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1024003

	registered interest
	date	12/12/2018
	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 number of payments of universal credit paid to claimants on time and correct at (a) first assessment and (b) second assessment; what the average amount of time taken has been to resolve such payments; and what the longest outstanding claim has been by number of weeks before it was resolved in (i) Merthyr Tydfil, (ii) South Wales and (iii) the UK.
	tabling member constituency	Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney
	tabling member printed	Gerald Jones
	uin	201719
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/12/2018 answer text <p>Universal Credit Full Service rolled out in Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney on 27 June 2018. For new claims to Universal Credit Full Service in ‘Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney constituency’, that were due a first payment in August 2018, our internal data shows that 85% were paid in full on time and 92% were paid in part on time. The information requested for data on payment timeliness for second assessment period payments is not held as the sample size is not sufficient to provide a robust measure of payment timeliness for these claims.</p><p> </p><p>The information requested for data on payment timeliness details for South Wales is not held.</p><p> </p><p>Our most recent payment timeliness statistics for claims in Great Britain have been published on gov.uk and can be accessed at:</p><p><a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/755723/universal-credit-statistics-to-11-october-2018.pdf" target="_blank">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/755723/universal-credit-statistics-to-11-october-2018.pdf</a></p><p> </p><p>This shows that for Great Britain, for first Assessment Periods where the payment was due in August 18: 84% were paid in full on time, and 89% paid in part on time. Our internal data shows for second Assessment Periods where the payment was due in August 18: 92% were paid in full on time and 96% paid in part on time.</p><p> </p><p>Social Security is a devolved matter in Northern Ireland and the delivery of Universal Credit in Northern Ireland is the responsibility of the Department for Communities, part of the Northern Ireland Executive.</p><p> </p><p>To provide analysis of the longest wait for payment would incur disproportionate cost as the information is not readily available.</p><p> </p><p>In many cases where full payment is not made on time, it is due to unresolved issues such as: claimants not accepting their Claimant Commitment or passing identity checks, or having outstanding verification issues, such as housing costs and self-employed earnings. In order to support claimants to claim, we have taken steps to improve verification processes. For example, we have listened to feedback and built processes into the system to make it easier and quicker for people to verify their housing costs, for example through the landlord portal.</p><p>For anyone waiting for their first Universal Credit payment, advances are available, so no one should be left without means of support.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 20/12/2018 09:47:50 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma previous answer version 92378 answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	4501 label Biography information for Gerald Jones

1002762

	registered interest
	date	06/11/2018
	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 funding the Government has allocated for transitional payments for people moving onto universal credit; and by what process claimants will receive such payments.
	tabling member constituency	Glasgow South West
	tabling member printed	Chris Stephens
	uin	188877
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/12/2018 answer text <p>We recently laid the draft Universal Credit (Managed Migration) Regulations 2018 in Parliament. These will introduce a transitional payment to those eligible claimants who were in receipt of the Severe Disability Premium whilst on an existing benefit and who have already moved to Universal Credit.</p><p> </p><p>As announced in the 2018 Autumn Budget, the income related elements of Employment and Support Allowance and Jobseeker’s Allowance, and Income Support will continue for two weeks after a claim for Universal Credit has been made from July 2020. Claimants will therefore receive one two week run-on payment when being migrated to Universal Credit. Both of these measures are subject to parliamentary approval. These payments are in addition to the 2 week run-on of Housing Benefit, which we introduced in April 2018.</p><p> </p><p>The Government has also committed to ensuring that claimants who are moved onto Universal Credit as part of the managed migration process see no decrease in their benefit entitlement, providing their circumstances remain the same.</p><p> </p><p>The Government will be spending over £3bn on transitional protection over the next 10 years to ensure that claimants who are migrated onto Universal Credit as part of the managed migration process do not experience a financial loss at the point of transition.</p><p> </p><p>Transitional protection will be calculated based on the claimant’s circumstances on the last day of their entitlement to existing benefits. To do this we will make a comparison between the total amount of all relevant existing benefits to which the claimant was entitled at this point and the total amount of Universal Credit to which the claimant would be entitled as calculated based on the same set of circumstances. If the entitlement to the existing benefits is the greater amount then the difference will be awarded as a Transitional Element. When awarded, this Transitional Element will be taken into account with any other applicable Elements to determine a claimant’s Universal Credit award in each Assessment Period.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 13/12/2018 14:37:05 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma previous answer version 84612 answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	4463 label Biography information for Chris Stephens

997365

	registered interest
	date	29/10/2018
	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, how many and what proportion of working people in receipt of top up benefits are resident in (a) Ashfield constituency, (b) in each region of the UK and (c) in the UK.
	tabling member constituency	Ashfield
	tabling member printed	Gloria De Piero
	uin	184954
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/12/2018 answer text <p>The numbers of in work families receiving tax credits are in table 1.1 of the Child and Working Tax Credits statistics: finalised annual awards - 2016 to 2017 published by HMRC can be accessed at:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/720570/Main_publication_-_final_tables.xlsx" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/720570/Main_publication_-_final_tables.xlsx</a></p><p> </p><p>Geographical breakdowns including constituency level figures are available at:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/720739/Main_geographical_-_final_tables.xlsx" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/720739/Main_geographical_-_final_tables.xlsx</a></p><p> </p><p>Universal Credit and Housing Benefit statistics for Great Britain are regularly published and the latest statistics for September 2018 and May 2018 respectively can be accessed at:</p><p><a href="https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk" target="_blank">https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk</a></p><p> </p><p>Guidance for users is available at:</p><p><a href="https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started.html" target="_blank">https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started.html</a></p><p> </p><p>The information available for the number of employed individuals that are in receipt of Income Support, Jobseeker’s Allowance and Employment and Support Allowance in May 2018 in geographical areas of Great Britain can be found in the following table.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 10/12/2018 18:17:56 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma attachment 1 file name People Table 184954.docx title Working people in receipt of IS, JSA or ESA previous answer version 82637 answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	3915 label Biography information for Gloria De Piero

1002124

	registered interest
	date	05/11/2018
	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 publish the meetings held by her Department (a) trades unions and (b) the Trade Union Congress on the managed migration of universal credit in 2018; and if she will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	High Peak
	tabling member printed	Ruth George
	uin	188269
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/12/2018 answer text <p>No meetings have been held by DWP with trade unions or the Trade Union Congress regarding Managed Migration specifically. However, the Trade Union Congress and some individual trade unions responded to the Social Security Advisory Committee report on the draft Universal Credit Managed Migration Regulations 2018, published on 5 November 2018 which can be accessed at:</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/draft-universal-credit-managed-migration-regulations-2018-ssac-report-and-government-statement" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/draft-universal-credit-managed-migration-regulations-2018-ssac-report-and-government-statement</a></p><p> </p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma grouped question UIN 188268 question first answered 10/12/2018 17:06:16 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma previous answer version 84617 answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	4662 label Biography information for Ruth George

1002123

	registered interest
	date	05/11/2018
	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 representations she has received from (a) trades union and (b) the Trade Union Congress in relation to the managed migration of universal credit.
	tabling member constituency	High Peak
	tabling member printed	Ruth George
	uin	188268
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/12/2018 answer text <p>No meetings have been held by DWP with trade unions or the Trade Union Congress regarding Managed Migration specifically. However, the Trade Union Congress and some individual trade unions responded to the Social Security Advisory Committee report on the draft Universal Credit Managed Migration Regulations 2018, published on 5 November 2018 which can be accessed at:</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/draft-universal-credit-managed-migration-regulations-2018-ssac-report-and-government-statement" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/draft-universal-credit-managed-migration-regulations-2018-ssac-report-and-government-statement</a></p><p> </p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma grouped question UIN 188269 question first answered 10/12/2018 17:06:16 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma previous answer version 84616 answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	4662 label Biography information for Ruth George

1015567

	registered interest
	date	27/11/2018
	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 plans her Department has to take account of 53-week years in the provision of universal credit.
	tabling member constituency	Oxford East
	tabling member printed	Anneliese Dodds
	uin	196308
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/12/2018 answer text <p><strong>I refer the hon. Member to Question </strong><a href="https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2018-11-28/196906/" target="_blank"><strong>196906</strong></a><strong> on 3 December 2018.</strong></p><p> </p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 06/12/2018 17:59:12 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma previous answer version 89717 answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	4657 label Biography information for Anneliese Dodds

1017208

	registered interest
	date	29/11/2018
	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: Zero Hours Contracts
	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 her Department’s policy is to sanction universal credit claimants for (a) refusing and (b) voluntarily terminating a zero-hours contract.
	tabling member constituency	Glasgow South West
	tabling member printed	Chris Stephens
	uin	197461
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/12/2018 answer text <p>Claimants on Universal Credit who are found to have Limited Capability for Work are set work preparation activity: they are not required to carry out work search or undertake work. Should a claimant with LCW take up, and then leave a zero hour contract they would not be subject to sanctions.</p><p> </p><p>Zero-hours contracts offer flexibility which can be valuable for some individuals. Universal Credit payments adjust automatically depending on the amount a claimant earns, so that a claimant whose hours may change are financially supported and do not need to switch their benefit claim. Therefore, a Universal Credit claimant who is subject to all work related requirements can be expected to apply for a zero-hours contract job if it is considered suitable for their individual circumstances.</p><p> </p><p>Where there is good reason why a Universal Credit claimant is unable to take a zero-hours contract job this is taken into account. Sanctions are only applied if no good reason is established. Additionally, sanctions are only applied for leaving a zero-hours contract job voluntarily if no good reason is found.</p><p /><p>Sanctions are only used in a small percentage of cases, and that is when people fail to meet their agreed commitments without good reason. When considering whether a sanction is appropriate, a Decision Maker will take all the claimant’s individual circumstances, including any health conditions or disabilities and any evidence of good reason, into account before deciding whether a sanction is warranted.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma grouped question UIN 197460 question first answered 05/12/2018 10:11:10 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma previous answer version 90067 answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	4463 label Biography information for Chris Stephens

1017207

	registered interest
	date	29/11/2018
	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: Zero Hours Contracts
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what her Department’s policy is on the sanctioning of claimants of universal credit that receive the limited capability for work element in the event of a (a) refusal of an offer of a zero-hours contract and (b) voluntary termination of a zero-hours contract.
	tabling member constituency	Glasgow South West
	tabling member printed	Chris Stephens
	uin	197460
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/12/2018 answer text <p>Claimants on Universal Credit who are found to have Limited Capability for Work are set work preparation activity: they are not required to carry out work search or undertake work. Should a claimant with LCW take up, and then leave a zero hour contract they would not be subject to sanctions.</p><p> </p><p>Zero-hours contracts offer flexibility which can be valuable for some individuals. Universal Credit payments adjust automatically depending on the amount a claimant earns, so that a claimant whose hours may change are financially supported and do not need to switch their benefit claim. Therefore, a Universal Credit claimant who is subject to all work related requirements can be expected to apply for a zero-hours contract job if it is considered suitable for their individual circumstances.</p><p> </p><p>Where there is good reason why a Universal Credit claimant is unable to take a zero-hours contract job this is taken into account. Sanctions are only applied if no good reason is established. Additionally, sanctions are only applied for leaving a zero-hours contract job voluntarily if no good reason is found.</p><p /><p>Sanctions are only used in a small percentage of cases, and that is when people fail to meet their agreed commitments without good reason. When considering whether a sanction is appropriate, a Decision Maker will take all the claimant’s individual circumstances, including any health conditions or disabilities and any evidence of good reason, into account before deciding whether a sanction is warranted.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma grouped question UIN 197461 question first answered 05/12/2018 10:11:10 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma previous answer version 90066 answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	4463 label Biography information for Chris Stephens

1016483

	registered interest
	date	28/11/2018
	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, with reference to paragraph 54 of the Political Declaration setting out the framework for the future relationship between the European Union and the United Kingdom, how many non-UK EU nationals (a) currently living in the UK and (b) expected to be living in the UK over the next 15 years will qualify for social security support from the public purse; what benefits those people will be eligible for; and what estimate he has made of the cost of providing those benefits.
	tabling member constituency	Witham
	tabling member printed	Priti Patel
	uin	196900
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/12/2018 answer text <p>The Office of National Statistics (ONS) provide data on the population of the UK by country of birth and nationality. In addition, overall population projections for the UK (though not split by nationality) are made. These can be accessed at:</p><p><a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/internationalmigration/datasets/populationoftheunitedkingdombycountryofbirthandnationality" target="_blank">https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/internationalmigration/datasets/populationoftheunitedkingdombycountryofbirthandnationality</a></p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/populationprojections/bulletins/nationalpopulationprojections/2016basedstatisticalbulletin" target="_blank">https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/populationprojections/bulletins/nationalpopulationprojections/2016basedstatisticalbulletin</a></p><p> </p><p>The ONS estimate that there around 3.7m EU nationals living in the UK as of 2017/18. However, they do not have figures on the number of EU nationals expected to be resident in the UK in 15 years’ time.</p><p> </p><p>In the Political Declaration we have agreed to consider addressing social security coordination in the light of future movement of persons.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 04/12/2018 10:49:18 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma previous answer version 89712 answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	4066 label Biography information for Priti Patel

1011516

	registered interest
	date	21/11/2018
	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, what the average waiting time is for a person calling the universal credit helpline to be connected to an agent.
	tabling member constituency	Wirral West
	tabling member printed	Margaret Greenwood
	uin	194163
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/11/2018 answer text <p>Universal Credit is a 24 hour, seven day a week digital service that allows claimants to check their Universal Credit benefit payments, notify us of changes and record notes via an online journal facility. We also see claimants regularly face-to-face in jobcentres and they can contact us via the telephone outside of these appointments. In addition, this summer we introduced a new approach where established claimants who call the Universal Credit helpline are connected directly to the person or team who are dealing with the case.</p><p> </p><p>The average waiting time for a person calling the Universal Credit Full Service helpline in the month of October 2018 was 3 minutes and 58 seconds.</p><p> </p><p>Our Average Speed of Answer (ASA) measure is the average customer wait time from the point of entering a queue to connection to an agent. This excludes any time spent in pre-queue messaging and any wait time for calls ultimately abandoned by callers prior to answer.</p><p> </p><p>Notes:</p><p> </p><p>Data Source: BT - OPMIS and Historical Management Information (GI2 – HMI)</p><p>Outsourced partner data is included.</p><p>The data supplied is derived from unpublished management information, which was collected for internal Departmental use only and has not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standard. The data should therefore be treated with caution.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 28/11/2018 10:31:50 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma previous answer version 87211 answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	4400 label Biography information for Margaret Greenwood