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1146474

registered interest
date	26/09/2019
answering body	Department for International Development
answering dept id	20
answering dept short name	International Development
answering dept sort name	International Development
hansard heading	Kashmir: Earthquakes
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment he has made of the humanitarian situation in Kashmir following the earthquake on 24 September 2019.
tabling member constituency	Liverpool, Walton
tabling member printed	Dan Carden
uin	291406
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/10/2019 answer text <p>DFID has been liaising closely with the Government of Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) since the earthquake struck on 24 September 2019.</p><p> </p><p>Key humanitarian partners, including UN agencies, met with the NDMA to discuss the response to the earthquake on Friday 27 September. The NDMA confirmed that the Government of Pakistan will not launch any formal appeal or request for National or International Assistance, but donors and agencies can provide assistance on a voluntary basis.</p><p> </p><p>DFID stands ready to respond and the Natural Disaster Consortium partners have pre-positioned supplies which can be deployed at short notice.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 01/10/2019 15:39:08 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Lord Sharma
tabling member	4651 label Biography information for Dan Carden

1146475

registered interest
date	26/09/2019
answering body	Department for International Development
answering dept id	20
answering dept short name	International Development
answering dept sort name	International Development
hansard heading	Nigeria: Non-governmental Organisations
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, with reference to reports of the army expelling international NGOs from Nigeria, what assessment he has made of the ability of humanitarian organisations to carry out their activities in Nigeria.
tabling member constituency	Liverpool, Walton
tabling member printed	Dan Carden
uin	291407
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/10/2019 answer text <p>We are extremely concerned that the Nigerian Army has closed the offices of Action against Hunger and Mercy Corps in North East Nigeria.</p><p> </p><p>NGOs in the North East of Nigeria, including Action Against Hunger and Mercy Corps, provide millions of people with crucial, life-saving assistance. When these organisations are forced to withdraw it has a huge impact on the lives of the most vulnerable. We have urged the Government of Nigeria to complete their investigations swiftly to resolve the dispute and to enable the uninterrupted delivery of humanitarian assistance. We must ensure unimpeded access for people in need in line with International Humanitarian Law.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 01/10/2019 15:45:17 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Lord Sharma
tabling member	4651 label Biography information for Dan Carden

1140631

registered interest
date	19/07/2019
answering body	Department for International Development
answering dept id	20
answering dept short name	International Development
answering dept sort name	International Development
hansard heading	Department for International Development: Africa Trade
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether his Department provides support to Africa Trade Ltd.
tabling member constituency	Wakefield
tabling member printed	Mary Creagh
uin	279398
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/07/2019 answer text <p>The Department for International Development does not provide direct support to any organisation called Africa Trade Ltd.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 25/07/2019 16:02:10 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Lord Sharma
tabling member	1579 label Biography information for Mary Creagh

1140632

registered interest
date	19/07/2019
answering body	Department for International Development
answering dept id	20
answering dept short name	International Development
answering dept sort name	International Development
hansard heading	Department for International Development: Africa House London
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether his Department provides support to Africa House London Ltd.
tabling member constituency	Wakefield
tabling member printed	Mary Creagh
uin	279399
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/07/2019 answer text <p>The Department for International Development does not provide direct support to any organisation called Africa House Ltd.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 25/07/2019 16:02:55 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Lord Sharma
tabling member	1579 label Biography information for Mary Creagh

1140242

registered interest
date	18/07/2019
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Social Security Benefits: Disability
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 of the two-child limit for universal credit and tax credits on disabled parents with more than two children.
tabling member constituency	Coventry South
tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
uin	278905
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/07/2019 answer text <p>It is the Department’s view that providing support for a maximum of two children or qualifying young persons in Universal Credit and Child Tax Credit ensures fairness between those supporting themselves solely through work and those receiving benefits.</p><p> </p><p>The Government assessed the impact of the policy from an equality and human rights perspective throughout its development and in preparation for its implementation. The Department published statistics related to the first year of policy implementation in June 2018 and will publish updated statistics on 31<sup>st</sup> July.</p><p> </p><p>An impact assessment of the policy of providing support for a maximum of two children in Child Tax Credits and Universal Credit, which considered the impact of the policy on families and other protected groups, including those with disabilities, was published in July 2015 and is available at:</p><p><a href="https://www.parliament.uk/documents/impact-assessments/ia15-006e.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.parliament.uk/documents/impact-assessments/ia15-006e.pdf</a></p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 23/07/2019 09:26:16 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Lord Sharma
tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

1140398

registered interest
date	18/07/2019
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: Northern Ireland
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the merits of twice monthly universal credit payments in Northern Ireland.
tabling member constituency	Vale of Clwyd
tabling member printed	Chris Ruane
uin	278916
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/07/2019 answer text <p>Social security matters are the responsibility of the Department for Communities in Northern Ireland. The Department for Communities therefore delivers Universal Credit with the support of DWP and its Universal Credit Programme. Mitigations agreed as part of the Fresh Start Agreement allow the Department for Communities to deliver UC differently from the way it is delivered in GB, and responsibility for evaluating the effectiveness of the mitigations package rests with them.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 23/07/2019 16:39:17 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Lord Sharma
tabling member	534 label Biography information for Chris Ruane

1139898

registered interest
date	17/07/2019
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: Fraud
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 15 July 2019 to Question 275665 on universal credit: fraud, what recourse is available to people who without their full knowledge have had their information used to make a fraudulent claim.
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
uin	278344
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/07/2019 answer text <p>The Department takes benefit fraud very seriously and ensures that all cases are investigated thoroughly.</p><p> </p><p>If a claimant has been the victim of fraud, and has not benefitted financially in any way, they will not be asked to repay the money. The Department considers all cases on their own merits and decisions are made on the strength of the evidence provided.</p><p> </p><p>The Department remains committed to tackling the issue of fraudulent Universal Credit advance claims. We have set up a dedicated team of investigators to work on advances fraud cases, released a campaign on social media to raise awareness and remind people of the importance of safeguarding their identity and have been working with Social Media sites to shut down pages which promote this fraud, having shut down 52 so far.</p><p /><p>If any claimant has concerns about the safety of their personal information, they should speak to a member of Jobcentre staff or get help from Action Fraud.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 22/07/2019 14:46:55 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Lord Sharma
tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

