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1306237

registered interest
date	25/03/2021
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: Rents
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of benefit claimants in (a) Coventry North East constituency, (b) Coventry, (c) the West Midlands and (d) England are in rent arrears; and what steps her Department is taking to support benefit claimants in those areas in rent arrears.
tabling member constituency	Coventry North East
tabling member printed	Colleen Fletcher
uin	175891
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/04/2021 answer text <p>We do not hold this information.</p><p> </p><p>For 2020/21 we are projected to have spent almost £30 billion to support renters with their housing costs. This includes a boost of almost £1 billion to the Local Housing Allowance (LHA) in response to Covid-19, which provided 1.5 million households in the private rented sector with around £600 more in housing support over the year. In 2021/22 all LHA rates will be maintained at their increased level, meaning claimants will continue to benefit from the significant increase in rates</p><p> </p><p>For those claimants struggling with their single monthly rent payment and as a result are at risk of financial harm there are alternative payment arrangements.</p><p> </p><p>For those who require additional support with housing costs Discretionary Housing Payments (DHP) are available. For 2021/22 £140m is being made available for DHPs. Since 2011 we have provided over £1 billion in DHP funding.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 13/04/2021 13:21:08 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	4378 label Biography information for Colleen Fletcher

1306238

registered interest
date	25/03/2021
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: Coventry
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 support universal credit claimants in (a) Coventry North East constituency and (b) Coventry during the covid-19 outbreak.
tabling member constituency	Coventry North East
tabling member printed	Colleen Fletcher
uin	175892
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/04/2021 answer text <p>Since the start of the pandemic, the Government’s priority has been to protect lives and people’s livelihoods, including by:</p><ul><li>Extending the temporary £20 a week increase in Universal Credit originally introduced for 12 months, for a further six months, taking it well beyond the end of national lockdown.</li><li>Spending almost £30 billion to support renters with their housing costs in 2020/21. This includes a boost of almost £1 billion to the Local Housing Allowance (LHA) in response to Covid-19, which provided 1.5 million households in the private rented sector with around £600 more in housing support over the year. In 2021/22 all LHA rates will be maintained at their increased level, meaning claimants will continue to benefit from the significant increase in rates.</li><li>Suspending the Minimum Income Floor in Universal Credit until 31<sup>st</sup> July, meaning self-employed Universal Credit claimants can access support on more generous terms.</li></ul><p> </p><p>The Jobcentre team in Coventry have delivered Mentoring Circles and Sector- based Work Academy Programmes in partnership with local employers, as well as a Youth Hub based at the Coventry Jobshop and additional support for young people with complex needs through our Youth Employability Coaches.</p><p> </p><p>The £229.1m Covid Winter Grant Scheme was part of Government’s Covid response to provide Local Authorities in England, including Coventry Local Authority, with funding to support vulnerable households with the costs of food and other essentials. Recognising that some restrictions on the economy continue, we are extending the scheme – renamed the COVID Local Support Grant - until the 20<sup>th</sup> June 2021.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 19/04/2021 16:39:31 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	4378 label Biography information for Colleen Fletcher

1306298

registered interest
date	25/03/2021
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: Older People
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what support is in place to ensure that older workers have access to the skills and training required to participate effectively in the future workforce.
tabling member constituency	Wolverhampton South West
tabling member printed	Stuart Anderson
uin	176040
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/04/2021 answer text <p>The Department is committed to supporting over 50s jobseekers, and a range of special support is available for this group. As part of the 50 PLUS: Choices agenda we have created a network of 50 PLUS Champions (formerly Older Claimants Champions) throughout all of the 37 Jobcentre Plus districts, who work collaboratively with Work Coaches to raise the profile of over 50s claimants, highlighting the benefits of employing them and sharing best practice.</p><p> </p><p>DWP is also piloting 50+ mentoring circles in England to address any confidence barriers experienced by over 50s claimants and to support them in moving into new jobs, particularly where their sectors have been adversely affected by COVID-19.</p><p> </p><p>More broadly, the department is supporting people of all ages back in to work through the Plan for Jobs. This provides new funding to ensure more people of all age groups get tailored Jobcentre Plus support to find work, including through building new skills. This includes £895m for 13,500 additional Work Coaches; a £150m increase in the Flexible Support Fund to help those facing redundancy; and £10m for the Job Finding Support Service which will provide tailored one-to-one job finding support online to the recently unemployed.</p><p> </p><p>The Government also aims to increase Sector-based Work Academy programme placements, which provide unemployed participants of all ages with training, work experience and a guaranteed interview for a real job. We are also investing £238m into Job Entry: Targeted Support (JETS) to offer enhanced support to those who have been made unemployed for three months.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 23/04/2021 14:00:58 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	4742 label Biography information for Stuart Anderson

1306328

registered interest
date	25/03/2021
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 Schemes: 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 companies signed up to the Disability Confident scheme; and what assessment she has made of the effect of that scheme on employment rates for disabled people.
tabling member constituency	Ealing, Southall
tabling member printed	Mr Virendra Sharma
uin	175786
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/04/2021 answer text <p>In 2017 the Government set a goal to see 1 million more disabled people in employment over the next 10 years. In the first three years of the goal (between Jan-Mar 2017 and Jan-Mar 2020) the number of disabled people in employment increased by 800,000. The rate of disabled people in employment also increased, by 4.4 percentage points to 53.4%, in the same period.</p><p>The Disability Confident scheme is a learning journey that aims to provide employers with the knowledge, skills, and resources that they need to attract, recruit, retain and develop disabled people in the workplace. No employer is too small or new to start the journey and even the most experienced employer will still find new techniques and best practice that can help them. As of 28th February 2021 over 19,900 employers had signed up to the scheme. Disability Confident is only part of a wider range of services that will support disabled employees into work and stay in work.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 13/04/2021 13:47:51 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	1604 label Biography information for Mr Virendra Sharma

1306329

registered interest
date	25/03/2021
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	Conditions of Employment: Disability
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 support disabled employees during the covid-19 outbreak.
tabling member constituency	Ealing, Southall
tabling member printed	Mr Virendra Sharma
uin	175787
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/04/2021 answer text <p>A range of DWP initiatives are supporting disabled people to stay in work. These include Access to Work, Disability Confident and support in partnership with the health system, including Employment Advice in NHS Improving Access to Psychological Therapy services. We have made it easier to access programmes which help disabled people to enter work, such as the Work and Health Programme and the Intensive Personalised Employment Support programme.</p><p> </p><p>DWP has also put in place measures to ensure that its own staff, including those who require reasonable adjustments, have been able to safely work from home during the Covid-19 outbreak, or from COVID-safe departmental locations where necessary or if that is their preference. These measures include arranging for specialist furniture and equipment to be delivered to individuals’ homes; allowing individuals to purchase such items and then reimbursing them; and ensuring that DWP workplaces are COVID safe for those who use them.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 13/04/2021 13:50:19 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	1604 label Biography information for Mr Virendra Sharma

1306334

registered interest
date	25/03/2021
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	Work Capability Assessment
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 moved from the Limited Capability for Work group to the Limited Capability for Work and Work-Related Activity group in 2020 following a reassessment triggered by the submission of new medical evidence.
tabling member constituency	Glasgow East
tabling member printed	David Linden
uin	176012
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/04/2021 answer text <p>The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 13/04/2021 14:51:30 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	4640 label Biography information for David Linden

1306336

registered interest
date	25/03/2021
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	Work Capability Assessment
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 award claimants moving from the Limited Capability for Work (LCW) group to the Limited Capability for Work and Work-Related Activity (LCWRA) group backdated payments from the date on which new medical evidence is submitted rather than from the date on which a decision is made, in line with awards given to people placed in the LCWRA group following their first work capability assessment.
tabling member constituency	Glasgow East
tabling member printed	David Linden
uin	176013
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/04/2021 answer text <p>Limited Capability for Work (LCW) and Limited Capability for Work and Work-Related Activity (LCWRA) apply both in Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) and Universal Credit (UC). The law in relation to the dates from which determination of LCW or LCWRA applies is set out in Regulations made in 2013 (see SI2013/381). In relation to LCWRA specifically, the law says that the date from which the additional amount for having LCWRA will become payable, will be either the date of the decision maker’s decision or the date of the claimant’s application, whichever is appropriate. Those who have, or are treated as having, LCWRA from the start of their claim, will get the additional amount from week 14 for ESA or the 4<sup>th</sup> assessment period for UC. That date is not dependent on the medical evidence received.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson grouped question UIN 176014 question first answered 13/04/2021 14:55:25 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	4640 label Biography information for David Linden

1306337

registered interest
date	25/03/2021
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	Work Capability Assessment
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what equality impact assessment her Department has made on its decision to award payments from the date on which a decision is made for claimants moving from the Limited Capability for Work (LCW) group to the Limited Capability for Work and Work-Related Activity (LCWRA) group.
tabling member constituency	Glasgow East
tabling member printed	David Linden
uin	176014
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/04/2021 answer text <p>Limited Capability for Work (LCW) and Limited Capability for Work and Work-Related Activity (LCWRA) apply both in Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) and Universal Credit (UC). The law in relation to the dates from which determination of LCW or LCWRA applies is set out in Regulations made in 2013 (see SI2013/381). In relation to LCWRA specifically, the law says that the date from which the additional amount for having LCWRA will become payable, will be either the date of the decision maker’s decision or the date of the claimant’s application, whichever is appropriate. Those who have, or are treated as having, LCWRA from the start of their claim, will get the additional amount from week 14 for ESA or the 4<sup>th</sup> assessment period for UC. That date is not dependent on the medical evidence received.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson grouped question UIN 176013 question first answered 13/04/2021 14:55:25 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	4640 label Biography information for David Linden

1306339

registered interest
date	25/03/2021
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	Jobcentres: Training
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what mental health training has been put in place for work coaches in job centres.
tabling member constituency	Glasgow East
tabling member printed	David Linden
uin	176015
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/04/2021 answer text <p>There are three mental health training products available for Work Coaches in job centres.</p><p> </p><p>Since August 2018 mental health training has been included in the fundamental learning journey which is available to all new staff or those new to the role. This product is designed to improve learners’ understanding of mental ill health and states where to find further information regarding mental health for themselves and the customer.</p><p> </p><p>During their initial technical learning, Work Coaches complete training in two sessions as part of their complex needs learning. In the first session Work Coaches cover a range of complex needs and the routes to take to support customers and themselves. They discuss what signs may alert them to a customer struggling with their mental health and how they can support them. In the second session Work Coaches consolidate what they learned in the first session by considering an example, recapping on the support they would offer to customers who have mental health issues.</p><p> </p><p>There is further mental health training that has been specifically designed for Work Coaches which ideally takes place at around week 26 of their learning journey. In this learning, the Work Coaches explore their impact on customers, the steps needed to build relationships and learn how to respond appropriately to unexpected customer behaviour. This learning includes the opportunity for the Work Coach to practice the skills they have learned during the training.</p><p> </p><p>The rollout of this specific Work Coach mental health learning began in November 2017 and was completed for existing work coaches in March 2018. In 2020, DWP paused this specific mental health training to divert resources to learning related to covid-19 impacts. Our ambition is to re start this training in 2021/22.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 19/04/2021 16:35:24 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	4640 label Biography information for David Linden

1306352

registered interest
date	25/03/2021
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	Civil Service: Dudley North
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 deliver civil service jobs in her Department to Dudley North constituency.
tabling member constituency	Dudley North
tabling member printed	Marco Longhi
uin	176059
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/04/2021 answer text <p>Our Jobcentre Employment Advisers within Dudley North work closely with other Government Departments located in the area to ensure any planned recruitment is fully supported. Work Coaches undertake job-matching to identify customers in the area who have indicated an interest in joining the Civil Service, and provide assistance to register on the Civil Service Jobs website, including support with searching for vacancies and setting up job alerts.</p><p>Jobcentres across Dudley Borough have a partnership with the ‘Skills Shop’ at the Merry Hill Centre, where customers can be referred for further assistance with Civil Service applications and interview techniques. They also have a partnership with Go Train, a local provider, to provide support to customers with applying for the recent Work Coach recruitment exercise, including help and advice with the application process.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 15/04/2021 13:28:51 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	4789 label Biography information for Marco Longhi