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937443

registered interest
date	09/07/2018
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	Carer's Allowance
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 an assessment of the clarity of the wording of the underlying entitlement rules in departmental correspondence to vulnerable adults applying for carers allowance.
tabling member constituency	Leeds North West
tabling member printed	Alex Sobel
uin	162153
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/07/2018 answer text <p>We have examined a selection of Carer’s Allowance letters that contain wording about underlying entitlement and found these to be clear.</p><p>However, should anyone need further advice on the rules relating to underlying entitlement for Carer’s Allowance, the letters we examined advised customers to contact the Department’s Carer’s Allowance Unit where they can get advice tailored to their individual circumstances.</p><p>The Department continually looks to improve the clarity of its communications and considers feedback wherever possible.</p> answering member constituency Truro and Falmouth answering member printed Sarah Newton question first answered 17/07/2018 16:54:15 answering member 4071 label Biography information for Sarah Newton
tabling member	4658 label Biography information for Alex Sobel

937448

registered interest
date	09/07/2018
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	Personal Independence Payment: Motor Neurone Disease
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 potential merits of changing her Department's policy so that people over the age of 65 who have motor neurone disease can apply for personal independence payment and be eligible for a motability car; and if she will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Leeds Central
tabling member printed	Hilary Benn
uin	162002
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/07/2018 answer text <p>The aim of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is to focus additional help with the extra costs of disability on people who become severely disabled earlier in life and who, as a consequence, face limited opportunities to work, earn and save compared with other people. Once PIP has been awarded, and subject to the conditions of entitlement continuing to be met, it can continue in payment after age 65. The upper age limit for PIP is currently aligned with State Pension age and will be rising in line with increases to it beginning from later this year.</p><p>For people who become disabled after reaching pension age Attendance Allowance (AA) can provide help with the extra costs of disability, and helps them maintain their independence. AA is a tax-free, non-contributory benefit which can be used flexibly to help meet extra needs, including those associated with limited mobility, and is currently worth up to £85.60 a week.</p><p /><p /> answering member constituency Truro and Falmouth answering member printed Sarah Newton question first answered 17/07/2018 16:57:43 answering member 4071 label Biography information for Sarah Newton
tabling member	413 label Biography information for Hilary Benn

937470

registered interest
date	09/07/2018
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	Personal Independence Payment: Older People
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she has made an assessment of the effect of setting the cut-off point for claiming personal independence payment and its mobility part at 65 years on the ability to travel to and from work of people who become disabled after their 65th birthday; and if she will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Gravesham
tabling member printed	Adam Holloway
uin	162015
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/07/2018 answer text <p>The aim of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is to focus additional help with the extra costs of disability on people who become severely disabled earlier in life and who, as a consequence, face limited opportunities to work, earn and save compared with other people. Once PIP has been awarded, and subject to the conditions of entitlement continuing to be met, it can continue in payment after age 65. The upper age limit for PIP is currently aligned with State Pension age and will be rising in line with increases to it beginning from later this year.</p><p>For people who become disabled after reaching pension age, Attendance Allowance (AA) can provide help with the extra costs of disability and helps them maintain their independence. AA is a tax-free, non-contributory benefit which can be used flexibly to help meet extra needs and is currently worth up to £85.60 a week.</p><p>People who become disabled after their 65<sup>th</sup> birthday can apply for Access to Work and they will continue to be eligibility for support as long as they remain in employment.</p><p /><p /> answering member constituency Truro and Falmouth answering member printed Sarah Newton grouped question UIN 162016 question first answered 12/07/2018 15:59:58 answering member 4071 label Biography information for Sarah Newton
tabling member	1522 label Biography information for Adam Holloway

937471

registered interest
date	09/07/2018
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	Personal Independence Payment: Older People
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she has made an assessment of the potential effect of setting the cut-off point for claiming personal independence payment and its mobility part at 65 years on the economic contribution of people who become disabled after their 65th birthday and need or wish to travel to work; and if she will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Gravesham
tabling member printed	Adam Holloway
uin	162016
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/07/2018 answer text <p>The aim of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is to focus additional help with the extra costs of disability on people who become severely disabled earlier in life and who, as a consequence, face limited opportunities to work, earn and save compared with other people. Once PIP has been awarded, and subject to the conditions of entitlement continuing to be met, it can continue in payment after age 65. The upper age limit for PIP is currently aligned with State Pension age and will be rising in line with increases to it beginning from later this year.</p><p>For people who become disabled after reaching pension age, Attendance Allowance (AA) can provide help with the extra costs of disability and helps them maintain their independence. AA is a tax-free, non-contributory benefit which can be used flexibly to help meet extra needs and is currently worth up to £85.60 a week.</p><p>People who become disabled after their 65<sup>th</sup> birthday can apply for Access to Work and they will continue to be eligibility for support as long as they remain in employment.</p><p /><p /> answering member constituency Truro and Falmouth answering member printed Sarah Newton grouped question UIN 162015 question first answered 12/07/2018 15:59:58 answering member 4071 label Biography information for Sarah Newton
tabling member	1522 label Biography information for Adam Holloway

937534

registered interest
date	09/07/2018
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	Relationships Alliance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if her Department will take steps to ensure that charities in the Relationships Alliance will be allocated funding from the public purse for existing relationship support contracts until funding allocations have been made under the Reducing Parental Conflict programme.
tabling member constituency	South West Bedfordshire
tabling member printed	Andrew Selous
uin	162006
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/07/2018 answer text <p>We are exploring options with respect to the next steps for the current contracts DWP hold with the Relationships Alliance.</p><p> </p><p>We are currently implementing the new Reducing Parental Conflict Programme, which aims to integrate proven help with parental conflict into local services. We will be offering support to all 152 top-tier English local authorities to help them - including making available funding to develop their strategic approach; and for training frontline practitioners.</p><p> </p><p>We have announced £6m of joint funding with the Department of Health and Social Care and Public Health England, aimed at improving the outcomes of children of alcohol-dependent parents. This programme includes an Innovation Fund, which is seeking up to eight local authority bids, to address parents’ alcohol issues and reduce conflict. The closing dates for bids is 17 July. Funding is also available for the voluntary sector, where we are seeking to build capacity nationally to support children in families where parents are alcohol dependent and experiencing conflict. We expect to make announcements on the allocation of funding for these opportunities in the Autumn.</p><p> </p><p>And we will build the evidence base for what works to reduce parental conflict by commissioning face-to-face support in 30 local authorities across England. We recently published a Prior Information Notice which outlined the timescales for the upcoming procurement of face-to-face interventions. These contracts will be open to all interested parties as an open competition.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 12/07/2018 16:46:26 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	1453 label Biography information for Andrew Selous

937548

registered interest
date	09/07/2018
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	Funeral Payments
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the interest rate charge is for funeral expenses payments.
tabling member constituency	Ellesmere Port and Neston
tabling member printed	Justin Madders
uin	162086
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/07/2018 answer text <p>We make low-cost funeral expense payments to people who receive (or whose partners receive) a qualifying benefit or Tax Credit. These are recoverable from the estate of the deceased and where there aren’t enough assets available in the estate it is written off.</p><p> </p><p>DWP’s Annual Report and Accounts 2017-2018 contains information on losses associated with the social fund at page 159, which can be found here:</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/721224/dwp-annual-report-and-accounts-2017-2018.pdf" target="_blank">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/721224/dwp-annual-report-and-accounts-2017-2018.pdf</a></p><p> </p><p>There were 663k (gross) of Funeral Expense Payments outstanding as at 31 March 2018.</p><p> </p><p>The Department for Work and Pensions has the discretion to apply interest at 1.5% above the Bank of England Base Rate when recovering an outstanding Funeral Payment from an estate.</p><p> </p><p>Interest would be charged on any balance outstanding at the end of each calendar year.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson grouped question UIN 162087 question first answered 17/07/2018 16:45:38 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	4418 label Biography information for Justin Madders

937549

registered interest
date	09/07/2018
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	Funeral Payments
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the amount of money owed to the public purse from funeral expenses payments.
tabling member constituency	Ellesmere Port and Neston
tabling member printed	Justin Madders
uin	162087
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/07/2018 answer text <p>We make low-cost funeral expense payments to people who receive (or whose partners receive) a qualifying benefit or Tax Credit. These are recoverable from the estate of the deceased and where there aren’t enough assets available in the estate it is written off.</p><p> </p><p>DWP’s Annual Report and Accounts 2017-2018 contains information on losses associated with the social fund at page 159, which can be found here:</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/721224/dwp-annual-report-and-accounts-2017-2018.pdf" target="_blank">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/721224/dwp-annual-report-and-accounts-2017-2018.pdf</a></p><p> </p><p>There were 663k (gross) of Funeral Expense Payments outstanding as at 31 March 2018.</p><p> </p><p>The Department for Work and Pensions has the discretion to apply interest at 1.5% above the Bank of England Base Rate when recovering an outstanding Funeral Payment from an estate.</p><p> </p><p>Interest would be charged on any balance outstanding at the end of each calendar year.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson grouped question UIN 162086 question first answered 17/07/2018 16:45:38 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	4418 label Biography information for Justin Madders

937590

registered interest
date	09/07/2018
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	Motability
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what provisions her Department has in place to support people who lose their motability vehicle for a prescribed period due to changes in their benefits.
tabling member constituency	Denton and Reddish
tabling member printed	Andrew Gwynne
uin	162007
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/07/2018 answer text <p>The Department worked closely with Motability to develop an extensive £175 million transitional support package when PIP was first introduced. This provides support to people who have not been awarded the enhanced mobility component upon reassessment from DLA to PIP and as a result lose their Motability scheme vehicle. This is paid for by the Motability charity, at no cost to the taxpayer.</p><p> </p><p>Claimants who are reassessed from DLA to PIP and joined the Motability scheme before 1 January 2014 can keep their vehicle for up to 3 months after finding out their claim is unsuccessful and are offered a one-off payment of between £1,000 and £2,000. If a claimant is appealing the decision made on their DLA to PIP reassessment, they are offered a 26- week lease extension and a smaller one-off payment. In addition, claimants have the option to buy their old Scheme vehicle, and can obtain help to adapt any new, non- scheme vehicle.</p> answering member constituency Truro and Falmouth answering member printed Sarah Newton question first answered 17/07/2018 16:51:24 answering member 4071 label Biography information for Sarah Newton
tabling member	1506 label Biography information for Andrew Gwynne

937602

registered interest
date	09/07/2018
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	Social Mobility
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent steps her Department has taken to increase levels of social mobility.
tabling member constituency	Windsor
tabling member printed	Adam Afriyie
uin	162029
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/07/2018 answer text <p>I refer you to my previous answer to the member for Witham in the House on 21 May, volume 641, column 552. <a href="https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2018-05-21/debates/3F200720-92F6-4F4B-A1E1-AF6454B09F5B/SocialMobility" target="_blank">https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2018-05-21/debates/3F200720-92F6-4F4B-A1E1-AF6454B09F5B/SocialMobility</a></p><p> </p><p>Through our reforms to the welfare system, we have increased the number of people in employment to a record 32.39m, including increases across historically under-represented groups, and in doing so we have reduced the number of children living in workless households by around 600,000.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 17/07/2018 16:45:36 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	1586 label Biography information for Adam Afriyie

935237

registered interest
date	06/07/2018
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 steps she is taking to ensure that the roll-out of universal credit does not result in people in rented housing being in arrears.
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Edgbaston
tabling member printed	Preet Kaur Gill
uin	161583
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/07/2018 answer text <p>Research shows that many people come onto Universal Credit with pre-existing rent arrears.</p><p>We also know that arrears are usually temporary and the majority of claimants do succeed in paying their rent, managing their monthly payments and clearing their arrears over time. In our research, the proportion of Universal Credit claimants who were in arrears at the start of their claim fell by a third after four months.</p><p>We have made changes to help people financially until their first payment. Advances are available to provide financial support and these can now be repaid over a course of 12 months and can consist of up to 100 per cent of the indicative monthly award. We have also abolished waiting days and now provide 2 weeks of housing support to claimants moving to Universal Credit from Housing Benefit.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 16/07/2018 16:42:03 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	4603 label Biography information for Preet Kaur Gill