Show Search Form

Search Results

registered interest	true false
date	exactly: or between: and
answering body
answering dept id
answering dept short name
answering dept sort name
hansard heading
house id
legislature	pref label
question text
tabling member constituency
tabling member printed
uin
answer	is ministerial correction true false date of answer exactly: or between: and answer text answering member constituency answering member printed question first answered answering member label
tabling member	label

Search

1361214

registered interest
date	19/10/2021
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 her Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of conducting a review into the extent to which universal credit payments could take into account rent costs with the objective of preventing private renting tenants from falling into rent arrears.
tabling member constituency	Birkenhead
tabling member printed	Mick Whitley
uin	59058
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/10/2021 answer text <p>Rent costs are already taken into account within the housing element of Universal Credit.</p><p> </p><p>The Local Housing Allowance determines the maximum financial support available for Universal Credit claimants who rent in the private sector.  Local Housing Allowance rates provide a reasonable amount of support with housing costs but are not intended to meet all rents in all areas.</p><p> </p><p>To support claimants, there are measures in place which can help to protect tenancies. These include managed payments to landlords, more frequent payments and deductions to repay rent arrears. In response to Covid-19 we increased LHA rates to the 30th percentile of local rents in April 2020. This significant investment of nearly £1billion has provided 1.5 million claimants with an average £600 more housing support last year than they would otherwise have received. We have also maintained Local Housing Allowance rates at the same cash level for 2021/2022.</p><p> </p><p>For those who require additional support with housing costs, Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) are available. Since 2011 we have provided over £1 billion in DHP funding. We have allocated a further £140 million for DHPs for 2021/22 in England and Wales.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley question first answered 27/10/2021 16:45:59 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley
tabling member	4755 label Biography information for Mick Whitley

1361221

registered interest
date	19/10/2021
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 her Department has made of the potential effect of rental arrears on the ability of universal credit claimants to gain employment.
tabling member constituency	Birkenhead
tabling member printed	Mick Whitley
uin	59059
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/10/2021 answer text <p>No such assessments have been made of the potential effect of rent arrears on the ability of claimants to gain employment.</p><p> </p><p>For 2020/21 we are projected to have spent almost £30 billion to support renters with their housing costs. This included a boost of almost £1 billion to the Local Housing Allowance in response to Covid-19, which provided 1.5 million households in the private rented sector with around £600 more in housing support over the year. We have maintained Local Housing Allowance rates at the same cash level for 2021/22.</p><p> </p><p>For those claimants struggling with their single monthly rent payment, and as a result are at risk of financial harm, there are alternative payment arrangements, which in certain circumstances, can allow a claimant to receive more frequent Universal Credit payments.</p><p> </p><p>For those who require additional support with housing costs Discretionary Housing Payments are available and since 2011 we have provided over £1 billion in Discretionary Housing Payments funding. We have allocated a further £140 million for Discretionary Housing Payments for 2021/22 in England and Wales.</p><p> </p><p>We also recognise that some private renters have rent arrears built up as a result of the pandemic and vulnerable households may need additional support. We are therefore providing an additional £65 million, through a one-off top up to the Homelessness Prevention Grant, for local authorities to help vulnerable households with rent arrears to reduce the risk of them being evicted and becoming homeless.</p> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley question first answered 27/10/2021 16:38:07 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley
tabling member	4755 label Biography information for Mick Whitley

1354227

registered interest
date	09/09/2021
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 his Department has made of the effect of ending the £20 uplift to Universal Credit on (a) levels of poverty (b) levels of homelessness and (c) foodbank usage.
tabling member constituency	Birkenhead
tabling member printed	Mick Whitley
uin	45929
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/09/2021 answer text <p>It is not possible to produce a robust estimate of the impact of removing the £20 uplift on poverty or related issues. This is particularly the case at the moment given the uncertainty around the speed of the economic recovery, and how this will be distributed across the population.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>In addition, foodbanks are independent, charitable organisations and the Department for Work and Pensions does not have any role in their operation. There is no consistent and accurate measure of food bank usage at a constituency or national level.</p><p> </p><p>The latest poverty figures (2019/20) demonstrate that absolute poverty rates (both before and after housing costs) for working-age adults in working families have fallen since 2009/10. In 2019/20, 8% of working age adults in working families were in absolute poverty (before housing costs), compared to 9% in 2009/10.</p><p> </p><p>Discretionary Housing Payments provide critical support to vulnerable claimants, including those who are at risk of homelessness, that need help with their housing costs.</p><p>For 2021-22 the Government has made available £140m in Discretionary Housing Payments funding for local authorities in England and Wales. In 2020-21 we boosted investment in the Local Housing Allowance by almost £1 billion and have maintained rates in cash terms for 2021-22. In addition, earlier this year we extended the exemptions from the shared accommodation rate of Local Housing Allowance for care leavers and those who have spent at least three months in a homeless hostel. From 31st May 2021 the care leavers exemption applies up to age 25 and the homeless hostel exemption applies up to age 35.</p><p> </p><p>Work Coaches support claimants to address their housing issues by signposting to relevant housing services. Under “duty to refer” legislation, Jobcentres in England offer a voluntary referral to claimants who may be homeless, or threatened with homelessness, to local housing teams for support.”</p><p> </p><p>The Chancellor announced a temporary six-month extension to the £20 per week uplift at the Budget on 3 March to support households affected by the economic shock of Covid-19. Universal Credit has provided a vital safety net for six million people during the pandemic, and the temporary uplift was part of a COVID support package worth a total of £407 billion in 2020-21 and 2021-22.</p><p> </p><p>There have been significant positive developments in the public health situation since the uplift was first introduced. With the success of the vaccine rollout and record job vacancies, it is right that our focus is on helping people back into work.</p><p> </p><p>Through our Plan for Jobs, we are targeting tailored support schemes of people of all ages to help them prepare for, get into and progress in work. These include: Kickstart, delivering tens of thousands of six-month work placements for UC claimants aged 16-24 at risk of unemployment; Restart, which provides 12 months’ intensive employment support to UC claimants who are unemployed for a year; and JETS, which provides light touch employment support for people who are claiming either Universal Credit or New Style Jobseekers Allowance, for up to 6 months, helping participants effectively re-engage with the labour market and focus their job search. We have also recruited an additional 13,500 work coaches to provide more intensive support to find a job. In total, our Plan for Jobs interventions will support more than two million people.</p> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley question first answered 20/09/2021 15:12:00 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley
tabling member	4755 label Biography information for Mick Whitley

1166684

registered interest
date	28/10/2019
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, how many alternative payment arrangements for fortnightly payment of universal credit were (a) requested, (b) rejected and (c) accepted in the most recent 12 month period for which figures are available.
tabling member constituency	Birkenhead
tabling member printed	Frank Field
uin	6230
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 31/10/2019 answer text <p>The Department is unable to provide data relating to (a) requested and (b) rejected alternative payment arrangements for fortnightly payment of Universal Credit as the information is not readily available, and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>In response to part (c), the available information on the number of households on Universal Credit that receive More Frequent Payments or Scottish Choices More Frequent Payments is published and can be found at:</p><p><a href="https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/" target="_blank">https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/</a></p><p>Guidance on how to extract the information required can be found at:</p><p><a href="https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started.html" target="_blank">https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started.html</a></p><p>Notes:</p><ol><li>Statistics are based on whether a household has actually been paid a More Frequent Payment.</li><li>Data will not include households that had a More Frequent Payment set up but were not actually paid more frequently, for instance because they cancelled the More Frequent Payment before they were paid.</li></ol> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 31/10/2019 17:45:27 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead

1166685

registered interest
date	28/10/2019
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, how many alternative payment arrangements for weekly payment of universal credit were (a) requested, (b) rejected and (c) accepted in the most recent 12 month period for which figures are available.
tabling member constituency	Birkenhead
tabling member printed	Frank Field
uin	6231
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 31/10/2019 answer text <p>The Department is unable to provide data relating to (a) requested and (b) rejected alternative payment arrangements for weekly payment of Universal Credit as the information is not readily available, and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>In response to part (c), the available information on the number of households on Universal Credit that receive More Frequent Payments or Scottish Choices More Frequent Payments is published and can be found at:</p><p><a href="https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/" target="_blank">https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/</a></p><p>Guidance on how to extract the information required can be found at:</p><p><a href="https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started.html" target="_blank">https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started.html</a></p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 31/10/2019 17:43:54 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead

1166686

registered interest
date	28/10/2019
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, how many alternative payment arrangements have been arranged with universal credit claimants; and what the reasons were for those arrangements in the most recent 12 month period for which figures are available.
tabling member constituency	Birkenhead
tabling member printed	Frank Field
uin	6232
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 31/10/2019 answer text <p>Statistics on the number of Households on Universal Credit that make use of a Managed Payment to Landlord, More Frequent Payment and Split Payments under Alternative Payment Arrangements is published and can be found at:</p><p><a href="https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/" target="_blank">https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/</a></p><p>Guidance on how to extract the information required can be found at:</p><p><a href="https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started.html" target="_blank">https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started.html</a></p><p> </p><p>Information regarding the reasons for the alternative payment arrangements is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.</p><p /><p><strong> </strong></p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 31/10/2019 17:46:55 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead

1166687

registered interest
date	28/10/2019
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, how many alternative payment arrangements have been agreed with universal credit claimants in each year since the introduction of universal credit.
tabling member constituency	Birkenhead
tabling member printed	Frank Field
uin	6233
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/11/2019 answer text <p>Statistics on the number of Households on Universal Credit that make use of a Managed Payment to Landlord, More Frequent Payment and Split Payments under Alternative Payment Arrangements is published and can be found at:</p><p><a href="https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/" target="_blank">https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/</a></p><p>Guidance on how to extract the information required can be found at:</p><p><a href="https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started.html" target="_blank">https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started.html</a></p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 01/11/2019 10:44:20 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead

1166688

registered interest
date	28/10/2019
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, how many alternative payment arrangement requests for universal credit were rejected in the most recent 12 month period for which data is available.
tabling member constituency	Birkenhead
tabling member printed	Frank Field
uin	6234
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/11/2019 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 01/11/2019 10:41:18 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead

1166689

registered interest
date	28/10/2019
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 reasons have been given by her Department for rejecting alternative payment arrangement requests for universal credit in the most recent 12 month period for which figures are available.
tabling member constituency	Birkenhead
tabling member printed	Frank Field
uin	6235
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 31/10/2019 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 31/10/2019 17:48:20 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead

1166716

registered interest
date	28/10/2019
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, how many applications for universal credit (a) lapsed and (b) were withdrawn due to the death of the applicant in the most recent 12 months for which data is available.
tabling member constituency	Birkenhead
tabling member printed	Frank Field
uin	6237
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/11/2019 answer text <p>It has not proved possible to respond to the Rt hon. Member in the time available before Dissolution.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 05/11/2019 17:37:02 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead