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100912

registered interest
date	24/10/2014
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	Discretionary Housing Payments
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many local authorities in (a) Wales and (b) the UK returned unused discretionary housing payment to his Department in 2013-14.
tabling member constituency	Aberconwy
tabling member printed	Guto Bebb
uin	221890
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/10/2014 answer text <p>In 2013-14, 240 local authorities in Great Britain spent less than 100% of their total Government contribution in DHP, of which 5 were in Wales. Thirteen local authorities, of which two were in Wales, reported expenditure which exactly matched their Government contribution.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>In June, the Government published an analysis of local authority DHP expenditure in 2013-14, which can be found at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/322455/use-of-discretionary-housing-payments-june-2014.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/322455/use-of-discretionary-housing-payments-june-2014.pdf</a></p><p> </p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 29/10/2014 16:26:33 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
tabling member	3910 label Biography information for Guto Bebb

100913

registered interest
date	24/10/2014
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	Discretionary Housing Payments
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much each local authority in (a) Wales and (b) the UK returned to his Department in unused discretionary housing payment funding in 2013-14.
tabling member constituency	Aberconwy
tabling member printed	Guto Bebb
uin	221891
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/10/2014 answer text <p /> <p>Five local authorities in Wales spent less than their 2013-14 Government contribution in Discretionary Housing Payments. These were:</p><p> </p><p><strong>Local Authority Government Contribution Amount Unspent</strong></p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Ceredigion</p></td><td><p>£324,933</p></td><td><p>£290</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Conwy</p></td><td><p>£267,700</p></td><td><p>£1,498</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Gwynedd</p></td><td><p>£605,141</p></td><td><p>£20,072</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Newport</p></td><td><p>£343,870</p></td><td><p>£1</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Pembrokeshire</p></td><td><p>£193,940</p></td><td><p>£4,176</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>Details for all 240 local authorities in Great Britain which spent less than their 2013-14 Government contribution in DHP are provided in the attached annex.</p><p /> <p /> <p>For the remaining 140 local authorities across Great Britain, of which 17 were in Wales, DHP expenditure in 2013-14 either matched or exceeded the Government contribution.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 29/10/2014 16:10:27 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb attachment 1 file name UnspentDHPGB.PDF title Unspent DHP GB
tabling member	3910 label Biography information for Guto Bebb

100645

registered interest
date	23/10/2014
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
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government why housing benefit overpayments increased to £1.4 billion in 2013–14 and how they are addressing the issue.
tabling member printed	Baroness Manzoor
uin	HL2376
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/11/2014 answer text <p /> <p>Housing Benefit is a complex benefit administered by 380 Local Authorities. It has a high proportion of in-work claimants and this caseload is more likely to undergo changes in circumstances than out-of-work claimants. If claimants fail to report changes in circumstances correctly and in a timely manner then overpayments will occur.</p><p>The rate of fraud in Housing Benefit has been stable for many years at 1.4% since 2008-09. Official error has also remained relatively stable over the last six years, currently standing at 0.6% which is the same level as in 2008-09. Claimant error has increased from 2.7% in 2008-09 to 3.8% in 2013-14.</p><p>The rise in HB claimant error is primarily earnings related and a consequence of failure to report these changes. DWP is taking action to deal with this issue through better data sharing with Local Authorities, such as the introduction of real time information (RTI) on earnings, so that local authorities are alerted to changes quickly and do not have to rely on the claimant informing them of changes.</p><p>Longer term, Housing Benefit for working age claimants will be replaced by the housing cost element of Universal Credit and will be paid as a single monthly payment with the other elements. This will reduce the opportunity for Fraud and Error and prevent overpayments from occurring.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Freud question first answered 04/11/2014 15:11:36 answering member 3893 label Biography information for Lord Freud
tabling member	4289 label Biography information for Baroness Manzoor

100834

registered interest
date	23/10/2014
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: Veterans
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many veterans have claimed benefits in each year since 2010.
tabling member constituency	North Durham
tabling member printed	Mr Kevan Jones
uin	211794
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/10/2014 answer text <p /> <p>This information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.</p> answering member constituency Wirral West answering member printed Esther McVey question first answered 29/10/2014 16:12:32 answering member 4084 label Biography information for Esther McVey
tabling member	1438 label Biography information for Mr Kevan Jones

100317

registered interest
date	22/10/2014
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, if he will make it his policy to link an increase of the earnings threshold for carer's allowance to the rise in the National Minimum Wage.
tabling member constituency	Stockton North
tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
uin	211436
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/10/2014 answer text <p>The earnings threshold in Carer’s Allowance is regularly reviewed. It is designed to enable carers to maintain a link with the labour market and achieve greater financial independence. It is increased periodically, most recently from £100 to £102 on 20 May 2014.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Forest of Dean answering member printed Mr Mark Harper question first answered 29/10/2014 17:42:37 answering member 1520 label Biography information for Mr Mark Harper
tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

100520

registered interest
date	22/10/2014
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 much his Department spent on short term benefit advances for claimants of universal credit in (a) 2013-14 and (b) 2014-15 to date.
tabling member constituency	East Ham
tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
uin	211598
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/10/2014 answer text <p>Short Term Benefit Advances (STBA) are only available against legacy benefits. Universal Credit has it's own system of benefit advances. The equivalent support to STBA is provided by either the Universal Credit (new claim) advance or the Universal Credit (change of circumstance) advance.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Currently these costs are not reported separately. UC benefit expenditure is published in the table in the attached link</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/benefit-expenditure-and-caseload-tables-2014" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/benefit-expenditure-and-caseload-tables-2014</a></p><p> </p> answering member constituency Forest of Dean answering member printed Mr Mark Harper question first answered 29/10/2014 17:40:28 answering member 1520 label Biography information for Mr Mark Harper
tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

100522

registered interest
date	22/10/2014
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: Foreign Nationals
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 paying in-work benefits to non-UK citizens from (a) other EU countries and (b) the rest of the world in each of the last five years.
tabling member constituency	Christchurch
tabling member printed	Mr Christopher Chope
uin	211618
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/11/2014 answer text <p>While the Government checks the immigration status of benefit claimants to ensure the benefit is paid properly and to prevent fraud, traditionally that information has not been collected as part of the payment administrative systems.</p><p> </p><p>However, the Government is looking at ways to reform the current administrative system under Universal Credit so that it will systematically record nationality and immigration status of migrants who make a claim.</p><p> </p><p>The Government has made a radical series of changes over the last year to restrict the access by non-UK citizens from the European Economic Area to UK benefits and tax credits. This is in order to protect the UK’s benefit system and discourage people who have no established connection with the UK from moving here, unless they have a job or a genuine prospect of work, or have savings to support themselves until they do.</p> answering member constituency Wirral West answering member printed Esther McVey question first answered 20/11/2014 17:39:50 answering member 4084 label Biography information for Esther McVey previous answer version 24559 answering member constituency Wirral West answering member printed Esther McVey answering member 4084 label Biography information for Esther McVey
tabling member	242 label Biography information for Sir Christopher Chope

100525

registered interest
date	22/10/2014
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	Employment and Support Allowance: South Yorkshire
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 currently in receipt of employment and support allowance (ESA) in (a) Barnsley East constituency, (b) Barnsley local authority and (c) South Yorkshire have been waiting more than 13 weeks for an ESA reassessment.
tabling member constituency	Barnsley East
tabling member printed	Michael Dugher
uin	211630
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/10/2014 answer text <p /> <p>The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.</p> answering member constituency Forest of Dean answering member printed Mr Mark Harper question first answered 29/10/2014 17:43:59 answering member 1520 label Biography information for Mr Mark Harper
tabling member	3916 label Biography information for Michael Dugher

100528

registered interest
date	22/10/2014
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, whether the approved July 2011 business case for universal credit referred to on page 32 of his Department's publication, Universal Credit at Work, published in October 2014, was approved by (a) the Major Projects Authority and (b) HM Treasury; and whether that business case was a strategic outline business case or a full business case.
tabling member constituency	Leeds West
tabling member printed	Rachel Reeves
uin	211588
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/10/2014 answer text <p>HM Treasury approved the Universal Credit Strategic Outline Business Case in July 2011 and an updated business case in September 2014, as referred to on page 32 of the publication ‘Universal Credit at Work’. HM Treasury are the sole approval authority for Departmental business cases.</p> answering member constituency Forest of Dean answering member printed Mr Mark Harper question first answered 30/10/2014 14:10:31 answering member 1520 label Biography information for Mr Mark Harper previous answer version 24592 answering member constituency Forest of Dean answering member printed Mr Mark Harper answering member 1520 label Biography information for Mr Mark Harper
tabling member	4031 label Biography information for Rachel Reeves

100529

registered interest
date	22/10/2014
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	Jobseeker's Allowance: Disqualification
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many claimants of jobseeker's allowance in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) the North East and (d) the UK who have disputed the sanction of their benefit in each of the last five years have had their sanction overturned after they were reconsidered or successful appeals were made.
tabling member constituency	Jarrow
tabling member printed	Mr Stephen Hepburn
uin	211522
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/10/2014 answer text <p /> <p>This information is published and can be found 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/Stat-Xplore_User_Guide.htm" target="_blank">https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Stat-Xplore_User_Guide.htm</a></p> answering member constituency Wirral West answering member printed Esther McVey grouped question UIN 211523 211524 211525 question first answered 29/10/2014 16:58:03 answering member 4084 label Biography information for Esther McVey
tabling member	520 label Biography information for Mr Stephen Hepburn