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1129994

registered interest
date	05/06/2019
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, in what circumstances the repayment period of an advance that has been agreed with a universal credit claimant can be amended.
tabling member constituency	Croydon North
tabling member printed	Mr Steve Reed
uin	260654
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/06/2019 answer text <p>Universal Credit new claim and benefit transfer 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 ensuring no one has to be left without means of financial support. Claimants can access up to 100% of the total expected monthly award, which they can pay back over a period of up to 12 monthly instalments. In the Autumn Budget 2018, we announced that from October 2021, the repayment period for these advances will be extended to 16 monthly instalments.</p><p> </p><p>Other advances are available for where a claimant has a substantial increase in the amount of their Universal Credit payment, due to a change in their circumstances, in which case they can have an advance of up to 50% of the increase and can be repaid over up to 6 monthly instalments. Also a Budgeting advance is available for one off unexpected financial events that the claimant is unable to meet and is repayable over a period of up to 12 monthly instalments.</p><p> </p><p>We recognise that exceptional circumstances may occur to claimants that were not foreseen when the advance was taken out and if this means the claimant is facing unexpected financial hardship they can ask the Department for a deferral of the repayment of any advance they have taken out. The deferral periods are up to 3 months for a new claim, benefit transfer or change of circumstances advance and up to 6 months for a Budgeting advance.</p><p> </p><p>Where a claimant has a reduction in benefit due to a Fraud Penalty or Conditionally Sanction that equals or exceeds 40% of their Universal Credit standard allowance then no advance repayment will be taken.</p><p> </p><p>If there is insufficient Universal Credit in payment due to reductions such as earnings, other income and capital yield to take the full amount of advances repayment, a lesser amount will be taken.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 10/06/2019 12:55:12 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
tabling member	4268 label Biography information for Steve Reed

1130121

registered interest
date	05/06/2019
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, pursuant to the Answer of 8 April 2019 to Question 240478, if he will itemise each step referred to in that Answer.
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
uin	260538
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/06/2019 answer text <p>The Department has taken a number of steps to ensure that advances meet the needs of claimants and that the recovery arrangements are personalised and reasonable.</p><p> </p><p>Affordability is managed by ensuring the recovery rate for these advances will not be more than the equivalent of 40 per cent of the claimant’s standard allowance. The claimant is given the choice over the repayment period and it is explained to them exactly how much will be deducted each month depending on the option they choose. If the claimant is making the advance application online, these options are clearly displayed on screen for them to choose from.</p><p> </p><p>If during the recovery of an advance the claimant experiences an unforeseen expense that would cause them or their family genuine hardship if they were required to continue to repay the advance, then they can be offered a deferral period of the repayment of the advance of up to 3 months for a new claim, benefit transfer or change of circumstance advance and up to 6 months for a budgeting advance.</p><p> </p><p>The Department has also announced that from October 2019 the maximum rate of deductions from a claimant’s standard allowance will be reduced from 40 per cent to 30 per cent and from October 2021 we will be increasing the recovery period for advances from 12 to 16 months, further supporting those in financial need. This is in addition to having previously increasing the amount a claimant could receive as an advance payment from 50 per cent to 100 per cent of their indicative award.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 10/06/2019 12:43:28 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

1130129

registered interest
date	05/06/2019
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, pursuant to the Answer of 24 May to Question 254729 on universal credit, what penalties can be levied on claimants of universal credit if they are unable to repay their advance within 12 repayment instalments.
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
uin	260540
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/06/2019 answer text <p>The Department does not levy penalties on claimants who do not repay their advance within either a calendar 12 month from taking out the advance, nor where they do not repay the advance in 12 monthly instalments.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 10/06/2019 12:58:47 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

1130135

registered interest
date	05/06/2019
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 estimate she has made of the proportion of universal credit claimants who have had payments reduced because they had previously received advances.
tabling member constituency	Vale of Clwyd
tabling member printed	Chris Ruane
uin	260559
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/06/2019 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. From October 2019 we are reducing the maximum rate of deductions 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>The latest available data is for eligible claims to UC Full Service that are due a payment in February 2019. Of these claims 44% had a deduction to repay a UC advance.</p><p> </p><p>Notes:</p><p> </p><ol><li>Data has been sourced from UC Full Service.</li></ol> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 10/06/2019 14:00:26 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
tabling member	534 label Biography information for Chris Ruane

1129679

registered interest
date	04/06/2019
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, pursuant to the Answer of 13 May to Question 249845 on Universal Credit, what proportion of universal credit claimants who had not fully repaid their advance as of 5 May 2019 had taken out that advance prior to 5 November 2017.
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
uin	259851
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/06/2019 answer text <p>8.1% of UC advances which were paid before 5 November 2017, have not been fully repaid as at 5 June 2019, which is the latest position available.</p><p>Universal Credit 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. From October 2021, this maximum repayment period will be extended further to 16 months.</p><p>Notes:</p><p>1. This data has been sourced from internal management information and was not intended for public release. It should therefore not be compared to any other similar data subsequently released by the Department.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 10/06/2019 14:08:16 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

