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1353841

registered interest
date	08/09/2021
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 steps her Department is taking to inform claimants of the planned removal of the £20 per week uplift to the standard allowance of universal credit.
tabling member constituency	Bermondsey and Old Southwark
tabling member printed	Neil Coyle
uin	45135
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/09/2021 answer text <p>We have always been clear the uplift for Universal Credit was a temporary measure, responding to extraordinary circumstances and ensuring the welfare safety net was there for those encountering financial hardship. Now with record vacancies and the successful vaccination rollout, it’s right that we switch our focus to getting people back into work and improving their prospects.</p><p>In July 2021, DWP updated around 6 million Universal Credit statements to show claimants that they have been receiving an additional £20 a week in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.</p><p>Further messages are being sent this month and in October as the temporary uplift comes to an end, and as Work Coaches interact with their claimants they will be highlighting this change. We will continue to communicate with people via both their statement and their journal to inform them when their assessment period ends. These messages will also link to the page in the claimant’s account that signposts to organisations that can help with managing money and budgeting.</p><p>We are also issuing a bespoke communication to offer advice to those with phone claims prior to the removal. We advise claimants to speak to their Work Coach if they need particular help.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 14/09/2021 15:57:56 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince previous answer version 21109 answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	4368 label Biography information for Neil Coyle

1346841

registered interest
date	14/07/2021
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 assessment her Department has made of the potential effect of removing the uplift to the universal credit standard allowance on food bank usage.
tabling member constituency	Stalybridge and Hyde
tabling member printed	Jonathan Reynolds
uin	33221
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/07/2021 answer text <p>No assessment has been made.</p><p> </p><p>Universal Credit has provided a vital safety net for six million people during the pandemic, and we announced the temporary uplift as part of a £400 billion package of measures put in place that will last well beyond the end of the roadmap. Our focus now is on our multi-billion Plan for Jobs, which will support people in the long-term by helping them learn new skills and increase their hours or find new work.</p><p> </p><p>Foodbanks are independent, charitable organisations and the Department for Work and Pensions does not have any role in their operation. There is no consistent and accurate measure of food bank usage at a constituency or national level.</p><p> </p><p>We recognise the data limitations in this area, so from April 2021 have introduced a set of questions into the Family Resources Survey (FRS) on food bank usage. The first results of these questions are expected to be published in March 2023 subject to usual quality assurance.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 20/07/2021 16:23:58 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince previous answer version 15292 answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	4119 label Biography information for Jonathan Reynolds

1346334

registered interest
date	13/07/2021
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 assessment her Department has made of the potential effect of removing the £20 uplift to the universal credit standard allowance on the in-work progression of universal credit claimants.
tabling member constituency	Stalybridge and Hyde
tabling member printed	Jonathan Reynolds
uin	32385
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/07/2021 answer text <p>No such assessment has been made.</p><p> </p><p>Universal Credit has provided a vital safety net for six million people during the pandemic, and we announced the temporary uplift as part of a £400 billion package of measures put in place that will last well beyond the end of the roadmap. Our focus now is on our multi-billion Plan for Jobs, which will support people in the long-term by helping them learn new skills and increase their hours or find new work.</p><p> </p><p>To note further, we will consider the recommendations of the In-Work Progression Commission’s report and respond later in the year.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 19/07/2021 17:27:48 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince previous answer version 15291 answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	4119 label Biography information for Jonathan Reynolds

1311007

registered interest
date	21/04/2021
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, with reference to the Universal Credit Programme Board minutes, Paper 1, deposited in the Library on 15 April 2021, if she will publish an update on the progress of the course correction that was committed to being carried out to help vulnerable people claiming universal credit following concerns raised at the Universal Credit Programme Board by the Chief Executive of the London Borough Islington on behalf of the Local Government Association.
tabling member constituency	Westminster North
tabling member printed	Ms Karen Buck
uin	185274
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/04/2021 answer text <p>In line with our established strategy for releasing Universal Credit Programme Board papers, the outcome to this specific action will be published when we make our next scheduled deposit to the Library during October 2021.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 28/04/2021 12:48:03 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince previous answer version 99509 answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	199 label Biography information for Ms Karen Buck

