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1187719

registered interest
date	25/03/2020
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	Social Security Benefits: Coronavirus
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to ensure that the benefits system is able to manage the growth in demand due to the covid-19 outbreak.
tabling member constituency	Slough
tabling member printed	Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi
uin	35035
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/04/2020 answer text <p>Since 16th March, the Department has received over 1.2m claims for Universal Credit. This is an unprecedented level of demand for our services, however, we have every confidence that the Department can meet this challenge.</p><p> </p><p>Our priority as a Department remains that we ensure people get their benefit payments and that we can continue to support those who need our support the most.</p><p> </p><p>We are continuing to redeploy 10,000 staff from other parts of DWP to frontline services and are also recruiting additional staff to assist with the processing of claims, including support from other government departments.</p><p /><p>We have also introduced new processes to ease pressure on waiting times for identity verification over the phone and other processes, and people making new claims for Universal Credit now no longer need to call the Department as part of the process.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 27/04/2020 16:43:47 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	4638 label Biography information for Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi

1187731

registered interest
date	25/03/2020
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	Offshore Industry: Coronavirus
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps the Health and Safety Executive is taking to ensure that (a) social distancing and (b) other measures to help prevent increasing covid-19 infection rates are enforced among offshore oil and gas workers.
tabling member constituency	Stockton North
tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
uin	34979
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/04/2020 answer text <p>The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is a contributing member of the Oil and Gas UK (OGUK) Pandemic Steering Group, which also contains members from OGUK, helicopter operators, oil and gas companies, Step Change in Safety and Health Protection Scotland. The Pandemic Steering Group has developed a protocol and range of measures to give guidance to offshore oil and gas companies on social distancing and other measures to prevent the COVID-19 infection of offshore workers. This has been disseminated to the industry via the OGUK working groups and online communication channels where appropriate and will be supported by the published full guidance document on OGUK’s website early next week.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 22/04/2020 15:40:40 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies previous answer version 16496 answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

1187846

registered interest
date	25/03/2020
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: Coronavirus
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 make it her policy to suspend repayment of all universal credit advances during the covid-19 outbreak.
tabling member constituency	Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East
tabling member printed	Stuart C McDonald
uin	35000
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/04/2020 answer text <p>As part of the Government’s strategy to support people affected by the COVID-19 public health emergency, DWP is making a number of changes to its benefit processes to ensure people who need financial help have access to the benefit system.</p><p> </p><p>Universal Credit New Claims Advances are available to support those in immediate financial need until their first Universal Credit payment is made and the Department is committed to delivering advances as soon as possible to claimants who have requested them. Face-to-face checks for Universal Credit advances have been suspended and claimants can apply for an advance by phone or online without attending their Jobcentre.</p><p> </p><p>Universal Credit is already much more generous than the legacy benefit system it replaces. From 6<sup>th</sup> April 2020, we have increased the standard allowance for everyone by over £80 a month for one year. This is on top of the existing 1.7% increase already announced. The increase in the Universal Credit standard allowance provides additional support to claimants in order to help them manage the economic impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak, including the repayment of new claim advances.</p><p> </p><p>The Government has reduced the maximum deduction from 40% to 30% of a claimant’s standard allowance from October 2019 and this will be further reduced to 25% from October 2021. The repayment time for advances has already been extended from 6 months to 12 months, and will be further extended to 24 months from October 2021.</p><p> </p><p>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. Any adjustment to repayments will be based on the individual circumstances of the claimant.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 22/04/2020 12:57:28 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince previous answer version 16491 answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	4393 label Biography information for Stuart C McDonald

1187874

registered interest
date	25/03/2020
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: Students
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans she is putting in place during the covid-19 outbreak to support students in part-time work who are unable to claim universal credit.
tabling member constituency	North Durham
tabling member printed	Mr Kevan Jones
uin	34925
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/04/2020 answer text <p>Students who do not ordinarily have entitlement to Universal Credit (UC) and who receive a maintenance loan or grant through the student finance system, will continue to be able to draw upon this financial support until the end of this academic year.</p><p>Those who do not receive student finance and who would ordinarily not have entitlement to UC, such as those undertaking a part-time course which would otherwise not be considered as compatible with the requirements for them to look for and be available for work, will have entitlement to UC. We have disapplied UC and both legacy and new style JSA work preparation, work search and availability requirements and related sanctions. This will initially be for a three-month period. After three months, consideration will be given as to whether a further extension is required.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince grouped question UIN 30815 37828 question first answered 23/04/2020 15:37:16 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince previous answer version 16495 answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	1438 label Biography information for Mr Kevan Jones

1187880

registered interest
date	25/03/2020
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 to the Answer of 20 March 2020 to Question 28608, on Universal Credit, how many universal credit claims were made in 2019 by households containing a person that declared they are receiving Statutory Maternity Pay.
tabling member constituency	Brighton, Pavilion
tabling member printed	Caroline Lucas
uin	34962
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/04/2020 answer text <p>Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) is paid by an employer through their payroll system and is therefore treated as a form of earnings for the purposes of assessing entitlement to Universal Credit. Any SMP received is subject to the work allowance (where a claimant is eligible) and tapering, in the same way as other earned income. The earnings data we receive does not allow the Department to identify earnings that include SMP.</p><p> </p><p>Universal Credit seeks to take earnings into account in a way that is fair and transparent. The amount of Universal Credit paid reflects, as closely as possible, the actual circumstances of a household during each monthly assessment period, including any earnings reported by their employer or employers during the assessment period, regardless of when they were paid, or which month they relate to.</p><p> </p><p>Assessment periods allow for Universal Credit awards to be adjusted on a monthly basis, ensuring that if a claimant’s income changes, they do not have to wait several months for a corresponding change in their Universal Credit award. Claimants can discuss the implications of any changes in earnings with their Case Manager or Work Coach and can be referred to personal budgeting support to help them manage their budgeting.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 21/04/2020 16:27:46 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	3930 label Biography information for Caroline Lucas

1187881

registered interest
date	25/03/2020
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: Coronavirus
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she plans to publish information on the increase in the number of universal credit claimants by local authority area since the outbreak of covid-19.
tabling member constituency	Slough
tabling member printed	Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi
uin	35036
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/04/2020 answer text <p>Since the outbreak of COVID-19, the Universal Credit system has demonstrated its resilience and ability to deal with large increase in applications, ensuring we provide financial help to those in need. Using technology and automation Universal Credit delivers a modern and effective working-age welfare system, allowing our staff to concentrate on those people who require additional support. This approach is currently allowing us to continue to process new applications online and by telephone without the need to visit a Jobcentre.</p><p> </p><p>The most recent scheduled Universal Credit statistical release surrounding the caseload volume was on 21 April 2020: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/announcements/universal-credit-29-april-2013-to-12-march-2020" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/announcements/universal-credit-29-april-2013-to-12-march-2020</a></p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 24/04/2020 14:09:20 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies previous answer version 16492 answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	4638 label Biography information for Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi

1187484

registered interest
date	24/03/2020
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: Coronavirus
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many applications for universal credit were made on each of the last 30 days.
tabling member constituency	Airdrie and Shotts
tabling member printed	Neil Gray
uin	34356
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/04/2020 answer text <p>Since the outbreak of COVID-19, the Universal Credit system has demonstrated its resilience and ability to deal with large increase in applications, ensuring we provide financial help to those in need. Using technology and automation Universal Credit delivers a modern and effective working-age welfare system, allowing our staff to concentrate on those people who require additional support. This approach is currently allowing us to continue to process new applications online and by telephone without the need to visit a Jobcentre.</p><p>The most recent scheduled Universal Credit statistical release surrounding the caseload volume was on 21 April 2020: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/announcements/universal-credit-29-april-2013-to-12-march-2020" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/announcements/universal-credit-29-april-2013-to-12-march-2020</a></p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 21/04/2020 17:00:45 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	4365 label Biography information for Neil Gray

1187501

registered interest
date	24/03/2020
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	Self-employed: Coronavirus
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on protecting self-employed workers from financial hardship during the covid-19 outbreak.
tabling member constituency	Huddersfield
tabling member printed	Mr Barry Sheerman
uin	34308
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/04/2020 answer text <p>The Chancellor has announced a Self-Employed Income Support Scheme that will help millions of people across the UK, with those eligible receiving a cash grant worth 80% of their average monthly trading profit over the last three years. This covers 95% of people who receive the majority of their income from self-employment.</p><p> </p><p>The government has also announced a package of temporary welfare measures to support those on low incomes through the outbreak, including relaxing the Minimum Income Floor for all self-employed claimants affected by the economic impact of COVID-19. Taken together, these measures provide over £6.5bn of additional support through the welfare system.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 22/04/2020 15:36:24 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies previous answer version 16489 answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	411 label Biography information for Mr Barry Sheerman

1187550

registered interest
date	24/03/2020
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	Employment and Support Allowance: Coronavirus
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 ensure that employment support allowance and new style employment support allowance applications (a) can be made online and (b) are processed urgently during the covid-19 outbreak.
tabling member constituency	Weaver Vale
tabling member printed	Mike Amesbury
uin	34408
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/04/2020 answer text <p>On average we are processing ‘new style’ Employment and Support Allowance (NSESA) claims in 2.2 days but we recognise people will have found it difficult to speak to us given the volume of traffic, and so we have fast-tracked the development of an online application process for NSESA, which went live on 20 April. This will allow the majority of people who need to claim this benefit to do so online. The NSESA claim phone lines are still available for people who do not have access to, or who cannot, use the online system. DWP have prioritised the clearance of all benefit claims by moving colleagues to front line processing roles, which has significantly increased our capacity and we are endeavouring to clear claims received as quickly as possible.</p><p> </p><p>ESA is now closed as a means-tested benefit for new claimants in the majority of cases and working-age claimants with a disability or health condition should now make a claim to Universal Credit.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 21/04/2020 16:37:57 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	4667 label Biography information for Mike Amesbury

1187551

registered interest
date	24/03/2020
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: Coronavirus
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 March 2020 to Question 32160, what assessment she has made of the extent to which accessibility of IT and language support resources may prevent claimants applying for universal credit; and if she will make it her policy to allow agencies to support claimants for that benefit without the need for explicit consent.
tabling member constituency	Glasgow Central
tabling member printed	Alison Thewliss
uin	34368
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/04/2020 answer text <p>The Department is working collaboratively with stakeholders to better understand any issues with the current process of explicit consent and to explore options for improving this process. The system of explicit consent does not prohibit claimants from seeking assistance and consent can be given by a claimant, either through their online account or by telephone. This helps to ensure the security of Universal Credit, including deterring fraudsters who may seek to exploit some of our most vulnerable claimants.</p><p>Universal Credit is designed to be a 'digital-first' service, ensuring we make best use of technology to deliver a modern and effective working-age welfare system, allowing our staff to concentrate on those people who require additional support. Although the Department offers comprehensive support for claimants to use our digital service, there will be occasions when people are unable to make their claim online, so telephone applications are accepted.</p><p>Where needed, Foreign Language and British Sign Language (BSL) support will be offered to claimants who need extra support. The service for BSL can be delivered by Video Relay Service and for foreign language interpreting help is available in writing and by telephone.</p><p>Additionally, claimants can also access free telephony and web support through the Citizen's Advice Help to Claim service.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 23/04/2020 15:46:39 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince previous answer version 16490 answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	4430 label Biography information for Alison Thewliss