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1378391

registered interest
date	15/11/2021
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 waivers were granted for universal credit overpayments classed as official error in financial year 2020-21.
tabling member constituency	Kilmarnock and Loudoun
tabling member printed	Alan Brown
uin	75017
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/11/2021 answer text <p>The table below details the number of waivers of Universal Credit Official Error overpayments granted in the requested years:</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Financial Year</p></td><td><p>Number of UC Official Error overpayments where recovery was waived</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2020/2021</p></td><td><p>9</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2021/2022 (April to October)</p></td><td><p>5</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p /><p><em>Please note that this data is taken from operational data systems, and is not intended for publication. Therefore, the data itself is not quality assured to the standard of published Official Statistics and National Statistics.</em></p><p> </p><p>DWP pays welfare benefits to around 23 million people and is committed to ensuring that the right people are paid the right amount of Universal Credit. The vast majority of benefit expenditure (more than £200bn across all benefits last financial year) is paid correctly, with front line staff working hard to prevent overpayments from occurring.</p><p> </p><p>Where an overpayment does occur, the Department has a responsibility to taxpayers to recover the money without creating undue financial hardship. Universal Credit overpayments are recoverable, irrespective of how they arose. Where recovery is made by deduction from Universal Credit, there is a limit placed on the overall amount that can be deducted. Formerly 40% of the Universal Credit Standard Allowance, this was reduced to 30% in October 2019 and again to 25% in April 2021.</p><p> </p><p>A waiver can only be granted where the recovery of the overpayment is causing substantial medical and/or financial hardship, and where clear evidence of this can be provided.</p><p> </p><p>However, any claimants struggling with the proposed rate of deductions are encouraged to contact DWP Debt Management to discuss affordability, so that a lower repayment rate can be negotiated as appropriate.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley grouped question UIN 75018 question first answered 18/11/2021 17:04:44 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley
tabling member	4470 label Biography information for Alan Brown

1378393

registered interest
date	15/11/2021
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 waivers have been granted for universal credit overpayments with the classification of official error in financial year 2021-22 to date.
tabling member constituency	Kilmarnock and Loudoun
tabling member printed	Alan Brown
uin	75018
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/11/2021 answer text <p>The table below details the number of waivers of Universal Credit Official Error overpayments granted in the requested years:</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Financial Year</p></td><td><p>Number of UC Official Error overpayments where recovery was waived</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2020/2021</p></td><td><p>9</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2021/2022 (April to October)</p></td><td><p>5</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p /><p><em>Please note that this data is taken from operational data systems, and is not intended for publication. Therefore, the data itself is not quality assured to the standard of published Official Statistics and National Statistics.</em></p><p> </p><p>DWP pays welfare benefits to around 23 million people and is committed to ensuring that the right people are paid the right amount of Universal Credit. The vast majority of benefit expenditure (more than £200bn across all benefits last financial year) is paid correctly, with front line staff working hard to prevent overpayments from occurring.</p><p> </p><p>Where an overpayment does occur, the Department has a responsibility to taxpayers to recover the money without creating undue financial hardship. Universal Credit overpayments are recoverable, irrespective of how they arose. Where recovery is made by deduction from Universal Credit, there is a limit placed on the overall amount that can be deducted. Formerly 40% of the Universal Credit Standard Allowance, this was reduced to 30% in October 2019 and again to 25% in April 2021.</p><p> </p><p>A waiver can only be granted where the recovery of the overpayment is causing substantial medical and/or financial hardship, and where clear evidence of this can be provided.</p><p> </p><p>However, any claimants struggling with the proposed rate of deductions are encouraged to contact DWP Debt Management to discuss affordability, so that a lower repayment rate can be negotiated as appropriate.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley grouped question UIN 75017 question first answered 18/11/2021 17:04:44 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley
tabling member	4470 label Biography information for Alan Brown

1378598

registered interest
date	15/11/2021
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	Family Resources Survey
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 make an assessment of the potential merits of including data at a local authority area level in the household food insecurity element of the Family Resources Survey.
tabling member constituency	South Shields
tabling member printed	Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck
uin	74999
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/11/2021 answer text <p>The Family Resources Survey is designed to produce robust regional estimates and does not include all local authorities each year so is not suitable for analysis at the Local Authority level.</p> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley question first answered 18/11/2021 17:09:44 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley
tabling member	4277 label Biography information for Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck

1377841

registered interest
date	12/11/2021
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: Rents
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he make an assessment of the potential merits of allocating the payment of rent arrears directly from benefits.
tabling member constituency	North West Durham
tabling member printed	Mr Richard Holden
uin	73998
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/11/2021 answer text <p>Landlords can apply for rent arrears to be deducted from Universal Credit. Rent arrears deductions can only be made when certain criteria are met – the claimant must receive the housing element of Universal Credit or housing benefit, the amount of arrears accrued must be equal to the amount of two months’ rent, and it must relate to the property where the claimant currently resides.</p><p> </p><p>Rent arrears have a minimum deduction rate each month of 10 per cent of the claimant’s Universal Credit standard allowance and a maximum deduction rate of up to 20 per cent per month.</p> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley question first answered 17/11/2021 16:17:10 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley
tabling member	4813 label Biography information for Mr Richard Holden

1367414

registered interest
date	09/11/2021
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 9 November 2021 to Question 68249 on Universal Credit, what proportion of the £67.8 million deducted from universal credit claims as a result of Government debt in May 2021 was as a consequence of (a) non-fraud Tax Credit Overpayment, (b) non-fraud DWP Benefit Overpayment and (c) non-fraud Housing Benefit Overpayment.
tabling member constituency	Stalybridge and Hyde
tabling member printed	Jonathan Reynolds
uin	72410
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/11/2021 answer text <p>For Universal Credit claims with a payment due during May 2021, £67,800,000 was deducted to repay Government debt, of which:</p><p> </p><p>(a) 56% (£37,700,000 ) for Tax Credit Overpayment (non-fraud)</p><p>(b) 30% (£20,500,000) for DWP Benefit Overpayment (non-fraud)</p><p>(c) 5% (3,500,000) for Housing Benefit Overpayment (non-fraud)</p><p> </p><p>As a Department, we carefully balance our duty to the taxpayer to recover overpayments, with our support for claimants. Processes are in place to ensure deductions are manageable, and in April we further reduced the cap on deductions from Universal Credit awards.</p><p> </p><p>Customers can contact DWP if they are experiencing financial hardship in order to discuss a reduction in their rate of repayment, or a temporary suspension, depending on their financial circumstances.</p><p> </p><p>Fraud and error in the benefit system is rare, with 95% of benefits worth more than £200bn paid correctly and just 0.4% of benefits being overpaid due to DWP error.</p><p> </p><p><strong><em>Notes</em></strong></p><p><em>1) Figures are provisional and subject to retrospective change as later data becomes available.</em></p><p><em>2) Amount deducted rounded to the nearest 100,000 and percentage rounded to the nearest percent.</em></p><p><em>3) Government debt includes: DWP Benefit Overpayment (fraud and non-fraud), Tax Credit Overpayment (fraud and non-fraud), Housing Benefit Overpayment (fraud and non-fraud), Social Fund Loan, Recoverable Hardship Payment, Administrative Penalty, Civil Penalty, Eligible Loan Deductions, Integration Loan.</em></p> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley question first answered 18/11/2021 13:24:29 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley
tabling member	4119 label Biography information for Jonathan Reynolds

1367433

registered interest
date	09/11/2021
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 her Department is taking to support benefit claimants in meeting increased living costs.
tabling member constituency	Bolton South East
tabling member printed	Yasmin Qureshi
uin	72389
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/11/2021 answer text <p>This Government is wholly committed to supporting those on low incomes, and continue to do so through many measures, including by spending over £111 billion on welfare support for people of working age in 2021/22.</p><p> </p><p>With the success of the vaccine rollout and record job vacancies, our focus now is on continuing to support people into and to progress in work. Our multi-billion-pound Plan for Jobs, which has recently been expanded by £500 million, will help people across the UK to find work and to boost their wages and prospects.</p><p> </p><p>Universal Credit recipients in work will soon benefit from a reduction in the Universal Credit taper rate from 63% to 55%, and increasing the work allowance by £504 per year means that 1.9m working households will be able to keep substantially more of what they earn. These measures effectively represent a tax cut, worth around £2.2bn a year in 2022-23, for the lowest paid in society, and are combined with a rise in the National Living Wage to £9.50 per hour.</p><p> </p><p>We recognise that some people may require extra support over the winter as we enter the final stages of recovery, which is why vulnerable households across the country will now be able to access a new £500 million support fund to help them with essentials. The Household Support Fund will provide £421 million to help vulnerable people in England with the cost of food, utilities and wider essentials. The Barnett Formula will apply in the usual way, with the devolved administrations receiving almost £80 million (£41m for the Scottish Government, £25m for the Welsh Government and £14m for the NI Executive), for a total of £500 million.</p> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley question first answered 17/11/2021 16:21:56 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley
tabling member	3924 label Biography information for Yasmin Qureshi

1367434

registered interest
date	09/11/2021
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 recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of Universal Credit deductions on the risk of poverty among benefit claimants.
tabling member constituency	Bolton South East
tabling member printed	Yasmin Qureshi
uin	72390
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/11/2021 answer text <p>No recent assessment has been made of the potential impact of Universal Credit deductions on the risk of poverty among benefit claimants.</p><p> </p><p>To enable households to retain more of their Universal Credit award towards day to day living costs we have reduced the normal maximum amount that can be deducted from Universal Credit, from 40% of the Universal Credit Standard Allowance, to 30% and from April 2021 to 25%. As a result, there were 792,000 people in May 2021 who potentially have had reduced deductions due to the most recent policy change. Customers can also contact DWP Debt Management if they are experiencing financial hardship to discuss a reduction in their rate of repayment of benefit overpayments, or a temporary suspension, depending on financial circumstances.</p> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley question first answered 17/11/2021 16:00:15 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley
tabling member	3924 label Biography information for Yasmin Qureshi

1367553

registered interest
date	09/11/2021
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: EU Nationals
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to her Answer of 3 November 2021 to Question 904085, whether arrangements are in place to ensure that EU citizens who are in receipt of benefits when they apply to the EU settlement scheme do not have their benefits withdrawn on the grounds of their immigration status during the processing of their application.
tabling member constituency	East Renfrewshire
tabling member printed	Kirsten Oswald
uin	72487
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/11/2021 answer text <p>As of 1st July 2021, EU, EEA and Swiss citizens are required to have a valid immigration status or a validated application to the EU Settlement Scheme to access non-contributory benefits.</p><p> </p><p>However, benefit payments for existing EU, EEA and Swiss claimants without status did not stop automatically on 1st July 2021. DWP has taken a pragmatic approach and, before initiating compliance action, has encouraged these claimants to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme via letters, SMS text messages, messages through the Universal Credit journal, telephone calls face to face appointments and home visits.</p><p> </p><p>EU, EEA and Swiss citizens who are currently in receipt of benefits and have applied to the EU Settlement Scheme, will continue receiving payments until their application has been determined.</p> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley question first answered 17/11/2021 11:18:43 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley previous answer version 32516 answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley
tabling member	4413 label Biography information for Kirsten Oswald

1366478

registered interest
date	08/11/2021
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	What recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of the level of universal credit payments.
tabling member constituency	East Renfrewshire
tabling member printed	Kirsten Oswald
uin	904068
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/11/2021 answer text <p>The Secretary of State is legally required to conduct an annual review of working age benefits rates to determine whether they have retained their value in relation to the general level of prices.</p><p> </p><p>The up-rating process for working age benefits has traditionally relied on the September CPI figure and in April 2021 Universal Credit was increased by CPI of 0.5%.</p> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley question first answered 08/11/2021 17:52:24 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley
tabling member	4413 label Biography information for Kirsten Oswald

1366481

registered interest
date	08/11/2021
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	What assessment her Department has made of the potential effect of ending the universal credit uplift on levels of in-work relative poverty.
tabling member constituency	Bethnal Green and Bow
tabling member printed	Rushanara Ali
uin	904071
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/11/2021 answer text <p>The uplift to Universal Credit was a temporary measure, that is why an assessment has not been completed on its withdrawal.</p><p> </p><p>This Government is wholly committed to supporting those on low incomes, and continues to do so through many measures. We expect to spend over £111 billion on welfare support for people of working age in 2021/22.</p><p> </p><p>Universal Credit recipients in work will soon benefit from a reduction in the Universal Credit taper rate from 63% to 55%, and increasing the work allowance by £500 per year means that 1.9m working households will be able to keep substantially more of what they earn. These changes represent an effective tax cut for low income working households in receipt of UC worth £2.2 billion a year in 2022-23, for the lowest paid in society, and are combined with a rise in the National Living Wage to £9.50 per hour.</p><p> </p><p>We recognise that some people may require extra support over the winter as we enter the final stages of recovery, which is why vulnerable households across the country will now be able to access a new £500 million support fund to help them with essentials. The Household Support Fund will provide £421 million to help vulnerable people in England with the cost of food, utilities and wider essentials. The Barnett Formula will apply in the usual way, with the devolved administrations receiving almost £80 million (£41m for the Scottish Government, £25m for the Welsh Government and £14m for the NI Executive), for a total of £500 million.</p> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley question first answered 08/11/2021 17:47:47 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley
tabling member	4138 label Biography information for Rushanara Ali