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1147032

	registered interest
	date	30/09/2019
	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	Food Banks
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many (a) formal and (b) informal referrals to food banks have been made by Jobcentre Plus in each of the most recent 12 months for which data are available.
	tabling member constituency	Birkenhead
	tabling member printed	Frank Field
	uin	292109
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/10/2019 answer text <p>Jobcentres do not refer claimants to food banks or issue food bank vouchers. The Department has long-standing guidance in place which allows staff to signpost customers in writing to a food bank where they have asked for details, and if all sources of statutory support have been exhausted. Jobcentre Plus staff are not required to keep records of the number of benefit claimants signposted to food banks in their local area, and we have no current plans to develop official national statistics on food bank use.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 03/10/2019 15:09:33 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead

1147174

	registered interest
	date	30/09/2019
	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	Poverty: Children
	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 trends in the level of child poverty.
	tabling member constituency	Newport West
	tabling member printed	Ruth Jones
	uin	292338
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/10/2019 answer text <p>National statistics on the number of children in relative and absolute low income are set out in the annual &quot;Households Below Average Income&quot; publication available here: <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/789816/hbai-2017-2018-tables-ods-files.zip" target="_blank">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/789816/hbai-2017-2018-tables-ods-files.zip</a></p><p> </p><p>In the latest low income statistics, the number of children in low income increased in three of the four measures.</p><p> </p><p>Since 2009/2010 there has been a 1 percentage point reduction in child poverty on an absolute before housing cost (BHC) basis.</p><p> </p><p>The evidence shows that work is the best route out of poverty and there are 730,000 fewer children in workless households compared with 2010.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 07/10/2019 13:09:50 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4716 label Biography information for Ruth Jones

1147855

	registered interest
	date	02/10/2019
	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	Poverty: Females
	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 she has made of the number of women and girls living below the poverty line.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
	uin	293446
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/10/2019 answer text <p>National Statistics on the number of children in relative and absolute low income are set out in the annual &quot;Households Below Average Income&quot; (HBAI) publication.</p><p> </p><p>In the latest low income statistics, the number of women (including those of pension age) and female children below the poverty line decreased in three out of four measures compared to 2009/10. In 2017/18 there were 3.8 million women in absolute poverty before housings costs, down from 3.9 million in 2009/10. In 2017/18 there were 1.2 million female children in poverty in absolute poverty before housing costs, down from 1.3 million in 2009/10.</p><p> </p><p>The above information has been sourced from the Households Below Average Income (HBAI) statistics using Stat-Xplore. Stat-Xplore can be accessed using: <a href="https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/" target="_blank">https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/</a></p><p> </p><p>Guidance on how to use Stat-Xplore can be found here:</p><p><a href="https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/index.html" target="_blank">https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/index.html</a>.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 07/10/2019 12:58:16 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

1147068

	registered interest
	date	30/09/2019
	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	Social Security Benefits
	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 potential merits of establishing an independent commission to review the value of benefits to ensure they consistently match the cost of living.
	tabling member constituency	South Cambridgeshire
	tabling member printed	Heidi Allen
	uin	292317
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/10/2019 answer text <p>The Secretary of State has a statutory duty to complete an annual review of benefit and pension rates to determine whether they have retained their value in relation to either prices or earnings.</p><p> </p><p>If there has been an increase in prices or earnings she must increase certain benefits by at least the increase in prices or earnings, using ONS data. For other benefits she may take into account the prevailing economic conditions and other relevant factors.</p><p> </p><p>Whilst organisations external to Government are free to make representations to the Secretary of State, the Department has made no assessment around the introduction of an independent commission to review the value of benefits.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 07/10/2019 13:39:43 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4516 label Biography information for Heidi Allen

1146582

	registered interest
	date	26/09/2019
	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	Social Security Benefits: Payments
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what comparative assessment she has made of the average length of time for a claimant to receive their first (a) legacy benefit payment and (b) universal credit payment in the each of the last two years.
	tabling member constituency	Airdrie and Shotts
	tabling member printed	Neil Gray
	uin	291447
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/10/2019 answer text <p>The design of Universal Credit is fundamentally different to legacy benefits, so any assessment would not reflect this adequately.</p><p> </p><p>The Department published an assessment of legacy benefit and Universal Credit payment timeliness in its Annual Report and Accounts 2018-19. This showed that the speed of Universal Credit payments has continued to improve during its rollout and the Department continues to introduce improvements. Between February 2018 to February 2019 Universal Credit payment timeliness improved with 86% of new claims to Universal Credit receiving full payment on time in February 2019, an increase from 78% in February 2018.</p><p> </p><p>Monthly assessment periods align to the way the majority of employees are paid, and how utility companies and other service providers collect payments. This allows Universal Credit to be adjusted each month, which means that if a claimant’s income falls they will not have to wait several months for a rise in their Universal Credit.</p><p> </p><p>Overall, Universal Credit provides more tailored support, and makes it more financially rewarding to increase earnings when in employment compared to legacy benefits.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 03/10/2019 15:55:01 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4365 label Biography information for Neil Gray

1147448

	registered interest
	date	01/10/2019
	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	Social Security Benefits: Wirral
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many advance benefit payments were made to people in (a) Wallasey constituency and (b) Wirral in each of the last 12 months.
	tabling member constituency	Wallasey
	tabling member printed	Ms Angela Eagle
	uin	292839
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/10/2019 answer text <p>The table below gives the number of advances paid for the Wallasey constituency and the Wirral local authority.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p>Wallasey Constituency</p></td><td><p>Wirral Local Authority</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Jun-18</p></td><td><p>360</p></td><td><p>1,200</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Jul-18</p></td><td><p>480</p></td><td><p>1,530</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Aug-18</p></td><td><p>450</p></td><td><p>1,410</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Sep-18</p></td><td><p>380</p></td><td><p>1,280</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Oct-18</p></td><td><p>410</p></td><td><p>1,350</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Nov-18</p></td><td><p>410</p></td><td><p>1,370</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Dec-18</p></td><td><p>290</p></td><td><p>1,040</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Jan-19</p></td><td><p>390</p></td><td><p>1,340</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Feb-19</p></td><td><p>430</p></td><td><p>1,370</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Mar-19</p></td><td><p>490</p></td><td><p>1,480</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Apr-19</p></td><td><p>490</p></td><td><p>1,490</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>May-19</p></td><td><p>590</p></td><td><p>1,780</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p><strong>Notes</strong></p><p>Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.</p><p>Figures include all types of advances.</p><p>Figures relate to Universal Credit full service only.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 07/10/2019 13:02:42 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	491 label Biography information for Dame Angela Eagle

1146021

	registered interest
	date	25/09/2019
	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 steps her Department is taking to review universal credit assessment periods when claimants receive two paychecks within the same assessment period due to a change of employer.
	tabling member constituency	Chichester
	tabling member printed	Gillian Keegan
	uin	291103
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/10/2019 answer text <p>Universal Credit seeks to take earnings into account in a way that is fair and transparent. The amount of Universal Credit paid reflects, as closely as possible, the actual circumstances of a household during each monthly assessment period, including any earnings reported by their employer or employers during the assessment period, regardless of when they were paid, or which month they relate to.</p><p> </p><p>Assessment periods allow for Universal Credit awards to be adjusted on a monthly basis, ensuring that if a claimant’s income changes, they do not have to wait several months for a corresponding change in their Universal Credit award. Claimants can always discuss the implications of any changes in earnings with their case managers and work coach and can be referred to personal budgeting support to help them manage their budgeting.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 03/10/2019 15:59:24 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4680 label Biography information for Gillian Keegan

1146996

	registered interest
	date	30/09/2019
	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 her timescale is for the completion of managed migration to universal credit.
	tabling member constituency	Cardiff Central
	tabling member printed	Jo Stevens
	uin	292273
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/10/2019 answer text <p>We have already said that following the pilot we will report back to Parliament on progress and findings, and at that point will determine the process for bringing forward further legislation to move claimants beyond the pilot phase.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>The Universal Credit (Managed Migration Pilot and Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2019 introduced in July 2019 allow the Department to pilot moving no more than 10,000 claimants across to Universal Credit from legacy benefits and is expected to last until November 2020.</p><p> </p><p>Draft regulations were sent for scrutiny to the independent Social Security Advisory Committee (SSAC) in 2018. The Committee submitted them for a formal public consultation, receiving 455 responses - the Government accepted, in whole or in part, all but one of the Committee’s recommendations.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 03/10/2019 14:46:18 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4425 label Biography information for Jo Stevens

1147067

	registered interest
	date	30/09/2019
	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 her Department has made of the potential merits of backdating universal credit payments to reduce the five week wait for a first payment.
	tabling member constituency	South Cambridgeshire
	tabling member printed	Heidi Allen
	uin	292316
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/10/2019 answer text <p>Universal Credit new claim advances provide access to a payment for those in financial need, which can be accessed urgently, until their first regular Universal Credit payment is due. Claimants can access up to 100% of the total expected monthly award, which they can pay back over a period of up to 12 months. We have announced that from October 2021, the repayment period for these advances will be extended further, to 16 months.</p><p> </p><p>The Department has delivered a number of improvements to support claimants during their first assessment period, such as removing waiting days and paying those claimants moving from Housing Benefit onto Universal Credit a two week ‘transitional housing payment’. We are also introducing a two-week run on for eligible claimants of Income Support, Jobseeker’s Allowance and Employment and Support Allowance from July 2020.</p><p> </p><p>Claims may be backdated, by up to one calendar month, in limited circumstances for vulnerable claimants who may be delayed in claiming Universal Credit through no fault of their own. Claims may also be backdated in specific circumstances when a couple separates to ensure that there is no gap in entitlement between the couple claim and the new claim made by a single claimant.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 07/10/2019 13:48:25 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4516 label Biography information for Heidi Allen

1147069

	registered interest
	date	30/09/2019
	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, how many and what proportion of universal credit payments were subject to a deduction for child maintenance arrears.
	tabling member constituency	South Cambridgeshire
	tabling member printed	Heidi Allen
	uin	292318
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/10/2019 answer text <p>For eligible Universal Credit claims with a payment due in May 2019 (the latest month of available data) 0.6% [11,000 claims] had a deduction for child maintenance arrears.</p><p> </p><p>Notes</p><p>- Number of claims rounded to nearest 1000.</p><p>- Percentage rounded to nearest 0.1%</p><p /> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 07/10/2019 13:55:09 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4516 label Biography information for Heidi Allen