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1648861

registered interest
date	29/06/2023
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: Private Rented Housing
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what data his Department holds on the number of households in the private rented sector in receipt of universal credit with the housing element in payment; how many and what proportion of those households have rents that exceed the local housing allowance (LHA); and what the median average gap is between the rent and the LHA for those households where rent exceeds the LHA for each local authority area in (a) England, (b) Scotland and (c) Wales for the most recent period for which data are available.
tabling member constituency	Westminster North
tabling member printed	Ms Karen Buck
uin	191728
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/07/2023 answer text <p>The Local Housing Allowance (LHA) determines the maximum housing support for tenants in the private rented sector. LHA rates are not intended to cover all rents in all areas. Data on local LHA rates and averages can be found in the attachments provided.</p><p> </p><p>In 2020 we spent almost £1 billion increasing LHA rates. These rates were aligned to the 30th percentile of market rents in Broad Rental Market Areas (BRMA) across the country, therefore in those areas with higher rent costs this is reflected in higher LHA rates for that BRMA. In 2022/23, the Government is projected to spend around £30 billion to support renters. This is approximately 1.4% of GDP, more than any other OECD country, with the next highest being 0.9% of GDP.</p><p> </p><p>Information on the legislation increasing LHA rates to 30<sup>th</sup> percentile in April 2020 can be found <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2020/371/regulation/4" target="_blank">here.</a> Information on the legislation maintaining LHA rates at their current rates for 2023/24 can be found <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2023/6/contents/made" target="_blank">here.</a></p><p> </p><p>For those who face a shortfall in meeting their housing costs and need further support, Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) are available from local authorities. Since 2011 the Government has provided nearly £1.6 billion in DHP funding to local authorities.</p><p> </p><p>We recognise that rents are increasing. However, the challenging fiscal environment means that difficult decisions have been necessary to ensure support is targeted effectively. Overall, the Government is providing total support of over £94 billion over 2022/23 and 2023/24 to help households and individuals with the rising cost of living.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies attachment 1 file name Attachment.xlsx title Attachment 2 file name Attachment 2.xlsx title Attachment 2 question first answered 17/07/2023 16:04:45 question first ministerially corrected 21/07/2023 13:52:30 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies previous answer version 88042 answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies attachment 1 file name Attachment.xlsx title Attachment
tabling member	199 label Biography information for Ms Karen Buck

1648862

registered interest
date	29/06/2023
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: Private Rented Housing
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 those households in receipt of universal credit with the housing element in payment had rents that exceeded the local housing allowance (LHA) in (a) March 2020, (b) March 2021, (c) March 2022 and (d) March 2023; and what the median average gap is between the rent and the LHA for those households where rent exceeds the LHA in (a) England, (b) Scotland and (c) Wales.
tabling member constituency	Westminster North
tabling member printed	Ms Karen Buck
uin	191729
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/07/2023 answer text <p>The Local Housing Allowance (LHA) determines the maximum housing support for tenants in the private rented sector. LHA rates are not intended to cover all rents in all areas. Data on local LHA rates and averages can be found in the attachments provided.</p><p> </p><p>In 2020 we spent almost £1 billion increasing LHA rates. These rates were aligned to the 30th percentile of market rents in Broad Rental Market Areas (BRMA) across the country, therefore in those areas with higher rent costs this is reflected in higher LHA rates for that BRMA. In 2022/23, the Government is projected to spend around £30 billion to support renters. This is approximately 1.4% of GDP, more than any other OECD country, with the next highest being 0.9% of GDP.</p><p> </p><p>Information on the legislation increasing LHA rates to 30<sup>th</sup> percentile in April 2020 can be found <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2020/371/regulation/4" target="_blank">here.</a> Information on the legislation maintaining LHA rates at their current rates for 2023/24 can be found <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2023/6/contents/made" target="_blank">here.</a></p><p> </p><p>For those who face a shortfall in meeting their housing costs and need further support, Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) are available from local authorities. Since 2011 the Government has provided nearly £1.6 billion in DHP funding to local authorities.</p><p> </p><p>We recognise that rents are increasing. However, the challenging fiscal environment means that difficult decisions have been necessary to ensure support is targeted effectively. Overall, the Government is providing total support of over £94 billion over 2022/23 and 2023/24 to help households and individuals with the rising cost of living.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies attachment 1 file name Attachment.xlsx title Attachment 2 file name Attachment 2.xlsx title Attachment 2 question first answered 17/07/2023 16:04:45 question first ministerially corrected 21/07/2023 13:52:09 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies previous answer version 88046 answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies attachment 1 file name Attachment.xlsx title Attachment
tabling member	199 label Biography information for Ms Karen Buck

1646807

registered interest
date	22/06/2023
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	Department for Work and Pensions: Automation
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will publish details on the sixty-five scaled and transitioned automations created by the Intelligence Automation Garage.
tabling member constituency	Leicester South
tabling member printed	Jonathan Ashworth
uin	190878
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/06/2023 answer text <p><del class="ministerial">Housing Benefit regulations has powers which allow local authorities to make payments of Housing Benefit direct to the landlord if it appears to be in the interest of the claimant and their family. Serious rent arrears, for example arrears equivalent of six weeks’ rent, may indicate it is in the claimant’s best interests to arrange direct payment.</del></p><p> </p><p><del class="ministerial">When deciding whether to make direct payments local authorities must consider the individual circumstances of each case.</del></p><p> </p><p><del class="ministerial">There are currently no plans to review this policy.</del></p><p> </p><p><ins class="ministerial">Since its inception in 2018, the Intelligent Automation Garage (IAG) has delivered 65 automations. This has enabled DWP to save money and operational hours as well as increasing accuracy through transforming DWP services, making processes easier for users to deliver better outcomes for our citizens. It has a culture of pioneering new and innovative technologies to reduce the reputational risk and citizen impact across our systems.</ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial"> </ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">The IAG works predominantly in large scale processing supporting customer facing colleagues in quickly reducing backlogs with improved accuracy and compliance. It does this across a range of benefit lines including: Employment and Support Allowance, Jobseekers Allowance, Social fund, Carers Allowance and Pension credit.</ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial"> </ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">Automations to date include: Bundle Builder, Letters of Entitlement, Think Secure Chatbot, Budgeting Loans, Employment and Support Allowance Fit Notes, Faster Payments and Department for Communities in Northern Ireland mail scanning. Other supported functionalities include: sending SMS text messages to citizens, generating letters to notify citizens about a change in benefit status and processing benefit payments.</ins></p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 28/06/2023 16:24:17 question first ministerially corrected 29/06/2023 11:31:23 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies previous answer version 84494 answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	4244 label Biography information for Jonathan Ashworth

1607116

registered interest
date	24/03/2023
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	Means-tested Benefits: Food Banks
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of families receiving income-related benefits that used food banks in the last 12 months; and what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of that estimate.
tabling member constituency	Leicester South
tabling member printed	Jonathan Ashworth
uin	173022
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/03/2023 answer text <p>National statistics on food bank use for 2021/22 are available<del class="ministerial"> here.</del> <ins class="ministerial"><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/family-resources-survey-financial-year-2020-to-2021" target="_blank">here.</a></ins> We aim to publish statistics for 2022/23 in March 2024.</p><p> </p><p>The statistics show that in 2021/22 11% of households in receipt of any income-related benefits had used a food bank in the 12 months prior to the survey.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 29/03/2023 11:01:32 question first ministerially corrected 29/03/2023 13:12:11 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies previous answer version 65957 answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	4244 label Biography information for Jonathan Ashworth

1588194

registered interest
date	22/02/2023
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	Department for Work and Pensions: Disability
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps they have taken to operate a disability confident scheme for those seeking promotion in their Department; and how many and what proportion of those candidates who declared themselves as having a disability and who applied under the scheme were (a) interviewed and (b) promoted in (i) 2021 and (ii) 2022.
tabling member constituency	Glasgow South West
tabling member printed	Chris Stephens
uin	150533
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/02/2023 answer text <p>In line with the commitment made in the Civil Service Workforce Plan all DWP recruitment has been ‘External by Default’ since August 2020. It is therefore departmental policy that all permanent vacancies, including those that would result in promotion for an existing employee, are advertised externally unless there is clear rationale for not doing so.</p><p> </p><p>To comply with CS Commission Recruitment Principles, our external recruitment is Fair, Open and Merit based and as a Disability Confident Leader all our advertised campaigns, internal or external, carries the Disability Confident Logo to make this clear to applicants. We are committed to offering an interview to any disabled candidate, internal or external, who applies under the Disability Confident Scheme and meets the minimum criteria for the role.</p><p> </p><p>It is only within internal recruitment exercises, where candidates are asked if they are applying on promotion, as such, we only hold data on promotion figures for internally advertised campaigns.</p><p> </p><p>The figures in the table show the number of DWP candidates who declared themselves as having a disability, or who applied for internal vacancies under the Guaranteed Interview Scheme, and their progression through the recruitment process.</p><p> </p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Internal Recruitment Campaigns Only </strong>(applying on promotion) **</p></td><td><p><strong>2021</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2022</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Applications received from DWP candidates who <strong>declared</strong> themselves as having a disability, <strong>or</strong> who applied under the Guaranteed Interview Scheme.</p></td><td><p><strong>152</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>244</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Number of the above candidates who were successful at sift stage and invited to interview.</p></td><td><p><strong>28</strong> (18.4%)</p></td><td><p><strong>37</strong> (15.2%)</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Number of the above candidates who were successful at interview stage and made an offer.</p></td><td><p><strong>9</strong> (5.9%)</p></td><td><p><strong>6</strong> (2.5%)</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p><strong>.</strong><strong>** </strong>Applications made by internal DWP candidates for internally advertised DWP / Cross Government vacancies, on promotion.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 27/02/2023 18:49:59 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies previous answer version 58181 answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	4463 label Biography information for Chris Stephens

1588368

registered interest
date	22/02/2023
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	Department for Work and Pensions: Minimum Wage
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 has contracted work to a business named in round 18 of the National Minimum Wage Naming Scheme in the last three years.
tabling member constituency	Ellesmere Port and Neston
tabling member printed	Justin Madders
uin	150519
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/02/2023 answer text <p><strong>We have checked our contracts database and can confirm that the Department for Work and Pensions has not contracted work to any business named in round 18 of the National Minimum Wage Naming Scheme in the last three years.</strong></p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 27/02/2023 18:24:48 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies previous answer version 58180 answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	4418 label Biography information for Justin Madders

1581831

registered interest
date	30/01/2023
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	Health and Safety Executive: Wind Power
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the Health and Safety Executive are responsible for offshore windfarm operations in international waters.
tabling member constituency	East Lothian
tabling member printed	Kenny MacAskill
uin	135417
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/02/2023 answer text <p><del class="ministerial">Health and safety standards for workers employed on offshore windfarms on the United Kingdom Continental Shelf (UKCS) are regulated in Great Britain by the Health and Safety Executive.</del></p><p><del class="ministerial">The Energy Act 2004 vests rights to The Crown Estate and the Crown Estate Scotland to license the generation of renewable energy on the UKCS within the Renewable Energy Zone out to 200 nautical miles.</del></p><p><ins class="ministerial">Health and safety standards for workers employed on offshore windfarms on the United Kingdom Continental Shelf (UKCS) are regulated in Great Britain by the Health and Safety Executive.</ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">The Energy Act 2004 vests rights to The Crown Estate to license the generation of renewable energy on the UKCS within the Renewable Energy Zone out to 200 nautical miles. In Scotland, Crown Estate Scotland is the body which leases seabed, whilst Marine Scotland oversees licensing.</ins></p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 01/02/2023 16:34:18 question first ministerially corrected 22/02/2023 13:03:49 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies previous answer version 52146 answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	4772 label Biography information for Kenny MacAskill

1568604

registered interest
date	19/01/2023
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	Department for Work and Pensions: Trade Unions
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what human resources information their Department shares with trade unions on a regular basis.
tabling member constituency	Glasgow South West
tabling member printed	Chris Stephens
uin	127787
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/01/2023 answer text <p>Senior Departmental officials meet with Departmental Trade Union Side to discuss resourcing issues including finance, demand, and recruitment.</p><p>As part of the annual delegated pay negotiations, the department provides the three trade unions that are recognised in DWP with detailed information on pay, including pay scales and where employees currently sit within these.</p><p> </p><p>Individual Departmental Directors with responsibility for Service Delivery meet trade unions annually to discuss the resourcing position specific to their area of work. In addition, Departmental Directors meet trade unions regularly to update and share information on issues such as resources, staffing, workloads, performance, health and safety and wellbeing.</p><p> </p><p>There is also a range of publicly available HR information published on GOV.UK.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 25/01/2023 16:56:21 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies previous answer version 49841 answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	4463 label Biography information for Chris Stephens

1568014

registered interest
date	18/01/2023
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	Department for Work and Pensions: Tokyo
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 January to Question 119039on Paralympic Games: Visits Abroad, whether the hospitality provided by the British Paralympic Association included the costs of the accommodation used by his predecessor and the individual accompanying her during their visit to Tokyo between 23-26 August 2021.
tabling member constituency	Islington South and Finsbury
tabling member printed	Emily Thornberry
uin	126567
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/02/2023 answer text <p>At the time of the event (24 August to 26 August 2021), accommodation for the Secretary of State and the official accompanying her was paid for by the British Paralympic Association. The Department was later invoiced (14 March 2022), and paid £1557.80 for two rooms.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 16/02/2023 12:04:12 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies previous answer version 49405 answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	1536 label Biography information for Emily Thornberry

1567150

registered interest
date	16/01/2023
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	Department for Work and Pensions: Compensation
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much his Department paid to claimants in payments related to gross inconvenience in (a) 2018, (b) 2019, (c) 2020, (d) 2021 and (e) 2022.
tabling member constituency	Glasgow East
tabling member printed	David Linden
uin	124059
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/01/2023 answer text <p>DWP can make a consolatory payment to a claimant in recognition for when gross inconvenience has been caused.</p><p> </p><p>The table below shows the total amount spent on consolatory payments per calendar year (January to December) as requested.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="2"><p><strong>Total consolatory payments by calendar year</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Year</p></td><td><p>Amount Paid</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2018</p></td><td><p>£323,446.33</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2019</p></td><td><p>£355,484.37</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2020</p></td><td><p>£342,901.82</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2021</p></td><td><p>£551,513.69</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2022</p></td><td><p>£580,016.18</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>*Please note: The figure for 2022 has not yet been finalised, as the figures are reported quarterly, therefore the 2022 figure above represents the first nine months only.</p><p> </p><p>As a Department, DWP has continuously improved the complaints process and recognises the increase in the amount of consolatory payments paid is indicative of the departments complaints process better acknowledging when things haven’t gone as they should, and where appropriate to compensate the customer.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 24/01/2023 17:21:58 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies previous answer version 48915 answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	4640 label Biography information for David Linden