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1126967

registered interest
date	15/05/2019
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	Universal Credit: Disability
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 disabled households that will be in receipt of universal credit when it is fully rolled out.
tabling member constituency	East Ham
tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
uin	254716
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/05/2019 answer text <p>The Department estimates around 2 million disabled households will be in receipt of Universal Credit, as shown in table 4.4, page 86 of the Office for Budget Responsibility, Welfare Trends Report, here: <a href="http://obr.uk/wtr/welfare-trends-report-january-2018/" target="_blank">http://obr.uk/wtr/welfare-trends-report-january-2018/</a></p><p> </p><p>For those on Universal Credit due to a change in circumstance, it is not possible to calculate gainers or losers. As there has been a change of circumstance, the previous entitlement is not relevant for such a calculation. In order to carry out such an assessment, one would need to calculate individual notional legacy entitlement in tax credits, housing benefit and legacy DWP benefits, and then compare it to the Universal Credit entitlement. There is not the capacity within HMRC, Local Authorities or legacy DWP to run such calculations.</p><p> </p><p>For those who have yet to move over to Universal Credit, the same principle applies. The circumstances that will lead to them moving over are not known, so it is not possible to calculate.</p><p> </p><p>Universal Credit is more generous than the legacy system, with around one million disabled households gaining around £100 per month on average.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson grouped question UIN 254717 254718 question first answered 20/05/2019 11:25:53 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

1126968

registered interest
date	15/05/2019
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	Universal Credit: Disability
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of disabled households will have a (a) higher and (b) lower benefit income than under the previous benefit system after the roll-out of universal credit.
tabling member constituency	East Ham
tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
uin	254717
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/05/2019 answer text <p>The Department estimates around 2 million disabled households will be in receipt of Universal Credit, as shown in table 4.4, page 86 of the Office for Budget Responsibility, Welfare Trends Report, here: <a href="http://obr.uk/wtr/welfare-trends-report-january-2018/" target="_blank">http://obr.uk/wtr/welfare-trends-report-january-2018/</a></p><p> </p><p>For those on Universal Credit due to a change in circumstance, it is not possible to calculate gainers or losers. As there has been a change of circumstance, the previous entitlement is not relevant for such a calculation. In order to carry out such an assessment, one would need to calculate individual notional legacy entitlement in tax credits, housing benefit and legacy DWP benefits, and then compare it to the Universal Credit entitlement. There is not the capacity within HMRC, Local Authorities or legacy DWP to run such calculations.</p><p> </p><p>For those who have yet to move over to Universal Credit, the same principle applies. The circumstances that will lead to them moving over are not known, so it is not possible to calculate.</p><p> </p><p>Universal Credit is more generous than the legacy system, with around one million disabled households gaining around £100 per month on average.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson grouped question UIN 254716 254718 question first answered 20/05/2019 11:25:53 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

1126969

registered interest
date	15/05/2019
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	Universal Credit: Disability
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what modelling her Department undertook on the financial effect on disabled households as a result of the full roll-out of universal credit; and if she will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	East Ham
tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
uin	254718
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/05/2019 answer text <p>The Department estimates around 2 million disabled households will be in receipt of Universal Credit, as shown in table 4.4, page 86 of the Office for Budget Responsibility, Welfare Trends Report, here: <a href="http://obr.uk/wtr/welfare-trends-report-january-2018/" target="_blank">http://obr.uk/wtr/welfare-trends-report-january-2018/</a></p><p> </p><p>For those on Universal Credit due to a change in circumstance, it is not possible to calculate gainers or losers. As there has been a change of circumstance, the previous entitlement is not relevant for such a calculation. In order to carry out such an assessment, one would need to calculate individual notional legacy entitlement in tax credits, housing benefit and legacy DWP benefits, and then compare it to the Universal Credit entitlement. There is not the capacity within HMRC, Local Authorities or legacy DWP to run such calculations.</p><p> </p><p>For those who have yet to move over to Universal Credit, the same principle applies. The circumstances that will lead to them moving over are not known, so it is not possible to calculate.</p><p> </p><p>Universal Credit is more generous than the legacy system, with around one million disabled households gaining around £100 per month on average.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson grouped question UIN 254716 254717 question first answered 20/05/2019 11:25:53 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

1126537

registered interest
date	14/05/2019
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	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 response her Department makes when notified by a local authority of an error in a resident’s universal credit calculation.
tabling member constituency	East Ham
tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
uin	254086
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/06/2019 answer text <p>It is not clear whether the questions relate to the Local Authority as the provider of housing or as the administrator of Housing Benefit and Council Tax. This answer therefore responds on both counts.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Local Authority as landlord:</strong></p><p> </p><p>The Local Authority use the ‘Landlord Portal’ to provide details of a claimant’s rent and tenancy details. When the information provided does not match what the claimant has given, the claimant will then be able to accept or reject the information uploaded by the Local Authority by logging into their Universal Credit account.</p><p> </p><p>If the claimant accepts the information provided by the Local Authority no further action is required. If the Local Authority has provided information that is rejected by the claimant, the claimant is advised to make contact to resolve this. This could require a subsequent housing declaration to be provided. The ‘Landlord Portal’ has a summary screen that allows the Local Authority to confirm or change the information they are about to provide before it has been submitted.</p><p> </p><p>This process applies whenever there is a rent change, including annual uprating of rent. The Landlord Portal is the streamlined communication tool which allows the Local Authority to disclose the rent thus highlighting errors in the claimants Universal Credit.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Local Authority as administrator of Housing Benefit and Council Tax:</strong></p><p> </p><p>Once a claim to Universal Credit has been made, the Local Authority will receive a notification if the claimant is in receipt of Housing Benefit. This will inform the Local Authority of the claim to Universal Credit so they can take the action to close the Housing Benefit claim where needed. The Local Authority will inform Universal Credit of the action they have taken and if there is any payment to be offset within the first assessment period.</p><p> </p><p>Additionally, during the Universal Credit claim process, the claimant will be asked if their name is on the council tax bill. If the claimant answers ‘yes’, they are asked if they have applied for a reduction in their council tax. If the claimant answers that they have applied or will apply for a Council Tax Reduction, their details will be shared with the Local Authority. This is a one-way communication which allows for the Local Authority to take the appropriate action regarding an application for a Council Tax Reduction.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma grouped question UIN 254088 question first answered 03/06/2019 13:09:40 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma previous answer version 119078 answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

1126538

registered interest
date	14/05/2019
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	Universal Credit
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, which organisations her Department defines as partners in the delivery of universal credit.
tabling member constituency	East Ham
tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
uin	254087
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/05/2019 answer text <p>We work with a wide range of stakeholders, many of whom we collaborate with directly and consider partners. The next phase of delivering Universal Credit (UC) involves moving legacy benefit claimants to Universal Credit. The Department plans to pilot this approach, to test our processes carefully to ensure that claimants on all legacy benefits with a range of characteristics can be successfully moved onto Universal Credit. The Department is working with a wide and diverse range of stakeholders to design the process and we are currently developing the detailed planning on how we will start the pilot process, including which groups or individuals we will begin to move to Universal Credit.</p><p> </p><p>From 1 April 2019 Citizens Advice (England and Wales) and Citizens Advice Scotland are delivering the new ‘Help to Claim’ support to claimants making a new Universal Credit claim or moving from a legacy benefit to UC because of a change of circumstances. The Citizens Advice Help to Claim offers tailored, practical support to help people make a UC claim up to receiving their first full correct payment on time. It is be available online, through web-chat, through a Freephone number and face to face through local Citizens Advice services.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 20/05/2019 12:43:12 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

1126539

registered interest
date	14/05/2019
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	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 support her Department provides to local authorities to help (a) identify and (b) remedy errors in universal credit calculations.
tabling member constituency	East Ham
tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
uin	254088
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/06/2019 answer text <p>It is not clear whether the questions relate to the Local Authority as the provider of housing or as the administrator of Housing Benefit and Council Tax. This answer therefore responds on both counts.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Local Authority as landlord:</strong></p><p> </p><p>The Local Authority use the ‘Landlord Portal’ to provide details of a claimant’s rent and tenancy details. When the information provided does not match what the claimant has given, the claimant will then be able to accept or reject the information uploaded by the Local Authority by logging into their Universal Credit account.</p><p> </p><p>If the claimant accepts the information provided by the Local Authority no further action is required. If the Local Authority has provided information that is rejected by the claimant, the claimant is advised to make contact to resolve this. This could require a subsequent housing declaration to be provided. The ‘Landlord Portal’ has a summary screen that allows the Local Authority to confirm or change the information they are about to provide before it has been submitted.</p><p> </p><p>This process applies whenever there is a rent change, including annual uprating of rent. The Landlord Portal is the streamlined communication tool which allows the Local Authority to disclose the rent thus highlighting errors in the claimants Universal Credit.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Local Authority as administrator of Housing Benefit and Council Tax:</strong></p><p> </p><p>Once a claim to Universal Credit has been made, the Local Authority will receive a notification if the claimant is in receipt of Housing Benefit. This will inform the Local Authority of the claim to Universal Credit so they can take the action to close the Housing Benefit claim where needed. The Local Authority will inform Universal Credit of the action they have taken and if there is any payment to be offset within the first assessment period.</p><p> </p><p>Additionally, during the Universal Credit claim process, the claimant will be asked if their name is on the council tax bill. If the claimant answers ‘yes’, they are asked if they have applied for a reduction in their council tax. If the claimant answers that they have applied or will apply for a Council Tax Reduction, their details will be shared with the Local Authority. This is a one-way communication which allows for the Local Authority to take the appropriate action regarding an application for a Council Tax Reduction.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma grouped question UIN 254086 question first answered 03/06/2019 13:09:40 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma previous answer version 119077 answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

1126541

registered interest
date	14/05/2019
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	Universal Credit: Overpayments
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 reasons for the overpayment of universal credit.
tabling member constituency	East Ham
tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
uin	254089
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/05/2019 answer text <p>The design of UC is expected to reduce considerably the losses that are currently incurred in DWP-administered benefits and in Tax Credits (TC) by around £1bn annually in steady state, meaning that overall levels of fraud and error across welfare (DWP benefits &amp; TC) should fall.</p><p> </p><p>The Department has a clear strategic approach to tackling fraud, error and debt, based on a clear understanding of where loss is incurred. This is informed by our own internal data and by the estimated levels of overpayments, published annually. The most recent edition (published 9 May 2019) can be accessed via the link below.</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/fraud-and-error-in-the-benefit-system-financial-year-2018-to-2019-estimates" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/fraud-and-error-in-the-benefit-system-financial-year-2018-to-2019-estimates</a></p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma grouped question UIN 254090 question first answered 20/05/2019 13:43:20 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

1126542

registered interest
date	14/05/2019
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	Universal Credit: Overpayments
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 extent of the overpayment of universal credit.
tabling member constituency	East Ham
tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
uin	254090
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/05/2019 answer text <p>The design of UC is expected to reduce considerably the losses that are currently incurred in DWP-administered benefits and in Tax Credits (TC) by around £1bn annually in steady state, meaning that overall levels of fraud and error across welfare (DWP benefits &amp; TC) should fall.</p><p> </p><p>The Department has a clear strategic approach to tackling fraud, error and debt, based on a clear understanding of where loss is incurred. This is informed by our own internal data and by the estimated levels of overpayments, published annually. The most recent edition (published 9 May 2019) can be accessed via the link below.</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/fraud-and-error-in-the-benefit-system-financial-year-2018-to-2019-estimates" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/fraud-and-error-in-the-benefit-system-financial-year-2018-to-2019-estimates</a></p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma grouped question UIN 254089 question first answered 20/05/2019 13:43:20 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

1124957

registered interest
date	07/05/2019
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	Universal Credit: Mortgages
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 the difficulties faced by universal credit claimants applying for a mortgage; and if she will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	East Ham
tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
uin	251193
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/05/2019 answer text <p>The Financial Conduct Authority Handbook sets out rules and guidance for lenders. This provides that, prior to entering into a mortgage, a lender must assess whether the customer will be able to pay the sums due and must not enter into the transaction unless it can demonstrate that the mortgage is affordable for the customer (and any guarantor).</p><p> </p><p>It is up to individual lenders to determine how to ensure adherence to this requirement. Each lender is required to publish a written statement setting out the factors it will take into account in assessing a customer's ability to pay. This must, inter alia, address how income and expenditure is to be assessed, including details of the types of income which are acceptable.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 13/05/2019 12:55:26 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

1124966

registered interest
date	07/05/2019
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	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 assessment she has made of the (a) accuracy and (b) clarity of the universal credit payment statements provided to claimants.
tabling member constituency	East Ham
tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
uin	251202
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/05/2019 answer text <p>Universal Credit (UC) has been designed with accessibility and accuracy in mind and we are committed to providing personalised support for all claimants. Most people claiming UC will be able to access and navigate the internet, to make and maintain their UC account.</p><p> </p><p>The Department delivers UC in a way which responds to the needs of those who are supported by it. UC payment statements have been designed to give claimants a relevant breakdown of their award, including details of any outstanding debt and the reason for deductions. Every UC award is calculated based on the circumstances of individuals during each assessment period, taking into account savings, assets and income.</p><p> </p><p>Further enhancements will be introduced in the future to make UC payment statements even easier to understand, with a particular focus on making it clearer when amounts are deducted and whether people are being paid as a single person or as part of a couple. Claimants will be able to access a ‘blank’ statement, available through their online account as soon as their claim is received, allowing them to view expected entitlements based on what information has been submitted.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma grouped question UIN 251203 question first answered 13/05/2019 16:16:19 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms