11/12/2014 12:00:51 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	301 label Biography information for Richard Burden

169621

	registered interest
	date	10/12/2014
	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 criteria he used to determine that the threshold at which a change in income can lead to an adjustment in child maintenance payments should be set at 25 per cent.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Northfield
	tabling member printed	Richard Burden
	uin	218234
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/12/2014 answer text <p /> <p>In determining the level of threshold the criteria considered were: to set a threshold which offered a stable maintenance liability to provide greater certainty to both parents whilst also remaining fair in dealing with unexpected and major changes in circumstances; and, to also set the threshold at a level which supports operational efficiency and secures the right balance between recalculating maintenance and collection and enforcement activity.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 15/12/2014 12:43:46 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	301 label Biography information for Richard Burden

167860

	registered interest
	date	03/12/2014
	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	Pensions
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent discussions he has had with employers on the creation of collective defined contribution pension schemes.
	tabling member constituency	Bolton South East
	tabling member printed	Yasmin Qureshi
	uin	217110
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/12/2014 answer text <p /> <p>Officials and ministers have had a number of conversations, during the policy development and consultation process, with employers who may be potentially interested in establishing collective arrangements for their employees. We cannot give details of the organisations concerned due to commercial sensitivities. We also sought input about the types of schemes that might be attractive to employers through our Defined Ambition and Collective Industry Working Groups.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 09/12/2014 12:10:10 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	3924 label Biography information for Yasmin Qureshi

170560

	registered interest
	date	15/12/2014
	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	State Retirement Pensions
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the proportion of people who will reach state pension age in the 12 months from the commencement of the single tier pension who will be eligible to receive state pension at the full rate.
	tabling member constituency	Angus
	tabling member printed	Mr Mike Weir
	uin	218675
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/12/2014 answer text <p /> <p>The Department estimates that of those reaching State Pension Age in 2016-17:</p><p> </p><p>· 37% will receive at least the full rate of the new State Pension;</p><p>· 52% will receive less than the full rate of the new State Pension due to having made reduced National Insurance contributions as a consequence of contracting–out of additional pension (SERPS and/or S2P);</p><p>· 11% will receive less than the full rate of the new State Pension due to not having achieved 35 qualifying years.</p><p> </p><p>Percentages have been rounded to the nearest 1%.</p><p> </p><p>These individuals will have their own National Insurance record valued at the higher of the old scheme or new scheme rules. Both old scheme and new scheme valuations will take account of periods of contracted out employment.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb grouped question UIN 218676 question first answered 18/12/2014 12:03:30 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	1384 label Biography information for Mike Weir

167163

	registered interest
	date	01/12/2014
	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: ICT
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when he expects support and security accreditation to be restored to the Enhanced Transition Service Enhancements.
	tabling member constituency	East Ham
	tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
	uin	216604
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/12/2014 answer text <p /> <p>The Department keeps the security arrangements for its IT systems under regular review and ensures support and remediation whenever issues are identified. However, it would not be appropriate to comment on individual risk assessments and accreditation arrangements for particular systems, as this is ongoing activity of particular sensitivity.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 04/12/2014 14:20:03 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

170020

	registered interest
	date	11/12/2014
	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	Pensions
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the proportion of (a) women and (b) men in (i) the UK, (ii) Scotland, (iii) England, (iv) Wales and (v) Northern Ireland aged 56 years who in each of the last four years have had no pension savings.
	tabling member constituency	Airdrie and Shotts
	tabling member printed	Pamela Nash
	uin	218416
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/12/2014 answer text <p /> <p>The exact breakdowns that have been requested are not readily available.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 16/12/2014 11:42:47 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	3909 label Biography information for Pamela Nash

169919

	registered interest
	date	11/12/2014
	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
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people received (a) housing benefit but not council tax benefit, (b) council tax benefit but not housing benefit and (c) housing benefit and council tax benefit in (i) Suffolk, (ii) Bedfordshire, (iii) Cambridgeshire, (iv) Essex, (v) Hertfordshire, (vi) Norfolk and (vii) England in each year since 2010.
	tabling member constituency	Bury St Edmunds
	tabling member printed	Mr David Ruffley
	uin	218404
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/12/2014 answer text <p /> <p>The information we have up to February 2013, by local authority area within each of the geographies requested, is published and available from Table 1of the publications found at:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/housing-benefit-and-council-tax-benefit-caseload-statistics--2" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/housing-benefit-and-council-tax-benefit-caseload-statistics--2</a></p><p> </p><p>Council Tax Benefit (CTB) was replaced in April 2013 by the Local Council Tax Reduction Scheme and in England the Department for Communities and Local Government is now responsible for these statistics. The Scottish and Welsh Governments have similar responsibility.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 16/12/2014 12:37:11 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	133 label Biography information for Mr David Ruffley

167852

	registered interest
	date	03/12/2014
	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	State Retirement Pensions: British Nationals Abroad
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of unfreezing state pensions for British citizens living in Commonwealth countries; and if he will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	Bolton South East
	tabling member printed	Yasmin Qureshi
	uin	217127
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/12/2014 answer text <p /> <p>The policy of this Coalition Government on the up-rating of UK state pensions paid to people living overseas is the same as that of successive post-war Governments. Namely to up-rate such pensions where we are legally required to under the terms of EU law or a bilateral social security agreement. There are no plans to change policy on this issue.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 08/12/2014 16:34:06 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	3924 label Biography information for Yasmin Qureshi

168403

	registered interest
	date	05/12/2014
	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	Pay
	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 (a) his Department's staff and (b) staff working for companies contracted by his Department are paid less than the Living Wage.
	tabling member constituency	Washington and Sunderland West
	tabling member printed	Mrs Sharon Hodgson
	uin	217429
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/12/2014 answer text <p /> <p>The salaries of all DWP staff are at least the level of the Living Wage</p><p> </p><p>The Department does not hold comprehensive information for the workforces of all of our contractors.</p><p> </p><p>Telereal Trillium our FM contractor ensures that London based staff are paid the London Living Wage and that the minimum wage is paid elsewhere.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb grouped question UIN 217450 217471 question first answered 15/12/2014 17:02:38 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	1521 label Biography information for Mrs Sharon Hodgson

170021

	registered interest
	date	11/12/2014
	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, in how many live Child Support Agency cases with maintenance arrears there is an arrears charging schedule in place; and in how many such cases arrears repayments are being made in (a) the UK, (b) Scotland, (c) England, (d) Wales and (e) Northern Ireland.
	tabling member constituency	Airdrie and Shotts
	tabling member printed	Pamela Nash
	uin	218415
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/12/2014 answer text <p /> <p>The table below shows the number of Child Support Agency cases with an arrears liability and the number of those cases paying towards arrears in the quarter ending September 2014:</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p><strong>Number of Cases with an Arrears Liability</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Paying Towards Arrears</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Scotland</p></td><td><p>105,600</p></td><td><p>19,100</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>England</p></td><td><p>1,026,400</p></td><td><p>199,100</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Wales</p></td><td><p>73,200</p></td><td><p>14,300</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Northern Ireland<sup>4</sup></p></td><td><p>2,700</p></td><td><p>600</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Other<sup>5</sup></p></td><td><p>50,500</p></td><td><p>1,400</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Great Britain</p></td><td><p>1,258,400</p></td><td><p>234,600</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>Notes</p><p>1. In January 2012 new methodology was introduced to provide a more accurate view of the number of cases contributing towards arrears. Previously, arrears collected figures included arrears of maintenance that have been linked to an arrears collection schedule. In the new methodology, payments above the current liability are counted as receipts towards arrears.</p><p>2. The latest <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/child-support-agency-quarterly-summary-statistics-september-2014" target="_blank">Child Support Agency Quarterly Summary of Statistics</a> contains data up to September 2014. Table 10: Cases Contributing Towards Arrears, shows the number of cases with an arrears liability and also the number of cases paying towards arrears.</p><p>3. Figures rounded to the nearest 100 and may not sum due to rounding.</p><p>4. Northern Ireland cases include cases managed by the CSA in Great Britain where the Parent with Care lives in Northern Ireland. This does not include cases managed by the Northern Ireland Child Maintenance Enforcement Division (CMED).</p><p>5. Cases included in the ‘Other’ category are cases where either the Parent with Care has moved abroad, or where the area of the Parent with Care is Unknown.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 16/12/2014 11:53:24 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	3909 label Biography information for Pamela Nash

170556

	registered interest
	date	15/12/2014
	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 amount is outstanding in child maintenance arrears in (a) Airdrie and Shotts constituency and (b) Scotland.
	tabling member constituency	Airdrie and Shotts
	tabling member printed	Pamela Nash
	uin	218688
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/12/2014 answer text <p /> <p>The table below shows the outstanding maintenance arrears for Child Support Agency (CSA) cases as at June 2014:</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Airdrie and Shotts</strong></p></td><td><p>£6,714,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Scotland</strong></p></td><td><p>£304,960,000</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>1. Figures rounded to nearest £1,000.</p><p>2. Outstanding Arrears figures are the gross arrears position at the end of each quarter sourced from the Agency’s internal MI and relate to outstanding Non-Resident Parent arrears which are then allocated to the Parliamentary Constituency of the Parent with Care. Due to the different sources, figures may differ slightly from CSA’s Annual Report and Accounts.</p><p>3. Local Authorities and Parliamentary constituencies are determined by the region/country specified on the National Statistics Postcode Directory. Due to slight differences between the areas specified for local authorities and parliamentary constituencies on CSA's management information, overall totals may differ. The sum of the total arrears for Scotland by Parliamentary Constituency differs from the sum by local authority by 0.01%.</p><p>4. We are not yet in a position to release full statistics on the 2012 Scheme, administered by the Child Maintenance Service, but when system data becomes available and fully assured they will be released as part of a managed process, which will be pre-announced and in line with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 18/12/2014 12:41:01 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	3909 label Biography information for Pamela Nash

170551

	registered interest
	date	15/12/2014
	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 much the Child Support Agency has collected in current maintenance and arrears in each of the last four years for which figures are available; and what the total maintenance liabilities were in each such year.
	tabling member constituency	Airdrie and Shotts
	tabling member printed	Pamela Nash
	uin	218751
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/12/2014 answer text <p /> <p>The table below shows yearly figures for liability accrued and collections towards maintenance and arrears by the Child Support Agency.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Rolling 12 Months:</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Liability Accrued (£m)<sup>1</sup></strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Maintenance Collected (£m)</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Of which, Contribution towards Arrears (£m)</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>March 2011<sup>1</sup></strong></p></td><td><p>-</p></td><td><p>£768.9</p></td><td><p>£125.1</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>March 2012<sup>1</sup></strong></p></td><td><p>-</p></td><td><p>£790.8</p></td><td><p>£118.4</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>March 2013</strong></p></td><td><p>£915.7</p></td><td><p>£828.4</p></td><td><p>£167.4</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>March 2014</strong></p></td><td><p>£942.4</p></td><td><p>£849.0</p></td><td><p>£155.8</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>Notes:</p><p>1. Annual liability is only available from March 2013 due to new methodology only being available from January 2012. Maintenance Collected and Contribution towards Arrears are based on old methodology for March 2011 and March 2012.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 18/12/2014 12:58:56 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	3909 label Biography information for Pamela Nash

168723

	registered interest
	date	08/12/2014
	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	Furniture
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many desks are in his Department's main building; how many such desks are (a) owned and (b) leased by his Department; and what the cost is per desk of leasing.
	tabling member constituency	Bishop Auckland
	tabling member printed	Helen Goodman
	uin	217707
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/12/2014 answer text <p /> <p>There are 2125 desks in the Department’s main building.</p><p> </p><p>(a) The Department does not own any of these desks.</p><p> </p><p>(b) Since 1998 the Department for Work and Pensions occupies the majority of its accommodation under a Private Finance Initiative (PFI) known as the PRIME Contract.</p><p> </p><p>Under the terms of this PFI, the Department leases back fully serviced accommodation from its private sector partner Telereal Trillium. We pay an all-inclusive unitary price, known as the Facility Price (FP), for all our furniture (including desks), fixtures, equipment and FM services.</p><p> </p><p>It is not possible to break FP down into individual items.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 11/12/2014 16:50:06 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	1484 label Biography information for Helen Goodman

165960

	registered interest
	date	25/11/2014
	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	Marriage Guidance
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent steps his Department has taken to support husbands and wives with relationship problems to enable families to stay together.
	tabling member constituency	Strangford
	tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
	uin	215885
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/12/2014 answer text <p /> <p>This Government attaches a high priority to supporting couple relationships and committed a dedicated fund of £30 million for relationship support over the Spending Review period (2011-2015).</p><p> </p><p>We are funding a range of services through a number of expert providers to deliver relationship support provision, including preventative support targeted at couples at risk of family breakdown; activities to encourage the take-up of relationship support; and counselling for couples who may be experiencing difficulties.</p><p> </p><p>We have also introduced a Family Test which will mean that all new relevant domestic policies will need to be assessed for their impact on the family.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 02/12/2014 11:49:44 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

169045

	registered interest
	date	09/12/2014
	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	Disabled Staff
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people with a disability work in his Department; and if he will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	Brighton, Kemptown
	tabling member printed	Simon Kirby
	uin	217917
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/12/2014 answer text <p /> <p>To build a world class Civil Service we need to recruit and retain the very best Civil Servants, on merit, irrespective of who they are and any visible or non-visible disability or difference.</p><p> </p><p>As at 30 September 14, DWP has 5404 disabled employees which represents 6.9% of the total workforce<em>. </em></p><p><em> </em></p><p>This data is based on the number of employees who have chosen to individually record their disability status on the departmental HR system. Any such declaration is voluntary and confidential. Within DWP, 85.9% of employees have chosen to declare their disability status.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 15/12/2014 14:51:17 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	3929 label Biography information for Simon Kirby

170139

	registered interest
	date	12/12/2014
	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	Funeral Payments
	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 8 December 2014 to Question 216782, what steps his Department is taking to improve the administration process for funeral payments.
	tabling member constituency	South Shields
	tabling member printed	Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck
	uin	218572
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/12/2014 answer text <p /> <p>We are currently taking steps to improve the scheme and will continue to monitor its effectiveness so that it continues to meet its aim of providing a contribution towards the cost of a funeral. For example staff are working with the Bereavement Service, the main conduit of initial applications, to ensure where possible they collect all the required evidence and information at the earliest possible juncture, smoothing and improving the process for claimants. On-going improvements such as this ensure claims are dealt with in a timely and consistent manner and are in the best interests of those needing the scheme’s support.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 16/12/2014 12:41:43 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	4277 label Biography information for Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck

167384

	registered interest
	date	02/12/2014
	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	Funeral Payments
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department plans to review the process for applying for funeral payments.
	tabling member constituency	Bedford
	tabling member printed	Richard Fuller
	uin	216782
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/12/2014 answer text <p /> <p>We are currently taking steps to improve the scheme and will continue to monitor its effectiveness.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 08/12/2014 12:54:59 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	3912 label Biography information for Richard Fuller

168735

	registered interest
	date	08/12/2014
	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	Jobcentre Plus
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the effect on claimants of the removal of telephones from Jobcentre Plus offices.
	tabling member constituency	East Ham
	tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
	uin	217675
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/12/2014 answer text <p /> <p>We have replaced our Customer Access Phones with a new assisted service for claimants who attend the Jobcentre and are unable to access DWP services without our help.</p><p> </p><p>The level of support we provide to those claimants identified as having complex needs and/or requiring additional support to access our services has not changed.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 11/12/2014 15:21:58 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

170550

	registered interest
	date	15/12/2014
	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 liability orders that have been issued for outstanding child maintenance arrears have led to (a) prosecutions, (b) disclosed information about the paying parent to credit reference agencies, (c) new enforcement charges being levied to non-residential parents in (i) the UK, (ii) Scotland, (iii) Wales, (iv) England, (v) Northern Ireland, (vi) each local authority area and (vii) each parliamentary constituency in each of the last four years for which records are available.
	tabling member constituency	Airdrie and Shotts
	tabling member printed	Pamela Nash
	uin	218752
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/12/2014 answer text <p>(a) Information on the number of liability orders that have led to a prosecution is not routinely recorded for management information purposes and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.</p><p> </p><p>Figures on the number of prosecutions is published in table 17 (page 44) of the latest <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/child-support-agency-quarterly-summary-statistics-september-2014" target="_blank">Child Support Agency Quarterly Summary of Statistics</a>, which contains data up to September 2014.</p><p> </p><p>(b) Regulations to enable these new powers are due to be laid in Parliament in March 2015 with the intention being that they come into force by the end of the same month.</p><p> </p><p>(c) Enforcement charges only relate to the 2012 Scheme, which opened to all applicants on 30 November 2013. We are not yet in a position to release full statistics on the 2012 Scheme, but when system data becomes available and fully assured they will be released as part of a managed process, which will be pre-announced and in line with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 18/12/2014 13:06:02 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	3909 label Biography information for Pamela Nash

168398

	registered interest
	date	05/12/2014
	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, if he will instruct the Head of Payroll Services at Newcastle Employee Service Centre to reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Angus dated 3 November 2014 and the email dated 20 November 2014 concerning his constituent Ann Marie Caldwell.
	tabling member constituency	Angus
	tabling member printed	Mr Mike Weir
	uin	217475
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/12/2014 answer text <p>At our request the Member for Angus’ office has shared the correspondence with us. We have spoken with the Head of Payroll Services at Shared Services Connected Ltd, and are now seeking an urgent case conference with them in order to expedite a response to Mrs Caldwell.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 10/12/2014 14:33:59 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	1384 label Biography information for Mike Weir

168423

	registered interest
	date	05/12/2014
	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: Scotland
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how his Department has determined the cost of housing benefit administration to local authorities in Scotland since 2010.
	tabling member constituency	Banff and Buchan
	tabling member printed	Dr Eilidh Whiteford
	uin	217532
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/12/2014 answer text <p>Central government provides a contribution to the cost of Housing Benefit administration. The allocation of this funding is based on a methodology agreed by the Department, the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities along with the local authority associations for England and Wales. Details of the methodology for each year from 2010 are highlighted in the subsidy circulars listed below.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>2010/11 – is in S9/2009.</p><p><a href="http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20100210151716/http:/dwp.gov.uk/docs/s6-2009.pdf" target="_blank">http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20100210151716/http://dwp.gov.uk/docs/s6-2009.pdf</a></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>2011/12 – is in S5/2010.</p><p> </p><p><a href="http://www.hblearning.co.uk/media/circular_summaries/2010/1012/S5v2010_Full.pdf" target="_blank">http://www.hblearning.co.uk/media/circular_summaries/2010/1012/S5v2010_Full.pdf</a></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>2012/13 – is in S9/2011.</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/226906/s9-2011.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/226906/s9-2011.pdf</a></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>2013/14 – is in S5/2012</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/226452/s5-2012.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/226452/s5-2012.pdf</a></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>2014/15 – is in S10/2013</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/261037/s10-2013.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/261037/s10-2013.pdf</a></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>2015/16 – is in S6/2014</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/376885/s6-2014-scotland.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/376885/s6-2014-scotland.pdf</a></p><p> </p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 09/12/2014 12:33:11 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	3911 label Biography information for Dr Eilidh Whiteford

169922

	registered interest
	date	11/12/2014
	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	Staff
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many staff are employed in his Department's headquarter buildings.
	tabling member constituency	Bishop Auckland
	tabling member printed	Helen Goodman
	uin	218319
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/12/2014 answer text <p>DWP employs 90,577 people, and as of 30 November 2014 there were 7579 staff based across 8 headquarter sites.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 17/12/2014 14:57:35 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	1484 label Biography information for Helen Goodman

168724

	registered interest
	date	08/12/2014
	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 Records
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps are taken to allow people to request and verify the information held on them by his Department.
	tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
	tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
	uin	217732
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/12/2014 answer text <p>DWP has well published processes for customers to request access to the information that the Department holds about them; on its web pages, in its Privacy Statement that is available on-line and in hard copy, and in its published reports. Requests may be handled as business as usual or as a Subject Access Request in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998. Regardless of the manner of the request and response the customer will receive the full record of their personal information relating to their request.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>DWP has a duty to ensure that its customer records are fully maintained, up to date and accurate, and will routinely amend records from information that it has received in the normal course of its customer engagement or following a specific request.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 11/12/2014 12:12:15 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah

166466

	registered interest
	date	26/11/2014
	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	Welfare Assistance Schemes
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he discussed with the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government the local welfare provision review, published by his Department on 5 November 2014, prior to the publication of that review.
	tabling member constituency	Cities of London and Westminster
	tabling member printed	Mark Field
	uin	216210
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/12/2014 answer text <p>Ministers and officials from my Department and the Department for Communities and Local Government hold regular discussions about a number of issues. These include local welfare provision and my department’s review.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 03/12/2014 14:30:49 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	1405 label Biography information for Mark Field

170557

	registered interest
	date	15/12/2014
	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	State Retirement Pensions
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the proportion of people who will reach state pension age in the 12 months from the commencement date of the single tier pension who will receive a reduced pension as a result of (a) having made reduced National Insurance contributions as a consequence of contracting out of (i) SERPS or (ii) 2SP and (b) failure to attain the qualifying threshold of a contribution record of 35 years.
	tabling member constituency	Angus
	tabling member printed	Mr Mike Weir
	uin	218676
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/12/2014 answer text <p>The Department estimates that of those reaching State Pension Age in 2016-17:</p><p> </p><p>· 37% will receive at least the full rate of the new State Pension;</p><p>· 52% will receive less than the full rate of the new State Pension due to having made reduced National Insurance contributions as a consequence of contracting–out of additional pension (SERPS and/or S2P);</p><p>· 11% will receive less than the full rate of the new State Pension due to not having achieved 35 qualifying years.</p><p> </p><p>Percentages have been rounded to the nearest 1%.</p><p> </p><p>These individuals will have their own National Insurance record valued at the higher of the old scheme or new scheme rules. Both old scheme and new scheme valuations will take account of periods of contracted out employment.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb grouped question UIN 218675 question first answered 18/12/2014 12:03:30 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	1384 label Biography information for Mike Weir

167161

	registered interest
	date	01/12/2014
	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	Water
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to reduce water (a) usage and (b) bills in his Department; and if he will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	Brighton, Kemptown
	tabling member printed	Simon Kirby
	uin	216580
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/12/2014 answer text <p>The Department for Work and Pensions, in partnership with its facilities provider Telereal Trillium, continues to reduce water consumption and costs as the tables below from DWP’s Annual Sustainable Development Report 2013 to 2014 illustrate.</p><p> </p><p>We work with our facilities provider to proactively identify and report water leaks by regularly monitoring water usage. Waterless urinals have already been installed throughout the DWP Estate and old large-capacity toilet water cisterns are replaced with dual-flush systems as routine property repairs and improvements are carried out. Water invoices are scrutinised for accuracy and challenged where necessary and we continue to work with our facilities provider to identify initiatives to continue to reduce consumption and costs year on year.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Table 11a: </strong><strong>GGC</strong><strong> Water Target – a) Reduce water consumption from a 2009/10 baseline</strong></p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td> </td><td><p>2009-10</p><p>(Baseline)</p></td><td><p>2011-12</p></td><td><p>2012-13</p></td><td><p>2013-14</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Water</p><p>Consumption(m<sup>3</sup>)</p></td><td><p> </p><p>810,701</p></td><td><p> </p><p>716,155</p></td><td><p> </p><p>639,688</p></td><td><p> </p><p>626,818</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p><p><strong>Table 11b: Financial Indicators (£)</strong></p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td> </td><td><p>2009-10</p><p>(Baseline)</p></td><td><p>2011-12</p></td><td><p>2012-13</p></td><td><p>2013-14</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Water supply</p></td><td><p>1,185,033</p></td><td><p>1,024,078</p></td><td><p>1,032,589</p></td><td><p>980,776</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Sewerage</p></td><td><p>2,578,008</p></td><td><p>2,335,237</p></td><td><p>2,373,314</p></td><td><p>2,331,337</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Total Water Costs</p></td><td><p> </p><p>3,763,041</p></td><td><p> </p><p>3,359,315</p></td><td><p> </p><p>3,405,903</p></td><td><p> </p><p>3,312,113</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 04/12/2014 14:52:57 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	3929 label Biography information for Simon Kirby

168394

	registered interest
	date	05/12/2014
	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	Directors
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many members of his Department's executive board are (a) male and (b) female.
	tabling member constituency	Washington and Sunderland West
	tabling member printed	Mrs Sharon Hodgson
	uin	217366
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/12/2014 answer text <p>The Department is unable to provide the answer to this question as, in line with Cabinet Office guidance and ONS best practice, we redact sensitive personal information where the results may show less than four individuals, thereby compromising their anonymity.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The membership of the Departmental Executive Team can be found at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-work-pensions" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-work-pensions</a></p><p> </p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb grouped question UIN 217387 217408 question first answered 15/12/2014 14:58:40 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	1521 label Biography information for Mrs Sharon Hodgson

168399

	registered interest
	date	05/12/2014
	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	Directors
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many members of his Department's executive board are (a) white British and (b) from any other ethnic background.
	tabling member constituency	Washington and Sunderland West
	tabling member printed	Mrs Sharon Hodgson
	uin	217387
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/12/2014 answer text <p>The Department is unable to provide the answer to this question as, in line with Cabinet Office guidance and ONS best practice, we redact sensitive personal information where the results may show less than four individuals, thereby compromising their anonymity.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The membership of the Departmental Executive Team can be found at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-work-pensions" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-work-pensions</a></p><p> </p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb grouped question UIN 217366 217408 question first answered 15/12/2014 14:58:40 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	1521 label Biography information for Mrs Sharon Hodgson

168402

	registered interest
	date	05/12/2014
	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
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many members of his Department's executive board are disabled.
	tabling member constituency	Washington and Sunderland West
	tabling member printed	Mrs Sharon Hodgson
	uin	217408
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/12/2014 answer text <p>The Department is unable to provide the answer to this question as, in line with Cabinet Office guidance and ONS best practice, we redact sensitive personal information where the results may show less than four individuals, thereby compromising their anonymity.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The membership of the Departmental Executive Team can be found at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-work-pensions" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-work-pensions</a></p><p> </p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb grouped question UIN 217366 217387 question first answered 15/12/2014 14:58:40 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	1521 label Biography information for Mrs Sharon Hodgson

168421

	registered interest
	date	05/12/2014
	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: Scotland
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much his Department has provided to each local authority in Scotland for the administration of housing benefit for (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12, (c) 2012-13, (d) 2013-14, (e) 2014-15 and (f) 2015-16.
	tabling member constituency	Banff and Buchan
	tabling member printed	Dr Eilidh Whiteford
	uin	217530
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/12/2014 answer text <p>The allocation of Housing Benefit administration funding is based on a methodology agreed by the Department and the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) along with the local authority associations for England and Wales. Details of the allocation for each year from 2010 are highlighted in the subsidy circulars listed below.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>2010/11 – is in S9/2009.</p><p><a href="http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20100210151716/http:/dwp.gov.uk/docs/s6-2009.pdf" target="_blank">http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20100210151716/http://dwp.gov.uk/docs/s6-2009.pdf</a></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>2011/12 – is in S5/2010.</p><p> </p><p><a href="http://www.hblearning.co.uk/media/circular_summaries/2010/1012/S5v2010_Full.pdf" target="_blank">http://www.hblearning.co.uk/media/circular_summaries/2010/1012/S5v2010_Full.pdf</a></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>2012/13 – is in S9/2011.</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/226906/s9-2011.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/226906/s9-2011.pdf</a></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>2013/14 – is in S5/2012</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/226452/s5-2012.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/226452/s5-2012.pdf</a></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>2014/15 – is in S10/2013</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/261037/s10-2013.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/261037/s10-2013.pdf</a></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>2015/16 – is in S6/2014</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/376885/s6-2014-scotland.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/376885/s6-2014-scotland.pdf</a></p><p> </p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 09/12/2014 12:43:31 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	3911 label Biography information for Dr Eilidh Whiteford

170554

	registered interest
	date	15/12/2014
	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	Funeral Payments
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what is the average time taken to process an application for funeral expenses from the Social Fund from application submission to decision in (a) the UK, (b) Scotland, (c) Wales, (d) England, (e) Northern Ireland in each of the last four years for which figures are available.
	tabling member constituency	Airdrie and Shotts
	tabling member printed	Pamela Nash
	uin	218763
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/12/2014 answer text <p>The average number of working days taken to process applications for funeral payments in England, Scotland, Wales and Great Britain are set out for each of the last four financial years in Table 1 below.</p><p> </p><p>Information regarding funeral payments for Northern Ireland is a matter for the Northern Ireland office.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Table 1: Average working days taken to process applications for funeral payments in </strong><strong>England</strong><strong>, </strong><strong>Scotland</strong><strong>, </strong><strong>Wales</strong><strong> and Great Britain, 2010/11 to 2013/14</strong></p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td rowspan="2"> </td><td colspan="4"><p><strong>Financial Year</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2010/11</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2011/12</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2012/13</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2013/14</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>England</strong></p></td><td><p>14.8</p></td><td><p>13.7</p></td><td><p>14.6</p></td><td><p>18.3</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Scotland</strong></p></td><td><p>13.9</p></td><td><p>14.5</p></td><td><p>14.4</p></td><td><p>19</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Wales</strong></p></td><td><p>11.6</p></td><td><p>12.8</p></td><td><p>16.9</p></td><td><p>19.5</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Great Britain</strong></p></td><td><p>14.5</p></td><td><p>13.8</p></td><td><p>14.7</p></td><td><p>18.4</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>For additional context, the average monthly clearance times between April 2014 and November 2014 are given in Table 2. As these figures are based on a shorter time frame and Funeral Payment applications vary throughout the year; please note that these figures are not directly comparable to those in Table 1.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Table 2: Average number of working days taken to process applications for funeral payments in </strong><strong>England</strong><strong>, </strong><strong>Scotland</strong><strong>, </strong><strong>Wales</strong><strong> and </strong><strong>Great Britain</strong><strong>, by month, April 2014 to November 2014</strong></p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Month</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>England</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Wales</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Scotland</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Great Britain</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Apr-14</p></td><td><p>21.4</p></td><td><p>22.9</p></td><td><p>20.9</p></td><td><p>21.4</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>May-14</p></td><td><p>22.7</p></td><td><p>23.7</p></td><td><p>20.5</p></td><td><p>22.6</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Jun-14</p></td><td><p>21.3</p></td><td><p>23.4</p></td><td><p>20.2</p></td><td><p>21.3</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Jul-14</p></td><td><p>17.3</p></td><td><p>18.7</p></td><td><p>14.9</p></td><td><p>17.1</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Aug-14</p></td><td><p>17.0</p></td><td><p>16.5</p></td><td><p>13.1</p></td><td><p>16.5</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Sep-14</p></td><td><p>18.4</p></td><td><p>18.0</p></td><td><p>15.0</p></td><td><p>17.9</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Oct-14</p></td><td><p>19.7</p></td><td><p>25.2</p></td><td><p>13.2</p></td><td><p>19.2</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Nov-14</p></td><td><p>13.2</p></td><td><p>14.1</p></td><td><p>17.1</p></td><td><p>13.7</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Apr-14 to Nov-14</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>19.0</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>20.3</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>16.9</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>18.8</strong></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p><strong>Notes</strong></p><p> </p><p>· These figures do not include applications which were processed clerically and have not been entered on to the Social Fund Computer System.</p><p>· The clearance time for funeral payment applications is measured in whole working days from the date the application is received until the date the decision is taken.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 18/12/2014 17:07:57 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	3909 label Biography information for Pamela Nash

169617

	registered interest
	date	10/12/2014
	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	Post Office Card Account
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of each transaction for benefit payments paid into a Post Office card account in Northern Ireland; and what that cost is in other regions of the UK.
	tabling member constituency	South Antrim
	tabling member printed	Dr William McCrea
	uin	218170
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/12/2014 answer text <p>The cost to Government for making benefit payments into a Post Office Card Account is around £0.50 for each transaction. The cost is the same for Northern Ireland and UK payments.</p><p> </p><p>The contract is volume banded so this cost will vary according to the number of transactions.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 17/12/2014 12:23:50 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	655 label Biography information for Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown

168725

	registered interest
	date	08/12/2014
	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 Records: Electoral Register
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what data held by his Department is used for validation of registered voters on the electoral roll; and what steps are taken to allow people to (a) ask for and (b) verify such records.
	tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
	tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
	uin	217733
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/12/2014 answer text <p>The data used for validation of registered voters on the electoral role is; name, National Insurance number, address and date of birth.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>DWP has well published processes for customers to request access to the information that the Department holds about them; on its web pages, in its Privacy Statement that is available on-line and in hard copy, and in published reports. Requests may be handled as business as usual or as a Subject Access Request in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>If the citizen is a DWP customer in receipt of a DWP maintained Social Security benefit they can update their personal details by contacting the relevant benefit area to inform them of their change of circumstances.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>If the citizen is employed and not in receipt of any DWP maintained Social Security benefit then they should make a request to HMRC to update their details via completion of an on-line form which can be found at <a href="http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/report-changes/individual/family.htm" target="_blank">http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/report-changes/individual/family.htm</a></p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 11/12/2014 12:15:46 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah

168737

	registered interest
	date	08/12/2014
	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
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make it his policy for his Department to collect information on the length of time taken for benefit payments to be made; and if he will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	East Ham
	tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
	uin	217673
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/12/2014 answer text <p>The department uses a range of metrics to track and manage timeliness of payments within the benefits system. I refer the Rt.Hon. Member to the reply I gave to his previous Parliamentary Question UIN<a href="http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-questions-answers/?page=1&amp;max=20&amp;questiontype=AllQuestions&amp;house=commons,lords&amp;use-dates=True&amp;answered-from=2014-10-29&amp;answered-to=2014-10-29&amp;dept=29&amp;uin=211860" target="_blank">211860,</a>on the 29<sup>th</sup> October 2014.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 11/12/2014 15:36:58 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

168734

	registered interest
	date	08/12/2014
	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	Jobseeker's Allowance: 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 jobseeker's allowance (JSA) claimants have had their JSA sanctioned whilst going through the employment and support allowance appeals process.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
	uin	217734
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/12/2014 answer text <p>The information requested is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost. It should be noted that Employment Support Allowance (ESA) is payable whilst a person is appealing against a decision finding them fit for work. However, claimants may choose to claim JSA if they wish.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 11/12/2014 15:44:35 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

168400

	registered interest
	date	05/12/2014
	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	Living Wage
	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 (a) his Department's staff and (b) staff working for companies contracted by his Department who are paid less than the Living Wage are (i) white British and (ii) from an ethnic minority background.
	tabling member constituency	Washington and Sunderland West
	tabling member printed	Mrs Sharon Hodgson
	uin	217450
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/12/2014 answer text <p>The salaries of all DWP staff are at least the level of the Living Wage</p><p> </p><p>The Department does not hold comprehensive information for the workforces of all of our contractors.</p><p> </p><p>Telereal Trillium our FM contractor ensures that London based staff are paid the London Living Wage and that the minimum wage is paid elsewhere.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb grouped question UIN 217429 217471 question first answered 15/12/2014 17:02:38 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	1521 label Biography information for Mrs Sharon Hodgson