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626822

registered interest
date	01/11/2016
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: Newcastle upon Tyne
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many households in Newcastle upon Tyne they estimate will suffer reductions in housing benefit as a result of the new cap on housing benefits to be introduced on 7 November, and what they estimate will be the size of the annual savings engendered by the cut in Newcastle.
tabling member printed	Lord Beecham
uin	HL2900
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/11/2016 answer text <p>It is estimated that around 500 households in Newcastle Upon Tyne will be affected by the lower benefit cap in 2016/17. The annual benefit reduction from the lower cap is estimated to be around £1.3 million in 2016/17 if the cap was in place for the full financial year, however actual savings will be much lower in view of the lower cap only applying to the latter part of the year.</p><p>Notes:</p><ol><li>Estimates assume no behavioural responses - any behavioural responses to the lower cap, such as claimants moving into employment, would cause the number of households affected to reduce.</li><li>The number of capped households has been rounded to the nearest 100 households</li><li>Annual benefit reduction has been rounded to the nearest £100,000 per year.</li><li>Modelling for this assessment was conducted using administrative records held by the Department for Work and Pensions containing amounts of benefit paid (including Child Benefit, as paid by HM Revenue and Customs) and indicators of receipt of Working Tax Credit and exemption benefits such as Disability Living Allowance. This enables the separation of households into those excluded from the cap, and those which will be subject to it and by how much. The administrative records relate to November 2015, but have been adjusted to reflect the future benefit regime.</li></ol><p> </p><p>The benefit cap will be lowered from 7th November from £26,000 to £20,000, except in London where it will be lowered to £23,000 (a lower cap applies to single adult households). To help ensure Local Authorities are able to protect the most vulnerable Housing Benefit claimants and to support households adjusting to our welfare reforms, the Government will provide £870m funding for Discretionary Housing Payments over the next 5 years from 2016/17.</p> answering member printed Lord Freud question first answered 15/11/2016 16:20:56 answering member 3893 label Biography information for Lord Freud
tabling member	4181 label Biography information for Lord Beecham

592869

registered interest
date	03/10/2016
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	Supported Housing: Local Housing Allowance
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the number of supported housing properties likely to be affected by the proposed reduction in housing benefit, and what is their estimate of the range of weekly costs to tenants of such properties.
tabling member printed	Lord Beecham
uin	HL1995
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/10/2016 answer text <p>Supported accommodation plays a vital role in the lives of many vulnerable people. That is why on 15 September 2016 we announced, via a Written Ministerial Statement, that we would be deferring the application of Local Housing Allowance Rates in the social sector for supported housing until 2019/20, at which point we will bring in a new funding model which will ensure that the sector continues to be funded at current levels, taking into account the effect of Government policy on social sector rents.</p> answering member printed Lord Freud question first answered 17/10/2016 11:14:55 answering member 3893 label Biography information for Lord Freud
tabling member	4181 label Biography information for Lord Beecham

433627

registered interest
date	02/12/2015
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Work Capability Assessment
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Freud on 1 December (HL3877), whether they plan to compile data relevant to the assessment of whether Work Capability Assessment tests are connected to the incidence of suicide or mental health problems in disability benefit claimants, and to make that data publicly available; and if not, why not.
tabling member printed	Lord Beecham
uin	HL4137
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/12/2015 answer text <p>The Department does not hold the relevant information required and we have no plans to collect such information.</p> answering member printed Lord Freud question first answered 16/12/2015 13:33:27 answering member 3893 label Biography information for Lord Freud
tabling member	4181 label Biography information for Lord Beecham

432104

registered interest
date	24/11/2015
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Work Capability Assessment
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will release data relevant to the assessment of whether Work Capability Assessment tests are connected to the incidence of suicide or mental health problems of disability benefit claimants; and if so, when.
tabling member printed	Lord Beecham
uin	HL3877
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/12/2015 answer text <p>The information requested is not available.</p> answering member printed Lord Freud question first answered 01/12/2015 12:10:40 answering member 3893 label Biography information for Lord Freud
tabling member	4181 label Biography information for Lord Beecham

423708

registered interest
date	26/10/2015
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
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Freud on 20 October (HL2620), how much they expect to save in particular in housing benefit payments from the reductions in social rent levied by housing associations.
tabling member printed	Lord Beecham
uin	HL2972
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/11/2015 answer text <p>Estimates of the total benefit savings due to the reductions in social rent announced in the 2015 Summer Budget were presented in the associated policy costing publication.</p><p>The table below shows the amount of the total benefit savings which relates to housing association tenancies. This includes both Housing Benefit and Universal Credit.</p><p><strong>Estimated reduction in benefit payments to housing association tenants, £millions, cash terms </strong></p><table><tbody><tr><td></td><td>2016/17</td><td>2017/18</td><td>2018/19</td><td>2019/20</td><td>2020/21</td></tr><tr><td>Benefit savings relating to Housing Associations</td><td>145</td><td>425</td><td>790</td><td>1190</td><td>1305</td></tr></tbody></table> answering member printed Lord Freud question first answered 03/11/2015 14:24:47 answering member 3893 label Biography information for Lord Freud
tabling member	4181 label Biography information for Lord Beecham

421249

registered interest
date	14/10/2015
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
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much they expect to save in housing benefit payments as the result of requiring local authorities to reduce the rents of council housing.
tabling member printed	Lord Beecham
uin	HL2620
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/10/2015 answer text <p>Estimates of the total benefit savings due to the reductions in social rent announced in the 2015 Summer Budget were presented in the associated policy costings publication.</p><br /><p>The rent reduction will apply to both council housing and housing associations, and the estimated savings include Housing Benefit and Universal Credit.</p><br /><p>The table below shows the amount of the total benefit savings which relates to Local Authority tenancies. This includes both Housing Benefit and Universal Credit.</p><br /><p><strong>Estimated reduction in benefit payments to Local Authority tenants, £millions, cash terms</strong></p><br /><table><tbody><tr><td><p><br></p></td><td><p>2016/17</p></td><td><p>2017/18</p></td><td><p>2018/19</p></td><td><p>2019/20</p></td><td><p>2020/21</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Benefit savings relating to Local Authority tenancies</p></td><td><p>95</p></td><td><p>260</p></td><td><p>460</p></td><td><p>670</p></td><td><p>690</p></td></tr></tbody></table><br /> answering member printed Lord Freud question first answered 20/10/2015 15:18:26 answering member 3893 label Biography information for Lord Freud
tabling member	4181 label Biography information for Lord Beecham

166104

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	Social Security Benefits: Fraud
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government in how many localities, and at what cost, they have contracted with bus companies or public transport bodies to display advertisements on buses calling on people who know "benefit cheats" to inform the Department for Work and Pensions.
tabling member printed	Lord Beecham
uin	HL3162
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/12/2014 answer text <p /> <p>Advertising on buses was targeted in 25 local authority areas at a cost of £219,786.</p> answering member printed Lord Freud question first answered 09/12/2014 16:40:33 answering member 3893 label Biography information for Lord Freud
tabling member	4181 label Biography information for Lord Beecham

156482

registered interest
date	18/11/2014
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	Social Security Benefits
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the position of the government of the Republic of Ireland in respect of disregarding monies paid under its scheme to compensate sufferers of abuse in the Magdalene laundries and other institutions for the purposes of calculating benefits, why such payments are not disregarded, as a consequence of being made in response to a personal injury, in relation to benefits otherwise payable to such sufferers resident in the United Kingdom.
tabling member printed	Lord Beecham
uin	HL2924
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/11/2014 answer text <p /> <p>The Government has sympathy for the women who suffered by their admission to and work in the Magdalen institutions. However, payments made under the Republic of Ireland’s <em>ex gratia</em> scheme do not meet GB legal criteria to be treated as personal injury payments. The payments are not being made ‘in consequence of any personal injury’, but are made in consequence of being admitted to a laundry, regardless of the effects. The amount each woman will receive is dependent on the length of time spent in the laundries and not on the specific effect that it has had on their health. They are also being made as part of a broader process of restorative justice by the Republic of Ireland Government.</p><p> </p><p>The Government has no plans to amend GB income-related benefit legislation to include specific disregards along the lines of the schemes mentioned. There is already provision in the benefit system to disregard payments made in respect of personal injury to avoid the need to disregard specific payments on an <em>ad hoc</em> basis. To amend legislation as new compensation schemes are introduced would add complexity to the benefit system and its administration.</p><p> </p><p>There is already provision in legislation to disregard some elements of the <em>ex gratia </em>payments. For example, Pension Credit – the income-related benefit most likely to be claimed - has no capital cut off limit. Where compensation in excess of the €50,000 lump sum maximum <em>ex gratia</em> award is payable as weekly payments, these will be disregarded under current Pension Credit and pension age Housing Benefit legislation.</p><p> </p><p>We understand that as of 6 August 2014 there had been a total number of approximately 760 applications to the scheme, around 160 of which were from UK residents. However, neither information regarding the number of UK applicants who are also in receipt of Pension Credit or other benefits, nor the amount of any <em>ex gratia</em> payments made is available. We are therefore unable to estimate the potential cost of a disregard.</p> answering member printed Lord Freud grouped question UIN HL2925 HL2926 question first answered 24/11/2014 14:37:32 answering member 3893 label Biography information for Lord Freud
tabling member	4181 label Biography information for Lord Beecham

156483

registered interest
date	18/11/2014
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	Social Security Benefits
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their estimate of the number of potential applicants for United Kingdom benefits who have received compensation for abuse in the Magdalene laundries and other institutions under the scheme established by the government of the Republic of Ireland; and what is their estimate of the cost which would arise from a disregard being applied to such applications.
tabling member printed	Lord Beecham
uin	HL2925
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/11/2014 answer text <p>The Government has sympathy for the women who suffered by their admission to and work in the Magdalen institutions. However, payments made under the Republic of Ireland’s <em>ex gratia</em> scheme do not meet GB legal criteria to be treated as personal injury payments. The payments are not being made ‘in consequence of any personal injury’, but are made in consequence of being admitted to a laundry, regardless of the effects. The amount each woman will receive is dependent on the length of time spent in the laundries and not on the specific effect that it has had on their health. They are also being made as part of a broader process of restorative justice by the Republic of Ireland Government.</p><p> </p><p>The Government has no plans to amend GB income-related benefit legislation to include specific disregards along the lines of the schemes mentioned. There is already provision in the benefit system to disregard payments made in respect of personal injury to avoid the need to disregard specific payments on an <em>ad hoc</em> basis. To amend legislation as new compensation schemes are introduced would add complexity to the benefit system and its administration.</p><p> </p><p>There is already provision in legislation to disregard some elements of the <em>ex gratia </em>payments. For example, Pension Credit – the income-related benefit most likely to be claimed - has no capital cut off limit. Where compensation in excess of the €50,000 lump sum maximum <em>ex gratia</em> award is payable as weekly payments, these will be disregarded under current Pension Credit and pension age Housing Benefit legislation.</p><p> </p><p>We understand that as of 6 August 2014 there had been a total number of approximately 760 applications to the scheme, around 160 of which were from UK residents. However, neither information regarding the number of UK applicants who are also in receipt of Pension Credit or other benefits, nor the amount of any <em>ex gratia</em> payments made is available. We are therefore unable to estimate the potential cost of a disregard.</p> answering member printed Lord Freud grouped question UIN HL2924 HL2926 question first answered 24/11/2014 14:37:33 answering member 3893 label Biography information for Lord Freud
tabling member	4181 label Biography information for Lord Beecham

156484

registered interest
date	18/11/2014
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	Social Security Benefits
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have any plans to amend the relevant regulations to include specific disregards for payments to compensate sufferers of abuse in the Magdalene laundries and other institutions for the purposes of calculating benefits along the lines of those established for the McFarlane (Special Payments) Trusts, MFET Limited, the Skipton Fund and the Caxton Foundation; and if not, why not.
tabling member printed	Lord Beecham
uin	HL2926
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/11/2014 answer text <p>The Government has sympathy for the women who suffered by their admission to and work in the Magdalen institutions. However, payments made under the Republic of Ireland’s <em>ex gratia</em> scheme do not meet GB legal criteria to be treated as personal injury payments. The payments are not being made ‘in consequence of any personal injury’, but are made in consequence of being admitted to a laundry, regardless of the effects. The amount each woman will receive is dependent on the length of time spent in the laundries and not on the specific effect that it has had on their health. They are also being made as part of a broader process of restorative justice by the Republic of Ireland Government.</p><p> </p><p>The Government has no plans to amend GB income-related benefit legislation to include specific disregards along the lines of the schemes mentioned. There is already provision in the benefit system to disregard payments made in respect of personal injury to avoid the need to disregard specific payments on an <em>ad hoc</em> basis. To amend legislation as new compensation schemes are introduced would add complexity to the benefit system and its administration.</p><p> </p><p>There is already provision in legislation to disregard some elements of the <em>ex gratia </em>payments. For example, Pension Credit – the income-related benefit most likely to be claimed - has no capital cut off limit. Where compensation in excess of the €50,000 lump sum maximum <em>ex gratia</em> award is payable as weekly payments, these will be disregarded under current Pension Credit and pension age Housing Benefit legislation.</p><p> </p><p>We understand that as of 6 August 2014 there had been a total number of approximately 760 applications to the scheme, around 160 of which were from UK residents. However, neither information regarding the number of UK applicants who are also in receipt of Pension Credit or other benefits, nor the amount of any <em>ex gratia</em> payments made is available. We are therefore unable to estimate the potential cost of a disregard.</p> answering member printed Lord Freud grouped question UIN HL2924 HL2925 question first answered 24/11/2014 14:37:32 answering member 3893 label Biography information for Lord Freud
tabling member	4181 label Biography information for Lord Beecham