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1167519

registered interest
date	30/10/2019
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	Department for Work and Pensions: Metro Newspaper
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 17 October 2019 to Question 316, whether the graphics used in the six-week long advertising campaign entitled, Universal Credit Uncovered, in The Metro were designed by (a) staff in her Department or (b) Associated Newspapers.
tabling member constituency	High Peak
tabling member printed	Ruth George
uin	7798
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/11/2019 answer text <p>The information used in the ‘Universal Credit Uncovered’ Metro campaign was sourced by Departmental officials. The campaign graphics were designed by Metro’s in-house design team as part of the Department’s media partnership with them.</p><p> </p><p>We went to great lengths to ensure the factual accuracy of the campaign through extensive consultation within the Department, including the Government Legal Department. We also consulted with the Advertising Standards Authority Copy Advice Team prior to the launch and continued to do so throughout the campaign lifetime.</p><p> </p><p>The Metro partnership was designed to increase understanding of Universal Credit and ensure people have the right factual information they need to make a claim and understand their potential entitlement.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 04/11/2019 17:20:19 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	4662 label Biography information for Ruth George

1148850

registered interest
date	14/10/2019
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	Department for Work and Pensions: Metro Newspaper
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the letter of 31 July 2019 from the Minister for Family Support, Housing and Child Maintenance placed in the Library disclosing the cost of the Department’s partnership with Associated Newspapers, if she will provide (a) costs of the advertising consultancy and (b) all other costs incurred in the Universal Credit Uncovered advertising campaign which ran in May and June 2019 in The Metro and online.
tabling member constituency	High Peak
tabling member printed	Ruth George
uin	316
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/10/2019 answer text <p>We are the biggest Government Department with a day to day operation on which around 22 million citizens depend. The Department has a responsibility to communicate policy and essential information to claimants and other key audiences.</p><p> </p><p>The Metro partnership was designed to increase understanding of Universal Credit and ensure people have the right factual information they need to make a claim and understand their potential entitlement.</p><p> </p><p>We went to great lengths to ensure the factual accuracy of the campaign through extensive consultation within the Department, including the Government Legal Department. We also consulted with the Advertising Standards Authority Copy Advice Team prior to the launch and continued to do so throughout the campaign lifetime.</p><p> </p><p>The letter of 31 July 2019 placed in the House of Commons Library disclosed the full cost of the Department’s partnership with Associated Newspapers. There were no advertising agencies, consultancy or additional costs associated with the campaign and detailed planning was taken forward by Departmental officials.</p><p> </p><p>We have already shared a copy of the memo of 2 May 2019 from the Director General of Universal Credit and Director of Communications to DWP staff with the Work and Pensions Select Committee but can also commit to placing a copy in the House of Commons Library.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince grouped question UIN 322 323 question first answered 17/10/2019 13:34:22 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	4662 label Biography information for Ruth George

1148857

registered interest
date	14/10/2019
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	Department for Work and Pensions: Daily Mail and Metro Newspaper
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 place in the Library a copy of the memo of 2 May 2019 sent by her Department’s Director General of Universal Credit and Director of Communications to DWP staff setting out the purpose of the Universal Credit Uncovered advertising campaign in the Metro and Mail Online.
tabling member constituency	High Peak
tabling member printed	Ruth George
uin	323
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/10/2019 answer text <p>We are the biggest Government Department with a day to day operation on which around 22 million citizens depend. The Department has a responsibility to communicate policy and essential information to claimants and other key audiences.</p><p> </p><p>The Metro partnership was designed to increase understanding of Universal Credit and ensure people have the right factual information they need to make a claim and understand their potential entitlement.</p><p> </p><p>We went to great lengths to ensure the factual accuracy of the campaign through extensive consultation within the Department, including the Government Legal Department. We also consulted with the Advertising Standards Authority Copy Advice Team prior to the launch and continued to do so throughout the campaign lifetime.</p><p> </p><p>The letter of 31 July 2019 placed in the House of Commons Library disclosed the full cost of the Department’s partnership with Associated Newspapers. There were no advertising agencies, consultancy or additional costs associated with the campaign and detailed planning was taken forward by Departmental officials.</p><p> </p><p>We have already shared a copy of the memo of 2 May 2019 from the Director General of Universal Credit and Director of Communications to DWP staff with the Work and Pensions Select Committee but can also commit to placing a copy in the House of Commons Library.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince grouped question UIN 316 322 question first answered 17/10/2019 13:34:22 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	4662 label Biography information for Ruth George

1145570

registered interest
date	24/09/2019
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: Fraud
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the legal basis is for her Department to ask claimants who are victims of third-party universal credit fraud to attend an interview under caution at a Jobcentre rather than provide a witness statement.
tabling member constituency	High Peak
tabling member printed	Ruth George
uin	290461
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/10/2019 answer text <p>The new process for advances and identification introduced on the 18 September 2019 mean that the level of UC advances fraud will be mitigated. Where an individual is a victim of fraud and received no money personally, no claim will be made against them. However, it is often not possible to ascertain the facts without an Interview Under Caution. The powers for an Interview Under Caution are under the Social Security Administration Act 1992, Part VI, governs this process and has been followed by successive governments of different political persuasions.</p><p> </p><p>DWP will ask, and allow the individual to have the opportunity to respond to any evidence in a voluntary Interview Under Caution.</p><p> </p><p>DWP follows the guidance laid down in the Criminal Procedures and Investigations Act 1996 and the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (Code C 2014) to afford the claimant all appropriate protection in law.</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 08/10/2019 14:20:53 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman previous answer version 136305 answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	4662 label Biography information for Ruth George

1145571

registered interest
date	24/09/2019
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: Fraud
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the oral contribution of the Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work of 8 July 2019, Official Report, Column 321, if she will provide details of the successful third-party universal credit fraud prosecution.
tabling member constituency	High Peak
tabling member printed	Ruth George
uin	290462
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/10/2019 answer text <p>The Department is committed to the prevention, detection and investigation of benefit fraud. We take this issue very seriously and will continue to use appropriate penalties to deter this fraudulent behaviour.</p><p> </p><p>Turning to the specific case you reference, the defendant was convicted at a Magistrates court on 14 February 2019 for fraudulently obtaining £4,152.86 in Universal Credit Advances.</p><p> </p><p>This prosecution identified that the suspect had hijacked the identities of close family members in order to make fraudulent applications to Universal Credit, via the online application process, enabling fraudulent payments of Universal Credit and Universal Credit Advances.</p><p> </p><p>It was established that the defendant had also impersonated a friend and changed the payment destination of his friend’s Universal Credit payments.</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 01/10/2019 15:13:01 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman previous answer version 136329 answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	4662 label Biography information for Ruth George

1145572

registered interest
date	24/09/2019
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: Fraud
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 prevent cases of third-party universal credit fraud taking place during managed migration.
tabling member constituency	High Peak
tabling member printed	Ruth George
uin	290463
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/10/2019 answer text <p>The Department has raised awareness of this issue via a dedicated social media campaign, which reminds people of the importance of safeguarding their identity. The Department has also worked with social media sites to shut down pages that promote this type of fraud, with 121 pages closed to date.</p><p> </p><p>We remain committed to keeping all Universal Credit services and processes, including advance payments, under review, and are making improvements to address any vulnerability in the system. Improving verification and increasing the number of face to face interviews are potential options, but any changes will need to be carefully impacted to ensure there is no adverse effect on our ability to pay people the money they need to live on ahead of their Universal Credit claim.</p><p> </p><p>The Universal Credit pilot is helping move the first cohort of people to Universal Credit. Minimising potential risks is a key part of our approach. Testing the system and our processes in this way ensures we will be able to deliver a secure service to those claimants who will move to Universal Credit from their legacy benefit claim as planned, by the end of 2023.</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 01/10/2019 15:25:09 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman previous answer version 136332 answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	4662 label Biography information for Ruth George

1145573

registered interest
date	24/09/2019
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: Fraud
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to her oral contribution to the Work and Pensions Committee of 24 July 2019, how many of the 1,400 cases to have undergone interview under caution due to third-party universal credit fraud have been referred for prosecution.
tabling member constituency	High Peak
tabling member printed	Ruth George
uin	290464
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/10/2019 answer text <p>The Department is not able to comment on investigations that may be ongoing.</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 01/10/2019 15:24:28 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman previous answer version 136334 answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	4662 label Biography information for Ruth George

1145574

registered interest
date	24/09/2019
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: Fraud
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, at what point during the universal credit claim process her Department checks claims for potentially fraudulent details.
tabling member constituency	High Peak
tabling member printed	Ruth George
uin	290465
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/10/2019 answer text <p>Effective identity verification and authentication, using commonly applied standards across the Department, protects claimants' personal data and makes a direct contribution to the prevention of fraud.</p><p> </p><p>There are various ways in which a claimant can verify their identity to support a new claim to Universal Credit: online using the electronic Verify system; in person using primary and secondary ID verification or; by using biographical questions, for those who do not have identity documents.</p><p> </p><p>Staff are encouraged to report any instances of potentially fraudulent activity. All claims where fraud may have been committed are investigated. We will use penalties such as prosecutions and tough financial penalties, where appropriate, to discourage fraudulent behaviour. The Department considers all cases on their own merits and decisions are made on the strength of the evidence provided.</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 01/10/2019 15:32:13 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman previous answer version 136335 answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	4662 label Biography information for Ruth George

1142234

registered interest
date	25/07/2019
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
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether work coaches will be provided with additional training to ensure that they can effectively advise universal credit claimants on meeting upfront childcare costs.
tabling member constituency	High Peak
tabling member printed	Ruth George
uin	282503
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/09/2019 answer text <p>DWP is committed to providing the best possible support for all our claimants to meet their individual circumstance.</p><p> </p><p>Our Work Coaches and Decision Makers undergo a comprehensive learning journey designed to equip them with the tools, skills and behaviours required to provide a high quality service, which includes training on children, childcare and payment of upfront childcare costs.</p><p> </p><p>In addition, DWP supporting information is available on Universal Credit Guidance and Universal Learning sites which enhances learning, and is available at the point of need for each individual personal requirement.</p> answering member constituency Eastleigh answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 03/09/2019 15:22:12 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	4662 label Biography information for Ruth George

1142296

registered interest
date	25/07/2019
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
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to her evidence at the Work and Pensions select committee of 24 July 2019 on increased support with upfront childcare costs on Wednesday 24 July, whether claimants will be able to get this loan if they already hold a budgeting advance of universal credit.
tabling member constituency	High Peak
tabling member printed	Ruth George
uin	282555
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/09/2019 answer text <p>The Government is committed to supporting parents with moving into work and, as part of this, we have increased the level of ongoing financial support for childcare costs from 70 per cent in legacy benefits to up to 85 per cent in Universal Credit, which is called the ‘childcare element’. The Universal Credit childcare policy aligns with the wider government childcare offer, which includes free childcare hours and tax free childcare. This offer means that reasonable childcare costs should not form a barrier to work.</p><p> </p><p>Beyond the Universal Credit childcare element, there is other financial support to help with childcare costs: the Flexible Support Fund and Budgeting Advances. Claimants are able to discuss eligibility for these with their jobcentre work coach.</p><p> </p><p>Where initial upfront childcare costs or deposits may prevent a claimant from starting work, work coaches have the discretion to use the Flexible Support Fund to support the transition into work until a claimant receives their first wage. Individual claimant circumstances are considered each time assistance may be appropriate.</p><p> </p><p>A budgeting advance can help with one-off urgent financial events for Universal Credit claimants, such as upfront childcare, and is repayable over a period of up to 12 monthly instalments. Only one Budgeting Advance will be paid at a time and further advances will be unavailable until the balance of the previous Budgeting Advance is cleared.</p><p> </p><p>The Department is working hard to ensure that the Universal Credit childcare offer continues to operate effectively for claimants. Since February 2018, Universal Credit claimants have been able to upload digital copies of their childcare cost receipts or invoices through their online Universal Credit account. When parents have good reason for late reporting of their childcare costs, the Department is piloting a more flexible approach to enable parents to be reimbursed at a later point.</p> answering member constituency Eastleigh answering member printed Mims Davies grouped question UIN 282549 282553 282559 282560 question first answered 03/09/2019 12:46:50 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	4662 label Biography information for Ruth George