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1133325

registered interest
date	19/06/2019
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	Young People: Gender
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, with reference to the Youth Voice Census Report 2019, published in June 2018, what assessment she has made of the effect of gender on a young person's level of engagement with school and employment.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle-under-Lyme
tabling member printed	Paul Farrelly
uin	266814
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/06/2019 answer text <p>No assessment has been made of gender on a young person’s level of engagement with school and employment.</p><p> </p><p>However, the Government is committed to providing targeted support for all young people so that everyone, no matter what their start in life, is given the very best chance.</p><p> </p><p>The Government has raised the participation age to ensure that all young people are supported to continue their education until at least age 18, and invested nearly £7 billion during academic year 2018/19, to ensure there is a place in education or training for every 16 to 19-year old.</p><p> </p><p>Local Authorities (LAs) have a statutory duty to identify and track the participation of 16 and 17 year olds, supporting those who are not participating to do so and making sure that there is sufficient, suitable education and training provision to meet their needs. The September Guarantee places a further duty on LAs to ensure that all year 11 pupils (and year 12 pupils on one year courses) receive an offer of a place in education/training for the following September. It aims to ensure that all young people, regardless of what they achieved in school, understand that there are opportunities that will help them to progress, and to ensure that they get the advice and support they need to find a suitable place.</p><p> </p><p>The latest data for the end of 2017 (provisional) shows that 86.8% of 16-18-year-old females are in Education and Training, compared to 85.1% of males. Source is the ‘Participation in education, training and employment: 2017’ published statistics.</p><p> </p><p>In January to March 2019 the number of young people aged 16-24 who were not in education, employment or training (NEET) in the UK was at a near record low (764,000) – down 364,000 since 2010. As part of this the number of women aged 16-24 who were NEET was at a near record low (383,000) – down 238,000 since 2010. The number of men aged 16-24 who were NEET was also near a record low – at 381,000 – down 126,000 since 2010.</p><p> </p><p>The latest figures from the independent ONS, show that in February-April 2019 UK employment rate is at a joint record high of 76.1% - and as part of this the female employment rate is at a record high (72.0%). The male employment rate was 80.3% - up 5.3% points since 2010.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 24/06/2019 15:38:46 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
tabling member	1436 label Biography information for Paul Farrelly

1132412

registered interest
date	17/06/2019
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	Basic Income: Sheffield
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if her Department will take steps to monitor the roll out of a universal basic income pilot by Sheffield City Council; and if she will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Vale of Clwyd
tabling member printed	Chris Ruane
uin	265451
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/06/2019 answer text <p>We are aware of experiments in universal basic income (UBI) around the world and we do not believe there is a case for UBI. We believe Universal Credit is the right approach for the UK because it simplifies the benefit system, promotes and incentivises work, including progression in work, and provides targeted support to those in most need in a way that is affordable.</p><p> </p><p>In February 2018 the OECD concluded in <a href="https://read.oecd-ilibrary.org/economics/oecd-economic-surveys-finland-2018_eco_surveys-fin-2018-en#page45" target="_blank">its survey of the Finnish Economy</a> that the complexity of the current benefits system in Finland was an obstacle to stepping into work and that the basic income experiment, whilst possibly enhancing work incentives, may increase poverty and would require increasing income taxation by nearly 30%. More recently, findings from the evaluation of the Finnish basic income experiment show some improvement in perceived wellbeing, but that it did not increase the employment level of the participants in the first year of the experiment. The OECD also developed a scenario for Finland inspired by the UK’s Universal Credit (UC). They found that this ‘would consistently improve work incentives and reduce complexity, with limited changes to the income distribution and limited fiscal cost.</p><p> </p><p>This <a href="https://oecdecoscope.blog/2018/02/28/why-would-a-universal-credit-be-better-than-a-basic-income-for-finland/" target="_blank">OECD blog</a> post is particularly useful on the OECD’s work to compare UBI and UC.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 20/06/2019 15:59:10 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
tabling member	534 label Biography information for Chris Ruane

1132493

registered interest
date	17/06/2019
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: Payment Methods
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 of universal credit received payments into a Post Office Card Account in each of the last 12 months.
tabling member constituency	High Peak
tabling member printed	Ruth George
uin	265586
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/06/2019 answer text <p>The Department’s standard method of payment for pensions and benefits is into a bank, building society or credit union account. For claimants who cannot open one of these accounts, or provide the details for their own account to access their payment, the Department can offer two alternatives: The Post Office Card Account and HM Government Payment Exception Service, both of which guarantee access to their payment of pension and or benefit.</p><p> </p><p>The Department has been contacting claimants using Post Office Card Accounts since September 2015 offering information to claimants to move to standard payment methods.</p><p> </p><p>As a claimant may receive more than one payment of Universal Credit in each month, we have supplied the total volume of Universal Credit payments made into Post Office Card Accounts in each of the last 12 months in the table below. Increasing volumes of Universal Credit payments into these types of account reflect those naturally migrating from legacy benefits and taking their payment method with them.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Month</p></td><td><p>Payments Made</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>June 2018</p></td><td><p>10,322</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>July 2018</p></td><td><p>9,699</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>August 2018</p></td><td><p>10,686</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>September 2018</p></td><td><p>10,494</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>October 2018</p></td><td><p>10,302</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>November 2018</p></td><td><p>12,160</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>December 2018</p></td><td><p>12,649</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>January 2019</p></td><td><p>12,571</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>February 2019</p></td><td><p>13,807</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>March 2019</p></td><td><p>14,209</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>April 2019</p></td><td><p>14,377</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>May 2019</p></td><td><p>15,724</p></td></tr></tbody></table> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 20/06/2019 14:50:39 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
tabling member	4662 label Biography information for Ruth George

1132600

registered interest
date	17/06/2019
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: Overpayments
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 17 June 2019 to Question 263062 on Universal Credit: Overpayments, if she will place in the Library an estimate of the costs of answering that Question.
tabling member constituency	Birkenhead
tabling member printed	Frank Field
uin	265448
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/06/2019 answer text <p>The Department for Work and Pensions follows guidance from Cabinet Office in setting the Disproportionate Cost Threshold. The current Disproportionate Cost Threshold across Government is set at £850.</p><p> </p><p>All waiver documents are stored clerically. We have estimated that reviewing the remaining waiver documents to ascertain how many related to Universal Credit overpayments would take around 51 hours of staff time and therefore would breach the cost limit of £850.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 20/06/2019 14:30:44 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead

1132601

registered interest
date	17/06/2019
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: Overpayments
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 5 June 2019 to Question 257458 on Universal Credit: Overpayments, how many overpayments were waived in (a) full and (b) part as a result of applications made by (i) claimants and (ii) their representatives in 2017-18.
tabling member constituency	Birkenhead
tabling member printed	Frank Field
uin	265449
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/06/2019 answer text <p>In 2017/18 there were fewer than 5 successful applications for the full waiving of a Universal Credit overpayment, and fewer than 5 successful partial waiver applications for UC overpayments.</p><p> </p><p>The Department has an obligation to ensure that public funds are administered responsibly and to abide by the principles set out in Her Majesty’s Treasury’s guidance on Managing Public Money (which can be found on gov.uk). Waivers are only granted in limited circumstances including where the recovery of an overpayment is causing substantial financial and/or medical hardship and clear supporting evidence of this is provided.</p><p> </p><p>We are unable to provide a breakdown of how many applications were made by claimants or their representatives as this information is not stored.</p><p> </p><p><em>*The figures provided in this response have been sourced from internal management information and were not intended for public release. They should therefore not be compared to any other figures subsequently released by the Department. We are not able to report exact figures that are lower than 5, therefore this have been listed as “fewer than 5”.</em></p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 20/06/2019 15:01:13 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead

1132229

registered interest
date	14/06/2019
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: Self-employed
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 claimants are categorised as self-employed in (a) Arfon, (b) Wales and (c) the UK.
tabling member constituency	Arfon
tabling member printed	Hywel Williams
uin	264732
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/06/2019 answer text <p>The Department plans to publish statistics on Universal Credit and self-employment, including claimant numbers, in the future. The Government’s commitment remains to helping self-employed claimants with viable businesses to thrive, while protecting public funds.</p><p>We provide tailored support to our claimants who are in self-employment through our work coaches to help them to increase their productivity and earnings. Work coaches can also sign-post claimants to the extensive business support which is already funded by the Government.</p><p>As we announced in the Autumn Budget 2018, we will be extending the 12-month start-up period where claimants are exempt from the Minimum Income Floor to all gainfully self-employed claimants who are new to Universal Credit. This start-up period will provide time for self-employed claimants to establish and grow their business, or to adjust to Universal Credit.</p><p>The Department has also extended mentoring support from New Enterprise Allowance mentors to Universal Credit claimants with earnings below their Minimum Income Floor, to help them to develop a plan to grow their earnings.</p><p /> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 24/06/2019 13:38:46 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
tabling member	1397 label Biography information for Hywel Williams

1132259

registered interest
date	14/06/2019
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, how much her Department has spent on legal costs in the case of R (Johnson and Ors) v SSWP [2019] EWHC 23 (Admin) as of 14 June 2019.
tabling member constituency	Wirral West
tabling member printed	Margaret Greenwood
uin	264777
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/06/2019 answer text As at 14th June 2019, the Department has spent £52,446 on legal costs defending and appealing the case of Johnson & Others v SSWP. This includes Government Legal Department litigation fees, counsel’s fees and other disbursements, as well as VAT where payable. This does not include payment of the claimants’ solicitor’s costs. Time spent by Government advisory lawyers is not recorded in a manner that allows it to be attributed to individual cases. answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 19/06/2019 13:58:43 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
tabling member	4400 label Biography information for Margaret Greenwood

1132261

registered interest
date	14/06/2019
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 30 July 2018 to Question 166515 on Universal Credit, what the latest estimate is that she has made of the (a) number and (b) proportion of universal credit claims that have been started but not completed.
tabling member constituency	Wirral West
tabling member printed	Margaret Greenwood
uin	264778
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/06/2019 answer text <p>I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for High Peak on 14 February 2019 to Question <a href="https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2019-02-11/219577/" target="_blank">219577</a>.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 19/06/2019 15:20:27 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
tabling member	4400 label Biography information for Margaret Greenwood

1132284

registered interest
date	14/06/2019
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, how much compensation his Department has paid out as a result of late payments of universal credit; how many claimants have received compensation; and what the criteria is for eligibility for compensation.
tabling member constituency	Motherwell and Wishaw
tabling member printed	Marion Fellows
uin	264782
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/06/2019 answer text <p>The information requested is not collated centrally and could only be provided at Disproportionate cost.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 19/06/2019 14:35:41 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
tabling member	4440 label Biography information for Marion Fellows

1132050

registered interest
date	13/06/2019
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: Overpayments
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 5 June 2019 to Question 257458, how many (a) successful and (b) unsuccessful applications there have been for a reduction in repayment rates for benefits overpayment in each year since 2013.
tabling member constituency	Birkenhead
tabling member printed	Frank Field
uin	264327
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/06/2019 answer text <p>The information requested is not available.</p><p> </p><p>Our systems do not hold data on the recovery rates that were applied to debts that have either been fully repaid, or have been written off. It is therefore not possible to give a complete figure for the total number of successful, or unsuccessful applications for a reduction in an overpayment recovery rate.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 18/06/2019 15:00:09 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead