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1168779

registered interest
date	20/12/2019
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	Pension Credit
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 take-up of pension credit.
tabling member constituency	Airdrie and Shotts
tabling member printed	Neil Gray
uin	316
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/01/2020 answer text <p><strong> </strong></p><p>The Department for Work and Pensions publishes an annual report detailing latest available statistics regarding the estimated take-up of Pension Credit and other income-related benefits.</p><p> </p><p>The latest version can be found here:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/income-related-benefits-estimates-of-take-up-financial-year-2016-to-2017" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/income-related-benefits-estimates-of-take-up-financial-year-2016-to-2017</a></p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The next report containing 2017/18 data is currently due to be published around January – February 2020.</p><p><strong> </strong></p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 07/01/2020 14:28:31 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	4365 label Biography information for Neil Gray

1168780

registered interest
date	20/12/2019
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	Poverty: Children
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 reduce child poverty.
tabling member constituency	Airdrie and Shotts
tabling member printed	Neil Gray
uin	317
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/01/2020 answer text <p>This Government is committed to delivering a sustainable, long-term solution to poverty in all its forms. Tackling child poverty requires an approach that goes beyond one that focuses on income alone to one that addresses the root causes of poverty and disadvantage and improves long-term outcomes for families and children.</p><p>Through Improving Lives: Helping Workless Families, published in 2017, we set out detailed evidence on the root causes of poverty and disadvantage and their impact on the outcomes of children in families where none of the parents is working. We also set out nine indicators to track progress in the areas that matter, including two statutory measures of parental worklessness and educational attainment – the two areas that we know can make the biggest difference to children’s outcomes.</p><p><a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/621364/improving-lives-helping-workless-families-web-version.pdf" target="_blank">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/621364/improving-lives-helping-workless-families-web-version.pdf</a>.</p><p> </p><p>There is clear evidence that children in working households are not only less likely to grow up in poverty – their life chances are also significantly better. We will therefore continue to reform the welfare system so that it works with the tax system and the labour market to support employment and higher pay. Promoting full-time work through work incentives is a key feature of this approach, reinforced by the National Living Wage and the rising Personal Tax Allowance, which work together to promote independence from benefits.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 13/01/2020 15:14:52 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	4365 label Biography information for Neil Gray

1168781

registered interest
date	20/12/2019
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	Employment: Poverty
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans her Department has to tackle in-work poverty.
tabling member constituency	Airdrie and Shotts
tabling member printed	Neil Gray
uin	318
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/01/2020 answer text <p>Delivering a sustainable, long-term solution to all forms of poverty is a priority for this Government. There is clear evidence that full-time work substantially reduces the risk of in-work poverty; for example, there is only a 7% chance of a child being in poverty if both parents</p><p>work full-time compared with 66% for two-parent families with only part-time work.</p><p>The number of people in employment is at a near-record high of 3.8 million. Around three-quarters of the growth in employment has been in full-time work, substantially reducing the risk of poverty.</p><p>Universal Credit promotes full-time work through smooth incentives to increase hours, a general expectation that lone parents and partners should work (unless caring for young children or a disabled person); and generous childcare subsidies. We will therefore continue with our reforms to the welfare system so that it works with the tax system and the labour market to support employment and higher pay.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 07/01/2020 14:50:26 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	4365 label Biography information for Neil Gray

1168782

registered interest
date	20/12/2019
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	Social Security Benefits
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 is increasing working-age benefits in line with the rate of inflation from April 2020 rather than an earlier date.
tabling member constituency	Airdrie and Shotts
tabling member printed	Neil Gray
uin	319
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/01/2020 answer text <p>The Secretary of State is bound by law to complete an annual review of benefit and pension rates to determine whether they have retained their value in relation to the general level of prices or – for pensions - earnings. This statute requires benefit and pension rates to be reviewed and set in each tax year. April 2020 is the new financial year.</p><p> </p><p>The Secretary of State has completed her review and a Written Statement was tabled on 4 November:</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2019-11-04/HCWS74/" target="_blank">https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2019-11-04/HCWS74/</a></p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 13/01/2020 17:29:26 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	4365 label Biography information for Neil Gray

1151482

registered interest
date	22/10/2019
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 steps she is taking in response to the findings of her Department's In-work progression trial: further impact assessment and cost benefit analysis report dated 11 October 2019.
tabling member constituency	Airdrie and Shotts
tabling member printed	Neil Gray
uin	3703
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/10/2019 answer text <p>Since 2010 we have seen over 3.7 million more people in work; two thirds of them in higher-skilled, higher paid roles. But, the Department wants to ensure everyone has a chance to move to higher paid work, which is why we ran this trial to learn more about what interventions could work. We will examine the outcomes as we develop our policies further to help boost their earnings.</p><p> </p><p>The evaluation of the trial showed small but sustained impacts for those receiving the most support, and it also shows these interventions may be cost effective.</p><p> </p><p>These results are promising, but there is still more work to do to increase our knowledge of What Works. The Department is currently in the second year of a four-year programme, announced in the Autumn Budget 2017, to deliver programme of research and analysis, and run a suite of tests and trials, working in partnership with other Government Departments and external organisations. This includes research which seeks to understand the situations and support needs of our future in-work cohorts; a Rapid Evidence Assessment of international policies linked to in-work progression; and work which will support Jobcentre staff to help claimants to make good decisions around job-switching.</p><p> </p><p>The Department will be using the results of the trial, together with other research conducted in years 1 and 2 of this programme, to develop more targeted tests and trials to support the development of effective in-work services.</p> answering member constituency Eastleigh answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 28/10/2019 13:56:52 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	4365 label Biography information for Neil Gray

1151483

registered interest
date	22/10/2019
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, with reference to her Department's report entitled, In-Work progression trial: further impact assessment and cost benefit analysis, what the point-in-time progression measures were for the (a) 52- and (b) 78-week periods by (i) gender and (ii) self-reported ethnic background of trial participants.
tabling member constituency	Airdrie and Shotts
tabling member printed	Neil Gray
uin	3704
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/11/2019 answer text <p>The 52-week In-Work Progression Trial Impact Analysis was published on 12<sup>th</sup> September 2018 on GOV.UK. In the trial, the Frequent support group had Work Coach appointments every fortnight, while the Minimal support group only ever had two appointments in total.</p><p> </p><p><strong>i) Gender</strong></p><p> </p><p>The 52-week point-in-time progression measure for males was an additional £4.21 per week for the Frequent support group relative to the Minimal support group. For females, the point-in-time progression measure was an additional £5.99 per week for the Frequent support group relative to the Minimal support group. These progression estimates were calculated from samples and the difference of £1.78 is not statistically significant. The conclusion is that there does not appear to be evidence of a difference in progression between genders.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>The 78-week point-in-time progression measure for males was an additional £1.34 per week for the Frequent support group relative to the Minimal support group. For females, the point-in-time progression measure was an additional £6.14 per week for the Frequent support group relative to the Minimal support group. Again, these estimates are based on samples and the difference of £4.80 is not statistically significant. The conclusion is that there does not appear to be evidence of a difference in progression between genders.</p><p> </p><p><strong>ii) Ethnicity</strong></p><p> </p><p>The Department holds some data about ethnicity. Of the self-reported ethnic backgrounds, 82% of trial participants were of a White background; 6% of participants were of a Black/African/Caribbean background; 5% were of an Asian background and 7% were made up of other ethnic backgrounds.</p><p> </p><p>The Department has not calculated ethnicity sub-group progression measures. The small sample sizes in all other ethnicity groups, with the exception of the White background group, means that any comparisons of progression would not lead to statistically robust conclusions.</p> answering member constituency Eastleigh answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 04/11/2019 18:26:11 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies previous answer version 2264 answering member constituency Eastleigh answering member printed Mims Davies answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	4365 label Biography information for Neil Gray

1151484

registered interest
date	22/10/2019
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	Jobcentres: Staff
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the (a) minimum, (b) maximum and (c) average caseload was for jobcentre work coaches in each constituency in the most recent period for which data is available.
tabling member constituency	Airdrie and Shotts
tabling member printed	Neil Gray
uin	3705
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/10/2019 answer text <p>The information requested is not readily available to constituency level and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.</p><p> </p><p>The size of a Work Coaches caseload will vary as it is dependent on a number of factors, including the level of customer support required, the needs of the local labour market and the Work Coaches working pattern.</p><p /> answering member constituency Eastleigh answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 28/10/2019 14:07:19 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	4365 label Biography information for Neil Gray

1151485

registered interest
date	22/10/2019
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	Social Security Benefits
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to her predecessor's speech to the Recruitment and Employment Confederation on 9 May 2019, what steps her Department is taking to (a) reduce the maximum length of financial sanctions for welfare claimants from three years to six months, (b) improve access to the labour market for underrepresented groups, (c) double membership to the Disability Confident scheme and (d) consult on reforming statutory sick pay.
tabling member constituency	Airdrie and Shotts
tabling member printed	Neil Gray
uin	3706
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/10/2019 answer text <p>In respect of (a) `reduce the maximum length of financial sanctions for welfare claimants from three years to six months,` we laid legislation to reduce the maximum length of higher-level sanctions from three years to six months on 16 October 2019. We are now working to update communications and Learning and Development products ahead of the legislation coming into force on 27 November 2019.</p><p>In respect of (b) `improve access to the labour market for underrepresented groups:`</p><p> </p><ul><li>We are committed to ensuring that everyone - irrespective of their gender - is able to enter work, progress in work and realise financial security. We are making Universal Credit work better for women, including building the capability of Work Coaches and supporting women in low-paid employment or multiple jobs to increase their earnings. We are also supporting women on Universal Credit to progress from low paying jobs, through a programme of research and trials into the barriers they face and into what works to tackle those barriers.</li></ul><p> </p><ul><li>To improve access to the labour market for ethnic minorities<strong>, </strong>we are providing targeted employment support in 20 areas across Great Britain with high levels of ethnic minority unemployment. In these areas, Jobcentre Plus works with employers and local authorities, wider public services and the voluntary sector to overcome barriers to employment faced by different ethnic groups. Lessons learned are shared across the wider Jobcentre Plus network.</li></ul><p> </p><ul><li>To support older people in remaining and returning to work, we abolished the default retirement age and extended the right to request flexible working.</li></ul><p> </p><ul><li>In 2017, we published the Fuller Working Lives Strategy, which aims to increase the retention, retraining and recruitment of older workers, by bringing about a change in the perceptions &amp; attitudes of employers, and by challenging the views of working in later life and retirement amongst individuals. We also appointed the Business Champion for Older Workers to spearhead our work to support employers to retain, retrain and recruit older workers.</li></ul><p><strong> </strong></p><ul><li>In respect of people with disabilities, The Work and Heath Programme (WHP), which is working with local providers to offer co-ordinated support to those with multiple employment barriers, will help 275,000 people over 5 years, including 220,000 disabled people.</li></ul><p> </p><p> </p><ul><li>Other DWP initiatives include Intensive Personalised Employment Support Programme (IPES) due to launch before the end of 2019, Access to Work and Disability Confident. In addition, our Jobcentres offer tailored support from Work Coaches and Disability Employment Advisers, backed by the Personal Support Package which is a 4 year, £330 million package of employment support targeted at claimants with disabilities and health conditions.</li></ul><p> </p><ul><li>In respect of those at a disadvantage in the labour market, five DWP locally funded innovation pilots were launched between February and June 2018, aimed at providing tailored support to tackle long term barriers to work and in-work progression for those on low pay.</li></ul><p> </p><p>In respect of (c) `double membership to the Disability Confident scheme:` We are actively working with internal and external stakeholders, including the high profile Business Leaders Group, other representatives of Business and Jobcentre Plus, to promote the Disability Confident scheme and encourage employer sign up. As of 13th September 2019, the latest published figures show that 13,600 employers had signed up to the scheme and that number is growing week by week.</p><p> </p><p>In respect of (d) ‘consult on reforming statutory sick pay,’ we published the consultation `health is everyone’s business` in mid-July and it closed on 7 October. We have received a good response from a range of stakeholders and we are currently reviewing the detailed responses to inform decisions on next steps.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 28/10/2019 15:52:44 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	4365 label Biography information for Neil Gray

1151486

registered interest
date	22/10/2019
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: Disqualification
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Government response to the Work and Pensions Committee’s Nineteenth Report of Session 2017–19, Benefit sanctions. HC1949, when her Department plans to publish its evaluation on whether the sanctions regime within universal credit is effective at supporting claimants to search for work; and what the reason is for the time taken to publish that evaluation.
tabling member constituency	Airdrie and Shotts
tabling member printed	Neil Gray
uin	3707
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/10/2019 answer text <p>The Department will look to publish its evaluation by the end of 2019.</p> answering member constituency Eastleigh answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 30/10/2019 17:26:12 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	4365 label Biography information for Neil Gray

1151487

registered interest
date	22/10/2019
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Debt Respite Scheme
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether universal credit (a) repayments and (b) deductions will be included in the criteria for the Breathing Space Scheme.
tabling member constituency	Airdrie and Shotts
tabling member printed	Neil Gray
uin	3708
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/10/2019 answer text <p>Breathing Space will cover a broad range of debts including those owed to central and local government. It is the government’s intention to include Universal Credit advances and third-party deductions in Breathing Space, alongside other benefit deductions designed to recover debt.</p><p> </p><p>The government has committed to laying regulations on Breathing Space by the end of the year in order to commence the policy from early 2021. To ensure that the required IT changes align with the wider Universal Credit programme, Universal Credit advances and third-party deductions will be included in Breathing Space on a phased basis following the commencement of the wider scheme.</p> answering member constituency Salisbury answering member printed John Glen question first answered 28/10/2019 14:05:27 answering member 4051 label Biography information for John Glen
tabling member	4365 label Biography information for Neil Gray