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1125882

	registered interest
	date	10/05/2019
	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	State Retirement Pensions: Females
	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 8 February 2019 to Question 217138, what designation has been assigned to those complaints.
	tabling member constituency	Rutherglen and Hamilton West
	tabling member printed	Ged Killen
	uin	252883
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/05/2019 answer text <p>I refer the honourable gentlemen to the answer previously given in response to Question 217138. The Independent Case Examiner closed all live complaints concerning changes to women’s State Pension age when they became subject to legal proceedings, as is required under its governance contract. In the event the legal proceedings fall away or there is no determination on the matters which form the basis of this group of complaints, the Independent Case Examiner could consider reopening the cases at the request of the Department. The Department cannot evaluate the potential merits of making such a request until the legal proceedings have been concluded.</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman grouped question UIN 252884 question first answered 15/05/2019 09:21:53 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
	tabling member	4672 label Biography information for Ged Killen

1125883

	registered interest
	date	10/05/2019
	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	State Retirement Pensions: Females
	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 8 February 2019 to Question 217138, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of her Department instructing the Independent Case Examiner to reopen complaints relating to the equalisation of the state pension age cases in the event that legal proceedings fall away.
	tabling member constituency	Rutherglen and Hamilton West
	tabling member printed	Ged Killen
	uin	252884
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/05/2019 answer text <p>I refer the honourable gentlemen to the answer previously given in response to Question 217138. The Independent Case Examiner closed all live complaints concerning changes to women’s State Pension age when they became subject to legal proceedings, as is required under its governance contract. In the event the legal proceedings fall away or there is no determination on the matters which form the basis of this group of complaints, the Independent Case Examiner could consider reopening the cases at the request of the Department. The Department cannot evaluate the potential merits of making such a request until the legal proceedings have been concluded.</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman grouped question UIN 252883 question first answered 15/05/2019 09:21:53 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
	tabling member	4672 label Biography information for Ged Killen

1124929

	registered interest
	date	07/05/2019
	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: Housing
	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 make automatic payment of the housing cost element of universal credit directly to the landlord.
	tabling member constituency	Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk
	tabling member printed	John Lamont
	uin	251332
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/05/2019 answer text <p>Universal Credit payments are designed to mirror the world of work, with monthly payments reflecting the way many working people are paid. This model of monthly payments allows claimants to take responsibility for budgeting their own income and helps prepare them for getting back to work.</p><p> </p><p>Many claimants are capable of managing their own financial affairs and for these claimants a Managed Payment to Landlords (MPTL) is not appropriate.</p><p> </p><p>A claimant’s personal circumstances could change in a way which means that they need additional support at any stage of a claim, not just at the start. As such, we make sure that managed payments to landlords (MPTL) are available to Universal Credit claimants when appropriate, either from the start of their claim or at whatever point in which they need help.</p><p> </p><p>A MPTL can be requested by the claimant, their representative or their landlord and will be considered on a case by case basis and requests for MPTLs are dealt with as a priority. Landlords who are given access to the Landlord Portal are also given Trusted Partner status which allows them to make recommendations on whether an MPTL should be put in place. All MPTL recommendations from Trusted Partners will be implemented in good faith by DWP.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 15/05/2019 11:07:15 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4608 label Biography information for John Lamont

1125936

	registered interest
	date	10/05/2019
	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: Hearing Impairment
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the information for British Sign Language users to contact the universal credit helpline through a video relay service.
	tabling member constituency	Midlothian
	tabling member printed	Danielle Rowley
	uin	252874
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/05/2019 answer text <p>Universal Credit has been designed with accessibility in mind and we are committed to providing personalised support for all claimants.</p><p> </p><p>Where our customers need assistance to access our services and information, we make reasonable adjustments to meet their individual needs. DWP customers who have a specific communication barrier are able to use a variety of different communication methods including via third party interpreters for British Sign Language (BSL) and textphone and next Generation Text services are available to customers who are unable to contact the Department by phone.</p><p> </p><p>In addition, Universal Credit claimants can use their online accounts to send messages direct to their Work Coach or Case Manager, check their Universal Credit benefit payments and notify us of any changes.</p><p> </p><p>We are currently in the design stage of a test to implement Video Relay Service for our Universal Credit British Sign Language customers in one geography by June 2019. This will be robustly evaluated incorporating customer insight ahead of any decision to roll out the service nationally.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma grouped question UIN 252875 question first answered 15/05/2019 14:23:31 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	4628 label Biography information for Danielle Rowley

