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 grouped question UIN question first answered answering member label
tabling member	label

Search

1134529

registered interest
date	25/06/2019
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 payments of the child element of universal credit have been ceased due to a child being in hospital for over six months in each of the last three years.
tabling member constituency	High Peak
tabling member printed	Ruth George
uin	269124
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/07/2019 answer text <p>The requested information is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.</p><p><strong> </strong></p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 03/07/2019 11:15:47 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	4662 label Biography information for Ruth George

1134625

registered interest
date	25/06/2019
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	Mental Health: Children and Young People
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how much money from the public purse was spent by local authorities in England on services (a) promoting and (b) providing services for children and young people’s mental health in 2018-19.
tabling member constituency	High Peak
tabling member printed	Ruth George
uin	269147
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/07/2019 answer text <p>Funding for local government services, including children’s services, is set at Spending Review and made available through the Local Government Finance Settlement. This funding is largely unringfenced, enabling local authorities to target spending according to local needs. Local authorities used this flexibility to increase spending on children and young people’s services from £9 billion in 2015-16 to around £9.4 billion in 2017-18. <br> <br> We do not hold data for 2018-19 or for local authorities spend on services for children and young people’s mental health. Nevertheless, the statutory guidance sets out local authorities’ duty to make sure each child they look after has a health assessment of their physical, emotional and mental health needs. The health and care system is responsible for providing this assessment.</p> answering member constituency Richmond (Yorks) answering member printed Rishi Sunak question first answered 03/07/2019 15:50:01 answering member 4483 label Biography information for Rishi Sunak
tabling member	4662 label Biography information for Ruth George

1134626

registered interest
date	25/06/2019
answering body	Department of Health and Social Care
answering dept id	17
answering dept short name	Health and Social Care
answering dept sort name	Health and Social Care
hansard heading	Mental Health Services: Children and Young People
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what data his Department holds on Government expenditure on mental health provision for children and young people (a) under the age of 18; (b) from 18 to 25 years old in 2018-19.
tabling member constituency	High Peak
tabling member printed	Ruth George
uin	269148
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/07/2019 answer text <p>Information on spend on mental health provision for children and young people aged 0-25, by clinical commissioning group (CCG), is published by NHS England in the Mental Health Five Year Forward View Dashboard.</p><p>NHS England also publishes spend on specialised commissioning on mental health provision for children and young people.</p><p>For 2018/19, the latest figures show planned expenditure by CCGs of £727 million and for specialised commissioning planned expenditure of £376 million.</p><p>These figures do not distinguish between those aged under the age of 18 and those aged 18 years to 25 years old.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Thurrock answering member printed Jackie Doyle-Price question first answered 03/07/2019 16:02:52 answering member 4065 label Biography information for Dame Jackie Doyle-Price
tabling member	4662 label Biography information for Ruth George

1128212

registered interest
date	22/05/2019
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 people have had their deductions under universal credit reduced from the maximum rate of 40 per cent of an individual's standard allowance in the last (a) month and (b) 12 months.
tabling member constituency	High Peak
tabling member printed	Ruth George
uin	257510
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/06/2019 answer text <p>The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.</p><p> </p><p>The Government recognises the importance of safeguarding the welfare of claimants who have incurred debt. Universal Credit already has procedures and regulations in place to protect claimants from excessive deductions. The maximum rate of deductions cannot normally exceed 40 per cent of the Universal Credit standard allowance, and from October 2019 this will be reduced to 30 per cent.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 10/06/2019 14:52:01 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
tabling member	4662 label Biography information for Ruth George

1128341

registered interest
date	22/05/2019
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: Overpayments
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, (a) how many and (b) what percentage of universal credit claimants had funds deducted for a universal credit overpayment in the most recent month for which data is available.
tabling member constituency	High Peak
tabling member printed	Ruth George
uin	257575
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/06/2019 answer text <p>Internal Management information shows that in April 2019, 80,000 payments of Universal Credit (UC) had a deduction applied to repay a UC overpayment (this figure does not include UC Advances and has been rounded to the nearest 10,000).</p><p> </p><p>It is not possible to show this figure as a percentage as the latest UC caseload data is only available as of 14<sup>th</sup> February 19. However, for context as of 14<sup>th</sup> February 19, 1.4m households received payments of UC.</p><p /><p>The Department ensures that appropriate safeguards are in place to protect claimants who have deductions from their benefit to repay overpayments. There are maximum rates of deduction that are set out in legislation, and if a claimant is struggling they can contact the Department’s Debt Management Team to discuss lowering their repayment rate.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 10/06/2019 15:03:56 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
tabling member	4662 label Biography information for Ruth George

1128342

registered interest
date	22/05/2019
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 18 February 2019 to Question 218205 on Universal Credit, which regulations referred to in that Answer protect claimants from excessive deductions.
tabling member constituency	High Peak
tabling member printed	Ruth George
uin	257576
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/06/2019 answer text <p>The Government recognises the importance of safeguarding the welfare of claimants who have incurred debt. Under Universal Credit there is a structured approach to deductions from benefit, which simplifies the current complex arrangements. Claimants can view their Universal credit statement online and easily understand both how their award is calculated and what debts are being repaid, supporting them to manage their financial obligations.</p><p> </p><p>The aim of the deductions policy in Universal Credit is to protect vulnerable claimants by providing a last resort repayment method for arrears of essential services. The policy also enables social obligations to be enforced when other repayment methods have failed, or are not cost effective, and ensures that benefit debt is recovered in a cost effective manner.</p><p> </p><p>Regulations protect claimants from excessive deductions, which could lead to financial difficulty.</p><p> </p><p>Universal Credit is made up of a standard allowance plus any additional elements that apply, for example a housing element or child element. The overall maximum amount that can be deducted for debt repayments from a claimant’s Universal Credit each month is an amount equal to 40 per cent of their Universal Credit standard allowance.</p><p> </p><p>Where requested deductions exceed the 40 per cent maximum, or there is insufficient Universal Credit in payment for all deductions to be made, a priority order is applied, which determines the order in which items should be deducted. ‘Last resort’ deductions, such as rent or fuel costs, are at the top of the priority order, ensuring that claimant welfare is prioritised, followed by social obligation deductions, such as fines and child maintenance, and finally benefit debt, such as Social Fund loans and benefit overpayments.</p><p> </p><p>There are two exceptions to the overall maximum deduction rate. The first is deductions for current consumption of gas, electricity and water, which do not count towards the overall maximum amount. The second is where a Conditionality Sanction or Fraud Penalty is being applied or an Advance is being recovered, ‘last resort deductions’ (that is arrears of rent, service charges, gas or electricity) continue to be taken, even if it means that more than 40 per cent is deducted. This is to protect vulnerable claimants from being made homeless or having their fuel disconnected.</p><p> </p><p>The Universal Credit, Personal Independence Payment, Jobseeker’s Allowance and Employment and Support Allowance (Claims and Payments) Regulations 2013(S.I, 2013/380) and specifically Regulation 60 and Schedule 6, paragraph 4 explains how claimants are protected from excessive deductions. These regulations are available at <a href="http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2013/380/contents/made" target="_blank">http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2013/380/contents/made</a>.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 10/06/2019 11:23:39 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
tabling member	4662 label Biography information for Ruth George

1124320

registered interest
date	01/05/2019
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Police: Pensions
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for what reasons the treatment of survivor pensions for police widows and widowers is different from that of such pensions for the widows and widowers of armed forces personnel.
tabling member constituency	High Peak
tabling member printed	Ruth George
uin	250024
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/05/2019 answer text <p>The Government believes that there is a specific justification for allowing all surviving partners of Armed Forces Pension Scheme members to retain their survivor’s pension for life. The combination of risk to life in the execution of duty and disruption to family life is unique to Armed Forces personnel.</p><p>The Government has accepted that the arguments were compelling in respect of police officers who have died as a result of an injury on duty. Chang-es to the Police Pension Scheme were made with effect from April 2015 to allow surviving spouses or civil partners of those police officers to receive survivor benefits for life.</p> answering member constituency Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner answering member printed Mr Nick Hurd question first answered 13/05/2019 13:28:14 answering member 1561 label Biography information for Mr Nick Hurd
tabling member	4662 label Biography information for Ruth George

1110631

registered interest
date	09/04/2019
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, whether her Department has set a minimum number of people it will migrate to Universal Credit before concluding its pilot of the managed migration.
tabling member constituency	High Peak
tabling member printed	Ruth George
uin	242941
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/04/2019 answer text <p>It is our aim to support all claimants on legacy benefits and tax credits in moving successfully Universal Credit. To help us learn how best to achieve this, we have sought powers to conduct a pilot phase involving up to a maximum of 10,000 claimants. This number is a ceiling, not a target. It reflects our commitment to return to Parliament with our findings before extending the move onto Universal Credit to more people. There has been no minimum number set for the people who will go through the pilot – we will start small and then increase numbers as slowly and gradually as necessary, learning and adapting as we go.</p><p> </p><p>The Department is currently working closely with a wide and diverse range of stakeholders to design the process and we are considering our approach to the pilot, including which groups or individuals we might begin to move first.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 16/04/2019 11:54:47 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
tabling member	4662 label Biography information for Ruth George

1110633

registered interest
date	09/04/2019
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 her Department has taken to implement the recommendation of the Social Security Advisory Committee to test and evaluate dummy runs of the full managed migration process in a cross-section of claimant scenarios before concluding the piloting phase of universal credit.
tabling member constituency	High Peak
tabling member printed	Ruth George
uin	242942
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/04/2019 answer text <p>We accepted the Social Security Advisory Committee’s recommendation and the pilot phase will allow the Department to test our processes carefully to ensure that claimants on all legacy benefits with a range of characteristics can be successfully moved onto Universal Credit. Furthermore the Department is already undertaking user testing with individuals currently in receipt of legacy benefits and this will further inform the pilot.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 16/04/2019 11:59:05 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
tabling member	4662 label Biography information for Ruth George

1110634

registered interest
date	09/04/2019
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 plans her Department has to include an estimate of the (a) number and (b) expected number of people falling out of the social security system and during the universal credit managed migration pilot when it reports to Parliament on that pilot.
tabling member constituency	High Peak
tabling member printed	Ruth George
uin	242943
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/04/2019 answer text <p>We do not intend to stop anyone’s benefit during the pilot. In the pilot phase, our intention is to learn how to effectively assist people onto Universal Credit and to develop processes to deliver that help. This is particularly important for vulnerable and hard-to-reach claimants, who the Department will help to move across to the new system. We are piloting this approach precisely to learn how we can contact and support people to move to Universal Credit without ending their legacy entitlement.</p><p>Through the pilot process we will work to understand the reasons for unsuccessful applications. However, there will be safeguards in place to protect those who might otherwise fail to make a successful claim.</p><p> </p><p>We will report on our findings from the pilot before bringing forward legislation to extend this process.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma grouped question UIN 242938 question first answered 15/04/2019 16:03:53 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
tabling member	4662 label Biography information for Ruth George