1139921

registered interest
date	17/07/2019
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Universal Credit
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of claimants of universal credit that have taken an advance payment have seen payments reduced by (a) up to 20 percent (b) between 21 and 30 per cent, (c) 31 to 40 per cent and (d) over 40 percent of the initial amount in each of the last three years.
tabling member constituency	Vale of Clwyd
tabling member printed	Chris Ruane
uin	278385
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/07/2019 answer text <p>Universal Credit (UC) new claim advances provide access to a payment for those in financial need, which can be accessed on the same day, until their first UC payment is due. Claimants can access up to 100% of the total expected monthly award, for which they can pay back over a period of up to 12 months.</p><p> </p><p>The Department has taken a number of steps to ensure that advances meet the needs of claimants and that recovery arrangements are personalised and reasonable. The maximum rate of deductions cannot normally exceed 40 per cent of the Universal Credit standard allowance and does not reduce other components of an award, such as money paid for children, housing or when someone is caring for a severely disabled person. From October 2019 this will be reduced to 30 per cent and from October 2021 we are increasing the maximum recovery period for advances from 12 to 16 months.</p><p> </p><p>However, the Government recognises the importance of safeguarding the welfare of claimants who have incurred debt, so last resort deductions can be applied to protect vulnerable claimants from eviction and/or having their fuel supply (gas/electricity) cut off, by providing a last resort repayment method for arrears of these essential services. In these cases, when it is considered to be in the best interests of the claimant and their family, deductions may be taken above the 40 per cent limit.</p><p> </p><p>If a claimant is in financial difficulty as a result of the level of deductions being made they can contact the Department to request that a reduction in deductions be considered.</p><p> </p><p>The latest available data for eligible claims to UC Full Service is provided in table 1:</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Table 1</p></td><td colspan="3"><p>Month Payment Due</p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p>Feb-17</p></td><td><p>Feb-18</p></td><td><p>Feb-19</p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p>%</p></td><td><p>%</p></td><td><p>%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>up to 20 percent of Standard Allowance</p></td><td><p>42%</p></td><td><p>49%</p></td><td><p>47%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>between 21 and 30 per cent of Standard Allowance</p></td><td><p>20%</p></td><td><p>19%</p></td><td><p>18%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>31 to 40 per cent of Standard Allowance</p></td><td><p>35%</p></td><td><p>31%</p></td><td><p>33%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>over 40 percent of Standard Allowance</p></td><td><p>3%</p></td><td><p>1%</p></td><td><p>2%</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p><p>Notes</p><p>1. The latest month for which data is available is February 2019.</p><p>2. When categorising claims into the groups above, the figures for the percentage of the Standard Allowance for individual claims have been rounded to the nearest percent.</p><p>3. Deductions include advance repayments and all other deductions, but exclude sanctions and fraud penalties which are reductions of benefit rather than deductions.</p><p>4. A claim can have more than one type of deduction applied to a given payment e.g. the total deduction could be the total of both an advance repayment and another deduction type.</p><p>5. Figures are for Universal Credit Full Service only; Universal Credit full service was fully rolled out by the end of 2018.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 22/07/2019 15:03:58 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Lord Sharma
tabling member	534 label Biography information for Chris Ruane

1139350

registered interest
date	16/07/2019
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	European Social Fund
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 employment support projects that are funded by the European Social Fund.
tabling member constituency	Weaver Vale
tabling member printed	Mike Amesbury
uin	277848
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/07/2019 answer text <p>European Social Fund (ESF) projects aim to increase labour market participation, promote social inclusion and develop the skills of the potential and existing workforce, including amongst the most vulnerable people in society.</p><p> </p><p>To date, 363 projects have set out to achieve this within the current England ESF programme (this figure excludes technical assistance projects), amounting to total investment worth £3.65 billion, around £2 billion of which is EU funded. This figure will increase as further projects are agreed and delivered over the lifetime of the programme.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 22/07/2019 14:34:47 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Lord Sharma
tabling member	4667 label Biography information for Mike Amesbury

1138941

registered interest
date	15/07/2019
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Children: Maintenance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department has plans to undertake a public consultation on changing the sequence by which deductions from benefits are ordered to ensure that child maintenance payments take priority over debts to private companies.
tabling member constituency	Bristol South
tabling member printed	Karin Smyth
uin	277210
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/07/2019 answer text <p>Under Universal Credit there is a structured approach to deductions from benefit, which simplifies the current complex arrangements of the legacy system.</p><p>The aims of the deductions policy in Universal Credit are to protect vulnerable claimants by providing a last resort repayment method for arrears of essential services, to enforce social obligations and to recover Government debt in a cost effective manner.</p><p>Deductions are made following the priority order, which determines the order in which items should be deducted. ‘Last resort’ deductions, such as rent or fuel costs, are at the top of the priority order, ensuring that claimant welfare is prioritised, followed by social obligation deductions, such as child maintenance, and finally benefit debt, such as Social Fund loans and benefit overpayments.</p><p>We prioritise the welfare of claimants, as this is the best way to support them and to help them to move towards work and off benefits.</p><p>The Deduction Priority Order can be found here (p. 72) - <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/683470/benefit-overpayment-recovery-guide.pdf" target="_blank">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/683470/benefit-overpayment-recovery-guide.pdf</a></p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 23/07/2019 09:28:18 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Lord Sharma
tabling member	4444 label Biography information for Karin Smyth