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1010286

registered interest
date	19/11/2018
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	Employment and Support Allowance
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 processing time for income-related employment support allowance claims where a claimant has a DS1500 medical condition report is.
tabling member constituency	Stockton North
tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
uin	192886
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/11/2018 answer text <p>The information requested is not collated centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost. The DS1500 is not a claim form and its use in providing evidential support for claims from people who are terminally ill claiming benefit is not obligatory.</p> answering member constituency Truro and Falmouth answering member printed Sarah Newton question first answered 26/11/2018 11:54:41 answering member 4071 label Biography information for Sarah Newton
tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

1010287

registered interest
date	19/11/2018
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, for what reasons MPs offices have implicit consent arrangements for universal credit applications and advice services require explicit consent to support claimants.
tabling member constituency	Stockton North
tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
uin	192887
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/11/2018 answer text <p>On 13 March 2017 <a href="http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2017-03-13/HCWS528/" target="_blank">Written Statement - HCWS528</a> outlined the implicit consent arrangements for MPs.</p><p>Where explicit consent is needed it can be quickly given in different ways. For example, claimants only need to put a note in their journal to give consent; this is a far simpler and more straightforward process than in legacy systems. Once consent is given, advisers will work with the claimant’s representatives.</p><p>In our response to the Social Security Advisory Committee we agreed to explore options for improving the process of explicit consent in relation to Universal Credit in collaboration with the Committee to consider how current practices could be enhanced and to publish a report on our joint conclusions.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 27/11/2018 17:56:29 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

1010312

registered interest
date	19/11/2018
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, whether her Department seeks to recover remaining payments on an advance payment for universal credit from the estate of a deceased person.
tabling member constituency	Stockton North
tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
uin	192904
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/11/2018 answer text <p>Universal Credit (UC) advances are available to claimants as a form of budgeting support, allowing them to better manage their finances. In most cases an advance would be repaid through a series of monthly deductions from their ongoing UC entitlement. The claimant is able to select the amount of time over which they repay their advance, currently up to a maximum of 12 months.</p><p> </p><p>If an advance is not recovered from the associated benefit claim because the claim ends or there was no entitlement to that benefit, the outstanding balance is treated as if it were an overpayment and referred to the Department’s Debt Management team to arrange recovery.</p><p> </p><p>Where a debtor dies and leaves outstanding Social Security debt, the Department becomes a creditor of the estate and will then make a claim for these debts from the estate. Where it is established that there is no estate the outstanding balance is written off.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 26/11/2018 14:03:00 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

999542

registered interest
date	01/11/2018
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, whether claimants migrating from employment support allowance to universal credit will be have to provide medical evidence to demonstrate vulnerability.
tabling member constituency	Stockton North
tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
uin	187020
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/11/2018 answer text <p>Being vulnerable covers a wide range of factors, not just those related to having health conditions and disabilities and as such no medical evidence is necessary to demonstrate vulnerability.</p><p> </p><p>The managed migration process is being designed to ensure a smooth transition of continuous support for all claimants, especially the most vulnerable. The Department is working with a wide range of stakeholders to ensure that the managed migration process works for everyone.</p><p> </p><p>Managed migration will commence in July 2019 during which up to 10,000 claimants will be migrated as part of the testing phase. This gradual and steady approach will allow us to ensure that the process works for everyone.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 06/11/2018 16:36:00 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

999543

registered interest
date	01/11/2018
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, pursuant to the Answer of 25 October 2018 to Question 177771 on Universal Credit, whether the Department’s plans to check evidence of complex needs will include a requirement to undertake a home visit.
tabling member constituency	Stockton North
tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
uin	187021
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/11/2018 answer text <p>We have improved how our Work Coaches and Case Workers view the claimant’s</p><p>Universal Credit account so they can identify a vulnerable claimant, in order to tailor the support they need. This may include contacting the claimant’s healthcare professional.</p><p> </p><p>We are taking a slow, measured approach to managed migration and this will allow for on-going evaluation of the process to ensure that it is working successfully and will allow us to refine our methods to support claimants.</p><p> </p><p>Where it is identified that existing benefit claimants are vulnerable or have complex needs and they have not made a new UC claim by the deadline day, their existing benefit claims are not terminated. This can be delayed until the claimant feels comfortable continuing with the managed migration process or for a home visit to be arranged to help them make a new UC claim.</p> answering member constituency Truro and Falmouth answering member printed Sarah Newton grouped question UIN 187022 question first answered 06/11/2018 16:41:48 answering member 4071 label Biography information for Sarah Newton
tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

999544

registered interest
date	01/11/2018
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, pursuant to the Answer of 25 October 2018 to Question 177771 on Universal Credit, whether the Department’s plans to check evidence of complex needs will include a requirement to contact a claimant’s healthcare professional where that information is known.
tabling member constituency	Stockton North
tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
uin	187022
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/11/2018 answer text <p>We have improved how our Work Coaches and Case Workers view the claimant’s</p><p>Universal Credit account so they can identify a vulnerable claimant, in order to tailor the support they need. This may include contacting the claimant’s healthcare professional.</p><p> </p><p>We are taking a slow, measured approach to managed migration and this will allow for on-going evaluation of the process to ensure that it is working successfully and will allow us to refine our methods to support claimants.</p><p> </p><p>Where it is identified that existing benefit claimants are vulnerable or have complex needs and they have not made a new UC claim by the deadline day, their existing benefit claims are not terminated. This can be delayed until the claimant feels comfortable continuing with the managed migration process or for a home visit to be arranged to help them make a new UC claim.</p> answering member constituency Truro and Falmouth answering member printed Sarah Newton grouped question UIN 187021 question first answered 06/11/2018 16:41:48 answering member 4071 label Biography information for Sarah Newton
tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

999285

registered interest
date	31/10/2018
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	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 definition of vulnerability her Department plans to use for claimants that will be transfer to universal credit under managed migration.
tabling member constituency	Stockton North
tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
uin	186316
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/11/2018 answer text <p>To ensure that legacy claimants move safely onto Universal Credit, we are working closely with our stakeholders to design how we identify and support those claimants who will need extra help with the managed migration process.</p><p> </p><p>Managed migration will begin in July 2019 with a period of careful and robust testing at small scale to enable us to optimise our delivery approach for all claimants.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma grouped question UIN 186317 question first answered 09/11/2018 09:31:25 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

999286

registered interest
date	31/10/2018
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	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 procedures her Department has put in place to identify people that are classified as (a) vulnerable and (b) having complex needs in relation to the managed migration of claimants onto universal credit.
tabling member constituency	Stockton North
tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
uin	186317
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/11/2018 answer text <p>To ensure that legacy claimants move safely onto Universal Credit, we are working closely with our stakeholders to design how we identify and support those claimants who will need extra help with the managed migration process.</p><p> </p><p>Managed migration will begin in July 2019 with a period of careful and robust testing at small scale to enable us to optimise our delivery approach for all claimants.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma grouped question UIN 186316 question first answered 09/11/2018 09:31:25 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

