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1243360

registered interest
date	14/10/2020
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 Answer of 13 July 2020 to Question 69600 and Answer of 1 July 2020 to Question 63208, what progress has been made on implementing the decision of the court of appeal on 22 June 2020 on universal credit systems taking account of the day that a monthly salary is paid.
tabling member constituency	Bristol West
tabling member printed	Thangam Debbonaire
uin	103554
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/10/2020 answer text <p>On 20<sup>th</sup> October I laid secondary legislation in response to the Court of Appeal Judgment made on 22 June in the case of Johnson, Woods, Barrett and Stewart, which concerned claimants who receive two calendar monthly payments of earnings in one Universal Credit assessment period. This will allow us to reallocate a payment of earnings reported via the Real Time Information service to a different Universal Credit assessment period, either because it was reported in the wrong assessment period or (in the case of calendar monthly paid employees) it is necessary to maintain a regular payment cycle. This will mean that claimants who are paid calendar monthly will therefore have one salary payment taken into account in each assessment period. It also means that certain claimants will also benefit from any applicable work allowance.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 22/10/2020 16:41:40 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	4433 label Biography information for Thangam Debbonaire

1243395

registered interest
date	14/10/2020
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 potential effect on poverty levels of reintroducing universal credit sanctions and conditionality in the next six months.
tabling member constituency	Bethnal Green and Bow
tabling member printed	Rushanara Ali
uin	103526
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/10/2020 answer text <p>New and updated claimant commitments for Universal Credit claimants have been reintroduced from 1 July 2020 in a phased approach and as capacity allows. Only once a new or updated claimant commitment has been agreed, can claimants receive a sanction if they fail to meet those commitments without good reason.</p><p> </p><p>Work Coaches are empowered to make reasonable adjustments to ensure that conditionality is tailored to a claimant’s individual circumstances, that only realistic and reasonable requirements are set, and that they can apply easements and take additional steps to help protect the most vulnerable.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 22/10/2020 16:35:02 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	4138 label Biography information for Rushanara Ali

1243424

registered interest
date	14/10/2020
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 potential merits of reducing the five-week wait time for universal credit claimants to receive their first payment.
tabling member constituency	Preston
tabling member printed	Sir Mark Hendrick
uin	103431
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/10/2020 answer text <p>No such assessment has been made and no-one has to wait 5 weeks for a payment.</p><p> </p><p>New Claims Advances are available which allow claimants to receive up to 100% of their estimated Universal Credit payment upfront so that new claimants will receive their annual award over 13 payments during their first year, instead of 12. They are paid quickly and these can be applied for online or over the phone. The upfront payment phasing can be spread over a two-year cycle from October 2021, as was announced in the Budget 2020.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 22/10/2020 12:08:57 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	473 label Biography information for Sir Mark Hendrick

1243537

registered interest
date	14/10/2020
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 5 October 2020 to Question 96745 on Universal Credit, what the timetable is for her Department to bring forward legislative proposals to address the issues raised by the Court of Appeal.
tabling member constituency	East Ham
tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
uin	103407
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/10/2020 answer text <p>I can confirm the Department’s timetable for laying legislation in response to the Court of Appeal judgment made on 22 June in the case of Johnson, Woods, Barrett and Stewart, which concerned claimants who receive two calendar monthly payments of earnings in one Universal Credit assessment period.</p><p> </p><p>I am intending to make today and lay tomorrow, secondary legislation that will allow us to reallocate a payment of earnings reported via the Real Time Information service to a different Universal Credit assessment period, either because it was reported in the wrong assessment period or (in the case of calendar monthly paid employees) it is necessary to maintain a regular payment cycle. This will mean that claimants who are paid calendar monthly will therefore have one salary payment taken into account in each assessment period. It also means that certain claimants will also benefit from any applicable work allowance.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 19/10/2020 16:11:23 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

1243539

registered interest
date	14/10/2020
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 5 October 2020 to Question 96745, whether the proposed legislation will be applied retrospectively to households whose Universal Credit was previously reduced by the unlawful approach to calculating their earned income.
tabling member constituency	East Ham
tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
uin	103408
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/10/2020 answer text <p>The Court of Appeal ruled that the way the Department calculated Universal Credit awards involving earnings in an assessment period was a correct application of the regulations, but that not considering the impact on the specific cases of those paid calendar monthly who are affected a ‘a non-banking day salary shift’ was irrational. The legislation we are making today and laying tomorrow, revises those arrangements and provides a remedy that satisfies the Court of Appeal Judgment in the case of <em>Johnson and Others. </em>It will mean that in future for cases affected by this issue, monthly earnings will be reallocated to another assessment period, which means that only one set of earnings will be taken into account rather than two, and certain claimants will be able to benefit from any applicable work allowance.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 19/10/2020 16:10:17 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

1242934

registered interest
date	13/10/2020
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, whether her Department has commissioned research on the potential effect on the mental wellbeing of universal credit claimants of removing the work conditionality and sanctions regime.
tabling member constituency	Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross
tabling member printed	Jamie Stone
uin	102897
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/10/2020 answer text <p>We have not commissioned research on the potential mental wellbeing of universal credit claimants of removing the conditionality and sanctions regime. We engage with all of our claimants at a personal and individual level and are committed to tailoring support for specific individual needs, including agreeing realistic and structured steps to encourage claimants into or towards the labour market. These requirements are regularly reviewed to ensure that they remain appropriate for every claimant. Sanctions are only ever applied where someone fails to comply with these requirements without a good reason.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p /> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 16/10/2020 12:10:40 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	4612 label Biography information for Jamie Stone

1242457

registered interest
date	12/10/2020
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, whether provisions are in place for universal credit claimants who go into arrears as a result of having to pay upfront fees when moving home before their universal credit has been paid.
tabling member constituency	Ogmore
tabling member printed	Chris Elmore
uin	102142
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/10/2020 answer text <p>Universal Credit is assessed and paid monthly, which reflects how the majority of the UK workforce is paid and helps prepare households to budget on a monthly basis, which will ease the transition into work. It also helps households to take advantage of cheaper tariffs for essential costs such as utility bills.</p><p> </p><p>A Universal Credit Change of Circumstances Advance can be made available to existing claimants that experience a change of circumstance which results in a significant increase in entitlement, where the claimant cannot wait until the end of the assessment period to receive the increase.</p><p> </p><p>For those individuals who require additional support, Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) are available. DHPs can be paid to those entitled to Housing Benefit or the housing element of Universal Credit who face a shortfall in meeting their housing costs. The payments are awarded at the discretion of the Local Authority and can provide help with on-going housing costs, or one-off expenses such as rent in advance, deposits or removal costs.</p><p> </p><p>We have provided £180m in DHP funding to local authorities to support vulnerable claimants with housing costs in the private and social rented sector in England and Wales for 2020/21. This includes an extra £40m as announced last year at the spending round.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince grouped question UIN 102143 102144 question first answered 19/10/2020 14:51:31 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	4572 label Biography information for Chris Elmore

1242461

registered interest
date	12/10/2020
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 recent assessment she has made of the effect of the timing of universal credit payments on the (a) assistance that people receive and (b) costs that people incur when moving home.
tabling member constituency	Ogmore
tabling member printed	Chris Elmore
uin	102143
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/10/2020 answer text <p>Universal Credit is assessed and paid monthly, which reflects how the majority of the UK workforce is paid and helps prepare households to budget on a monthly basis, which will ease the transition into work. It also helps households to take advantage of cheaper tariffs for essential costs such as utility bills.</p><p> </p><p>A Universal Credit Change of Circumstances Advance can be made available to existing claimants that experience a change of circumstance which results in a significant increase in entitlement, where the claimant cannot wait until the end of the assessment period to receive the increase.</p><p> </p><p>For those individuals who require additional support, Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) are available. DHPs can be paid to those entitled to Housing Benefit or the housing element of Universal Credit who face a shortfall in meeting their housing costs. The payments are awarded at the discretion of the Local Authority and can provide help with on-going housing costs, or one-off expenses such as rent in advance, deposits or removal costs.</p><p> </p><p>We have provided £180m in DHP funding to local authorities to support vulnerable claimants with housing costs in the private and social rented sector in England and Wales for 2020/21. This includes an extra £40m as announced last year at the spending round.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince grouped question UIN 102142 102144 question first answered 19/10/2020 14:51:31 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	4572 label Biography information for Chris Elmore

1242462

registered interest
date	12/10/2020
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 recent discussions she has had with with housing associations on the effect on universal credit claimants of upfront fees when moving home.
tabling member constituency	Ogmore
tabling member printed	Chris Elmore
uin	102144
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/10/2020 answer text <p>Universal Credit is assessed and paid monthly, which reflects how the majority of the UK workforce is paid and helps prepare households to budget on a monthly basis, which will ease the transition into work. It also helps households to take advantage of cheaper tariffs for essential costs such as utility bills.</p><p> </p><p>A Universal Credit Change of Circumstances Advance can be made available to existing claimants that experience a change of circumstance which results in a significant increase in entitlement, where the claimant cannot wait until the end of the assessment period to receive the increase.</p><p> </p><p>For those individuals who require additional support, Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) are available. DHPs can be paid to those entitled to Housing Benefit or the housing element of Universal Credit who face a shortfall in meeting their housing costs. The payments are awarded at the discretion of the Local Authority and can provide help with on-going housing costs, or one-off expenses such as rent in advance, deposits or removal costs.</p><p> </p><p>We have provided £180m in DHP funding to local authorities to support vulnerable claimants with housing costs in the private and social rented sector in England and Wales for 2020/21. This includes an extra £40m as announced last year at the spending round.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince grouped question UIN 102142 102143 question first answered 19/10/2020 14:51:31 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	4572 label Biography information for Chris Elmore

1241463

registered interest
date	07/10/2020
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	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Department for Work and Pensions grosses up the net amount of relief at source pension contributions, taken from HMRC Real Time Information data, before deducting those contributions from Universal Credit claimants' earnings.
tabling member printed	Baroness Altmann
uin	HL8845
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/10/2020 answer text <p>The earnings figure used in the calculation of Universal Credit entitlement is gross earnings: gross taxable pay minus income tax, National Insurance contributions, and ignoring 100 per cent of contributions made to an occupational or personal pension. Adjustments are made to ensure fairness of treatment between those pension contributions made under net pay arrangements and relief at source pension contributions.</p> answering member printed Baroness Stedman-Scott question first answered 16/10/2020 13:05:05 answering member 4174 label Biography information for Baroness Stedman-Scott
tabling member	4533 label Biography information for Baroness Altmann