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1144793

registered interest
date	04/09/2019
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, for what reasons her Department has decided that a 30 per cent deduction from a universal credit claimant’s standard allowance prevents those claimants from being exposed to excessive financial hardship.
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
uin	286621
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text <p>A claimant’s Universal Credit award will reflect individual circumstances, topping up any earnings or other income that they may have, so Universal Credit may constitute only a proportion of their total income.</p><p> </p><p>Our deductions policy is designed to protect vulnerable claimants by providing a last resort method for arrears of essential services which might otherwise result in those services being cut off, or being evicted from their home. Under Universal Credit there is a structured approach to deductions from benefit, which simplifies the current complex arrangements of the legacy system. This policy also enables social obligations to be enforced when other repayment methods have failed or are not cost effective.</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 the rate of repayment will be based on the individual circumstances of the claimant. To support this intention, from October 2019 we are reducing the maximum rate of deductions to 30 per cent and from October 2021 we are increasing the maximum recovery period for advances from 12 to 16 months.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 09/09/2019 15:54:55 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

1144794

registered interest
date	04/09/2019
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 20 June 2019 to Question 254731 on Universal Credit, for what reason there is a difference between the number of men and women that have been unable to repay their advance within 12 monthly instalments narrows for those aged 40 years old and over.
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
uin	286622
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text <p>The data supplied in answer to Question 254731 used May 2019 figures. This showed that of the 264,500 with an advance repayment more than 12 months old, 83,500 were aged over 40 years old, and 49,500 (59%) of those were male, and 34,000 (41%) were female. We would expect there to be a difference in the advances outstanding over 12 months’ figures, although the gender split in the original table is more pronounced.</p><p> </p><p>We have no evidence to explain this greater gender difference in outstanding advances over 12 months old.</p><p> </p><p>All data used in researching this response has been sourced from internal management information. It offers a snapshot in time and cannot be compared to any other, similar data released by the Department</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 09/09/2019 16:07:44 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

1144796

registered interest
date	04/09/2019
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 reductions to deductions for claimants of universal credit in latest period for which data is available.
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
uin	286623
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text <p>The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 09/09/2019 13:38:08 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

1141827

registered interest
date	24/07/2019
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: Fraud
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 22 July 2019 to Question 278344, on Universal Credit: Fraud, over what period of time the 52 pages were shut down.
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
uin	281564
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/09/2019 answer text <p>As a result of internal work within the Department and pre-work with social media companies to identify accounts and determine their fraudulent nature, the first Social Media account was closed on the 9<sup>th</sup> July. We continue to work with social media sites to ensure any pages promoting benefit fraud are closed and have closed down 71 sites to date.</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 05/09/2019 11:32:00 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

1139900

registered interest
date	17/07/2019
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: Fraud
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 15 July 2019 to Question 275665 on universal credit: fraud, what steps her Department is taking to close a loophole in the online application process which enables people to make an application and claim an advance using another person’s information.
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
uin	278345
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/09/2019 answer text <p>The Department takes the prevention of fraud extremely seriously. Part of its strategy includes ensuring Universal Credit transactions are secure, including tackling loopholes fraudsters may seek to exploit, which sadly can target some of our most vulnerable claimants.</p><p>It is, however, important to recognise that the vast majority of advances on Universal Credit are legitimate and ensure those in need of financial support get the help they need during their transition to Universal Credit.</p><p>All claims where fraud may have been committed are investigated. We are committed to the use of penalties such as prosecutions and tough financial penalties, where appropriate, to discourage this fraudulent behaviour. The Department considers all cases on their own merits and decisions are made on the strength of the evidence provided.</p><p>Additionally, we have a dedicated team of investigators to address this issue, and are working with Social Media sites to shut down posts which promote this fraud. The Department also operates a policy of explicit consent to help reduce the risk of fraud by ensuring that our claimants’ data is kept safe from unscrupulous organisations and individuals.</p><p>The Department is also raising awareness of this issue through a campaign being run on social media to remind people of the importance of safeguarding their identity. We have also been working to further improve knowledge and awareness of advances fraud amongst Jobcentre and Service Centre staff and guidance has been issued to ensure that staff are aware how to refer cases of suspected fraud to the Department’s Counter-fraud team.</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 05/09/2019 10:48:17 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe