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1132257

registered interest
date	14/06/2019
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, how much her Department has spent from the public purse on defending legal cases in relation to people formerly in receipt of severe disability premium that have transferred to universal credit.
tabling member constituency	Wirral West
tabling member printed	Margaret Greenwood
uin	264775
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/06/2019 answer text <p>As at 14<sup>th</sup> June 2019, the Department has spent £131,399.50 on legal costs defending and appealing the cases in relation to people formerly in receipt of Severe Disability premium that have transferred to Universal Credit, broken down as follows<em>.</em></p><p> </p><p>The Department has spent £91,528.68 on legal costs defending and appealing the case of <em>TP and AR v SSWP.</em> The Department has spent £39,870.82 on legal costs defending and appealing the case of <em>TP, AR and SXC v SSWP.</em> These figures include Government Legal Department litigation fees, counsel’s fees and other disbursements, as well as VAT where payable. This does not include payment of any costs paid or which may be owed to the claimants’ solicitors.</p><p> </p><p>Time spent by Government advisory lawyers is not recorded in a manner that allows it to be attributed to individual cases. Time spent by policy officials supporting lawyers is not recorded.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson grouped question UIN 264776 question first answered 19/06/2019 16:04:58 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	4400 label Biography information for Margaret Greenwood

1132258

registered interest
date	14/06/2019
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, how much her Department has spent to date on legal costs in the case of R (TP AR & SXC) v SSWP & Anor [2019] EWHC 1116 (QB) involving payments to former recipients of Severe Disability Premium who have transferred to universal credit.
tabling member constituency	Wirral West
tabling member printed	Margaret Greenwood
uin	264776
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/06/2019 answer text <p>As at 14<sup>th</sup> June 2019, the Department has spent £131,399.50 on legal costs defending and appealing the cases in relation to people formerly in receipt of Severe Disability premium that have transferred to Universal Credit, broken down as follows<em>.</em></p><p> </p><p>The Department has spent £91,528.68 on legal costs defending and appealing the case of <em>TP and AR v SSWP.</em> The Department has spent £39,870.82 on legal costs defending and appealing the case of <em>TP, AR and SXC v SSWP.</em> These figures include Government Legal Department litigation fees, counsel’s fees and other disbursements, as well as VAT where payable. This does not include payment of any costs paid or which may be owed to the claimants’ solicitors.</p><p> </p><p>Time spent by Government advisory lawyers is not recorded in a manner that allows it to be attributed to individual cases. Time spent by policy officials supporting lawyers is not recorded.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson grouped question UIN 264775 question first answered 19/06/2019 16:04:58 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	4400 label Biography information for Margaret Greenwood

1132259

registered interest
date	14/06/2019
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, how much her Department has spent on legal costs in the case of R (Johnson and Ors) v SSWP [2019] EWHC 23 (Admin) as of 14 June 2019.
tabling member constituency	Wirral West
tabling member printed	Margaret Greenwood
uin	264777
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/06/2019 answer text As at 14th June 2019, the Department has spent £52,446 on legal costs defending and appealing the case of Johnson & Others v SSWP. This includes Government Legal Department litigation fees, counsel’s fees and other disbursements, as well as VAT where payable. This does not include payment of the claimants’ solicitor’s costs. Time spent by Government advisory lawyers is not recorded in a manner that allows it to be attributed to individual cases. answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 19/06/2019 13:58:43 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
tabling member	4400 label Biography information for Margaret Greenwood

1132261

registered interest
date	14/06/2019
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 30 July 2018 to Question 166515 on Universal Credit, what the latest estimate is that she has made of the (a) number and (b) proportion of universal credit claims that have been started but not completed.
tabling member constituency	Wirral West
tabling member printed	Margaret Greenwood
uin	264778
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/06/2019 answer text <p>I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for High Peak on 14 February 2019 to Question <a href="https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2019-02-11/219577/" target="_blank">219577</a>.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 19/06/2019 15:20:27 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
tabling member	4400 label Biography information for Margaret Greenwood

1132284

registered interest
date	14/06/2019
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, how much compensation his Department has paid out as a result of late payments of universal credit; how many claimants have received compensation; and what the criteria is for eligibility for compensation.
tabling member constituency	Motherwell and Wishaw
tabling member printed	Marion Fellows
uin	264782
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/06/2019 answer text <p>The information requested is not collated centrally and could only be provided at Disproportionate cost.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 19/06/2019 14:35:41 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
tabling member	4440 label Biography information for Marion Fellows

1132054

registered interest
date	13/06/2019
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 he is taking to ensure that universal credit claimants paying rent weekly do not face a one-week shortfall in their universal credit housing element in 2020.
tabling member constituency	Ogmore
tabling member printed	Chris Elmore
uin	264450
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/06/2019 answer text <p>No-one will face a one-week shortfall in their Universal Credit (UC) housing element in 2020 as no year contains 53 weeks. This perceived issue of there being a one-week shortfall due to there being 53 weeks in a year arises where a landlord charges rent weekly on a Monday and, because of the way the calendar falls every 5 or 6 years, requiring 53 rent payments in a year, with the 53<sup>rd</sup> payment in part covering the tenancy for the first few days of the following year.</p><p> </p><p>Where a tenant makes a 53<sup>rd</sup> rent payment in a given year, this payment will cover some days in the subsequent year. This will mean the following month only has four payment dates and, as such, the claimant will be ‘overpaid’ for their housing and their shortfall will be recovered.</p><p> </p><p>Universal Credit payments are designed to mirror the world of work, with monthly payments reflecting the way many working people are paid. This model of monthly payments allows claimants to take responsibility for budgeting their own income and helps prepare them for getting back to work.</p><p> </p><p>We are aware of a separate issue with respect to the way the calculation in the Universal Credit regulations converts a weekly liability into a monthly allowance. The conversion is achieved by multiplying the weekly rent by 52 and then dividing by 12. This effectively means one day’s rent a year (two days in a leap years) are not covered by UC. We are currently considering whether this formulation around weekly rents, and potentially other weekly amounts in the UC calculation, should be amended.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 21/06/2019 11:44:35 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	4572 label Biography information for Chris Elmore

1132055

registered interest
date	13/06/2019
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, if his Department will work with housing associations to share data to support tenants when undergoing transfer from legacy benefits onto universal credit.
tabling member constituency	Ogmore
tabling member printed	Chris Elmore
uin	264451
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/06/2019 answer text <p>We are working with Trusted Partners, including Housing Associations, to identify how best to support claimants within the Harrogate Move to UC pilot as they move from legacy benefits to UC. We will explore whether data sharing is required as part of this support.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 21/06/2019 13:22:16 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
tabling member	4572 label Biography information for Chris Elmore

1132056

registered interest
date	13/06/2019
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, if he will bring forward the extension of the repayment period of the Advance Payment Loan available to universal credit claimants.
tabling member constituency	Ogmore
tabling member printed	Chris Elmore
uin	264452
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/06/2019 answer text <p>Advances are not loans; they are an interest free advance payment of benefit, available to help people who need immediate financial support, which is then recovered over an agreed period.</p><p> </p><p>We have carefully considered the impact and deliverability of the measures announced in the Autumn Budget 2018 for Universal Credit. The delivery dates we announced achieve the best balance between continually improving Universal Credit to respond to claimant need and ensuring the service is technically and operationally scalable as the volumes on Universal Credit continue to rise through 2019 and 2020.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 21/06/2019 13:14:28 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
tabling member	4572 label Biography information for Chris Elmore

1132082

registered interest
date	13/06/2019
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, if she will provide universal credit claimants (a) with payments rather than advance payment loans and (b) with those payments earlier than five weeks to ensure that they do not fall into rent arrears.
tabling member constituency	Ogmore
tabling member printed	Chris Elmore
uin	264458
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/06/2019 answer text <p>Universal Credit payments are designed to mirror the world of work, with monthly payments reflecting the way many working people are paid. This model of monthly payments allows claimants to take responsibility for budgeting their own income and helps prepare them for getting back to work.</p><p> </p><p>Advance payments of Universal Credit are not loans. They are Universal Credit paid early, which is then recovered over an agreed period via deductions from the claimant’s Universal Credit award. No claimant has to go five weeks without receiving support, as advances, worth up to 100 per cent of a claimant’s indicative award, are available up front, if there is need. Advances are paid back over a period of 12 months and in the Autumn Budget 2018, we announced that from October 2021, the payback period for these advances will be extended further, up to 16 months. This is just one of a number of measures the Department has put in place to support claimants such as paying those claimants moving from Housing Benefit onto Universal Credit a two week ‘transitional housing payment’. We are also introducing a two-week run on for eligible claimants of Income Support, Jobseeker’s Allowance and Employment and Support Allowance from July 2020.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 21/06/2019 13:05:34 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
tabling member	4572 label Biography information for Chris Elmore

1132084

registered interest
date	13/06/2019
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, how many universal credit claimants (a) received and (b) did not receive an advance payment in 2018-19.
tabling member constituency	Birkenhead
tabling member printed	Frank Field
uin	264328
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/06/2019 answer text <p>Universal Credit new claim advances provide access to a payment for those in financial need, which can be accessed on the same day, until their first payment is due. Claimants can access up to 100% of the total expected monthly award, for which they can pay back over a period of up to 12 months. From October 2021, this maximum repayment period will be extended from 12 to 16 months.</p><p> </p><p>The Department ensures claimants are made aware of their maximum advance entitlement and informed that their Universal Credit award will be adjusted over the relevant recovery period to take into account the advance of benefit they received.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>There were 1,046,000 claims made to Universal Credit during January to December 2018 which went into payment. Of these claims, 598,000 (57%) received an advance by end of February 2019 and 449,000 (43%) did not receive an advance.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Notes:</strong></p><ol><li>Figures relate to Universal Credit full service</li><li>Figures capture all advances types</li><li>Figures are rounded to the nearest 1,000</li><li>Advances paid are provided for claims which went into payment in the 2018 calendar year to ensure enough time has elapsed to be certain these claims did actually progress to payment</li></ol> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 18/06/2019 14:57:13 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead