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1108750

	registered interest
	date	01/04/2019
	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	Child Maintenance Service: Complaints
	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) points of dissatisfaction and (b) complaints have been logged with the Child Maintenance Service in each year for which information is available.
	tabling member constituency	Motherwell and Wishaw
	tabling member printed	Marion Fellows
	uin	239268
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/04/2019 answer text <p><strong> </strong></p><p>In terms of volumes of dissatisfactions, the table below refers. This includes all Dissatisfaction actions that have been opened, regardless of the outcome.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>-</p></td><td><p><strong>2015</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2016</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2017</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2018</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Total Dissatisfactions</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>4,988</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>8,038</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>13,574</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>24,255</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Caseload at year end</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>180,100</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>291,000</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>391,800</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>463,300</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>% of Caseload</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2.8%</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2.8%</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>3.5%</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>5.2%</strong></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>The latest statistics on complaints received by the Child Maintenance Service are published in Table 17 of the Child Maintenance Service statistics, which highlights the number of complaints received by the Child Maintenance Service each quarter. It is available online at:</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-on-the-2012-statutory-child-maintenance-scheme" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-on-the-2012-statutory-child-maintenance-scheme</a>.”</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 04/04/2019 11:24:16 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	4440 label Biography information for Marion Fellows

1083674

	registered interest
	date	07/03/2019
	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	Independent Case Examiner
	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 23 January 2019 to Question 210057, for each available year, what the (a) mean and (b) median waiting time is for complaints (i) which are not resolved within eight weeks of being accepted, (ii) which are not settled within 15 weeks of the investigation commencing and (iii) where an ICE report is not issued within 20 weeks of the investigation commencing.
	tabling member constituency	Motherwell and Wishaw
	tabling member printed	Marion Fellows
	uin	229798
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/03/2019 answer text <p>Whilst high level clearance target performance data is routinely included in the Independent Case Examiner’s Annual Report, the Office only retain case specific information for 26 months following case closure, and as such the requested information is only available for 2017/18 and the current reporting year. The available information is provided in the tables below.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Resolution</strong></p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Year</p></td><td><p>Mean - Time taken to resolve complaints that were not cleared within 8 weeks of the complaint being accepted for investigation</p></td><td><p>Median - Time taken to resolve complaints that were not cleared within 8 weeks of the complaint being accepted for investigation</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2017/18 (April to March)</p></td><td><p>11 weeks</p></td><td><p>10 weeks</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2018/19 (April to February 2019)</p></td><td><p>11 weeks</p></td><td><p>10 weeks</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p><strong>Settlement</strong></p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Year</p></td><td><p>Mean - Time taken to settle complaints that were not cleared within 15 weeks of the investigation commencing</p></td><td><p>Median - Time taken to settle complaints that were not cleared within 15 weeks of the investigation commencing</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2017/18 (April to March)</p></td><td><p>23 weeks</p></td><td><p>21 weeks</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2018/19 (April to February 2019)</p></td><td><p>23 weeks</p></td><td><p>22 weeks</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p><strong>ICE Report</strong></p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Year</p></td><td><p>Mean - Time taken to issue ICE Reports in those cases that were not concluded within 20 weeks of the investigation commencing</p></td><td><p>Median - Time taken to issue ICE Reports in those cases that were not concluded within 20 weeks of the investigation commencing</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2017/18 (April to March)</p></td><td><p>30 weeks</p></td><td><p>28 weeks</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2018/19 (April to February 2019)</p></td><td><p>27 weeks</p></td><td><p>26 weeks</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 12/03/2019 15:58:27 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	4440 label Biography information for Marion Fellows

1083675

	registered interest
	date	07/03/2019
	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	Independent Case Examiner
	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 217031 on Independent Case Examiner, what the (a) mean and (b) median waiting time is for complainants who are not informed within four weeks of whether their complaint has been accepted for investigation in each of the last three years.
	tabling member constituency	Motherwell and Wishaw
	tabling member printed	Marion Fellows
	uin	229799
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/03/2019 answer text <p>The Independent Case Examiner’s Office can only accept a complaint for investigation once it has (a) established that the complainant has exhausted the relevant business complaints process, and (b) reached agreement with the complainant regarding the scope of any investigation. The Office retain case specific information for 26 months following case closure, and as such the requested information is only available for 2017/18 and the current reporting year. The available information is provided in the table below.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Year</p></td><td><p>Mean – Time taken to inform complainants whether their complaint could be accepted for investigation, in those cases that exceeded the four week internal target</p></td><td><p>Median – Time taken to inform complainants whether their complaint could be accepted for investigation, in those cases that exceeded the four week internal target</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2017/18 (April to March)</p></td><td><p>11 weeks</p></td><td><p>8 weeks</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2018/19 (Year to date – April to February)</p></td><td><p>15 weeks</p></td><td><p>11 weeks</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 12/03/2019 15:44:46 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	4440 label Biography information for Marion Fellows

1081728

	registered interest
	date	04/03/2019
	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	Bereavement Support Payment
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reason her Department does not pay bereavement support to widows and widowers where tacit consent to marriage with their former partner was not given but where the material circumstances of their relationship were the same as those of a married couple.
	tabling member constituency	Motherwell and Wishaw
	tabling member printed	Marion Fellows
	uin	228066
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/03/2019 answer text <p>Marriage and civil partnerships are legal contracts that are associated with certain rights, including inheritance, recognition in the tax system and entitlement to certain benefits.</p><p> </p><p>A key principle of the National Insurance system is that all rights to benefits derived from another person’s contributions, such as bereavement benefits, are based on the concept of legal marriage or civil partnership.</p><p> </p><p>Under Scottish law, in certain circumstances, a person can be classed as married by cohabitation with habit and repute. Marriage by habit and repute was abolished for new relationships in 2006 by the Family Law (Scotland) Act. Marriages deemed to have been constituted prior to the 4 May 2006 are still recognised as such for benefit purposes.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 07/03/2019 10:38:56 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	4440 label Biography information for Marion Fellows

1059766

	registered interest
	date	12/02/2019
	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	Cold Weather Payments
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reason cold weather payments are given to people receiving income related employment and support allowance but not contributions-based employment and support allowance; and if she will review her Departments's policy.
	tabling member constituency	Motherwell and Wishaw
	tabling member printed	Marion Fellows
	uin	220280
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/02/2019 answer text <p>Cold Weather Payments are made to people who receive certain income-related benefits and satisfy the eligibility conditions. People who receive contribution-based benefits are not eligible for Cold Weather Payments. This is because the scheme was specifically designed to target the additional heating costs of the most vulnerable people in society. The scheme is subject to financial constraints and to ensure that limited public funds are used in the most effective way possible, the Government believes that the fairest way of managing this is by linking eligibility to income-related benefits.</p><p>To put this into context, during the 2010/11 Cold Weather Payment season over £435 million was paid to eligible claimants. If the scheme were to be extended to all contributory benefit recipients, the scheme would become unaffordable.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 18/02/2019 15:01:28 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	4440 label Biography information for Marion Fellows

1057082

	registered interest
	date	08/02/2019
	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	Independent Case Examiner
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to improve the performance of the Independent Case Examiner.
	tabling member constituency	Motherwell and Wishaw
	tabling member printed	Marion Fellows
	uin	218827
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/02/2019 answer text <p>During 2017/18, the Independent Case Examiner’s Office received high levels of demand.</p><p>In the 2018/19 reporting year, the Office received funding for thirteen additional staff and productivity increased. By the end of January 2019 the Office had cleared 1,047 complaints, compared to 782 at the end of January 2018.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 13/02/2019 12:31:56 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	4440 label Biography information for Marion Fellows

1055055

	registered interest
	date	05/02/2019
	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	Independent Case Examiner
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what her Department's target timetable is for deciding whether complaints to the Independent Case Examiner will be accepted for investigation; what (a) proportion and (b) number of complaints met that target in each year for which information is available; and how many complaints are currently awaiting a decision on whether or not they will be investigated.
	tabling member constituency	Motherwell and Wishaw
	tabling member printed	Marion Fellows
	uin	217031
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/02/2019 answer text <p>Funding for the Independent Case Examiner’s (ICE) Office is reviewed on an annual basis. In the current financial year, the ICE Office has received funding for thirteen additional posts.</p><p> </p><p>Productivity in the ICE Office has increased by 34% in the current reporting year, with the Office having cleared 1,047 cased by the end of January 2019, compared with 782 in the same period during 2017/18.</p><p>The Office has an internal target to inform 90% of complainants within four weeks of its reciept, whether thier complaint can be accepted for investigation. The Office can only accept a complaint for investigation once it has (a) established that the complainant has exhausted the relevant business complaints process, and (b) reached agreement with the complainant regarding the scope of any investigation.</p><p> </p><p>The table below provides the available performance data.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Year</p></td><td><p>Number of complaints received</p></td><td><p>Number of complaints not accepted for investigation</p></td><td><p>Number of complaints accepted for investigation</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2017/18</p></td><td><p>5,886</p></td><td><p>2,247 (81% within internal target of four weeks)</p></td><td><p>3,639 (38% within internal target of four weeks)</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2018/19 (1<sup>st</sup> April 2018 to 6<sup>th</sup> February 2019)</p></td><td><p>4,169</p></td><td><p>2,928 (68% within internal target of four weeks)</p></td><td><p>1,073 (47% within internal target of four weeks)</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>As at 6<sup>th</sup> February 2019, there were 168 complainants awaiting a decision on whether their complaint could be accepted for examination.</p><p> </p><p>During the period covered by this response the Independent Case Examiner’s Office received 4,118 complaints from women concerning changes to State Pension age, which directly impacted on its ability to meet its internal target for determining whether a complaint can be accepted for examination.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 08/02/2019 12:40:02 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	4440 label Biography information for Marion Fellows

1049995

	registered interest
	date	28/01/2019
	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: Overpayments
	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 effect on the living standards of benefit claimants of the rate at which repayments of overpayments are repaid to her Department.
	tabling member constituency	Motherwell and Wishaw
	tabling member printed	Marion Fellows
	uin	213410
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 31/01/2019 answer text <p>The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) balances a requirement to protect tax payer’s money with a duty to ensure that claimants are not placed in undue hardship by excessive deductions from their benefit.</p><p> </p><p>For this reason, the maximum deduction rates that can be applied to an on-going benefit award for the recovery of an overpayment are set out in legislation. Different deduction rates will be applied in different circumstances, with the highest rate only being applicable where an overpayment has been classified as fraud.</p><p> </p><p>DWP administers benefits to approximately 20 million people with a wide variety of individual circumstances so it is difficult to make a general assessment on living standards. Therefore, we apply any considerations of this type at an individual level. If a person states they cannot afford the proposed rate of recovery, they are asked to provide details of their income and expenditure. Their individual circumstances will then be taken into account and a temporary reduction in the rate of repayment may be agreed. In exceptional circumstances, a temporary suspension of recovery may be appropriate.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 31/01/2019 14:45:32 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	4440 label Biography information for Marion Fellows

1043721

	registered interest
	date	18/01/2019
	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	Independent Case Examiner
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much money has been spent from the public purse on the running of the office of the Independent Case Examiner for each available year; and what her Department's plans are for the future funding on that office.
	tabling member constituency	Motherwell and Wishaw
	tabling member printed	Marion Fellows
	uin	210055
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/01/2019 answer text <p>Funding for the Independent Case Examiner’s Office is reviewed on an annual basis. The table below provides details of the budget allocated to the Office in the last four financial years.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Financial Year (April to March)</p></td><td><p>Amount</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015/16</p></td><td><p>£2,563,702</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2016/17</p></td><td><p>£2,733,114</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2017/18</p></td><td><p>£2,534,005</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2018/19</p></td><td><p>£3,008,587</p></td></tr></tbody></table> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 23/01/2019 14:58:53 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	4440 label Biography information for Marion Fellows

1043722

	registered interest
	date	18/01/2019
	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	Independent Case Examiner
	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 Independent Case Examiner's ability to process complaints in a timely manner.
	tabling member constituency	Motherwell and Wishaw
	tabling member printed	Marion Fellows
	uin	210056
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/01/2019 answer text <p>The Independent Case Examiner (ICE) is appointed under contract to adjudicate on escalated complaints about DWP and its contracted service providers, in cases where the complainant has exhausted the relevant internal complaints process and remains dissatisfied. If a complainant is dissatisfied with the outcome of an ICE investigation, or the service provided by the Office (including processing times) they can ask their Member of Parliament to escalate their complaint to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman. The Permanent Secretary is apprised of the Ombudsman’s findings each year.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 23/01/2019 14:50:19 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	4440 label Biography information for Marion Fellows