900161

registered interest
date	08/05/2018
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	Carers
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the number of carers; what estimate she has made of the cost to the public purse of increasing the level of carer’s allowance to the existing level of contributions-based jobseeker’s allowance for people aged 25 and over; and what estimate she has made of the cost to the public purse of increasing the carer premium by the current difference between carer’s allowance and contributions-based jobseeker’s allowance for people aged 25 and over.
tabling member constituency	Stockton North
tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
uin	141782
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/05/2018 answer text <p>The level of Carer’s Allowance (CA) is protected by uprating it annually in line with the Consumer Price Index (CPI). Since 2010 the rate of CA has increased from £53.90 to £64.60 a week, meaning an additional £550 a year for carers. In 2022/23 the Government is forecast to spend £3.7 billion on CA, a 36% real terms increase in expenditure on 2016/17.</p><p> </p><p>Additionally, carers have access to the full range of social security benefits according to their circumstances. There are carer “premiums” in income-related benefits, such as Income Support, Housing Benefit and Universal Credit. These amounts recognise the additional contribution and responsibilities associated with caring and mean that lower-income carers can receive more than others who receive these benefits. For example, in 2017, 6 out of ten households on Universal Credit with a Carer Entitlement recorded received a Monthly Award Amount of over £400: this is in addition to any CA they may receive.</p><p> </p><p>According to the Family Resources Survey (2016/17), there were an estimated 5.4 million informal carers in the United Kingdom in 2016/17. Only some of these receive Carer’s Allowance.</p><p> </p><p>DWP can provide a broad illustrative gross cost of paying an extra £8.50 a week (the current difference between the rate of CA and the Jobseeker’s Allowance over 25 rate) to 810,000 CA recipients (rounded down CA in-payment cases in Great Britain, August 2017). This would have cost in the region of £360m in 2018/19. (Around 9% of this expenditure covers carers living in Scotland where CA will shortly be devolved to the Scottish Government.) Actual costs will also be affected by possible behavioural impacts, such as whether the higher rates of benefit will encourage more people to claim CA and, therefore, may be higher than the indicative forecast costs. The information requested on premiums is not available.</p> answering member constituency Truro and Falmouth answering member printed Sarah Newton question first answered 15/05/2018 11:44:47 answering member 4071 label Biography information for Sarah Newton
tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

896284

registered interest
date	02/05/2018
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	Offshore Industry: Pollution Control
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment she has made of trends in the level of (a) detection and (b) reporting of hydrocarbon releases from oil and gas installations on the UK continental shelf since 2010.
tabling member constituency	Stockton North
tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
uin	140715
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/05/2018 answer text <p>The Health and Safety Executive has recorded the following hydrocarbon releases (HCRs) by year:</p><p> </p><p>2000 264</p><p>2001 251</p><p>2002 242</p><p>2003 242</p><p>2004 273</p><p>2005 224</p><p>2006 190</p><p>2007 185</p><p>2008 147</p><p>2009 179</p><p>2010 186</p><p>2011 142</p><p>2012 105</p><p>2013 118</p><p>2014 94</p><p>2015 93</p><p>2016 101(p)</p><p>2017 103(p)</p><p> </p><p>Final figures for 2016 will be confirmed and published with the provisional figures for 2017 as part of the Health and Safety Executive’s annual <em>Offshore Statistics &amp; Regulatory Activity Report, </em>due to be published in July.</p><p> </p><p>Releases are categorised as “major”, “significant” and “minor”, depending on the potential consequences of the event, which is usually directly linked to the total quantity or rate of release.Overall reported hydrocarbon releases have approximately halved since 2010. The reporting process presents an opportunity for both the regulator and the industry to investigate and identify underlying causes and learn lessons.</p><p> </p><p>Although the offshore industry has seen the overall downward trend as an indicator of improved performance, HSE remains concerned that every release represents a deficiency in an operator’s process safety management, and an increased risk of harm to workers. There have also been a small number of large releases every year which could have resulted in a major accident.</p><p> </p><p>Consequently, the Director of HSE’s Energy Division wrote recently to challenge the offshore industry to identify and address any weaknesses in its leadership and safety culture, as well as its arrangements for safety system audits, which have allowed such releases to occur (see attachment entitled Letter from the Director, HSE Energy Division to the Oil and Gas Industry on Hydrocarbon Releases).</p> answering member constituency Truro and Falmouth answering member printed Sarah Newton grouped question UIN 140076 question first answered 10/05/2018 14:33:45 answering member 4071 label Biography information for Sarah Newton
tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham