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

1221219

	registered interest
	date	06/07/2020
	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 effect on the finances of claimants of making advance payments of universal Credit grants instead of loans.
	tabling member constituency	Manchester, Gorton
	tabling member printed	Afzal Khan
	uin	69669
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/07/2020 answer text <p><strong> </strong></p><p>A new system of grants could not be implemented without significant reprioritisation of current measures: our focus remains firmly on ensuring that millions of new and existing claimants continue to receive their payments on time, and that we do everything possible to support people back into work where it is right to do so.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>We introduced measures that could be quickly and effectively operationalised following the outbreak of COVID-19, supported by over £6.5bn of additional funding to the welfare system and which benefitted as many disadvantaged claimants as possible. This includes temporarily increasing the Universal Credit standard allowance by the equivalent of £20 per week – worth up to £1,040 this year. This is in addition to the 1.7% inflation increase as part of the Government’s decision to end the benefits freeze and means more financial support for millions of claimants across the country.</p><p> </p><p>Universal Credit advances allow new claimants to request additional support during the first assessment period. Advances can be repaid over a year, allowing new claimants to receive 13 payments during that period instead of 12.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 14/07/2020 16:42:18 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4671 label Biography information for Afzal Khan

1285089

	registered interest
	date	09/02/2021
	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 changes she has made to the universal credit system to comply with the Court of Appeal judgement of 22 June 2020 on assessing two wage payments received within a single assessment period.
	tabling member constituency	Kilmarnock and Loudoun
	tabling member printed	Alan Brown
	uin	151764
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/02/2021 answer text <p>The Universal Credit (Earned Income) Amendment Regulations 2020 were laid in October 2020, so for cases affected by this issue, monthly earnings can be reallocated to another assessment period. To support this, we have designed a tool which interacts with the Universal Credit Service to allow the redistribution of earnings where appropriate, with guidance having been issued to staff to ensure that where an issue is identified, the correct remedial action is taken.</p><p> </p><p>Automated identification of affected claimants is expected to be implemented in early 2021. This will allow us to proactively correct Universal Credit awards before they are paid without the claimant needing to raise the issue.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 16/02/2021 11:31:48 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4470 label Biography information for Alan Brown

1287367

	registered interest
	date	19/02/2021
	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, pursuant to the Answer of 16 February 2021 to Question 151764, on Universal Credit, whether that new process covers claimants that are paid every four weeks, in the event that they receive two sets of four weekly payments within a single calendar month.
	tabling member constituency	Kilmarnock and Loudoun
	tabling member printed	Alan Brown
	uin	155189
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/03/2021 answer text <p>No, automated identification will only be for affected claimants receiving monthly earnings in the same assessment period.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 01/03/2021 17:41:21 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4470 label Biography information for Alan Brown

1378391

	registered interest
	date	15/11/2021
	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, how many waivers were granted for universal credit overpayments classed as official error in financial year 2020-21.
	tabling member constituency	Kilmarnock and Loudoun
	tabling member printed	Alan Brown
	uin	75017
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/11/2021 answer text <p>The table below details the number of waivers of Universal Credit Official Error overpayments granted in the requested years:</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Financial Year</p></td><td><p>Number of UC Official Error overpayments where recovery was waived</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2020/2021</p></td><td><p>9</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2021/2022 (April to October)</p></td><td><p>5</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p /><p><em>Please note that this data is taken from operational data systems, and is not intended for publication. Therefore, the data itself is not quality assured to the standard of published Official Statistics and National Statistics.</em></p><p> </p><p>DWP pays welfare benefits to around 23 million people and is committed to ensuring that the right people are paid the right amount of Universal Credit. The vast majority of benefit expenditure (more than £200bn across all benefits last financial year) is paid correctly, with front line staff working hard to prevent overpayments from occurring.</p><p> </p><p>Where an overpayment does occur, the Department has a responsibility to taxpayers to recover the money without creating undue financial hardship. Universal Credit overpayments are recoverable, irrespective of how they arose. Where recovery is made by deduction from Universal Credit, there is a limit placed on the overall amount that can be deducted. Formerly 40% of the Universal Credit Standard Allowance, this was reduced to 30% in October 2019 and again to 25% in April 2021.</p><p> </p><p>A waiver can only be granted where the recovery of the overpayment is causing substantial medical and/or financial hardship, and where clear evidence of this can be provided.</p><p> </p><p>However, any claimants struggling with the proposed rate of deductions are encouraged to contact DWP Debt Management to discuss affordability, so that a lower repayment rate can be negotiated as appropriate.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley grouped question UIN 75018 question first answered 18/11/2021 17:04:44 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley
	tabling member	4470 label Biography information for Alan Brown

1378393

	registered interest
	date	15/11/2021
	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, how many waivers have been granted for universal credit overpayments with the classification of official error in financial year 2021-22 to date.
	tabling member constituency	Kilmarnock and Loudoun
	tabling member printed	Alan Brown
	uin	75018
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/11/2021 answer text <p>The table below details the number of waivers of Universal Credit Official Error overpayments granted in the requested years:</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Financial Year</p></td><td><p>Number of UC Official Error overpayments where recovery was waived</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2020/2021</p></td><td><p>9</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2021/2022 (April to October)</p></td><td><p>5</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p /><p><em>Please note that this data is taken from operational data systems, and is not intended for publication. Therefore, the data itself is not quality assured to the standard of published Official Statistics and National Statistics.</em></p><p> </p><p>DWP pays welfare benefits to around 23 million people and is committed to ensuring that the right people are paid the right amount of Universal Credit. The vast majority of benefit expenditure (more than £200bn across all benefits last financial year) is paid correctly, with front line staff working hard to prevent overpayments from occurring.</p><p> </p><p>Where an overpayment does occur, the Department has a responsibility to taxpayers to recover the money without creating undue financial hardship. Universal Credit overpayments are recoverable, irrespective of how they arose. Where recovery is made by deduction from Universal Credit, there is a limit placed on the overall amount that can be deducted. Formerly 40% of the Universal Credit Standard Allowance, this was reduced to 30% in October 2019 and again to 25% in April 2021.</p><p> </p><p>A waiver can only be granted where the recovery of the overpayment is causing substantial medical and/or financial hardship, and where clear evidence of this can be provided.</p><p> </p><p>However, any claimants struggling with the proposed rate of deductions are encouraged to contact DWP Debt Management to discuss affordability, so that a lower repayment rate can be negotiated as appropriate.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley grouped question UIN 75017 question first answered 18/11/2021 17:04:44 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley
	tabling member	4470 label Biography information for Alan Brown

1254892

	registered interest
	date	24/11/2020
	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 estimate she has made of the number of people whose universal credit payments have incurred errors in (a) Wales, (b) England and (c) the UK, in each year since 2015.
	tabling member constituency	Pontypridd
	tabling member printed	Alex Davies-Jones
	uin	120178
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/11/2020 answer text <p>The Department is committed to ensuring we are paying the right people the right amount of Universal Credit.</p><p>We published our annual ‘Fraud and error in the benefit system: financial year 2019 to 2020 estimates’ report in May 2020, and this includes information and data across benefit types, including Universal Credit. It can be accessed online using the following link:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/fraud-and-error-in-the-benefit-system-financial-year-2019-to-2020-estimates" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/fraud-and-error-in-the-benefit-system-financial-year-2019-to-2020-estimates</a>.</p><p>Data for previous financial years is also available via.gov.uk; however, changes in recording methodology mean that comparisons cannot be made with years prior to 2018/19.</p><p>The vast majority of benefit expenditure is paid correctly, with front line staff working hard to prevent overpayments from occurring. We are constantly improving our processes and continue to invest in the use of data and analytics to identify fraud and error.</p><p>Once rolled out, DWP expects the high-level design of Universal Credit to lead to around £1bn in benefit savings each year from reduced fraud and error.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 30/11/2020 16:09:41 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4849 label Biography information for Alex Davies-Jones

1346488

	registered interest
	date	13/07/2021
	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 she has made of (a) the potential merits of excluding mandatory travel to work expenditure from income for universal credit purposes and (b) the effect of the inclusion of that expenditure as income for universal credit purposes on the ability of claimants to seek further employment.
	tabling member constituency	Nottingham North
	tabling member printed	Alex Norris
	uin	32500
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/07/2021 answer text <p>No such assessment has been done.</p><p>Universal Credit provides support for everyday living expenses. Any earnings an employee receives would normally be expected to cover the costs of travel to and from work, irrespective of whether or not the employee was also claiming Universal Credit.</p><p>To keep Universal Credit as simple as possible, the definition of earnings aligns very closely to the rules in tax legislation (Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003 (ITEPA)), so that rules across tax and benefits are aligned where possible. Any allowable expenses which are wholly, necessarily and exclusively incurred as part of the duties of employment are not counted as employed earnings and would be excluded from the calculation of a Universal Credit Award. Travel from home to a permanent workplace is not an allowable expense for tax purposes.</p><p>The Flexible Support Fund is a discretionary fund and can be used by staff to remove barriers when a claimant is starting work for example it can cover the first 3 months travel costs. Where there are difficulties with public transport work coaches can consider funding for pedal cycles and e bikes to allow people to get to their place of employment. Discussion s should be held with their work coach in the first instance around this type of support.</p><p><strong> </strong></p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 21/07/2021 15:12:12 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4641 label Biography information for Alex Norris

1600764

	registered interest
	date	02/03/2023
	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 take steps to ensure that, when setting the qualifying dates for 2023/24 cost of living payments, Universal Credit claimants who are paid four-weekly and who are therefore not eligible for the Spring 2023 payment will be able to receive the Autumn 2023 and Spring 2024 payments.
	tabling member constituency	Nottingham North
	tabling member printed	Alex Norris
	uin	157008
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/03/2023 answer text <p>Last year we successfully delivered tens of millions of Cost of Living Payments by keeping the policy simple. Whatever eligibility dates are selected there will be always be some individuals who are ineligible in the qualifying period – whether that is due for example to their earnings, capital or other income, or for a combination of reasons. However, we are delivering the Cost of Living Payment in three separate payments over 2023/24 to reduce the chance of someone missing out altogether.</p><p> </p><p>For those who require additional support, we are extending the Household Support Fund throughout the next financial year. This will allow local authorities in England to help households with the cost of essentials including those in need who may not be eligible for the other support we have recently made available. The devolved administrations will receive consequential funding as usual to spend at their discretion.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 07/03/2023 10:48:23 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
	tabling member	4641 label Biography information for Alex Norris

1273280

	registered interest
	date	30/12/2020
	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 publish her Department's projections for business planning purposes of the universal credit claimant count (a) in each year for which it has been projected and (b) aged 16 - 24 in each year for which it has been projected.
	tabling member constituency	Wirral South
	tabling member printed	Alison McGovern
	uin	132894
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/01/2021 answer text <p>The Department published its latest benefit expenditure and caseload tables, including Universal Credit caseload over the next 5 financial years, which is available here [<a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/benefit-expenditure-and-caseload-tables-2020" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/benefit-expenditure-and-caseload-tables-2020</a>]. This was published in December.</p><p> </p><p>Estimates by age-group are not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 11/01/2021 14:17:36 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
	tabling member	4083 label Biography information for Alison McGovern

1465302

	registered interest
	date	24/05/2022
	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 would make an assessment of how long it would take to implement an uplift to (a) Universal Credit and (b) legacy benefits.
	tabling member constituency	Wirral South
	tabling member printed	Alison McGovern
	uin	7973
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/06/2022 answer text <p>There are no plans to make an assessment of how long it would take to implement an uplift to Universal Credit and Legacy Benefits.</p><p> </p><p>The government is providing over £15bn in further support, targeted particularly on those with the greatest need. This package is in addition to the over £22bn announced previously, with government support for the cost of living now totalling over £37bn this year. This means that millions of the most vulnerable households will get £1,200 of one-off support in total this year to help with the cost of living, with all domestic electricity customers receiving at least £400.</p><p> </p><p>This additional support means that eight million households on means-tested benefits will get £650 paid directly into their bank accounts in two lump sums - one in July, the other this autumn. There will also be separate one-off payments of £300 to pensioner households and £150 to individuals receiving disability benefits.</p><p> </p><p>To support people who need additional help later in the year, the Government is providing, from October, an extra £500 million of funding. In England, £421m will be used to extend the Household Support Fund. The Devolved Administrations will receive £79m. This is in addition to the £1bn already provided for this support.</p> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley question first answered 09/06/2022 10:12:03 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley
	tabling member	4083 label Biography information for Alison McGovern