1256929

registered interest
date	30/11/2020
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 universal credit claims have been subject to deductions; what the average amount was of those deductions; what the total sum deducted from those claims was; and what proportion of those deductions was, on average, for the purposes of repaying advance payments, in each constituency, in the most recent month for which data are available.
tabling member constituency	Glasgow South West
tabling member printed	Chris Stephens
uin	122792
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/12/2020 answer text <p>From 3rd April 2020, deductions from Universal Credit for some government debt, such as Tax Credits, benefit overpayments and Social Fund Loans were suspended for 3 months. This was done to ease the financial pressure of debt recovery on benefit claimants and to also allow Debt Management staff to be re-deployed to focus on the unprecedented volume of new claims received during the Covid-19 pandemic.</p><p> </p><p>Universal Credit advance repayments are made gradually over 12 months, and deductions are capped at 30% of a claimant’s standard allowance. This is further to the reduction of the overall maximum level of deductions from 40% to 30% of the standard allowance since October 2019.</p><p> </p><p>From October 2021, the repayment period will be extended from 12 months to 24 months deductions cap will be reduced from 30% to 25%.</p><p> </p><p>For those who find themselves in unexpected hardship, advance repayments can be deferred for up to three months in certain cases.</p><p> </p><p>The requested information surrounding deductions to Universal Credit payments by parliamentary constituency is shown in the attached table.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 04/12/2020 12:43:40 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince attachment 1 file name PQ 122792_Table 1.xlsx title PQ122792 Table previous answer version 66526 answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	4463 label Biography information for Chris Stephens

1237711

registered interest
date	24/09/2020
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 proportion of universal credit claimants are (a) repaying an advance payment and (b) also repaying other debts through the deductions system.
tabling member constituency	Nottingham East
tabling member printed	Nadia Whittome
uin	95254
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/10/2020 answer text <p>For Universal Credit claims due a payment during May 2020, 40% had a deduction:</p><ul><li>34% were having only advance repayments,</li><li>4% were having advance repayments and deductions for other debts (e.g. third party deductions)</li><li>2% were having only deductions for other debts.</li></ul><p> </p><p>New claimants do not have to wait for their first regular Universal Credit payment if they need up front support. All new UC claimants are able to request a new claim advance during the first assessment period of up to 100% of their estimated monthly award. Advances can be repaid over the following year, allowing new claimants to receive 13 payments during the year instead of 12. We are extending the maximum repayment period to two years from October 2021 to reduce the impact of taking an advance even further, and the reduction of the deductions cap from 30% to 25%.</p><p>For those who find themselves in unexpected hardship, advance repayments can be deferred for up to three months in certain cases.</p><p><strong>Notes</strong></p><p>1. Deductions include advance repayments, third party deductions and all other deductions, but exclude sanctions and fraud penalties which are reductions of benefit rather than deductions.</p><p>2. Figure rounded to the nearest 1,000.</p><p>3. Third party deductions were suspended due to covid-19 from 10th April to 10th May and ‘other deductions’ (excluding advance repayments) were suspended for three months from the beginning of April, therefore these figures may not be representative of the full cohort of claims which would otherwise be having deductions.</p><p>4. Other debts include Universal Credit third party deductions and all other deductions, but exclude sanctions and fraud penalties which are reductions of benefit rather than deductions.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 12/10/2020 12:28:25 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince previous answer version 50715 answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	4869 label Biography information for Nadia Whittome

1237712

registered interest
date	24/09/2020
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 and what proportion of universal credit claimants were subject to a deduction of any type in the most recent month for which data is available.
tabling member constituency	Nottingham East
tabling member printed	Nadia Whittome
uin	95255
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/10/2020 answer text <p>For Universal Credit claims due a payment during May 2020, 40% (1,627,000 claims) had a deduction.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Notes</strong></p><p>1. Deductions include advance repayments, third party deductions and all other deductions, but exclude sanctions and fraud penalties which are reductions of benefit rather than deductions.</p><p>2. Figure rounded to the nearest 1,000.</p><p>3. Third party deductions were suspended due to covid-19 from 10th April to 10th May and ‘other deductions’ (excluding advance repayments) were suspended for three months from the beginning of April, therefore these figures may not be representative of the full cohort of claims which would otherwise be having deductions.</p><p>4. Other debts include Universal Credit third party deductions and all other deductions, but exclude sanctions and fraud penalties which are reductions of benefit rather than deductions.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 12/10/2020 12:32:42 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince previous answer version 50716 answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	4869 label Biography information for Nadia Whittome

