Show Search Form

Search Results

registered interest	true false
date	exactly: or between: and
answering body
answering dept id
answering dept short name
answering dept sort name
hansard heading
house id
legislature	pref label
question text
tabling member constituency
tabling member printed
uin
answer	is ministerial correction true false date of answer exactly: or between: and answer text answering member constituency answering member printed question first answered answering member label
tabling member	label

Search

1129599

	registered interest
	date	04/06/2019
	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: Ministerial Policy Advisers
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 1 April 2019 to Question 237786 on Department for Work and Pensions: Ministerial Policy Advisers, for what reason her Department has no plans to publish the number of alleged breaches of the Special Advisers’ Code of Conduct by her Department's Special Advisers in the last 12 months.
	tabling member constituency	Hampstead and Kilburn
	tabling member printed	Tulip Siddiq
	uin	260085
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/06/2019 answer text <p>The Department does not routinely publish this information.</p><p><strong> </strong></p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 10/06/2019 11:33:22 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4518 label Biography information for Tulip Siddiq

1128289

	registered interest
	date	22/05/2019
	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	Funeral 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 funeral expenses payment awards were made in 2018-19; and (ii) what the value of those payments was.
	tabling member constituency	Glasgow South
	tabling member printed	Stewart Malcolm McDonald
	uin	257550
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/06/2019 answer text <p><strong> </strong></p><p>The number and gross expenditure of Funeral Expenses Payment awards, in Great Britain, is reported annually in Appendix 1 of the Social Fund Annual Report:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/social-fund-annual-report-2017-to-2018" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/social-fund-annual-report-2017-to-2018</a></p><p>The information requested for 2018/19 will be published in due course, and so cannot be released ahead of publication.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 05/06/2019 13:05:33 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4461 label Biography information for Stewart Malcolm McDonald

1128291

	registered interest
	date	22/05/2019
	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	Funerals: Pre-payment
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what data her Department holds on the number of pre-paid funeral plans that have been taken out since 2010.
	tabling member constituency	Glasgow South
	tabling member printed	Stewart Malcolm McDonald
	uin	257551
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/06/2019 answer text <p>The information requested is not collated centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 05/06/2019 11:34:00 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4461 label Biography information for Stewart Malcolm McDonald

1129288

	registered interest
	date	03/06/2019
	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, how many people have lost severe disability premiums as a result of transferring to universal credit.
	tabling member constituency	Glasgow South
	tabling member printed	Stewart Malcolm McDonald
	uin	259297
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/06/2019 answer text <p>This information is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate costs.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 06/06/2019 15:13:00 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	4461 label Biography information for Stewart Malcolm McDonald

1129289

	registered interest
	date	03/06/2019
	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, when she plans to announce the conclusions of the review into universal credit recipients affected by the loss of the severe disability premium.
	tabling member constituency	Glasgow South
	tabling member printed	Stewart Malcolm McDonald
	uin	259298
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/06/2019 answer text <p>On Friday 3 May 2019, the High Court handed down a judgment in relation to Universal Credit and the SDP.</p><p> </p><p>We are currently considering the options open to us and will respond in due course.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 06/06/2019 14:37:12 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	4461 label Biography information for Stewart Malcolm McDonald

1129153

	registered interest
	date	03/06/2019
	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 information her Department holds on the demographic of (a) universal credit claimants and (b) universal credit claimants that have taken out an advance.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
	tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
	uin	258968
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/06/2019 answer text <p>Statistics on demographics of those on Universal Credit, including age, gender and postcode area, can be found under the ‘People on Universal Credit’ dataset available 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 on how to extract the information required can be found 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>Demographic data on Universal Credit claimants who received an advance is collected but is not published regularly as part of the official statistics. Data relating to advance payments associated with a UC award, rather than individual claimants, can be provided by region, constituency and local authority.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 06/06/2019 16:00:59 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

1129156

	registered interest
	date	03/06/2019
	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, pursuant to answer of 20 May 2019 to Question 254733, what information her Department uses to verify the statement that if a claimant is in financial difficulty as a result of the level of deductions being made they can contact the Department to request that a reduction in deductions be considered.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
	tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
	uin	258971
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/06/2019 answer text <p>The Government recognises the importance of safeguarding the welfare of claimants who have incurred debt. Claimants’ circumstances are always taken into account when applying debt repayment thresholds to avoid undue hardship.</p><p> </p><p>Universal Credit already has procedures and regulations in place to protect claimants from excessive deductions. The maximum rate of deductions cannot normally exceed 40 per cent of the Universal Credit standard allowance, and from October 2019 this will be reduced to 30 per cent.</p><p> </p><p>If a claimant is in financial difficulty as a result of the level of deductions, where it relates to benefit debt, a social fund loan or rent arrears, they can request that a reduction be considered. Similarly, if a claimant is having difficulty repaying a benefit overpayment, they can request a reconsideration of the amount that is being taken. Reductions are always based on the individual circumstances of the claimant, rather than the amount of the overpayment, which helps to ensure that a sustainable repayment plan based on affordability is put in place.</p><p> </p><p>The claimant should provide reasonable evidence to support their request. This could include information about the household income and expenditure where hardship is claimed on financial grounds. Where hardship is claimed because either the claimant or a member of their family is seriously ill, they would need to provide supporting evidence to explain how or why recovery would be detrimental to the health or welfare of the claimant or their family.</p><p> </p><p>A Repayment Negotiation Framework based on the individual circumstances of the customer, rather than the size of the debt and repayment period has been developed. This makes the process much simpler, and ensures both on and off benefit customers are treated fairly. This framework is contained within the Benefit Overpayment Recovery Guide which can be found on Gov.uk via the link below. The Repayment Negotiation Framework can be found on page 38, paragraph 5.68.</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/616116/benefit-overpayment-recovery-guide.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/616116/benefit-overpayment-recovery-guide.pdf</a></p><p><strong> </strong></p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 06/06/2019 16:55:08 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

1129679

	registered interest
	date	04/06/2019
	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, pursuant to the Answer of 13 May to Question 249845 on Universal Credit, what proportion of universal credit claimants who had not fully repaid their advance as of 5 May 2019 had taken out that advance prior to 5 November 2017.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
	tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
	uin	259851
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/06/2019 answer text <p>8.1% of UC advances which were paid before 5 November 2017, have not been fully repaid as at 5 June 2019, which is the latest position available.</p><p>Universal Credit new claim advances provide access to a payment for those in financial need, which can be accessed on the same day, until their first UC payment is due. Claimants can access up to 100% of the total expected monthly award, for which they can pay back over a period of up to 12 months. From October 2021, this maximum repayment period will be extended further to 16 months.</p><p>Notes:</p><p>1. This data has been sourced from internal management information and was not intended for public release. It should therefore not be compared to any other similar data subsequently released by the Department.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 10/06/2019 14:08:16 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

1130121

	registered interest
	date	05/06/2019
	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, pursuant to the Answer of 8 April 2019 to Question 240478, if he will itemise each step referred to in that Answer.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
	tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
	uin	260538
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/06/2019 answer text <p>The Department has taken a number of steps to ensure that advances meet the needs of claimants and that the recovery arrangements are personalised and reasonable.</p><p> </p><p>Affordability is managed by ensuring the recovery rate for these advances will not be more than the equivalent of 40 per cent of the claimant’s standard allowance. The claimant is given the choice over the repayment period and it is explained to them exactly how much will be deducted each month depending on the option they choose. If the claimant is making the advance application online, these options are clearly displayed on screen for them to choose from.</p><p> </p><p>If during the recovery of an advance the claimant experiences an unforeseen expense that would cause them or their family genuine hardship if they were required to continue to repay the advance, then they can be offered a deferral period of the repayment of the advance of up to 3 months for a new claim, benefit transfer or change of circumstance advance and up to 6 months for a budgeting advance.</p><p> </p><p>The Department has also announced that from October 2019 the maximum rate of deductions from a claimant’s standard allowance will be reduced from 40 per cent to 30 per cent and from October 2021 we will be increasing the recovery period for advances from 12 to 16 months, further supporting those in financial need. This is in addition to having previously increasing the amount a claimant could receive as an advance payment from 50 per cent to 100 per cent of their indicative award.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 10/06/2019 12:43:28 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

1130129

	registered interest
	date	05/06/2019
	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, pursuant to the Answer of 24 May to Question 254729 on universal credit, what penalties can be levied on claimants of universal credit if they are unable to repay their advance within 12 repayment instalments.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
	tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
	uin	260540
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/06/2019 answer text <p>The Department does not levy penalties on claimants who do not repay their advance within either a calendar 12 month from taking out the advance, nor where they do not repay the advance in 12 monthly instalments.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 10/06/2019 12:58:47 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe