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1139248

registered interest
date	16/07/2019
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: Day Care
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to increase the (a) provision and (b) affordability of childcare for children of working parents in school summer holidays.
tabling member constituency	Coventry South
tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
uin	277637
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/07/2019 answer text <p>I refer the Hon. Member to the answer to Question 273325, answered on 9 July 2019 -</p><p>The Government recognises that childcare costs can affect parents’ decisions to both obtain and maintain employment and is committed to removing barriers that prevent parents moving into work.</p><p>To overcome this barrier to employment, Universal Credit claimants are able to claim up to 85 per cent of their childcare costs, compared to 70 per cent on the legacy system. This can be worth up to £13,000 a year for families with two children.</p><p>We recognise the difficulty that some claimants might have in paying childcare costs over the summer holidays and have undertaken significant work to increase work coach awareness, understanding and promotion of both the Universal Credit childcare offer and the wider government childcare offer. This is to ensure that parents who are eligible for the 15 hours of free childcare for disadvantaged families with 2-year-old children, and 30 hours of free childcare for working families, take these up. These free childcare offers can be used in combination with Universal Credit support for childcare.</p><p>In addition to this, budgeting advances are available for eligible claimants that can be used to cover the cost of paying additional upfront childcare costs or a deposit that might be needed during the school holidays.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 22/07/2019 16:01:09 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

1139323

registered interest
date	16/07/2019
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: Housing
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the liability for the whole rent of a property is reflected in the calculation of universal credit in cases where a claimant of universal credit in a joint tenancy remains after a partner leaves; and if she will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	East Ham
tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
uin	277617
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/07/2019 answer text <p>The Universal Credit regulations provide that a claimant is to be treated as liable to make rent payments - where the person who is liable to make the payments is not doing so, the payments are required in order to continue occupation, and it would be unreasonable to expect them to make other arrangements. Therefore, in the example described, it would be possible for the whole liability to be considered as part of the UC calculation, subject to any usual restrictions such as the Local Housing Allowance or removal of the spare room subsidy.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 22/07/2019 13:01:27 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

1139324

registered interest
date	16/07/2019
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 steps his Department is taking to ensure people liable under the Child Maintenance Service's Direct Pay category pay (a) in full and (b) on time.
tabling member constituency	Motherwell and Wishaw
tabling member printed	Marion Fellows
uin	277773
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/07/2019 answer text <p>The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) provides support to all Direct Pay clients. Those who do not receive their maintenance in full and on time, should contact the CMS straight away, so the case can be moved into the Collect &amp; Pay service to enforce regular payments of ongoing maintenance and arrange collection of arrears.</p><p> </p><p>For clients using the Direct Pay service a payment schedule is issued, detailing the maintenance and arrears due to be paid. It is clearly explained to both parents that they will be responsible for managing their payments and keeping appropriate records of the child maintenance payments made.</p><p> </p><p>At the start of every case, and at each annual review, parents are notified what to do if their arrangement breaks down. The CMS sends SMS messages to parents using Direct Pay three months after they set up their arrangement to remind them to contact the Service if their arrangement is not working.</p><p> </p><p>The importance of full and on time payments is emphasised to clients by CMS caseworkers and Child Maintenance Options call handlers. Receiving parents are advised to contact us if payments are not received.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 22/07/2019 15:40:24 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	4440 label Biography information for Marion Fellows

1139325

registered interest
date	16/07/2019
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	Child Maintenance Service: Staff
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many members of staff worked (a) for the Child Maintenance Service and (b) in the financial investigations unit of that Service in each year since 2013.
tabling member constituency	Motherwell and Wishaw
tabling member printed	Marion Fellows
uin	277774
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/07/2019 answer text <p>We have provided figures from 2017. This is because prior to 2017, figures showing Child Maintenance Service as a separate department to Child Maintenance Group are not available.</p><p> </p><p>These figures are a snapshot taken in the month of June only for each year, as figures fluctuate from month to month.</p><p> </p><p>Please see table below:</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p>FIU</p></td><td><p>CMS</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>June 19</p></td><td><p>86</p></td><td><p>5684</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>June 18</p></td><td><p>19</p></td><td><p>5433</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>June 17</p></td><td><p>19</p></td><td><p>5238</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 22/07/2019 15:47:32 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	4440 label Biography information for Marion Fellows

1139355

registered interest
date	16/07/2019
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: Forms
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent steps his Department has taken to simplify the forms used to claim benefits.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle-under-Lyme
tabling member printed	Paul Farrelly
uin	277676
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/07/2019 answer text <p>The Department for Work and Pensions is committed to ensuring its claim forms are as simple and easy to use as possible. We have simplified over 180 forms in the last six months by making changes to the layout, style, wording and accessibility. We carry out usability testing on new and revised forms with claimants.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 23/07/2019 11:10:32 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	1436 label Biography information for Paul Farrelly

1138809

registered interest
date	15/07/2019
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	Department for Work and Pensions: Termination of Employment
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 Office for National Statistics Public Sector Employment data, what assessment she has made of the effect on the performance of her Department of the loss of over 20,000 staff since 2013.
tabling member constituency	Hove
tabling member printed	Peter Kyle
uin	277229
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/07/2019 answer text <p>Since 2013, through using a range of tools, we have improved the Department’s efficiency without dropping our performance levels. Our latest published figures show that we:</p><ul><li>delivered the lowest unemployment rate since 1974, getting on average 1,000 people into work every day since 2010</li><li>processed 78% of new claims within planned timescales and achieved customer satisfaction of 81%</li><li>processed Universal Credit (UC) faster - UC Full Service claimants for households with new claims receiving full payment on time had increased to around 86% in February 2019</li></ul> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 18/07/2019 14:31:43 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	4505 label Biography information for Peter Kyle

1138864

registered interest
date	15/07/2019
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 assessment he has made of the potential benefits of enabling childcare costs to be paid directly to providers through universal credit.
tabling member constituency	Hampstead and Kilburn
tabling member printed	Tulip Siddiq
uin	277240
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/07/2019 answer text <p>The Government recently submitted its response to the Work and Pensions Select Committee’s follow-up report into Universal Credit: Childcare which sets out an assessment of the position in relation to payments direct to childcare providers. The response will be published in due course.</p><p> </p><p>Universal Credit is paid in a single monthly amount directly into people’s bank accounts, giving them control over their own money and making the move into work easier.</p><p> </p><p>The Government is committed to supporting parents with moving into work and, as part of this, we have increased the level of support for childcare costs from 70 per cent in legacy benefits to up to 85 per cent in Universal Credit. The Universal Credit childcare policy aligns with the wider government childcare offer, which includes free childcare hours and tax free childcare. This offer means that reasonable childcare costs should not form a barrier to work.</p><p> </p><p>Where upfront childcare costs or deposits may prevent a claimant from starting work, jobcentres will use the Flexible Support Fund to support the transition into work. When parents have good reason for late reporting of their childcare costs, the Department is piloting a more flexible approach to enable parents to be reimbursed at a later point.</p><p> </p><p>Since February 2018, Universal Credit claimants have been able to upload digital copies of their childcare cost receipts or invoices through their online Universal Credit account.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 18/07/2019 15:39:49 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	4518 label Biography information for Tulip Siddiq

1138926

registered interest
date	15/07/2019
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	Housing Benefit: Social 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 people have received under-occupancy penalty charges in each year since the introduction of those charges.
tabling member constituency	Cardiff Central
tabling member printed	Jo Stevens
uin	277204
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/07/2019 answer text <p>Figures on the number of households receiving Housing Benefit affected by the Removal of the Spare Room Subsidy are publically available through the DWP Stat Xplore website:</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/jsf/login.xhtml" target="_blank">https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/jsf/login.xhtml</a></p><p> </p><p>Guidance for users is available 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>Figures on DWP Stat Xplore do not include claimants on Universal Credit with a Removal of the Spare Room Subsidy deduction, as this data is not currently available.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 18/07/2019 14:23:51 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	4425 label Biography information for Jo Stevens

1138944

registered interest
date	15/07/2019
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 many full-time enforcement case managers are employed by the child maintenance service.
tabling member constituency	Linlithgow and East Falkirk
tabling member printed	Martyn Day
uin	277219
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/07/2019 answer text <p>Child Maintenance Service employs 104 full-time Enforcement Case Managers. Enforcement Case Managers are those caseworkers who do court action rather than administrative enforcement action or financial investigation.</p><p> </p><p>For context the overall head count i.e. people (part-time or full-time) who are Enforcement Case Managers number 269. This equates to an overall resource, referred to as Full–time equivalent of 220.91.</p><p> </p><p>This is correct as of 30<sup>th</sup> June 2019.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 18/07/2019 15:39:45 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	4488 label Biography information for Martyn Day

1138379

registered interest
date	11/07/2019
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	Poverty: Children
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 been made of the number of children living in poverty that have at least one parent in work.
tabling member constituency	York Central
tabling member printed	Rachael Maskell
uin	276232
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/07/2019 answer text <p>National statistics on the number of children in low income households are published annually in the “Households Below Average Income” publication. The latest statistics show that 1.7m children in households where at least one adult works are in 'before housing cost absolute poverty', and 2.5m are in 'after housing cost absolute poverty'.</p><p> </p><p>These statistics can be found using the link below, in table 4.20ts, in the file “children-hbai-timeseries-1994-95-2017-18-tables”.</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/households-below-average-income-199495-to-201718" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/households-below-average-income-199495-to-201718</a></p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 19/07/2019 12:30:00 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	4471 label Biography information for Rachael Maskell