1233489

registered interest
date	10/09/2020
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 universal credit claims in each parliamentary constituency had deductions taken from them in the most recent month for which data is available; what the average deduction was in each constituency; and what proportion of each sum was deducted to repay advance payments.
tabling member constituency	Glasgow South West
tabling member printed	Chris Stephens
uin	88351
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/09/2020 answer text <p>The requested information surrounding deductions to Universal Credit payments by parliamentary constituency is shown in the attached table.</p><p> </p><p>Universal Credit advance repayments are made gradually over 12 months, and deductions are capped at 30% of claimants’ standard allowance. This is further to the reduction of the overall maximum level of deductions from 40% to 30% of the standard allowance since October 2019.</p><p> </p><p>From October 2021, the repayment period will be extended from 12 months to 24 months and the reduction of the deductions cap from 30% to 25%.</p><p> </p><p>For those who find themselves in unexpected hardship, advance repayments can be deferred for up to three months in certain cases.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 17/09/2020 11:22:30 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince attachment 1 file name Proportion of Universal Credit claims with deductions by Parliamentary Consituency.xlsx title 88351 Attachment previous answer version 47402 answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	4463 label Biography information for Chris Stephens

1222642

registered interest
date	09/07/2020
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 the oral statement by the Chancellor of the Exchequer entitled Summer Economic Update, Official Report, column 973, what steps her Department is taking to increase the childcare offer for claimants of universal credit.
tabling member constituency	Airdrie and Shotts
tabling member printed	Neil Gray
uin	71794
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/07/2020 answer text <p>Under Universal Credit, working families can claim back up to 85% of their registered childcare costs each month. This can be claimed up to a month before starting a job. For families with two children this could be worth up to £13,000 a year.</p><p> </p><p>Help with upfront childcare costs for starting work is available through a non-repayable Flexible Support Fund (FSF) award for eligible UC claimants, with the FSF receiving an additional £150m this financial year to help support UC claimants to move closer to or in to work. Help with upfront costs for eligible UC claimants is available through Budgeting Advances.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 15/07/2020 13:03:12 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince previous answer version 37311 answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	4365 label Biography information for Neil Gray

1216967

registered interest
date	23/06/2020
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, if she will increase the personal allowance of legacy benefits so that they are aligned with universal credit payments.
tabling member constituency	Belfast South
tabling member printed	Claire Hanna
uin	63532
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/07/2020 answer text <p>The Government has announced a suite of measures that can be quickly and effectively operationalised to benefit those facing the most financial disruption during the pandemic.</p><p> </p><p>We estimate that 2.5 million households receiving Universal Credit will benefit straight away from the increase in the standard allowance rates which was announced on 20 March, and which is additional to the planned annual uprating. New claimants who have either become unemployed, or whose earnings or work hours have decreased because of the outbreak, will benefit too, subject to their eligibility.</p><p> </p><p>We have also made a number of changes to legacy and other working age benefits in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, including increasing certain entitlements, such as Local Housing Allowance. Up-to-date information about the employment and benefits support available, including Universal Credit, Statutory Sick Pay, New style Jobseeker's Allowance, and Employment and Support Allowance, can be found here: <a href="http://www.understandinguniversalcredit.gov.uk/employment-and-benefits-support" target="_blank">www.understandinguniversalcredit.gov.uk/employment-and-benefits-support</a></p><p> </p><p>It has always been the case that claimants on legacy benefits can make a claim for UC if they believe that they will be better off. There are special arrangements for those in receipt of the Severe Disability Premium, who will be able to make a new claim to Universal Credit from January 2021.</p><p> </p><p>However, claimants should check their eligibility before applying to Universal Credit as legacy benefits will end when they submit their claim and they will not be able to return to them in the future. For this reason, prospective claimants are signposted to independent benefits calculators on GOV.UK. Neither DWP nor HMRC can advise individual claimants whether they would be better off moving to UC or remaining on legacy benefits.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 06/07/2020 16:36:04 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince previous answer version 33004 answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	4827 label Biography information for Claire Hanna