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1123636

registered interest
date	29/04/2019
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Universal Credit: Housing
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 new claimants for universal credit received two weeks’ run-on housing benefit while waiting for their first payment (a) in the last six months and (b) in the last month for which information is available.
tabling member constituency	Airdrie and Shotts
tabling member printed	Neil Gray
uin	248698
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/05/2019 answer text <p>The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost. However, since it was introduced in April 2018, all Housing Benefit claimants, whose Housing Benefit award was ended because of a new claim to Universal Credit, have been awarded the two-week Transition to Universal Credit Housing Payment.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 07/05/2019 11:36:53 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	4365 label Biography information for Neil Gray

1122469

registered interest
date	23/04/2019
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Sick Leave: 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 estimate she has made of the effect on the economy of employment absences and absenteeism as a result of (a) stress, (b) anxiety and (c) depression in each of the last 10 years.
tabling member constituency	Vale of Clwyd
tabling member printed	Chris Ruane
uin	246464
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/04/2019 answer text <p>Analysis in the independent review, “Thriving at Work, The Stevenson/Farmer Review of Mental Health and Employers”, published in October 2017, indicates a cost to the economy of mental health related employment absences and absenteeism of £49.1 to £64.5 billion per annum. This includes £37.0 to £52.4 billion costs of lost output due to worklessness, £8.8 billion costs of absenteeism of employees and the self-employed, and £3.3 billion NHS costs. Costs are not available by condition or by year.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 29/04/2019 14:07:52 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	534 label Biography information for Chris Ruane

1110190

registered interest
date	08/04/2019
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Universal Credit: Housing
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the number of tenants that will experience a financial shortfall as a result of 2019-20 being a 53-week rent year and universal Credit being a 52 week rent year.
tabling member constituency	Wentworth and Dearne
tabling member printed	John Healey
uin	242021
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/04/2019 answer text <p>Neither tenants or landlords lose a week’s rent in a 53 weekly rent payment year as has been alleged; no year contains 53 weeks. The problem is alignment between weekly and monthly cycles. Each month the UC housing element is a constant figure but claimants with weekly tenancy agreements will be required to make either four or five rent payments within this period. If the claimant always pays their rent on time, in five payment months they are effectively making payment for part of the following month. That month will always be a four rent payment month, so the combination of the advance payment and the ‘overpayment’ of housing support during that month will get the claimant back on track</p><p> </p><p>Where a landlord charges rent weekly on a Monday, because of the way the calendar falls every 5 or 6 years, they will seek 53 rent payments in a year, with the 53rd payment in part covering the tenancy for the first few days of the following year. The effect of this is that, over the course of the next housing association rental year, a tenant’s UC payments will accurately reflect their liability, irrespective of the 53 payment weeks.</p><p> </p><p>There is a separate issue with respect to the way the calculation in the Universal Credit regulations converts a weekly liability into a monthly allowance. The conversion is achieved by multiplying the weekly rent by 52 and then dividing by 12. This effectively means one day’s rent a year (two days in a leap years) are not covered by UC. We are currently considering whether this formulation around weekly rents, and potentially other weekly amounts in the UC calculation, should be amended.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 11/04/2019 15:59:06 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	400 label Biography information for John Healey

