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1506332

registered interest
date	08/09/2022
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: 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 her Department's waiting time targets are for answering calls to the helpline for benefits claimants; and what the average waiting time was in each of the last 52 weeks.
tabling member constituency	Sheffield Central
tabling member printed	Paul Blomfield
uin	49637
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/09/2022 answer text <p>Waiting time targets:</p><p> </p><p>DWP reviews forecasted telephony demand and plans resourcing accordingly to keep wait times down, wait time performance is frequently reviewed, and where DWP’s telephony is delivered by an outsourced provider we use the Key Performance Indicator of percentage of calls answered. All DWP customer telephone lines are Freephone numbers.</p><p> </p><p>Average waiting time/Average Speed of Answer (ASA)</p><p> </p><p>The ASA for all service lines in Retirement Services, Universal Credit, Child Maintenance Group, Disability Services and Working Age for each of the last Fifty-Two weeks was as follows:</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Week Commencing</p></td><td><p>Retirement Provision</p></td><td><p>Universal Credit</p></td><td><p>CMG</p></td><td><p>Disability</p></td><td><p>Working Age</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>06/09/2021</p></td><td><p>00:12:06</p></td><td><p>00:08:15</p></td><td><p>00:20:52</p></td><td><p>00:18:55</p></td><td><p>00:16:47</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>13/09/2021</p></td><td><p>00:10:12</p></td><td><p>00:12:30</p></td><td><p>00:22:15</p></td><td><p>00:17:58</p></td><td><p>00:15:03</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>20/09/2021</p></td><td><p>00:09:02</p></td><td><p>00:15:48</p></td><td><p>00:18:13</p></td><td><p>00:18:34</p></td><td><p>00:11:08</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>27/09/2021</p></td><td><p>00:10:34</p></td><td><p>00:13:09</p></td><td><p>00:22:38</p></td><td><p>00:19:08</p></td><td><p>00:10:06</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>04/10/2021</p></td><td><p>00:10:24</p></td><td><p>00:07:34</p></td><td><p>00:19:07</p></td><td><p>00:21:04</p></td><td><p>00:11:45</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>11/10/2021</p></td><td><p>00:10:14</p></td><td><p>00:03:17</p></td><td><p>00:18:55</p></td><td><p>00:22:17</p></td><td><p>00:11:01</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>18/10/2021</p></td><td><p>00:09:49</p></td><td><p>00:03:42</p></td><td><p>00:19:05</p></td><td><p>00:19:56</p></td><td><p>00:14:02</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>25/10/2021</p></td><td><p>00:10:54</p></td><td><p>00:03:45</p></td><td><p>00:20:30</p></td><td><p>00:18:37</p></td><td><p>00:17:09</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>01/11/2021</p></td><td><p>00:09:31</p></td><td><p>00:03:00</p></td><td><p>00:21:05</p></td><td><p>00:19:19</p></td><td><p>00:13:59</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>08/11/2021</p></td><td><p>00:09:22</p></td><td><p>00:03:38</p></td><td><p>00:17:10</p></td><td><p>00:17:29</p></td><td><p>00:13:46</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>15/11/2021</p></td><td><p>00:09:13</p></td><td><p>00:02:30</p></td><td><p>00:13:43</p></td><td><p>00:16:57</p></td><td><p>00:14:45</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>22/11/2021</p></td><td><p>00:08:21</p></td><td><p>00:03:08</p></td><td><p>00:14:42</p></td><td><p>00:17:26</p></td><td><p>00:18:19</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>29/11/2021</p></td><td><p>00:08:22</p></td><td><p>00:03:41</p></td><td><p>00:19:00</p></td><td><p>00:17:07</p></td><td><p>00:24:07</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>06/12/2021</p></td><td><p>00:08:27</p></td><td><p>00:02:09</p></td><td><p>00:14:37</p></td><td><p>00:18:18</p></td><td><p>00:22:52</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>13/12/2021</p></td><td><p>00:06:29</p></td><td><p>00:01:50</p></td><td><p>00:10:00</p></td><td><p>00:15:10</p></td><td><p>00:11:46</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>20/12/2021</p></td><td><p>00:04:55</p></td><td><p>00:00:22</p></td><td><p>00:15:40</p></td><td><p>00:12:18</p></td><td><p>00:07:13</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>27/12/2021</p></td><td><p>00:09:20</p></td><td><p>00:01:05</p></td><td><p>00:23:59</p></td><td><p>00:20:50</p></td><td><p>00:18:04</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>03/01/2022</p></td><td><p>00:09:53</p></td><td><p>00:01:12</p></td><td><p>00:18:23</p></td><td><p>00:16:45</p></td><td><p>00:11:20</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>10/01/2022</p></td><td><p>00:09:35</p></td><td><p>00:00:24</p></td><td><p>00:14:30</p></td><td><p>00:17:12</p></td><td><p>00:08:13</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>17/01/2022</p></td><td><p>00:10:40</p></td><td><p>00:00:21</p></td><td><p>00:15:22</p></td><td><p>00:13:33</p></td><td><p>00:08:22</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>24/01/2022</p></td><td><p>00:10:32</p></td><td><p>00:00:18</p></td><td><p>00:17:01</p></td><td><p>00:14:56</p></td><td><p>00:09:23</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>31/01/2022</p></td><td><p>00:10:01</p></td><td><p>00:00:53</p></td><td><p>00:14:57</p></td><td><p>00:13:48</p></td><td><p>00:11:49</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>07/02/2022</p></td><td><p>00:09:29</p></td><td><p>00:02:57</p></td><td><p>00:13:05</p></td><td><p>00:15:41</p></td><td><p>00:12:30</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>14/02/2022</p></td><td><p>00:09:29</p></td><td><p>00:01:08</p></td><td><p>00:14:10</p></td><td><p>00:16:24</p></td><td><p>00:17:05</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>21/02/2022</p></td><td><p>00:09:42</p></td><td><p>00:01:16</p></td><td><p>00:15:00</p></td><td><p>00:18:44</p></td><td><p>00:17:20</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>28/02/2022</p></td><td><p>00:08:44</p></td><td><p>00:02:26</p></td><td><p>00:18:20</p></td><td><p>00:15:44</p></td><td><p>00:20:05</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>07/03/2022</p></td><td><p>00:07:44</p></td><td><p>00:01:36</p></td><td><p>00:14:47</p></td><td><p>00:16:35</p></td><td><p>00:19:02</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>14/03/2022</p></td><td><p>00:06:04</p></td><td><p>00:02:00</p></td><td><p>00:12:55</p></td><td><p>00:17:55</p></td><td><p>00:21:41</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>21/03/2022</p></td><td><p>00:06:59</p></td><td><p>00:02:24</p></td><td><p>00:12:50</p></td><td><p>00:15:37</p></td><td><p>00:20:50</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>28/03/2022</p></td><td><p>00:09:03</p></td><td><p>00:02:18</p></td><td><p>00:13:13</p></td><td><p>00:16:46</p></td><td><p>00:16:13</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>04/04/2022</p></td><td><p>00:07:59</p></td><td><p>00:04:10</p></td><td><p>00:12:43</p></td><td><p>00:18:03</p></td><td><p>00:10:54</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>11/04/2022</p></td><td><p>00:06:35</p></td><td><p>00:02:57</p></td><td><p>00:09:38</p></td><td><p>00:18:06</p></td><td><p>00:14:41</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>18/04/2022</p></td><td><p>00:08:04</p></td><td><p>00:03:48</p></td><td><p>00:15:53</p></td><td><p>00:16:45</p></td><td><p>00:19:26</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>25/04/2022</p></td><td><p>00:07:03</p></td><td><p>00:02:31</p></td><td><p>00:13:24</p></td><td><p>00:16:35</p></td><td><p>00:16:21</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>02/05/2022</p></td><td><p>00:09:26</p></td><td><p>00:04:12</p></td><td><p>00:14:35</p></td><td><p>00:18:27</p></td><td><p>00:18:17</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>09/05/2022</p></td><td><p>00:08:09</p></td><td><p>00:02:56</p></td><td><p>00:14:20</p></td><td><p>00:14:32</p></td><td><p>00:19:27</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>16/05/2022</p></td><td><p>00:07:12</p></td><td><p>00:04:41</p></td><td><p>00:17:52</p></td><td><p>00:18:07</p></td><td><p>00:16:28</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>23/05/2022</p></td><td><p>00:06:58</p></td><td><p>00:02:56</p></td><td><p>00:23:56</p></td><td><p>00:14:16</p></td><td><p>00:13:23</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>30/05/2022</p></td><td><p>00:06:54</p></td><td><p>00:07:37</p></td><td><p>00:30:45</p></td><td><p>00:13:22</p></td><td><p>00:15:54</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>06/06/2022</p></td><td><p>00:08:26</p></td><td><p>00:04:15</p></td><td><p>00:29:17</p></td><td><p>00:19:23</p></td><td><p>00:15:49</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>13/06/2022</p></td><td><p>00:08:38</p></td><td><p>00:03:21</p></td><td><p>00:29:46</p></td><td><p>00:16:35</p></td><td><p>00:07:10</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>20/06/2022</p></td><td><p>00:06:12</p></td><td><p>00:03:26</p></td><td><p>00:32:13</p></td><td><p>00:14:20</p></td><td><p>00:09:11</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>27/06/2022</p></td><td><p>00:06:15</p></td><td><p>00:03:35</p></td><td><p>00:23:22</p></td><td><p>00:16:48</p></td><td><p>00:10:08</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>04/07/2022</p></td><td><p>00:06:07</p></td><td><p>00:03:24</p></td><td><p>00:19:27</p></td><td><p>00:17:32</p></td><td><p>00:11:32</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>11/07/2022</p></td><td><p>00:06:41</p></td><td><p>00:04:09</p></td><td><p>00:18:17</p></td><td><p>00:18:20</p></td><td><p>00:14:42</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>18/07/2022</p></td><td><p>00:06:14</p></td><td><p>00:02:06</p></td><td><p>00:14:08</p></td><td><p>00:16:21</p></td><td><p>00:12:02</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>25/07/2022</p></td><td><p>00:06:44</p></td><td><p>00:01:35</p></td><td><p>00:15:30</p></td><td><p>00:16:01</p></td><td><p>00:13:28</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>01/08/2022</p></td><td><p>00:08:49</p></td><td><p>00:02:48</p></td><td><p>00:14:59</p></td><td><p>00:17:09</p></td><td><p>00:16:46</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>08/08/2022</p></td><td><p>00:08:30</p></td><td><p>00:02:48</p></td><td><p>00:17:11</p></td><td><p>00:16:48</p></td><td><p>00:14:39</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>15/08/2022</p></td><td><p>00:08:14</p></td><td><p>00:04:55</p></td><td><p>00:16:59</p></td><td><p>00:18:05</p></td><td><p>00:16:10</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>22/08/2022</p></td><td><p>00:07:01</p></td><td><p>00:04:22</p></td><td><p>00:15:16</p></td><td><p>00:18:43</p></td><td><p>00:16:25</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>29/08/2022</p></td><td><p>00:07:44</p></td><td><p>00:03:52</p></td><td><p>00:17:21</p></td><td><p>00:19:13</p></td><td><p>00:19:54</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>hh:mm:ss</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>Average Speed of Answer measures 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.</p><p> </p><p>Please note this information is derived from the Department’s management information designed solely for the purpose of helping the Department to manage its business. As such, it has not been subjected to the rigorous quality assurance checks applied to our published official statistics. As DWP holds the information internally, we have released it. However, it is possible information held by DWP may change due to operational reasons and we recommend that caution be applied when using it.</p><p> </p><p><strong> </strong></p><p /> answering member constituency Banbury answering member printed Victoria Prentis question first answered 27/09/2022 12:41:31 answering member 4401 label Biography information for Victoria Prentis
tabling member	4058 label Biography information for Paul Blomfield

1311769

registered interest
date	23/04/2021
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	State Retirement Pensions: National Insurance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of reforming the qualification criteria for the State Pension to include part year National Insurance contributions.
tabling member constituency	Sheffield Central
tabling member printed	Paul Blomfield
uin	186154
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/04/2021 answer text <p>It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Dissolution.</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 29/04/2021 12:28:51 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	4058 label Biography information for Paul Blomfield

1302130

registered interest
date	12/03/2021
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	Disability: Coronavirus
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of the proposal of Scope for an emergency support package to protect disabled people, published on 18 January 2021.
tabling member constituency	Sheffield Central
tabling member printed	Paul Blomfield
uin	167860
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/03/2021 answer text <p>I refer the Hon Member to the answer I gave on 09 February to question number <a href="https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2021-02-04/149299" target="_blank">149299</a>.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 22/03/2021 13:21:02 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	4058 label Biography information for Paul Blomfield

1143588

registered interest
date	02/09/2019
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: Disqualification
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what comparative assessment she has made of the rate of sanctions in areas where universal credit (a) has been and (b) has not been rolled out.
tabling member constituency	Sheffield Central
tabling member printed	Paul Blomfield
uin	285261
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/09/2019 answer text <p>No comparative assessment has been made between Universal Credit (UC) sanction rates and sanction rates for legacy benefits.</p><p> </p><p>There are differences between sanctions policy in UC and other benefits (such as Job Seekers Allowance (JSA)) which means that sanction rates across benefits are not directly comparable. For example, a JSA claimant would have their claim closed (rather than be sanctioned) if they failed to attend a meeting with their Work Coach, and did not make contact within five days. In UC, the same claimant would remain on the benefit and be referred for a sanction. If a sanction was applied, they would continue to receive the UC elements to which they remained entitled, such as those for housing or child costs. UC is designed to provide continuous support to claimants, ensuring that all payment does not cease while we investigate the reasons for loss of contact with a claimant.</p><p /><p>The Department publishes sanction rates quarterly for UC, JSA and Employment &amp; Support Allowance, the latest statistics can be found at the link below.</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/benefit-sanctions-statistics-to-april-2019" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/benefit-sanctions-statistics-to-april-2019</a></p><p> </p><p>The roll out of Universal Credit is now complete and is available in every Jobcentre across the country. By 2023, all existing legacy claimants will be moved to Universal Credit.</p> answering member constituency Eastleigh answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 06/09/2019 13:00:24 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	4058 label Biography information for Paul Blomfield

1139846

registered interest
date	17/07/2019
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	Carer's Allowance
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 merits of increasing the rate of the carer’s allowance to match the rate of jobseeker’s allowance.
tabling member constituency	Sheffield Central
tabling member printed	Paul Blomfield
uin	278481
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/07/2019 answer text <p>This Government recognises and values the vital contribution made by carers in supporting some of the most vulnerable in society.</p><p> </p><p>The information requested on the cost to the public purse of increasing the rate of Carer’s Allowance to that of Jobseeker’s Allowance is not available but an indicative cost can be calculated using data published on StatXplore and gov.uk.</p><p> </p><p>The current rate of Jobseeker’s Allowance for those aged 25 and over is £73.10. The difference between this and the rate of Carer’s Allowance (currently £66.15 a week) is £6.95. As of November 2018, there were approximately 780,000 claimants receiving Carer’s Allowance in England and Wales. Thus, paying an additional £6.95 a week to carers in England and Wales would cost in the region of £280m a year. Carer’s Allowance has been devolved to the Scottish Government since September 2018 and is delivered in Scotland by DWP for an interim period under an Agency Agreement.</p><p> </p><p>The Government also provides targeted financial support for carers on low incomes through income-related benefits such as Universal Credit, Pension Credit and Income Support. In April 2019, the additional amount for carers in receipt of Pension Credit and Income Support increased to £36.85 a week. The Universal Credit carer element increased to £160.20 per monthly assessment period. Universal Credit also adjusts to fluctuating earnings and periods when paid employment is not feasible, for example due to caring responsibilities. The Government is committed to helping carers balance providing care with their own paid employment where this is possible, as indicated in the Carers Action Plan.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson grouped question UIN 278482 question first answered 22/07/2019 13:33:57 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	4058 label Biography information for Paul Blomfield

1139847

registered interest
date	17/07/2019
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	Carer's Allowance: Costs
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 cost to the public purse of increasing carer's allowance to the same level as jobseeker’s allowance.
tabling member constituency	Sheffield Central
tabling member printed	Paul Blomfield
uin	278482
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/07/2019 answer text <p>This Government recognises and values the vital contribution made by carers in supporting some of the most vulnerable in society.</p><p> </p><p>The information requested on the cost to the public purse of increasing the rate of Carer’s Allowance to that of Jobseeker’s Allowance is not available but an indicative cost can be calculated using data published on StatXplore and gov.uk.</p><p> </p><p>The current rate of Jobseeker’s Allowance for those aged 25 and over is £73.10. The difference between this and the rate of Carer’s Allowance (currently £66.15 a week) is £6.95. As of November 2018, there were approximately 780,000 claimants receiving Carer’s Allowance in England and Wales. Thus, paying an additional £6.95 a week to carers in England and Wales would cost in the region of £280m a year. Carer’s Allowance has been devolved to the Scottish Government since September 2018 and is delivered in Scotland by DWP for an interim period under an Agency Agreement.</p><p> </p><p>The Government also provides targeted financial support for carers on low incomes through income-related benefits such as Universal Credit, Pension Credit and Income Support. In April 2019, the additional amount for carers in receipt of Pension Credit and Income Support increased to £36.85 a week. The Universal Credit carer element increased to £160.20 per monthly assessment period. Universal Credit also adjusts to fluctuating earnings and periods when paid employment is not feasible, for example due to caring responsibilities. The Government is committed to helping carers balance providing care with their own paid employment where this is possible, as indicated in the Carers Action Plan.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson grouped question UIN 278481 question first answered 22/07/2019 13:33:57 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	4058 label Biography information for Paul Blomfield