1129719

registered interest
date	04/06/2019
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 plans she has to amend the income assessment periods for universal credit for claimants with flexible incomes.
tabling member constituency	Croydon North
tabling member printed	Mr Steve Reed
uin	260013
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/06/2019 answer text <p>Universal Credit takes earnings into account in a way that is fair and transparent. The amount of Universal Credit paid reflects, as closely as possible, the actual circumstances of a household during each monthly assessment period, including any earnings reported by the employer during the assessment period, regardless of when they were paid, or which month they relate to.</p><p>Assessment periods allow for Universal Credit awards to be adjusted on a monthly basis, ensuring that if claimants’ incomes fall, they do not have to wait several months for a rise in their Universal Credit award.</p><p>Claimants can discuss queries about how fluctuating income effects Universal Credit with their case managers and work coaches, who can also signpost to services appropriate to individual circumstances.</p><p>The Government is working with employers to ensure that they use the most appropriate payment practices and comply with RTI guidelines in order to minimise the incidence of erroneous or late reporting by employers. HMRC have updated the guidance to reiterate to employers the importance of reporting accurate dates and the impact on payment cycles.</p><p>More guidance on this is available at the following link: <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> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 10/06/2019 14:06:38 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
tabling member	4268 label Biography information for Steve Reed

1129153

registered interest
date	03/06/2019
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 information her Department holds on the demographic of (a) universal credit claimants and (b) universal credit claimants that have taken out an advance.
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
uin	258968
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/06/2019 answer text <p>Statistics on demographics of those on Universal Credit, including age, gender and postcode area, can be found under the ‘People on Universal Credit’ dataset available at:</p><p><a href="https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/" target="_blank">https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/</a></p><p> </p><p>Guidance on how to extract the information required can be found at:</p><p><a href="https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started.html" target="_blank">https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started.html</a></p><p> </p><p>Demographic data on Universal Credit claimants who received an advance is collected but is not published regularly as part of the official statistics. Data relating to advance payments associated with a UC award, rather than individual claimants, can be provided by region, constituency and local authority.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 06/06/2019 16:00:59 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

1129156

registered interest
date	03/06/2019
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, pursuant to answer of 20 May 2019 to Question 254733, what information her Department uses to verify the statement that 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.
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
uin	258971
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/06/2019 answer text <p>The Government recognises the importance of safeguarding the welfare of claimants who have incurred debt. Claimants’ circumstances are always taken into account when applying debt repayment thresholds to avoid undue hardship.</p><p> </p><p>Universal Credit already has procedures and regulations in place to protect claimants from excessive deductions. The maximum rate of deductions cannot normally exceed 40 per cent of the Universal Credit standard allowance, and from October 2019 this will be reduced to 30 per cent.</p><p> </p><p>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. Reductions are always 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><p> </p><p>The claimant should provide reasonable evidence to support their request. This could include information about the household income and expenditure where hardship is claimed on financial grounds. Where hardship is claimed because either the claimant or a member of their family is seriously ill, they would need to provide supporting evidence to explain how or why recovery would be detrimental to the health or welfare of the claimant or their family.</p><p> </p><p>A Repayment Negotiation Framework based on the individual circumstances of the customer, rather than the size of the debt and repayment period has been developed. This makes the process much simpler, and ensures both on and off benefit customers are treated fairly. This framework is contained within the Benefit Overpayment Recovery Guide which can be found on Gov.uk via the link below. The Repayment Negotiation Framework can be found on page 38, paragraph 5.68.</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/616116/benefit-overpayment-recovery-guide.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/616116/benefit-overpayment-recovery-guide.pdf</a></p><p><strong> </strong></p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 06/06/2019 16:55:08 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

1128212

registered interest
date	22/05/2019
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, how many people have had their deductions under universal credit reduced from the maximum rate of 40 per cent of an individual's standard allowance in the last (a) month and (b) 12 months.
tabling member constituency	High Peak
tabling member printed	Ruth George
uin	257510
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/06/2019 answer text <p>The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.</p><p> </p><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 cannot normally exceed 40 per cent of the Universal Credit standard allowance, and from October 2019 this will be reduced to 30 per cent.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 10/06/2019 14:52:01 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
tabling member	4662 label Biography information for Ruth George

1128213

registered interest
date	22/05/2019
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, how many people have had deductions under universal credit paused; and what the average length of the pause was in the last (a) month and (b) 12 months.
tabling member constituency	High Peak
tabling member printed	Ruth George
uin	257511
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/06/2019 answer text <p>The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 06/06/2019 17:06:52 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
tabling member	4662 label Biography information for Ruth George