1110392

registered interest
date	08/04/2019
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Universal Credit: Prisoners
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 roll-out of universal credit on prisoners who are at risk of losing rental accommodation.
tabling member constituency	Dwyfor Meirionnydd
tabling member printed	Liz Saville Roberts
uin	242217
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/04/2019 answer text <p>The Department is committed to providing personalised support for all claimants. This support extends to those who are in prison, to ensure rehabilitation is as seamless as possible upon release. To facilitate this, the Department has Prison Work Coaches who are based in resettlement prisons across the country.</p><p> </p><p>Prisoners serving short sentences are able to retain the housing element for up to 6 months to prevent them from being homeless on release.</p><p> </p><p>For those prisoners serving longer sentences the Prison Work Coach will engage with the prisoner 2-3 weeks prior to release and will identify any accommodation issues at this point.</p><p> </p><p>All discharged prisoners (sentence to 2 days or more) are supported on release by a MoJ contracted provider – a Community Rehabilitation Company (CRC), the CRC should consider any accommodation issues and support in signposting/engaging with the any appropriate support.</p><p> </p><p>If a Prison Work Coach has identified any accommodation issues during their intervention with the prisoner they would use the District Provision Tool (DPT) to identify any suitable support that might be available locally and refer or signpost the prisoner to that provision.</p><p> </p><p>For those engaging with the Prison Work Coach an advanced appointment will be made for as soon as possible following release. Once the claim to UC is made by the prisoner, they would be able to apply for an advance of their first payment straightaway, meaning that money could be made available on the same day as the claim is made.</p><p> </p><p>Managed Payments to Landlords are also available to support claimants, including prison leavers, who may struggle to manage their monthly payments.</p><p> </p><p>The information requested on the number of prisoners in (a) Wales and (b) England that have lost rental accommodation is not available.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince grouped question UIN 242218 question first answered 16/04/2019 14:10:27 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	4521 label Biography information for Liz Saville Roberts

1110395

registered interest
date	08/04/2019
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Universal Credit: Prisoners
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 prisoners in (a) Wales and (b) England that have lost rental accommodation as a result of universal credit.
tabling member constituency	Dwyfor Meirionnydd
tabling member printed	Liz Saville Roberts
uin	242218
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/04/2019 answer text <p>The Department is committed to providing personalised support for all claimants. This support extends to those who are in prison, to ensure rehabilitation is as seamless as possible upon release. To facilitate this, the Department has Prison Work Coaches who are based in resettlement prisons across the country.</p><p> </p><p>Prisoners serving short sentences are able to retain the housing element for up to 6 months to prevent them from being homeless on release.</p><p> </p><p>For those prisoners serving longer sentences the Prison Work Coach will engage with the prisoner 2-3 weeks prior to release and will identify any accommodation issues at this point.</p><p> </p><p>All discharged prisoners (sentence to 2 days or more) are supported on release by a MoJ contracted provider – a Community Rehabilitation Company (CRC), the CRC should consider any accommodation issues and support in signposting/engaging with the any appropriate support.</p><p> </p><p>If a Prison Work Coach has identified any accommodation issues during their intervention with the prisoner they would use the District Provision Tool (DPT) to identify any suitable support that might be available locally and refer or signpost the prisoner to that provision.</p><p> </p><p>For those engaging with the Prison Work Coach an advanced appointment will be made for as soon as possible following release. Once the claim to UC is made by the prisoner, they would be able to apply for an advance of their first payment straightaway, meaning that money could be made available on the same day as the claim is made.</p><p> </p><p>Managed Payments to Landlords are also available to support claimants, including prison leavers, who may struggle to manage their monthly payments.</p><p> </p><p>The information requested on the number of prisoners in (a) Wales and (b) England that have lost rental accommodation is not available.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince grouped question UIN 242217 question first answered 16/04/2019 14:10:27 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	4521 label Biography information for Liz Saville Roberts

1109019

registered interest
date	02/04/2019
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Food Banks: Scotland
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 her Department has made of the level of foodbank use in Scotland.
tabling member constituency	Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill
tabling member printed	Hugh Gaffney
uin	240070
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/04/2019 answer text <p>The Department for Work and Pensions has not made an assessment of the levels of foodbank use in Scotland.</p><p>The welfare system provides a strong safety net for those who need it, spending over £95 billion a year on welfare benefits for people of working age. This includes a well-established system of hardship payments, benefit advances and budgeting loans as an additional safeguard for those who need them.</p><p> </p><p>Jobcentre mangers have discretion to work with food banks in their local area; and we are exploring how to build on current good practice to make it as easy as possible for food banks to identify and refer back to the local Jobcentre any customers who may not be receiving the full formal support to which they are entitled</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 08/04/2019 15:57:42 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	4614 label Biography information for Hugh Gaffney