1125938

	registered interest
	date	10/05/2019
	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: Hearing Impairment
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent estimate her Department has made of the number of British Sign Language users who have not received adequate support in accessing the universal credit helpline.
	tabling member constituency	Midlothian
	tabling member printed	Danielle Rowley
	uin	252875
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/05/2019 answer text <p>Universal Credit has been designed with accessibility in mind and we are committed to providing personalised support for all claimants.</p><p> </p><p>Where our customers need assistance to access our services and information, we make reasonable adjustments to meet their individual needs. DWP customers who have a specific communication barrier are able to use a variety of different communication methods including via third party interpreters for British Sign Language (BSL) and textphone and next Generation Text services are available to customers who are unable to contact the Department by phone.</p><p> </p><p>In addition, Universal Credit claimants can use their online accounts to send messages direct to their Work Coach or Case Manager, check their Universal Credit benefit payments and notify us of any changes.</p><p> </p><p>We are currently in the design stage of a test to implement Video Relay Service for our Universal Credit British Sign Language customers in one geography by June 2019. This will be robustly evaluated incorporating customer insight ahead of any decision to roll out the service nationally.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma grouped question UIN 252874 question first answered 15/05/2019 14:23:31 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	4628 label Biography information for Danielle Rowley

1125661

	registered interest
	date	09/05/2019
	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	Personal Independence Payment: Medical Examinations
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what regular appraisals her Department undertakes of the performance of Capita in assessing claimants of personal independence payment.
	tabling member constituency	South Antrim
	tabling member printed	Paul Girvan
	uin	252615
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/05/2019 answer text <p>All elements of Capita’s performance are monitored including the requirements for the quality of assessments, which are assessed through audit. The PIP audit process assesses the quality of a sample of assessment reports on a monthly basis against the standards set out in the PIP Assessment Guide, with feedback provided to the provider.</p><p> </p><p>Alongside contracted measures we continue to work extensively with Capita to ensure the quality of service is continuously improved, including improvements to guidance, training and the claimant journey.</p><p> </p><p>The Department has set Capita challenging targets for the ‘Lot 2’ contract covering Wales and the Midlands. The department robustly performance manages Capita against those requirements on a regular basis.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 15/05/2019 16:11:12 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	4633 label Biography information for Paul Girvan

1125060

	registered interest
	date	07/05/2019
	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, what estimate she has made of the cost to the public purse of advance payments for universal credit since its inception.
	tabling member constituency	Brent Central
	tabling member printed	Dawn Butler
	uin	251269
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/05/2019 answer text <p>Universal Credit (UC) new claim advances provide access to a payment for those in financial need, which can be accessed on the same day, until their first UC payment is due. Claimants can access up to 100% of the total expected monthly award, for which they can pay back over a period of up to 12 months. From October 2021, this maximum repayment period will be extended further to 16 months.</p><p> </p><p>Around 60 per cent of new claims take up an advance. Subject to some fluctuation, this rate of advance take-up has been broadly consistent over the last 12 months.</p><p> </p><p>Between 1 May 2013 and 30 April 2019, a total of 2.9 million UC advance payments have been made.</p><p> </p><p>Advances are payments of Universal Credit made early, which are subject to recovery over an agreed period.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma grouped question UIN 251268 question first answered 15/05/2019 16:32:19 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	1489 label Biography information for Dawn Butler

1125059

	registered interest
	date	07/05/2019
	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, what estimate he has made of the number of claims for advance payments since the inception of universal credit.
	tabling member constituency	Brent Central
	tabling member printed	Dawn Butler
	uin	251268
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/05/2019 answer text <p>Universal Credit (UC) new claim advances provide access to a payment for those in financial need, which can be accessed on the same day, until their first UC payment is due. Claimants can access up to 100% of the total expected monthly award, for which they can pay back over a period of up to 12 months. From October 2021, this maximum repayment period will be extended further to 16 months.</p><p> </p><p>Around 60 per cent of new claims take up an advance. Subject to some fluctuation, this rate of advance take-up has been broadly consistent over the last 12 months.</p><p> </p><p>Between 1 May 2013 and 30 April 2019, a total of 2.9 million UC advance payments have been made.</p><p> </p><p>Advances are payments of Universal Credit made early, which are subject to recovery over an agreed period.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma grouped question UIN 251269 question first answered 15/05/2019 16:32:19 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	1489 label Biography information for Dawn Butler

1064763

	registered interest
	date	21/02/2019
	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 much has been deducted from universal credit claimants' standard allowance in each month since April 2017.
	tabling member constituency	High Peak
	tabling member printed	Ruth George
	uin	224493
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/05/2019 answer text <p>Internal figures are provided in the table below from two DWP datasets.</p><p> </p><p>The Government recognises the importance of safeguarding the welfare of claimants who have incurred debt. The aim of the deductions policy in Universal Credit is to protect vulnerable claimants from eviction and/or having their gas, electricity and water cut off, by providing a last resort repayment method for arrears of these essential services.</p><p> </p><p>The increase in Universal Credit caseload and activity to increase awareness of advances has had an effect on deductions. Increased awareness has resulted in around 60% of eligible new claims to Universal Credit receiving an advance in October 2018, providing further financial support until their first payment.</p><p> </p><p>Total amount deducted from Universal Credit payments between April 2017 and October 2018</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Month</p></td><td><p>Amount deducted [rounded to the nearest million]</p></td><td><p>Amount of Universal Credit paid [rounded to the nearest million]</p></td><td><p>Amount deducted as a percentage of Universal Credit paid</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Apr-17</p></td><td><p>£9,000,000</p></td><td><p>£140,000,000</p></td><td><p>7%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>May-17</p></td><td><p>£10,000,000</p></td><td><p>£148,000,000</p></td><td><p>7%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Jun-17</p></td><td><p>£10,000,000</p></td><td><p>£159,000,000</p></td><td><p>6%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Jul-17</p></td><td><p>£11,000,000</p></td><td><p>£166,000,000</p></td><td><p>6%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Aug-17</p></td><td><p>£11,000,000</p></td><td><p>£176,000,000</p></td><td><p>6%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Sep-17</p></td><td><p>£12,000,000</p></td><td><p>£186,000,000</p></td><td><p>6%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Oct-17</p></td><td><p>£13,000,000</p></td><td><p>£195,000,000</p></td><td><p>7%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Nov-17</p></td><td><p>£13,000,000</p></td><td><p>£205,000,000</p></td><td><p>7%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Dec-17</p></td><td><p>£15,000,000</p></td><td><p>£216,000,000</p></td><td><p>7%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Jan-18</p></td><td><p>£17,000,000</p></td><td><p>£232,000,000</p></td><td><p>7%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Feb-18</p></td><td><p>£19,000,000</p></td><td><p>£243,000,000</p></td><td><p>8%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Mar-18</p></td><td><p>£22,000,000</p></td><td><p>£257,000,000</p></td><td><p>8%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Apr-18</p></td><td><p>£23,000,000</p></td><td><p>£266,000,000</p></td><td><p>9%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>May-18</p></td><td><p>£25,000,000</p></td><td><p>£284,000,000</p></td><td><p>9%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Jun-18</p></td><td><p>£27,000,000</p></td><td><p>£319,000,000</p></td><td><p>8%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Jul-18</p></td><td><p>£29,000,000</p></td><td><p>£335,000,000</p></td><td><p>9%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Aug-18</p></td><td><p>£32,000,000</p></td><td><p>£360,000,000</p></td><td><p>9%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Sep-18</p></td><td><p>£35,000,000</p></td><td><p>£380,000,000</p></td><td><p>9%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Oct-18</p></td><td><p>£39,000,000</p></td><td><p>£410,000,000</p></td><td><p>10%</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Notes:</p><p> </p><p>Data sources: Universal Credit Live Service Reference Datasets and Full Service PDM data, UC Analysis Division</p><p> </p><p>1. Figures are provided for the total of UC Live Service and Full Service. The data is sourced from two different computer systems and the information available is slightly different on each system.</p><ul><li>Full Service deductions include advance repayments and all other deductions, but exclude sanctions and fraud penalties which are deductions of benefit rather than deductions.</li><li>Live Service deductions do not include sanctions which are reductions of benefit rather than deductions, but may include Fraud Penalties as these could not be removed from the Live Service data.</li><li>The Full and Live Service datasets use slightly different definitions for the month. Full Service data uses the month the UC payment is due, whereas Live Service data uses the month the assessment period related to the payment ends. The 'Total' column sums the figures using these different definitions.</li></ul><p> </p><p>2. Increase in the total deduction amounts by month reflects the effect of Universal Credit (UC) roll out as more people move onto UC.</p><p> </p><p>3. Amount of Universal Credit paid reflects the amount of money paid to claimants and their landlords as part of their award. It does not include other payments such as advances and hardship payments.</p><p> </p><p>4. Figures are provisional and are subject to retrospective change as later data becomes available.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 15/05/2019 16:55:20 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma previous answer version 104615 answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	4662 label Biography information for Ruth George

1126011

	registered interest
	date	13/05/2019
	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: Domestic Abuse
	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 25 January 2019 to Question 212664 on Universal Credit: Domestic Violence, what recent discussions her Department has had with the Scottish Government on the implementation of separate universal credit payments by default; and if she will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	Midlothian
	tabling member printed	Danielle Rowley
	uin	253698
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/05/2019 answer text <p>When an individual suffering from domestic abuse requests a split payment, we will make split payments available to them.</p><p> </p><p>Whilst DWP is not intending to introduce split payments by default, as a department we respond positively to requests for split payments, and can take other actions to support those experiencing abuse, such as making a managed payment of rent direct to landlords. We also ensure that claimants who disclose domestic abuse are signposted to specialist organisations for support. All work coaches undergo mandatory training regarding how to support vulnerable claimants, including recognising the signs of domestic abuse.</p><p> </p><p>We will continue to work closely with the Scottish Government to establish the practicalities of delivering split payments in Scotland.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 16/05/2019 13:42:04 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4628 label Biography information for Danielle Rowley