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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

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

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

1143849

registered interest
date	02/09/2019
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Free School Meals
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of extending the entitlement to pupil premium funding so that all children under a Special Guardianship Order are able to access Free School Meals.
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
uin	285191
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/09/2019 answer text <p>Children who have left care through a special guardianship order are eligible for pupil premium plus funding (for previously looked-after children) of £2,300. This is unrelated to eligibility for free school meals (FSMs).</p><p>To be eligible to receive FSMs, a pupil or their parent must be in receipt of any one of the following listed benefits and must make a claim to the school for FSMs:</p><ul><li>Income Support</li><li>Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance</li><li>Income-related Employment and Support Allowance</li><li>Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act (1999)</li><li>The guaranteed element of Pension Credit</li><li>Child Tax Credit (provided you are not also entitled to Working Tax Credit (WTC) and have an annual gross income of no more than £16,190)</li><li>WTC run-on - paid for 4 weeks after you stop qualifying for WTC</li><li>Universal Credit - if you applied on or after 1 April 2018, your household income must be less than £7,400 a year (after tax and not including any benefits you receive).</li></ul><p> </p> answering member constituency Saffron Walden answering member printed Mrs Kemi Badenoch question first answered 06/09/2019 17:13:46 answering member 4597 label Biography information for Kemi Badenoch
tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

1141688

registered interest
date	24/07/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisons: Safety and Staff
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the effect on (a) the safety of prisoners and (b) the levels of staffing in prisons in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal.
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
uin	281562
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/09/2019 answer text <p>In common with all Government Departments, the Ministry of Justice has considered the impact of a No Deal Brexit on its institutions, including prisons.</p><p> </p><p>Preparations are underway to ensure we are ready to leave the European Union on 31 October, with or without a deal. This includes working closely with the Department of Health to make sure that the supply of health products to prisoners is not disrupted; ensuring that our food and retail contracts have alternative arrangements in case of disruption through ports; and co-operating with other government departments to prepare for contingencies such as potential traffic disruption in the South East.</p><p> </p><p>At a local level, all prisons have reviewed their contingency plans and are engaged with their Local Resilience Forums to put in place actions to mitigate against any potential impacts as necessary.</p><p> </p><p>Separately, over the past 3 years, we have invested £100m to provide additional Prison Officers to improve frontline safety, security and rehabilitation. The benefits of this are already being felt with 4675 on landings and a commitment to recruit more in line with business needs.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 03/09/2019 14:26:52 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

1141827

registered interest
date	24/07/2019
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: Fraud
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 22 July 2019 to Question 278344, on Universal Credit: Fraud, over what period of time the 52 pages were shut down.
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
uin	281564
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/09/2019 answer text <p>As a result of internal work within the Department and pre-work with social media companies to identify accounts and determine their fraudulent nature, the first Social Media account was closed on the 9<sup>th</sup> July. We continue to work with social media sites to ensure any pages promoting benefit fraud are closed and have closed down 71 sites to date.</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 05/09/2019 11:32:00 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

1141838

registered interest
date	24/07/2019
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: Pensioners
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 22 July 2019 to Question 278349 on Private Rented Housing: Pensioners, what assessment he has made of the effect of the ban on letting fees on monthly rental prices.
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
uin	281565
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/09/2019 answer text <p>The Government published an impact assessment for the Tenant Fees Bill on 1 May 2018, which is available here <a href="https://gbr01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gov.uk%2Fgovernment%2Fpublications%2Ftenant-fees-bill-impact-assessment&amp;data=02%7C01%7CGuy.Skelton%40communities.gov.uk%7C87f26b879ed5434a552908d711b69a59%7Cbf3468109c7d43dea87224a2ef3995a8%7C0%7C0%7C636997348272907837&amp;sdata=a6JxLhm9O3zkqqMCaLRfC9J7rYkDXVmYK1ZoG%2FRWwg0%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/tenant-fees-bill-impact-assessment</a>. The Tenant Fees Act came into force for new tenancies on 1 June 2019, with a transitional period until 1 June 2020 (at which point it will also apply to pre-existing tenancies). <br> <br> The Government will continue to work with the National Trading Standards Estate and Letting Agency Team and the wider sector to monitor the effects of the ban.</p> answering member constituency Tatton answering member printed Esther McVey question first answered 03/09/2019 14:49:38 answering member 4084 label Biography information for Esther McVey
tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe