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1697811

registered interest
date	21/03/2024
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Department for Work and Pensions: Mental Health
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what training (a) he has and (b) other Ministers in his Department have had in mental health literacy.
tabling member constituency	York Central
tabling member printed	Rachael Maskell
uin	19898
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/03/2024 answer text <p>Ministers are not required to undertake specific mental health literacy training.</p> answering member constituency Blackpool North and Cleveleys answering member printed Paul Maynard question first answered 26/03/2024 17:21:30 answering member 3926 label Biography information for Paul Maynard
tabling member	4471 label Biography information for Rachael Maskell

1697812

registered interest
date	21/03/2024
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Department for Work and Pensions: Mental Health
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 his Department's (a) policy and (b) other staff have comprehensive training in mental health.
tabling member constituency	York Central
tabling member printed	Rachael Maskell
uin	19899
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/03/2024 answer text <p>DWP is actively taking steps to increase staff capability and raising awareness of the mental health difficulties that may be experienced by our customers, ensuring they can be directed to further support at any stage of the claimant journey.</p><p> </p><p>We continually review our learning alongside external experts and psychologists to enhance the mental health training offer. The learning is mandatory and aims to help our colleagues better support claimants who may present with mental health issues/unexpected behaviour by exploring their impact on customers, the steps needed to build relationships and learning how to respond appropriately to customers’ needs.</p><p> </p><p>All colleagues in customer contact roles will receive this learning by March 2025, and the learning is included in new entrant learning for colleagues in these roles. As of the end of February 2024, we have delivered the learning to 62,291 colleagues, with a further 20,399 colleagues due to receive the learning before the rollout is completed.</p><p> </p><p>All DWP colleagues have access to support and resources relating to mental health.</p> answering member constituency Blackpool North and Cleveleys answering member printed Paul Maynard question first answered 26/03/2024 15:22:07 answering member 3926 label Biography information for Paul Maynard
tabling member	4471 label Biography information for Rachael Maskell

1697418

registered interest
date	20/03/2024
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Children: Maintenance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to reduce call waiting times to the child maintenance service; and whether he has made a recent assessment of the adequacy of call handling times by that service.
tabling member constituency	Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey
tabling member printed	Drew Hendry
uin	19632
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/03/2024 answer text <p>As part of its Modernisation Programme, CMS continues to improve how it communicates with customers and how customers access its service. When a customer first applies for CMS they are enrolled on the online service which provides them the ability to update their information and request changes 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The majority of our customers make use of these online services to effectively meet their needs every day, though we are actively engaged in improving the service further and increasing customer take up.</p><p> </p><p>We recognise some customers need alternative methods to contact us or choose to call us, and on occasion call wait times on our inbound phone lines can be longer than we would like. Speed to answer is continually reviewed throughout the working day and operational resource is regularly reviewed and flexed to minimise excessive wait times.</p><p> </p><p>Over the coming year we will increase customer education on what can be raised and progressed using our online services and encourage more customers to make use of this as the primary channel for their CMS enquiries. This will help protect our inbound phones lines for our customers that need to access our service in this way and reduce the wait time they experience.</p> answering member constituency Blackpool North and Cleveleys answering member printed Paul Maynard question first answered 25/03/2024 16:48:16 answering member 3926 label Biography information for Paul Maynard
tabling member	4467 label Biography information for Drew Hendry

1697023

registered interest
date	19/03/2024
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: Young People
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he is taking steps to encourage young people under the age of 18 to opt in to pensions.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	19353
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/03/2024 answer text <p>The 2017 Review of Automatic Enrolment (AE) sets out our ambition to reduce the qualifying age for AE below 22, so that younger workers can begin to save as soon as they join the labour market.</p><p> </p><p>The government supported the Pensions (Extension of Automatic Enrolment) Act 2023 which gives us the legislative powers to implement this expansion of AE subject to consultation with employers and workers. Government is committed to make this change in the mid-2020s.</p><p> </p><p>In the meantime, the current AE framework allows workers who are not automatic enrolled to opt-in to a workplace pension, including those below age 22, and many employers already choose to enrol those workers.</p> answering member constituency Blackpool North and Cleveleys answering member printed Paul Maynard question first answered 26/03/2024 11:34:10 answering member 3926 label Biography information for Paul Maynard
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1697119

registered interest
date	19/03/2024
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	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 ensure benefit fraud investigations do not result in discrimination.
tabling member constituency	Bristol North West
tabling member printed	Darren Jones
uin	19427
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/03/2024 answer text <p>All fraud investigations are conducted in line with current legislation including Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 and the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE) 1984.</p><p> </p><p>All staff in the department undergo Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) training. The training is provided to ensure everyone has the right level of skill and understanding to ensure equality of treatment for all customers.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Blackpool North and Cleveleys answering member printed Paul Maynard question first answered 26/03/2024 11:47:14 answering member 3926 label Biography information for Paul Maynard
tabling member	4621 label Biography information for Darren Jones

1697120

registered interest
date	19/03/2024
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Maternity Pay: Small Businesses
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 encourage small businesses to provide statutory maternity pay to employees; and whether he has discussions with industry on this.
tabling member constituency	Bristol North West
tabling member printed	Darren Jones
uin	19428
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/03/2024 answer text <p>All employers have a statutory obligation to pay Statutory Maternity Pay to eligible employees. Employers are reimbursed at least 92 percent of the Statutory Maternity Pay they pay. Small employers (those who pay £45,000 or less gross NICs in the previous tax year) receive 100 percent of the Statutory Maternity Pay paid plus an additional 3 percent, known as the Small Employers’ Compensation Rate. This is in recognition of the relatively greater impact maternity absence has on small businesses.</p><p> </p><p>Employers may apply for advance funding from HMRC if they are unable to meet their SMP liability at the required time.</p><p> </p><p>DWP officials regularly meet with industry representatives to discuss Statutory Maternity Pay.</p> answering member constituency Blackpool North and Cleveleys answering member printed Paul Maynard question first answered 26/03/2024 11:28:58 answering member 3926 label Biography information for Paul Maynard
tabling member	4621 label Biography information for Darren Jones

1696760

registered interest
date	18/03/2024
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	Debts
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what information his Department holds on trends in the number of people with problem debt; and if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of those trends.
tabling member constituency	Mitcham and Morden
tabling member printed	Dame Siobhain McDonagh
uin	18963
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/03/2024 answer text <p>DWP Debt Management holds information on people owing monies to DWP (benefit debt recovery) but does not hold data on general, personal/household indebtedness.</p><p> </p><p>Problem debt statistics are published by the Office for National Statistics.</p> answering member constituency Blackpool North and Cleveleys answering member printed Paul Maynard question first answered 26/03/2024 11:31:52 answering member 3926 label Biography information for Paul Maynard
tabling member	193 label Biography information for Dame Siobhain McDonagh

1696806

registered interest
date	18/03/2024
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, whether the Complex Needs Toolkit is used by the Child Maintenance Service.
tabling member constituency	North East Fife
tabling member printed	Wendy Chamberlain
uin	19185
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/03/2024 answer text <p>The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) takes the issue of domestic abuse extremely seriously and is committed to ensuring that victims of abuse get the help and support they need to use the Service safely.</p><p> </p><p>CMS has a Complex Needs Toolkit for its caseworkers, which includes clear steps to follow to support customers who are experiencing abuse. To improve the quality of the information we provide our customers, from 1 April we will start using the DWP District Provision Tool (DPT) and retire the Complex Needs Toolkit. The DPT contains the most up to date information for customer help and support across England, Scotland, and Wales.</p><p> </p><p>CMS refreshed its approach and understanding of domestic abuse to include financial and coercive control and better awareness of how this affects all genders. A Domestic Abuse Plan has been developed which outlines key steps for caseworkers to follow to ensure victims of domestic abuse are supported. This includes advice on contacting the police if the parent is in immediate danger. Caseworkers can also call the police on behalf of the parent if requested to do so. As well as The Domestic Abuse Plan, CMS responds to cases involving domestic abuse in several ways, including by acting as an intermediary in Direct Pay cases, and providing advice on how to set up bank accounts with a centralised sort code to limit the risk of a parent’s location being traced. There are no plans to publish The Domestic Abuse Plan as it is a tool within CMS instructions for caseworkers to follow.</p><p> </p><p>We reviewed domestic abuse training in 2021 to ensure caseworkers are equipped to support parents in vulnerable situations. This included reviewing the Home Office’s updated statutory guidance on coercive and controlling behaviour to ensure CMS staff are equipped to recognise this form of domestic abuse and signpost parents appropriately. In November 2023, a range of external stakeholders were invited to two workshops and were provided with an overview of the current CMS domestic abuse training to ensure it is in line with best practice. This opportunity allowed stakeholders to offer insight and feedback which can help feed into the evolution of future domestic abuse training. We are currently consulting with a range of external organisations and charities to help us enhance and modernise our learning to incorporate the broadest and most up to date information about dealing with victims and survivors of abuse. There are no plans to publish the training programme.</p><p> </p><p>We have a comprehensive learning journey for established and new colleagues. Domestic abuse training is covered in the second week of colleagues joining CMS to ensure colleagues have the knowledge and tools available to support customers.</p><p> </p><p>Through extensive Stakeholder engagement and the evolution of domestic abuse training, CMS continues to evolve and make positive changes to the way we deliver our service in order to support our caseworkers; including developing a trauma informed approach to complex cases and cases involving domestic abuse<strong>. </strong></p><p> </p><p>We commenced trialling the use of a single, named case worker team to help ensure victims of domestic abuse are appropriately supported. Evaluation of the trial has commenced, and this will inform the future service offer for survivors of domestic abuse. Additionally, CMS has processes to ensure there is no unwanted contact between parents and provides advice on bank accounts with a centralised sort code so their location cannot be traced. We act as an intermediary in Direct Pay cases to facilitate the exchange of bank details, which helps to ensure no personal information is shared between parents. The Service also signposts to appropriate charities and support lines.</p><p> </p><p>The Child Support Collection (Domestic Abuse) Act received Royal Assent on 28 June 2023 following a Private Members Bill that had full Government support. The Act will allow for a CMS to place a child maintenance case onto the Collect &amp; Pay service where it is requested by either parent, and there is evidence of domestic abuse against the requesting parent or children in their household by the other parent involved in the case. The Act is reliant on secondary legislation required to implement the measures in the Act and set out the procedures and evidence requirements. We have announced a consultation to seek views on how the CMS collects and transfers maintenance in response to the Domestic Abuse Act receiving royal assent. We are in the process of finalising the details of the consultation and aim to publish it as soon as possible.</p> answering member constituency Blackpool North and Cleveleys answering member printed Paul Maynard grouped question UIN 19186 19187 19188 19189 question first answered 26/03/2024 11:52:29 answering member 3926 label Biography information for Paul Maynard
tabling member	4765 label Biography information for Wendy Chamberlain

1696807

registered interest
date	18/03/2024
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 publish the best practice guidance provided to Child Maintenance Service caseworkers for (a) complex cases and (b) cases involving domestic abuse.
tabling member constituency	North East Fife
tabling member printed	Wendy Chamberlain
uin	19186
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/03/2024 answer text <p>The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) takes the issue of domestic abuse extremely seriously and is committed to ensuring that victims of abuse get the help and support they need to use the Service safely.</p><p> </p><p>CMS has a Complex Needs Toolkit for its caseworkers, which includes clear steps to follow to support customers who are experiencing abuse. To improve the quality of the information we provide our customers, from 1 April we will start using the DWP District Provision Tool (DPT) and retire the Complex Needs Toolkit. The DPT contains the most up to date information for customer help and support across England, Scotland, and Wales.</p><p> </p><p>CMS refreshed its approach and understanding of domestic abuse to include financial and coercive control and better awareness of how this affects all genders. A Domestic Abuse Plan has been developed which outlines key steps for caseworkers to follow to ensure victims of domestic abuse are supported. This includes advice on contacting the police if the parent is in immediate danger. Caseworkers can also call the police on behalf of the parent if requested to do so. As well as The Domestic Abuse Plan, CMS responds to cases involving domestic abuse in several ways, including by acting as an intermediary in Direct Pay cases, and providing advice on how to set up bank accounts with a centralised sort code to limit the risk of a parent’s location being traced. There are no plans to publish The Domestic Abuse Plan as it is a tool within CMS instructions for caseworkers to follow.</p><p> </p><p>We reviewed domestic abuse training in 2021 to ensure caseworkers are equipped to support parents in vulnerable situations. This included reviewing the Home Office’s updated statutory guidance on coercive and controlling behaviour to ensure CMS staff are equipped to recognise this form of domestic abuse and signpost parents appropriately. In November 2023, a range of external stakeholders were invited to two workshops and were provided with an overview of the current CMS domestic abuse training to ensure it is in line with best practice. This opportunity allowed stakeholders to offer insight and feedback which can help feed into the evolution of future domestic abuse training. We are currently consulting with a range of external organisations and charities to help us enhance and modernise our learning to incorporate the broadest and most up to date information about dealing with victims and survivors of abuse. There are no plans to publish the training programme.</p><p> </p><p>We have a comprehensive learning journey for established and new colleagues. Domestic abuse training is covered in the second week of colleagues joining CMS to ensure colleagues have the knowledge and tools available to support customers.</p><p> </p><p>Through extensive Stakeholder engagement and the evolution of domestic abuse training, CMS continues to evolve and make positive changes to the way we deliver our service in order to support our caseworkers; including developing a trauma informed approach to complex cases and cases involving domestic abuse<strong>. </strong></p><p> </p><p>We commenced trialling the use of a single, named case worker team to help ensure victims of domestic abuse are appropriately supported. Evaluation of the trial has commenced, and this will inform the future service offer for survivors of domestic abuse. Additionally, CMS has processes to ensure there is no unwanted contact between parents and provides advice on bank accounts with a centralised sort code so their location cannot be traced. We act as an intermediary in Direct Pay cases to facilitate the exchange of bank details, which helps to ensure no personal information is shared between parents. The Service also signposts to appropriate charities and support lines.</p><p> </p><p>The Child Support Collection (Domestic Abuse) Act received Royal Assent on 28 June 2023 following a Private Members Bill that had full Government support. The Act will allow for a CMS to place a child maintenance case onto the Collect &amp; Pay service where it is requested by either parent, and there is evidence of domestic abuse against the requesting parent or children in their household by the other parent involved in the case. The Act is reliant on secondary legislation required to implement the measures in the Act and set out the procedures and evidence requirements. We have announced a consultation to seek views on how the CMS collects and transfers maintenance in response to the Domestic Abuse Act receiving royal assent. We are in the process of finalising the details of the consultation and aim to publish it as soon as possible.</p> answering member constituency Blackpool North and Cleveleys answering member printed Paul Maynard grouped question UIN 19185 19187 19188 19189 question first answered 26/03/2024 11:52:29 answering member 3926 label Biography information for Paul Maynard
tabling member	4765 label Biography information for Wendy Chamberlain

1696808

registered interest
date	18/03/2024
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 publish the training (a) programme and (b) objectives for Child Maintenance Service caseworkers relating to (i) identifying and (ii) supporting victims of domestic abuse.
tabling member constituency	North East Fife
tabling member printed	Wendy Chamberlain
uin	19187
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/03/2024 answer text <p>The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) takes the issue of domestic abuse extremely seriously and is committed to ensuring that victims of abuse get the help and support they need to use the Service safely.</p><p> </p><p>CMS has a Complex Needs Toolkit for its caseworkers, which includes clear steps to follow to support customers who are experiencing abuse. To improve the quality of the information we provide our customers, from 1 April we will start using the DWP District Provision Tool (DPT) and retire the Complex Needs Toolkit. The DPT contains the most up to date information for customer help and support across England, Scotland, and Wales.</p><p> </p><p>CMS refreshed its approach and understanding of domestic abuse to include financial and coercive control and better awareness of how this affects all genders. A Domestic Abuse Plan has been developed which outlines key steps for caseworkers to follow to ensure victims of domestic abuse are supported. This includes advice on contacting the police if the parent is in immediate danger. Caseworkers can also call the police on behalf of the parent if requested to do so. As well as The Domestic Abuse Plan, CMS responds to cases involving domestic abuse in several ways, including by acting as an intermediary in Direct Pay cases, and providing advice on how to set up bank accounts with a centralised sort code to limit the risk of a parent’s location being traced. There are no plans to publish The Domestic Abuse Plan as it is a tool within CMS instructions for caseworkers to follow.</p><p> </p><p>We reviewed domestic abuse training in 2021 to ensure caseworkers are equipped to support parents in vulnerable situations. This included reviewing the Home Office’s updated statutory guidance on coercive and controlling behaviour to ensure CMS staff are equipped to recognise this form of domestic abuse and signpost parents appropriately. In November 2023, a range of external stakeholders were invited to two workshops and were provided with an overview of the current CMS domestic abuse training to ensure it is in line with best practice. This opportunity allowed stakeholders to offer insight and feedback which can help feed into the evolution of future domestic abuse training. We are currently consulting with a range of external organisations and charities to help us enhance and modernise our learning to incorporate the broadest and most up to date information about dealing with victims and survivors of abuse. There are no plans to publish the training programme.</p><p> </p><p>We have a comprehensive learning journey for established and new colleagues. Domestic abuse training is covered in the second week of colleagues joining CMS to ensure colleagues have the knowledge and tools available to support customers.</p><p> </p><p>Through extensive Stakeholder engagement and the evolution of domestic abuse training, CMS continues to evolve and make positive changes to the way we deliver our service in order to support our caseworkers; including developing a trauma informed approach to complex cases and cases involving domestic abuse<strong>. </strong></p><p> </p><p>We commenced trialling the use of a single, named case worker team to help ensure victims of domestic abuse are appropriately supported. Evaluation of the trial has commenced, and this will inform the future service offer for survivors of domestic abuse. Additionally, CMS has processes to ensure there is no unwanted contact between parents and provides advice on bank accounts with a centralised sort code so their location cannot be traced. We act as an intermediary in Direct Pay cases to facilitate the exchange of bank details, which helps to ensure no personal information is shared between parents. The Service also signposts to appropriate charities and support lines.</p><p> </p><p>The Child Support Collection (Domestic Abuse) Act received Royal Assent on 28 June 2023 following a Private Members Bill that had full Government support. The Act will allow for a CMS to place a child maintenance case onto the Collect &amp; Pay service where it is requested by either parent, and there is evidence of domestic abuse against the requesting parent or children in their household by the other parent involved in the case. The Act is reliant on secondary legislation required to implement the measures in the Act and set out the procedures and evidence requirements. We have announced a consultation to seek views on how the CMS collects and transfers maintenance in response to the Domestic Abuse Act receiving royal assent. We are in the process of finalising the details of the consultation and aim to publish it as soon as possible.</p> answering member constituency Blackpool North and Cleveleys answering member printed Paul Maynard grouped question UIN 19185 19186 19188 19189 question first answered 26/03/2024 11:52:29 answering member 3926 label Biography information for Paul Maynard
tabling member	4765 label Biography information for Wendy Chamberlain