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1006143

registered interest
date	13/11/2018
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, how many universal credit cases were deleted in error; and what the time taken was for those cases to be rebuilt in the most recent 12 months for which data are available.
tabling member constituency	Birkenhead
tabling member printed	Frank Field
uin	190789
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/11/2018 answer text <p>It is not possible for a claimant or for front-line operational staff to delete a Universal Credit case in error.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 19/11/2018 17:26:15 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead

999298

registered interest
date	31/10/2018
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, with reference to page 146 of the Office for Budget Responsibility's Economic and Fiscal Outlook 2018, published in 29 October 2018, if she will make an assessment of the contribution of (a) the cost of administering universal credit, (b) policy changes affecting the level payable under universal credit and (c) any other factors to universal credit becoming more expensive than the legacy system would have been from 2019-20 to 2022-23.
tabling member constituency	Birkenhead
tabling member printed	Frank Field
uin	186220
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/11/2018 answer text <p>As detailed in Office for Budget Responsibility’s Economic and Fiscal Outlook 2018 (OBR EFO) Universal Credit is now forecast to be more generous to claimants than the legacy benefit system. This is a combination of forecasting changes which are detailed on page 150 of the OBR’s EFO as well as the impacts of the Budget 2018 which can be seen in table 4.28 and on pages 150 to 153. Therefore it is not the cost of administering the system which has caused these changes.</p><p> </p><p>In our published Universal Credit Full Business Case Summary we set out that, Universal Credit will be less costly to deliver than the legacy benefit system, and that Universal Credit operational costs break even against legacy operational savings from 2019/20 and are reduced in steady state by over £0.3 billion (circa 30%) on a like for like basis.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 05/11/2018 18:18:04 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead

999326

registered interest
date	31/10/2018
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	Jobcentres: Assistive Technology
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 computers available to claimants in Jobcentre Plus have in-built access to assistive technology.
tabling member constituency	Birkenhead
tabling member printed	Frank Field
uin	186221
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/11/2018 answer text <p>Access to relevant assistive technology through jobcentres is provided in two ways:</p><p> </p><p>- Availability through free Wi-Fi for customers to use their own device where they have user specific assistive technology; and</p><p>- Over 8,000 devices/computers available to customers which have standard assistive functionality available with the user being able to configure keyboard and mouse settings, use a magnifier function, sticky keys, high contrast and an on screen keyboard. The department is undertaking a programme of upgrading the current devices and is exploring opportunities to increase the availability of user specific or individually configured assistive technology.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 05/11/2018 18:06:39 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead

971345

registered interest
date	10/09/2018
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, how many working households in receipt of tax credits will receive (a) a lower award and (b) no award at all, under the capital rules for universal credit.
tabling member constituency	Birkenhead
tabling member printed	Frank Field
uin	172441
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/09/2018 answer text <p>The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.</p><p> </p><p>As announced on 7 June 2018, for claimants with capital exceeding £16,000 who are moved onto Universal Credit by the Department, any capital which exceeds the limit will be disregarded for 12 months, which means they are entitled to Universal Credit. This protection period for claimants is contingent on parliamentary approval of the required legislation.</p><p> </p><p>Our most recent estimate for the number of tax credit claimants with capital in excess of £16,000 likely to be managed migrated, across Great Britain, is around 50,000. Analysis shows that approximately 80% of these are estimated to have capital over £20,000, with approximately 50% estimated to have capital greater than £40,000.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 18/09/2018 15:39:08 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead

964038

registered interest
date	03/09/2018
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, how many claimants attempting to make a claim for universal credit have not completed the process due to a failure to agree terms on a Claimant Commitment.
tabling member constituency	Birkenhead
tabling member printed	Frank Field
uin	169034
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/11/2018 answer text <p>The table attached shows the number of Universal Credit Full Service claims that have been closed prior to payment, because of a failure to sign a Claimant Commitment.A Claimant Commitment sets out all the work-related requirements a claimant must meet to receive Universal Credit. If a claim is closed on these grounds, a claimant can appeal if they disagree with the decision.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 13/11/2018 17:15:54 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma attachment 1 file name Claimant Committment information.pdf title Claimant Commitment Information
tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead

964146

registered interest
date	03/09/2018
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 steps she is taking to tackle the economic effect on claimants of universal credit that are subject to deductions taken to repay debt.
tabling member constituency	Birkenhead
tabling member printed	Frank Field
uin	169044
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/09/2018 answer text <p>The Government recognises the importance of safeguarding the welfare of claimants who have incurred debt. Universal Credit already has procedures and regulations in place to protect claimants from excessive deductions. The maximum rate of deductions will not normally exceed an amount equal to 40% of the Universal Credit standard allowance. However, where it is in the best interest of vulnerable claimants, to protect them from being made homeless or having their fuel disconnected, deductions in excess of the 40% standard allowance may be applied. This is only for ‘last resort’ third party deductions for arrears of service charges, rent, gas and electricity. When we take deductions for gas and electricity arrears, we will also take them for the on-going monthly cost of these utilities.</p><p> </p><p>Claimants’ circumstances are always taken into account when applying debt repayment thresholds and to avoid undue hardship. If a claimant is in financial difficulty as a result of the level of deductions, where it relates to benefit debt, a social fund loan or rent arrears, they can request that a reduction be considered. Similarly, if a claimant is having difficulty repaying a benefit overpayment, they can request a reconsideration of the amount that is being taken. Any reduction will be based on the individual circumstances of the claimant rather than the amount of the overpayment, which helps to ensure that a sustainable repayment plan based on affordability is put in place.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma grouped question UIN 169060 question first answered 11/09/2018 14:21:17 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead

964147

registered interest
date	03/09/2018
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 steps she is taking to help prevent income volatility among universal claimants in employment whose monthly assessment periods do not correlate with their pattern of reported earnings.
tabling member constituency	Birkenhead
tabling member printed	Frank Field
uin	169045
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/09/2018 answer text <p>Universal Credit has been designed to take earnings into account in a way that is fair and transparent. The assessment period and payment structure of Universal Credit is crucial in creating and maintaining the strong work incentives at the heart of Universal Credit and provides the flexibility to adjust when claimants move in and out of work regularly.</p><p> </p><p>DWP has produced guidance to help ensure claimants, staff and representatives are aware of the importance of reporting accurate dates and the impact on payment cycles: this is available online <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/universal-credit-different-earning-patterns-and-your-payments/universal-credit-different-earning-patterns-and-your-payments-payment-cycles" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/universal-credit-different-earning-patterns-and-your-payments/universal-credit-different-earning-patterns-and-your-payments-payment-cycles</a>.</p><p> </p><p>Where people have potential income volatility because of their payment cycles, they can discuss the implications of this with their case managers and work coaches and can be referred to Personal Budgeting Support to help them manage their budgeting.</p><p> </p><p>The Real Time Information (RTI) system is working well with over 99% of individual employment records now being reported in real time. In April 2018 over a million separate RTI notifications were used in Universal Credit awards. Of those, the DWP RTI Dispute Team received under 3000 disputed earnings referrals – a query rate of less than 0.3%. Many of these queries are resolved by an explanation of how Universal Credit works. We continue to work with employers to ensure that they use the most appropriate payment practices and comply with RTI guidelines to prevent issues from occurring.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma grouped question UIN 169046 169082 169083 169084 question first answered 11/09/2018 13:46:52 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead

964148

registered interest
date	03/09/2018
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: PAYE
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps is she taking to reduce the volatility of income received by claimants of universal credit as a result of inaccurate earnings data generated by Real Time Information.
tabling member constituency	Birkenhead
tabling member printed	Frank Field
uin	169046
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/09/2018 answer text <p>Universal Credit has been designed to take earnings into account in a way that is fair and transparent. The assessment period and payment structure of Universal Credit is crucial in creating and maintaining the strong work incentives at the heart of Universal Credit and provides the flexibility to adjust when claimants move in and out of work regularly.</p><p> </p><p>DWP has produced guidance to help ensure claimants, staff and representatives are aware of the importance of reporting accurate dates and the impact on payment cycles: this is available online <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/universal-credit-different-earning-patterns-and-your-payments/universal-credit-different-earning-patterns-and-your-payments-payment-cycles" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/universal-credit-different-earning-patterns-and-your-payments/universal-credit-different-earning-patterns-and-your-payments-payment-cycles</a>.</p><p> </p><p>Where people have potential income volatility because of their payment cycles, they can discuss the implications of this with their case managers and work coaches and can be referred to Personal Budgeting Support to help them manage their budgeting.</p><p> </p><p>The Real Time Information (RTI) system is working well with over 99% of individual employment records now being reported in real time. In April 2018 over a million separate RTI notifications were used in Universal Credit awards. Of those, the DWP RTI Dispute Team received under 3000 disputed earnings referrals – a query rate of less than 0.3%. Many of these queries are resolved by an explanation of how Universal Credit works. We continue to work with employers to ensure that they use the most appropriate payment practices and comply with RTI guidelines to prevent issues from occurring.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma grouped question UIN 169045 169082 169083 169084 question first answered 11/09/2018 13:46:53 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead

964150

registered interest
date	03/09/2018
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, if she will made an assessment of the potential merits of enabling working parents on low incomes that are eligible to claim for childcare costs under universal credit, to receive that support in advance.
tabling member constituency	Birkenhead
tabling member printed	Frank Field
uin	169047
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/09/2018 answer text <p>The Government has increased the level of support for childcare costs from 70 per cent in legacy benefits, to 85 per cent within Universal Credit. This means that working families claiming Universal Credit can reclaim up to 85 per cent of their eligible childcare costs each month, up to a maximum of £646.35 for one child and £1,108.04 for two or more children.</p><p>DWP continues to improve the Universal Credit experience for claimants and to ensure that they are supported throughout their journey. For those with children, this includes ensuring that help with up front childcare costs is available for Universal Credit households with a low income.</p><p>Claimants with a firm job offer can claim Universal Credit childcare costs up to 1 month prior to starting work to enable their children to settle into a new routine. We also offer extra support to enable parents to pay upfront childcare costs or deposits: for example, claimants may be eligible to receive an advance of their future Universal Credit entitlement, which is interest free. Work coaches and claimants work together to ensure that, where this is taken up, repayments are affordable and manageable.</p><p>If a budgeting advance is not appropriate, the Flexible Support Fund may also provide assistance. Payments from this fund are non-repayable, and are managed locally to provide tailored and targeted support for claimants to move into work.</p><p>Since February 2018, Universal Credit claimants have been able to upload digital copies of their childcare cost receipts or invoices through their online Universal Credit account, all of which make it even easier for claimants to apply for Universal Credit.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma grouped question UIN 169831 question first answered 06/09/2018 14:31:17 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead

964151

registered interest
date	03/09/2018
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 assessment she has made of the potential merits of introducing an automatic interim payment for claimants that do not receive universal credit payments on time.
tabling member constituency	Birkenhead
tabling member printed	Frank Field
uin	169048
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/09/2018 answer text <p>The Department has no plans to implement a system of interim payments. We have a well-established system of advance payments which are available to all Universal Credit claimants who need them as part of a package of support to manage their transition to Universal Credit.</p><p> </p><p>It is also important to consider that around 80 per cent of new claims are paid in full and on time. In many cases where full payment is not made on time, it is due to unresolved issues such as: claimants not accepting their Claimant Commitment or passing identity checks, or having outstanding verification issues, such as housing costs and self-employed earnings.</p><p> </p><p>We have taken steps to improve verification processes. For example, we have listened to feedback and built processes into the system to make it easier and quicker for people to verify their housing costs, for example through the landlord portal.</p><p> </p><p>Whilst their verification is on-going, many claimants receive a part payment for those elements of the claim that have been resolved. We published an ad hoc statistical release on 9 July which showed, for new claims due a payment in February 2018, 95% were paid in full within five weeks of the payment due date: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/length-of-payment-delays-for-new-claims-to-universal-credit" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/length-of-payment-delays-for-new-claims-to-universal-credit</a>.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 11/09/2018 14:33:33 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead