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971480

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	Social Security Benefits
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department retains the capacity to revert to the legacy benefit systems.
tabling member constituency	Easington
tabling member printed	Grahame Morris
uin	172595
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/09/2018 answer text <p>Reverting to legacy benefits would not only create massive disruption for claimants, but would leave them trapped in a complex and confusing system of multiple and overlapping benefits. The legacy benefits system consists of 6 different benefits, each with separate rules and criteria, interacting in complicated ways, creating perverse incentives and confusion, and additional administrative costs.</p><p> </p><p>Our staff have been trained in the more flexible and tailored Universal Credit system, which the projections in our published Universal Credit Full Business Case expect to put 200,000 more people into work in the UK. Our new system, will for the first time benefit people in work looking to progress, and enables us to provide extra personalised support and stronger work incentives to help people out of poverty and into work faster.</p><p> </p><p>As the National Audit Office noted in their recent report, as the changes have become increasingly embedded across the department, it would be both complex and expensive to revert to legacy benefits at this stage.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 18/09/2018 15:27:55 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
tabling member	3973 label Biography information for Grahame Morris

943897

registered interest
date	18/07/2018
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	Social Security Benefits
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what provision her Department makes for people who when making a benefit application are unable to respond with bank documentation and other relevant paperwork within the requested 10 days.
tabling member constituency	East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow
tabling member printed	Dr Lisa Cameron
uin	165608
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/07/2018 answer text <p>DWP administers a number of benefits with different eligibility requirements. In order to ensure that we pay people their correct benefit in a timely way, we may need to ask for information or documentation from a claimant to support their application within a particular timeframe. We will prompt claimants using a variety of methods such as SMS, phone call or a message on claimants’ UC journal. Where information is not received, we can consider extending the timeframe.</p><p>If a claimant does not have a bank account, DWP does have other methods of payment which can be used in these circumstances, for example, a Post Office card account (POca). In certain circumstances a claimant can request to be paid by the Payment Exception Service. This is a way for people who do not have a bank account to collect benefit or pension payments. Further detail is on gov.uk at <a href="https://www.gov.uk/payment-exception-service" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/payment-exception-service</a>.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 23/07/2018 15:15:38 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
tabling member	4412 label Biography information for Dr Lisa Cameron

942866

registered interest
date	17/07/2018
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	Social Security Benefits
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the effect is of a claimant refusing a job with a prospective employer where the terms and conditions on offer include a zero hours contract on that claimant's continued receipt of benefits.
tabling member constituency	Glasgow South West
tabling member printed	Chris Stephens
uin	165078
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/07/2018 answer text <p>Universal Credit (UC) radically transforms the welfare system by seeking to ensure not only that claimants are better off in work, but that they are better off working more hours and earning more money, helping them ultimately to become financially independent. Their UC payments adjust automatically depending on the amount they earn, so that they are financially supported and do not need to switch their benefit claim.</p><p>UC claimants may be required to look for and accept jobs with a zero hours contract. Such contracts can be a beneficial and positive way for claimants to boost their income and gain valuable work experience.</p><p> </p><p>UC claimants are expected to take responsibility for meeting any mandatory conditionality requirements they have agreed and will be supported by their Work Coach throughout. If there is no reason why a claimant should not take a zero hours contract job and they refuse, they may be sanctioned. However, sanctions are only used in a minority of cases and that is when claimants fail to meet their conditionality requirements without good reason.</p><p> </p><p>Jobseeker's Allowance claimants are not required to apply for zero hours contract jobs.</p><p>This is because of the impact that fluctuating earnings and hours may have on a claim – entitlement will end when a claimant earns more than a certain amount or works more than 16 hours in a week. This means they would then need to reclaim when lower, or no hours are offered, posing a real risk of gaps in income. This disincentive to take on flexible work, or work more hours, has been designed out of UC to ensure support for people whose hours fluctuate.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 24/07/2018 15:07:06 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
tabling member	4463 label Biography information for Chris Stephens

934223

registered interest
date	03/07/2018
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	Social Security Benefits
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 effect of the removal of implicit consent in welfare cases on claimants with (a) learning difficulties, (b) mental health issues and (c) those for whom English is not a first language.
tabling member constituency	Manchester, Withington
tabling member printed	Jeff Smith
uin	160288
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/07/2018 answer text <p>Under Universal Credit, the online digital account is fundamental to the design, which allows claimants access to all their personal, medical, financial and other data. As a result, the claimant ‘holds the key’ to that account at all times. Running a system of implied consent in Universal Credit means that the risk of disclosure of this material to third parties is heightened beyond an acceptable level under the data protection rules and might also undermine some of the other security features we build into the system through personal accreditation.</p><p> </p><p>A claimant can, however, give explicit consent for an adviser or other third party to talk to the Department about their Universal Credit claim via their journal, over the phone or in person, when accompanied by their adviser, and can state what information can be shared, with whom and for what purpose. Alternatively, if a personal appointee is appropriate, the claimant or appointee can raise this at the initial claim stage and we can arrange a home visit to verify the appointee, which will enable them to manage the account for the claimant.</p><p> </p><p>We continuously review the service for vulnerable people who claim Universal Credit to ensure that it is accessible and responsive to their needs.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 06/07/2018 12:55:25 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
tabling member	4456 label Biography information for Jeff Smith

931337

registered interest
date	26/06/2018
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	Social Security Benefits
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 ensure that the way in which benefits are paid to a household do not facilitate abuse or condone inequality in relationships.
tabling member constituency	Liverpool, Wavertree
tabling member printed	Luciana Berger
uin	157722
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/07/2018 answer text <p>Research carried out for the Department for Work and Pensions suggests that only 2 per cent of married couples and 7 per cent of cohabiting couples keep their finances completely separate. So the starting point in Universal Credit is one single monthly payment which people in the household then manage as they see fit. We recognise that there will be circumstances in which this is not appropriate and so split payments are also available. This option is designed to prevent hardship to claimants and their families, where there is vulnerability in the household leading to financial mismanagement. Where a claimant suffering from domestic abuse asks for a split payment we will support them in putting this arrangement in place.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 02/07/2018 11:36:19 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
tabling member	4036 label Biography information for Luciana Berger

923461

registered interest
date	13/06/2018
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	Social Security Benefits
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 plans to collect information on the cost of (a) sanctioning claimants and (b) monitoring claimants compliance with benefits conditions.
tabling member constituency	Glasgow Central
tabling member printed	Alison Thewliss
uin	153345
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/06/2018 answer text <p>The data requested is not currently available. Sanctions form part of the overall conditionality regime costs.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 18/06/2018 16:28:41 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
tabling member	4430 label Biography information for Alison Thewliss

904660

registered interest
date	15/05/2018
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	Social Security Benefits
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether guidance is provided to departmental staff and contractors on communicating to claimants how they can establish a source of income during the mandatory reconsideration of their benefit claim; and if she will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Birkenhead
tabling member printed	Frank Field
uin	144199
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/05/2018 answer text <p>Guidance is provided to staff to enable them to advise claimants on the options available during the mandatory reconsideration process. This includes signposting claimants to Gov.uk to check eligibility for alternative benefits. DWP also issues decision letters to claimants which include information on the options available to them during the mandatory reconsideration process, dependant on benefit. As DWP has responsibility for the mandatory reconsideration process, contractors will refer claimants to DWP to discuss benefit entitlement and options available.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 21/05/2018 13:50:47 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead

834784

registered interest
date	01/02/2018
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	Social Security Benefits
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 claims for jobseeker's allowance and employment and support allowance were processed within five days in 2017.
tabling member constituency	Birkenhead
tabling member printed	Frank Field
uin	126206
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/02/2018 answer text <p>The information requested is set out in the table below. As the Department’s performance measure is to process claims to JSA and ESA within 10 working days, this information is also included.</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p /></td><td><p /></td><td><p /></td><td><p /></td><td><p /></td></tr><tr><td><p /></td><td><p /></td><td><p /></td><td><p /></td><td><p /></td><td><p /></td></tr><tr><td><p /></td><td><p /></td><td><p /></td><td><p /></td><td><p /></td><td><p /></td></tr></tbody></table><p><br /></p><p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>-</p></td><td><p>Claims Processed in 5 working days</p></td><td><p>Total Claims Processed</p></td><td><p>% of Claims Processed in 5 working days</p></td><td><p>Claims Processed in 10 working days</p></td><td><p>% of Claims Processed in 10 working days</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Jobseekers Allowance (JSA)</p></td><td><p>263,610</p></td><td><p>934,860</p></td><td><p>28.2%</p></td><td><p>824,680</p></td><td><p>88.21%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Employment &amp; Support Allowance (ESA)</p></td><td><p>388,030</p></td><td><p>691,930</p></td><td><p>56.1%</p></td><td><p>588,280</p></td><td><p>85.02%</p></td></tr></tbody></table></p><p> </p><p><strong>Notes: </strong></p><p>The period the data covers is from 1st January 2017 to 31st December 2017.</p><p>All volumes are rounded to the nearest 10.</p><p>The data provided relates to the initial Employment and Support Allowance assessment phase prior to the Work Capability Assessment.</p><p><strong>Source: </strong></p><p>Management Information System Programme (MISP). MISP is a Departmental performance management, data capture and reporting tool. This type of internal management information does not form part of the official statistics outputs that are released by the Department in accordance with the UK Statistics Authority’s Code of Practice.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 09/02/2018 11:23:12 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead

830585

registered interest
date	25/01/2018
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	Social Security Benefits
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 she has made of errors in benefit payments resulting from claimants moving from one job centre catchment area to another, particularly when one jobcentre operates universal credit and the other does not.
tabling member constituency	Rutherglen and Hamilton West
tabling member printed	Ged Killen
uin	125113
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 31/01/2018 answer text <p>Full guidance is made available to all DWP staff on what action is required when a claimant moves to a different area. To assist with this process, claimants are made aware of what steps they need to take to ensure that there are no delays in their payments. Work coaches and colleagues in service centres work hard to ensure that any errors made are kept to a minimum and rectified promptly.</p><p> </p><p>If a claimant moves out of a postcode area where Universal Credit Full Service is delivered into a postcode area where it is not, their Universal Credit Full Service claim will remain open.</p><p> </p><p>Their previous office would retain ownership of their records and, in collaboration with the new site, work with the claimant to move them closer to or into work. The claim would then transfer fully when the new office the claimant is now attending begins to deliver Universal Credit Full Service.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma grouped question UIN 125116 question first answered 31/01/2018 16:28:38 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
tabling member	4672 label Biography information for Ged Killen

825818

registered interest
date	19/01/2018
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	Social Security Benefits
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 using meaningful activity instead of work as an outcome measure for people receiving welfare payments.
tabling member constituency	Oxford West and Abingdon
tabling member printed	Layla Moran
uin	123885
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/01/2018 answer text <p>The Department has not made such an assessment, as meaningful activities are different for each individual. We work in partnership with our claimants to ensure that their programme of work-related activity is tailored to, and agreed with, the claimant to provide the best possible outcome in each case.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 26/01/2018 14:01:42 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
tabling member	4656 label Biography information for Layla Moran