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1144793

registered interest
date	04/09/2019
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, for what reasons her Department has decided that a 30 per cent deduction from a universal credit claimant’s standard allowance prevents those claimants from being exposed to excessive financial hardship.
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
uin	286621
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text <p>A claimant’s Universal Credit award will reflect individual circumstances, topping up any earnings or other income that they may have, so Universal Credit may constitute only a proportion of their total income.</p><p> </p><p>Our deductions policy is designed to protect vulnerable claimants by providing a last resort method for arrears of essential services which might otherwise result in those services being cut off, or being evicted from their home. Under Universal Credit there is a structured approach to deductions from benefit, which simplifies the current complex arrangements of the legacy system. This policy also enables social obligations to be enforced when other repayment methods have failed or are not cost effective.</p><p> </p><p>If a claimant is in financial difficulty as a result of the level of deductions being made they can contact the Department to request that a reduction in deductions be considered. Any adjustment to the rate of repayment will be based on the individual circumstances of the claimant. To support this intention, from October 2019 we are reducing the maximum rate of deductions to 30 per cent and from October 2021 we are increasing the maximum recovery period for advances from 12 to 16 months.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 09/09/2019 15:54:55 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

1144796

registered interest
date	04/09/2019
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 information her Department holds on reductions to deductions for claimants of universal credit in latest period for which data is available.
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
uin	286623
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 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 09/09/2019 13:38:08 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

1144837

registered interest
date	04/09/2019
answering body	Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
answering dept id	7
answering dept short name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
answering dept sort name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
hansard heading	Private Rented Housing: Vulnerable Adults
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 9 April 2019 to Question 240482, how many vulnerable people the Private Rented Sector Access Fund has helped to access and sustain tenancies in the private sector.
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
uin	286625
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text <p>On 1 March 2019 we announced the allocation of £19.5 million to directly fund 66 local authorities through the Private Rented Sector Access Fund.</p><p>Reported outcomes show that as of the end of June 2019, we have supported 1,090 households.</p><p>This fund is just one of a range of housing support measures that the Government has put in place:</p><ul><li>In September 2017 the Government announced the Homelessness Advice and Support Team (HAST), a team of expert advisers that provides support and assistance to improve homelessness services.</li><li>Government is funding the £40 million London Collaboration Project, which aims at increasing collaboration between London boroughs in the procurement of temporary accommodation for households at risk of homelessness, this will be delivered through the creation of the local government owned company, Capital Letters.</li><li>The Flexible Homelessness Support Grant has allocated £617 million to local authorities over 3 years from 2017/18 to 2019/20, giving them more control and flexibility in managing homelessness pressures.</li><li>We have provided £72.7 million in new burdens funding for local authorities to implement the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017.</li><li>The Homelessness Reduction Act, the most ambitious reform to homelessness legislation in decades, came into force on 3rd April 2018.</li></ul><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Luke Hall question first answered 09/09/2019 12:50:33 answering member 4450 label Biography information for Luke Hall
tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

1144842

registered interest
date	04/09/2019
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 assessment he has made of the adequacy of access by universal credit claimants to organisations providing services to manage money in each area served by a job centre.
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
uin	286629
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text <p>Jobcentre staff have access to information on services and support available in their local area for claimants and will signpost claimants to national and local organisations who provide specialist debt and money management support.</p><p>In addition, support is available for Universal Credit claimants via the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS). MaPS will help UC claimants with personal budgeting and money management through its free helpline, printed guides and digital guidance.</p><p>For those UC claimants who are in most need of debt advice, MaPS will continue to work with the DWP and other agencies to ensure that they are signposted and referred quickly to local provision – MaPS funds free-to-consumer debt advice in England through a network of providers including StepChange, the Money Advice Trust and Citizens Advice.</p><p><strong> </strong></p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 09/09/2019 13:48:58 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

1144843

registered interest
date	04/09/2019
answering body	Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
answering dept id	7
answering dept short name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
answering dept sort name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
hansard heading	Council Tax: Non-payment
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what plans he has to remove the sanction of imprisonment for non-payment of council tax.
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
uin	286630
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text <p>The Government does not have any plans to remove the sanction of imprisonment for non-payment of council tax. However, committal to prison should only ever be the last resort in the collection of council tax arrears. Magistrates courts can only commit someone to prison for non-payment of council tax where they are satisfied that the failure to pay is due to their wilful refusal or culpable neglect. The number of committal warrants has been decreasing, with 34 issued in England in 2017-18.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Luke Hall grouped question UIN 286631 question first answered 09/09/2019 12:53:47 answering member 4450 label Biography information for Luke Hall
tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

1144845

registered interest
date	04/09/2019
answering body	Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
answering dept id	7
answering dept short name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
answering dept sort name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
hansard heading	Council Tax: Non-payment
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he has plans to remove the ability to issue a prison sentence for people that have not paid their council tax.
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
uin	286631
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text <p>The Government does not have any plans to remove the sanction of imprisonment for non-payment of council tax. However, committal to prison should only ever be the last resort in the collection of council tax arrears. Magistrates courts can only commit someone to prison for non-payment of council tax where they are satisfied that the failure to pay is due to their wilful refusal or culpable neglect. The number of committal warrants has been decreasing, with 34 issued in England in 2017-18.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Luke Hall grouped question UIN 286630 question first answered 09/09/2019 12:53:47 answering member 4450 label Biography information for Luke Hall
tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

1142982

registered interest
date	02/09/2019
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Police and Crime Commissioners: Standards
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of (a) developing or (b) tasking the College of Policing to develop key performance indicators to evaluate the effectiveness of Police and Crime Commissioners.
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
uin	284492
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text <p>The Government believes in local policing, accountable to local communities. That is why we abolished all central Government targets and introduced directly-elected and locally accountable Police and Crime Commissioners. They are best placed to make decisions with their communities based on their local knowledge and experience and must defend their records to the public every four years via the ballot box.</p> answering member constituency North West Hampshire answering member printed Kit Malthouse question first answered 09/09/2019 13:59:06 answering member 4495 label Biography information for Kit Malthouse
tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

1143537

registered interest
date	02/09/2019
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	Personal Independence Payment: Post-polio Syndrome
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether personal independence payment assessors receive training on the symptoms of post-polio syndrome so that they are able to identify the complex symptoms experienced by claimants with that syndrome.
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
uin	285189
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/09/2019 answer text <p>The Personal Independence Payment assessment is not a medical assessment and there is no requirement for the Health Professional to diagnose a condition and recommend treatment options. Health Professionals are trained to be experts in disability analysis and to assess how a disability or syndrome affects the functional capability of each individual claimant. Whilst there is no specific training relating to post-polio syndrome, all Health Professionals have access to a range of resources, including relevant training on specific impairments, including those that are mental, intellectual and cognitive, as well as experienced clinicians to support them in assessing claimants with conditions that they may not be familiar with.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson grouped question UIN 284945 question first answered 06/09/2019 11:05:40 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

1143538

registered interest
date	02/09/2019
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	Personal Independence Payment: Post-polio Syndrome
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether personal independence payment assessments are adjusted to take account of the symptoms experienced by claimants diagnosed with post-polio syndrome.
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
uin	284945
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/09/2019 answer text <p>The Personal Independence Payment assessment is not a medical assessment and there is no requirement for the Health Professional to diagnose a condition and recommend treatment options. Health Professionals are trained to be experts in disability analysis and to assess how a disability or syndrome affects the functional capability of each individual claimant. Whilst there is no specific training relating to post-polio syndrome, all Health Professionals have access to a range of resources, including relevant training on specific impairments, including those that are mental, intellectual and cognitive, as well as experienced clinicians to support them in assessing claimants with conditions that they may not be familiar with.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson grouped question UIN 285189 question first answered 06/09/2019 11:05:40 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

1143562

registered interest
date	02/09/2019
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 steps her Department is taking to increase the number of eligible pensioners claiming pension credit.
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
uin	285190
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/09/2019 answer text <p>It is important to highlight that there are over 1.6 million people already claiming some £5.4 billion in Pension Credit but the Government wants to ensure that <em>all</em> pensioners eligible can claim the Pension Credit to which they are rightly entitled.</p><p>On a national basis the DWP targets activity on engaging with people who may be eligible to benefits at pivotal stages, such as when they claim State Pension or report a change in their circumstances. The DWP uses a wide range of channels to communicate information about benefits to potential customers; including information on <a href="https://gov.uk/" target="_blank">https://gov.uk/</a>, in leaflets and by telephone. DWP staff in Pension Centres and Jobcentres including visiting officers are able to provide help and advice about entitlement to benefits, as are staff in Local Authorities who administer Housing Benefit.</p><p> </p><p>Potential customers can use the Pension Credit <a href="https://www.gov.uk/pension-credit-calculator" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/pension-credit-calculator</a> to check if they are likely to be eligible and get an estimate of what they may receive. People wishing to claim Pension Credit can do so by calling the Freephone number 0800 99 1234.</p><p> </p><p>One of the best ways to reach eligible customers is through trusted stakeholder working in the community and we have developed the Pension Credit toolkit, as an on-line tool for agencies and welfare rights organisations to use in order to encourage Pension Credit take-up. It can be found at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pension-credit-toolkit" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pension-credit-toolkit</a></p><p> </p><p>The toolkit contains resources for anyone working with pensioners and includes guides to Pension Credit. It also contains publicity material and guidance designed to help older people understand how they could get Pension Credit and help organisations support someone applying for Pension Credit as well as ideas for encouraging take-up. The toolkit also provides links to information about disability and carers benefits.</p><p> </p><p>Most recently we have provided to relevant stakeholders a fact sheet about Pension Credit and the changes introduced on 15 May for mixed age couples to ensure that accurate information is available in the places where people are most likely to seek information.</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 06/09/2019 13:13:15 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe