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1156130

registered interest
date	24/10/2019
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	Children: Maintenance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how his Department defines what a reasonable chance of collection is before deciding to write-off arrears accrued under the Child Support Agency.
tabling member constituency	Linlithgow and East Falkirk
tabling member printed	Martyn Day
uin	5054
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/10/2019 answer text <p>Where a receiving parent makes representations for the arrears to be collected, the Service will make every effort to trace the paying parent associated with the case and verify the arrears. The paying parent will also be given an opportunity to make representations as part of the process. Once the debt is moved to the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) it will exhaust all available collection methods available in an attempt to secure a payment.</p><p> </p><p>Some of the collection options available to the CMS include imposing a deduction from earnings order and lump sum deduction orders. If all attempts are unsuccessful the debt may then be deemed uncollectable and write-off considered.</p><p /><p><strong> </strong></p> answering member constituency Eastleigh answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 29/10/2019 16:40:36 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	4488 label Biography information for Martyn Day

1156131

registered interest
date	24/10/2019
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	Children: Maintenance
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 number of receiving parent's arrears accrued under the Child Support Agency that were written off while a Deduction from Earnings Order was in place.
tabling member constituency	Linlithgow and East Falkirk
tabling member printed	Martyn Day
uin	5055
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/10/2019 answer text <p>Only cases with CSA debt that haven’t made payments for the last three months are in scope for selection as part of the Compliance &amp; Arrears Strategy. Cases with a paying Deduction from Earnings Order in Place will not be selected.</p> answering member constituency Eastleigh answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 29/10/2019 16:45:29 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	4488 label Biography information for Martyn Day

1156132

registered interest
date	24/10/2019
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	Children: Maintenance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reason receiving parents were not compensated for the decision to write-off arrears for money they were owed which accrued under the Child Support Agency.
tabling member constituency	Linlithgow and East Falkirk
tabling member printed	Martyn Day
uin	5056
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/10/2019 answer text <p>Writing off some historic Child Support Agency (CSA) arrears was not a quick or easy decision, and involved exhausting other approaches to deal with the debt, including using debt collection agencies without success. Much of the debt that accrued under the CSA is now old and generally uncollectable, and most parents accept this.</p><p> </p><p>It is a long-established principle of the child maintenance system that where non-resident parents do not pay the maintenance they are legally required to pay, the obligation on the government is to do its best to ensure collection – not for the taxpayer to pay the maintenance.</p><p> </p><p>We are making one last attempt to collect the debt, where it is cost effective to do so and there is a reasonable chance of collection. Debts of smaller amounts may be written off as part of the process.</p><p> </p><p>Attempting to collect would have cost around £1.5bn, and would have recovered between £0.1bn and £0.6bn. Had we not written off we would have needed to maintain the debt indefinitely at a cost of £30 million per year.</p><p> </p><p>Addressing these cases will enable us to close the CSA completely and focus on collecting money that will benefit today’s children, and avoid the build-up of arrears in the Child Maintenance Service.</p> answering member constituency Eastleigh answering member printed Mims Davies grouped question UIN 5057 question first answered 29/10/2019 16:49:20 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	4488 label Biography information for Martyn Day

1156133

registered interest
date	24/10/2019
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	Children: Maintenance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recourse is available to receiving parents whose arrears accrued under the Child Support Agency have been written off.
tabling member constituency	Linlithgow and East Falkirk
tabling member printed	Martyn Day
uin	5057
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/10/2019 answer text <p>Writing off some historic Child Support Agency (CSA) arrears was not a quick or easy decision, and involved exhausting other approaches to deal with the debt, including using debt collection agencies without success. Much of the debt that accrued under the CSA is now old and generally uncollectable, and most parents accept this.</p><p> </p><p>It is a long-established principle of the child maintenance system that where non-resident parents do not pay the maintenance they are legally required to pay, the obligation on the government is to do its best to ensure collection – not for the taxpayer to pay the maintenance.</p><p> </p><p>We are making one last attempt to collect the debt, where it is cost effective to do so and there is a reasonable chance of collection. Debts of smaller amounts may be written off as part of the process.</p><p> </p><p>Attempting to collect would have cost around £1.5bn, and would have recovered between £0.1bn and £0.6bn. Had we not written off we would have needed to maintain the debt indefinitely at a cost of £30 million per year.</p><p> </p><p>Addressing these cases will enable us to close the CSA completely and focus on collecting money that will benefit today’s children, and avoid the build-up of arrears in the Child Maintenance Service.</p> answering member constituency Eastleigh answering member printed Mims Davies grouped question UIN 5056 question first answered 29/10/2019 16:49:20 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	4488 label Biography information for Martyn Day

1156136

registered interest
date	24/10/2019
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	Retail Trade: Unemployment
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps the Government is taking to help workers from the retail industry who have lost their jobs transition to new roles.
tabling member constituency	Coventry South
tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
uin	4921
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/10/2019 answer text <p>Jobcentre Plus is geared-up to offer advice to those claiming welfare benefits.</p><p> </p><p>Universal Credit has replaced six working age benefits with one; to simplify the welfare system and make work pay. As a result, people claiming Universal Credit move into work faster, stay in work longer and spend more time looking to increase their earnings. Universal Credit also provides more help with childcare costs, a dedicated Work Coach and scraps the 16, 24 and 30 hour ‘cliff edges’.</p><p> </p><p>Through Jobcentre Plus, individuals can get advice on finding a job; help with retraining or skills advice, CV and job applications; and access to new vacancies we record every day. They can also access a range of tailored opportunities to improve their likelihood of entering or re-entering the labour market, including demand-led training for higher skilled jobs in specific sectors.</p><p> </p><p>Jobcentre Plus also provides numerous leads and good practice ideas to help people direct their job search in the most effective manner.</p><p> </p><p>DWP also supports people affected by redundancy through the Rapid Response Service (RRS). This is designed to give tailored support and advice to employers and their employees when faced with redundancy. Each Jobcentre Plus district deploys resources according to the situation and the requirements of those affected. The RRS is delivered in partnership with a range of national and local partners, including National Careers Service and local service providers.</p> answering member constituency Eastleigh answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 29/10/2019 16:30:06 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

1156208

registered interest
date	24/10/2019
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	Unemployment
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 were economically inactive in the UK in (a) 2010 and (b) the most recent year for which figures are available.
tabling member constituency	Vale of Clwyd
tabling member printed	Chris Ruane
uin	4934
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/10/2019 answer text <p>In February-April 2010 there were 9.5 million economically inactive people in the UK. This number has dropped to 8.7 million people for the period June-August 2019. These statistics are for the 16-64 age group, which is the Office for National Statistic’s headline rate for economic inactivity.</p> answering member constituency Eastleigh answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 29/10/2019 16:34:09 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	534 label Biography information for Chris Ruane

1156212

registered interest
date	24/10/2019
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: Telephone Services
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Answer of 3 April 2019 to Question 238679 on Universal Credit: Telephone Services, whether calls which are transferred to a different case manager or helpline advisor continue to be (a) recorded and (b) retrievable; and what steps she is taking to ensure that all calls on universal credit are recorded to maintain a complete record of a claimant's interactions with the Department.
tabling member constituency	North West Durham
tabling member printed	Laura Pidcock
uin	5096
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/10/2019 answer text <p>Service centre calls are recorded and retained for a period of 14 months; this includes inbound and outbound calls to and from UC telephony service centres and any transfers within the service centres.</p> answering member constituency Eastleigh answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 29/10/2019 11:52:00 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	4665 label Biography information for Laura Pidcock

1156245

registered interest
date	24/10/2019
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	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 the potential effect of delays at the ENGIE Document Scanning facility at Kidderminster on benefit claimants.
tabling member constituency	Birkenhead
tabling member printed	Frank Field
uin	4928
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/10/2019 answer text <p>The Mail Opening Unit at Kidderminster meets it’s contracted performance requirements and there are no delays. There are full business continuity measures in place and these are regularly reviewed by the relevant officials.</p> answering member constituency Eastleigh answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 29/10/2019 16:41:48 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead

1151864

registered interest
date	23/10/2019
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	Social Security Benefits: St Helens
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent estimate she has made of staffing levels for each of the benefits administered in St Helens; and what assessment she has made of the adequacy of those levels.
tabling member constituency	Birkenhead
tabling member printed	Frank Field
uin	4275
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/10/2019 answer text <p>The Department has a resource managing process to effectively forecast current and future staffing requirements. This is regularly reviewed to ensure we can balance supply and demand to meet business objectives.</p> answering member constituency Eastleigh answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 28/10/2019 14:11:52 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead

1151481

registered interest
date	22/10/2019
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, with reference to the report by the Resolution Foundation entitled A fraying net, what steps the Government is taking to (a) reform and strengthen the social security safety net for young adults and (b) ensure that parents under the age of 25 do not lose out financially when moving from the previous benefit system to universal credit.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle-under-Lyme
tabling member printed	Paul Farrelly
uin	3702
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/10/2019 answer text <p>The Government is committed to providing targeted support for young people. We aim to ensure that everyone, no matter what their start in life, is given the very best chance of getting into work. To support this, the Department delivers the Youth Obligation Support Programme, Jobcentre Plus Support for Schools and the recently introduced Mentoring Circles for young people.</p><p> </p><p>Universal Credit is designed to replicate the world of work through the introduction of a range of measures such as monthly assessment periods. Setting a clear benefit rate for claimants under the age of 25 reflects the lower wages that younger workers typically receive. This is intended to maintain the incentive for younger people to find work.</p><p> </p><p>The lower rates for younger claimants who are under the age of 25 years reflects the fact that they are more likely to live in someone else's household and have lower living costs and lower earnings expectations. It also reinforces the stronger work incentives that Universal Credit creates for this age group. Universal Credit also includes separate elements to provide support for housing costs, children and childcare costs and support for disabled people and carers.</p><p> </p><p>Those who naturally migrate to Universal Credit will do so because they will have had a significant change in their circumstances which previously would have led to a new claim to another existing benefit. In these situations, it has always been the case that the assessment of their new benefit will be based on their new circumstances and under the rules of their new benefit without regard to their previous entitlement. As their circumstances will have changed it is not possible to make a meaningful comparison between their previous entitlement to their existing benefit and their new entitlement to Universal Credit.</p> answering member constituency Eastleigh answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 28/10/2019 14:05:46 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	1436 label Biography information for Paul Farrelly