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 previous answer version answering member constituency answering member printed answering member label
tabling member	label

Search

1279285

	registered interest
	date	21/01/2021
	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	Social Security Benefits: Coronavirus
	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 19 January 2021 to Question 136526 on Social Security Benefits: Coronavirus, on what date she reviewed the adequacy of the benefit cap grace period; and who she consulted as part of that review.
	tabling member constituency	Feltham and Heston
	tabling member printed	Seema Malhotra
	uin	141466
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/01/2021 answer text There are currently no plans to extend the grace period. Getting our claimants back into work remains my primary concern and, of course, returning to employment will significantly increase the likelihood of a household not being affected by the cap. answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 26/01/2021 18:00:10 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
	tabling member	4253 label Biography information for Seema Malhotra

1276176

	registered interest
	date	13/01/2021
	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	Social Security Benefits: Coronavirus
	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 she has made of the adequacy of the eligibility criteria of the benefit cap grace period.
	tabling member constituency	Feltham and Heston
	tabling member printed	Seema Malhotra
	uin	137215
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/01/2021 answer text <p>There are no plans to amend the eligibility of the benefit cap grace period. Helping claimants back into work, including through delivery of our Plan for Jobs, remains a primary focus, as returning to employment will significantly increase the likelihood of a household not being affected by the cap.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 18/01/2021 17:51:49 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
	tabling member	4253 label Biography information for Seema Malhotra

1252402

	registered interest
	date	16/11/2020
	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	Social Security Benefits: Coronavirus
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many welfare claimants have a 9-month benefit cap grace period due to end in December 2020.
	tabling member constituency	Feltham and Heston
	tabling member printed	Seema Malhotra
	uin	115677
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/11/2020 answer text <p>The benefit cap restores fairness between those receiving out-of-work benefits and taxpayers. Universal Credit claimants may benefit from a nine-month grace period where their benefit will not be capped if they have a sustained work record with monthly earnings of at least £604 for the past year. Households can still receive benefits up to the equivalent gross earnings of around £24,000, or around £28,000 in London.</p><p> </p><p>i. As at August 2020, there were 160,300 Universal Credit households with a grace period due to end in December 2020. The grace period is applied irrespective of whether or not the household has sufficient benefit income to be in scope for the cap. This ensures that a claimant will benefit from the grace period exemption should any change of circumstances bring them into the scope of the cap during that period. This does not necessarily mean that all of these claimants will actually be capped in December when their grace period ends.</p><p> </p><p>ii. As at May 2020, 19,100 new Universal Credit claimants whose claims started since 23 March 2020 inclusive had been affected by the benefit cap.</p><p> </p><p>iii. Information relating to Universal Credit claimants who started a claim in March 2020 and have been exempt from the benefit cap due to the nine-month grace period is not readily available; to provide it would incur disproportionate costs. The Department is not required to calculate the level of benefit payment that takes a claimant above the benefit cap threshold while a claimant is in the nine-month grace period because the claimant is exempt from the benefit cap during this time.</p><p> </p><p>There are currently no plans to change the benefit cap grace period. The benefit cap provides fairness for hard-working taxpaying households, whilst providing a reasonable safety net of support for the most vulnerable. Whilst this means that some claimants will have a limit on the total amount of benefits they can receive, there are a range of exemptions for when the cap should not be applied including exemptions for the most vulnerable claimants who are entitled to disability benefits and carer benefits</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies grouped question UIN 115678 115679 115680 question first answered 20/11/2020 14:26:57 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies previous answer version 62781 answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
	tabling member	4253 label Biography information for Seema Malhotra

1252405

	registered interest
	date	16/11/2020
	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	Social Security Benefits: Coronavirus
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans she has to amend the length of the benefit cap grace period.
	tabling member constituency	Feltham and Heston
	tabling member printed	Seema Malhotra
	uin	115680
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/11/2020 answer text <p>The benefit cap restores fairness between those receiving out-of-work benefits and taxpayers. Universal Credit claimants may benefit from a nine-month grace period where their benefit will not be capped if they have a sustained work record with monthly earnings of at least £604 for the past year. Households can still receive benefits up to the equivalent gross earnings of around £24,000, or around £28,000 in London.</p><p> </p><p>i. As at August 2020, there were 160,300 Universal Credit households with a grace period due to end in December 2020. The grace period is applied irrespective of whether or not the household has sufficient benefit income to be in scope for the cap. This ensures that a claimant will benefit from the grace period exemption should any change of circumstances bring them into the scope of the cap during that period. This does not necessarily mean that all of these claimants will actually be capped in December when their grace period ends.</p><p> </p><p>ii. As at May 2020, 19,100 new Universal Credit claimants whose claims started since 23 March 2020 inclusive had been affected by the benefit cap.</p><p> </p><p>iii. Information relating to Universal Credit claimants who started a claim in March 2020 and have been exempt from the benefit cap due to the nine-month grace period is not readily available; to provide it would incur disproportionate costs. The Department is not required to calculate the level of benefit payment that takes a claimant above the benefit cap threshold while a claimant is in the nine-month grace period because the claimant is exempt from the benefit cap during this time.</p><p> </p><p>There are currently no plans to change the benefit cap grace period. The benefit cap provides fairness for hard-working taxpaying households, whilst providing a reasonable safety net of support for the most vulnerable. Whilst this means that some claimants will have a limit on the total amount of benefits they can receive, there are a range of exemptions for when the cap should not be applied including exemptions for the most vulnerable claimants who are entitled to disability benefits and carer benefits</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies grouped question UIN 115677 115678 115679 question first answered 20/11/2020 14:26:57 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies previous answer version 62782 answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
	tabling member	4253 label Biography information for Seema Malhotra

1275847

	registered interest
	date	12/01/2021
	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	Social Security Benefits: Coronavirus
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what equality impact assessment she has made of the effect of the benefit cap during the covid-19 outbreak.
	tabling member constituency	Feltham and Heston
	tabling member printed	Seema Malhotra
	uin	136526
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/01/2021 answer text <p>The Secretary of State has reviewed the adequacy of the benefit cap grace period and has no current plans to alter it. Helping claimants back into work, including through delivery of our Plan for Jobs, remains a primary focus, as returning to employment will significantly increase the likelihood of a household not being affected by the cap.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 19/01/2021 14:26:44 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies previous answer version 74969 answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
	tabling member	4253 label Biography information for Seema Malhotra

1258863

	registered interest
	date	07/12/2020
	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	Social Security Benefits: Coronavirus
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many welfare claimants have a 9-month benefit cap grace period due to end in (a) January, (b) February and (c) March 2021.
	tabling member constituency	Feltham and Heston
	tabling member printed	Seema Malhotra
	uin	126045
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/12/2020 answer text <p>The Department can identify the number of households who have a grace period and when it is due to end. However, those volumes do not equate to the number of people who will be in scope of the cap when their grace period ends. This is because the grace period is applied irrespective of whether or not the household has sufficient benefit income to be in scope for the cap. This ensures that a claimant will benefit from the grace period exemption should any change of circumstances bring them into the scope of the cap during that period. Many claimants who have the grace period applied will not be in scope of the cap.</p><p> </p><p>The Department is not able to provide information on the number of households who will newly be subject to the benefit cap at the end of their grace period because any estimate does not account for changes to personal circumstances which would see some claimants continue to be exempt.</p><p> </p><p /><p>i. The table below shows, for the latest available data as at August 2020, the number of Universal Credit households with a grace period due to end in each calendar month of January 2021 to March 2021.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Calendar Month</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Number of grace periods ending in Universal Credit</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>January 2021</p></td><td><p>128,100</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>February 2021</p></td><td><p>29,800</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>March 2021</p></td><td><p>25,900</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p><br></p><p>ii. A regional breakdown of the number of Universal Credit households in Great Britain with a grace period due to end in December 2020 is provided in the table below for the latest available data, as at August 2020.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Region</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Number of grace periods in Universal Credit ending in December 2020</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>England</p></td><td><p>139,400</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><em>of which:</em></p></td><td><p><strong> </strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>North East</p></td><td><p>6,200</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>North West</p></td><td><p>18,200</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Yorkshire and the Humber</p></td><td><p>12,200</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>East Midlands</p></td><td><p>10,800</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>West Midlands</p></td><td><p>13,700</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>East of England</p></td><td><p>15,600</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>London</p></td><td><p>27,300</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>South East</p></td><td><p>21,800</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>South West</p></td><td><p>13,600</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Scotland</p></td><td><p>13,200</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Wales</p></td><td><p>7,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Not Known</p></td><td><p>700</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>iii. As at August 2020, there are 51,800 couples with dependent children and 18,800 single parents, who have a Universal Credit grace period due to end in December 2020.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies grouped question UIN 126046 126047 question first answered 17/12/2020 17:27:32 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies previous answer version 68430 answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
	tabling member	4253 label Biography information for Seema Malhotra

1258877

	registered interest
	date	07/12/2020
	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	Social Security Benefits: Coronavirus
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many welfare claimants in each region and nation of the UK have a 9-month benefit cap grace period due to end in December 2020.
	tabling member constituency	Feltham and Heston
	tabling member printed	Seema Malhotra
	uin	126046
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/12/2020 answer text <p>The Department can identify the number of households who have a grace period and when it is due to end. However, those volumes do not equate to the number of people who will be in scope of the cap when their grace period ends. This is because the grace period is applied irrespective of whether or not the household has sufficient benefit income to be in scope for the cap. This ensures that a claimant will benefit from the grace period exemption should any change of circumstances bring them into the scope of the cap during that period. Many claimants who have the grace period applied will not be in scope of the cap.</p><p> </p><p>The Department is not able to provide information on the number of households who will newly be subject to the benefit cap at the end of their grace period because any estimate does not account for changes to personal circumstances which would see some claimants continue to be exempt.</p><p> </p><p /><p>i. The table below shows, for the latest available data as at August 2020, the number of Universal Credit households with a grace period due to end in each calendar month of January 2021 to March 2021.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Calendar Month</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Number of grace periods ending in Universal Credit</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>January 2021</p></td><td><p>128,100</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>February 2021</p></td><td><p>29,800</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>March 2021</p></td><td><p>25,900</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p><br></p><p>ii. A regional breakdown of the number of Universal Credit households in Great Britain with a grace period due to end in December 2020 is provided in the table below for the latest available data, as at August 2020.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Region</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Number of grace periods in Universal Credit ending in December 2020</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>England</p></td><td><p>139,400</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><em>of which:</em></p></td><td><p><strong> </strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>North East</p></td><td><p>6,200</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>North West</p></td><td><p>18,200</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Yorkshire and the Humber</p></td><td><p>12,200</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>East Midlands</p></td><td><p>10,800</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>West Midlands</p></td><td><p>13,700</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>East of England</p></td><td><p>15,600</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>London</p></td><td><p>27,300</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>South East</p></td><td><p>21,800</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>South West</p></td><td><p>13,600</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Scotland</p></td><td><p>13,200</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Wales</p></td><td><p>7,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Not Known</p></td><td><p>700</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>iii. As at August 2020, there are 51,800 couples with dependent children and 18,800 single parents, who have a Universal Credit grace period due to end in December 2020.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies grouped question UIN 126045 126047 question first answered 17/12/2020 17:27:32 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies previous answer version 68431 answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
	tabling member	4253 label Biography information for Seema Malhotra

1258881

	registered interest
	date	07/12/2020
	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	Social Security Benefits: Coronavirus
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many welfare claimants that have a 9-month benefit cap grace period due to end in December 2020 are (a) families with children and (b) single-parent households.
	tabling member constituency	Feltham and Heston
	tabling member printed	Seema Malhotra
	uin	126047
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/12/2020 answer text <p>The Department can identify the number of households who have a grace period and when it is due to end. However, those volumes do not equate to the number of people who will be in scope of the cap when their grace period ends. This is because the grace period is applied irrespective of whether or not the household has sufficient benefit income to be in scope for the cap. This ensures that a claimant will benefit from the grace period exemption should any change of circumstances bring them into the scope of the cap during that period. Many claimants who have the grace period applied will not be in scope of the cap.</p><p> </p><p>The Department is not able to provide information on the number of households who will newly be subject to the benefit cap at the end of their grace period because any estimate does not account for changes to personal circumstances which would see some claimants continue to be exempt.</p><p> </p><p /><p>i. The table below shows, for the latest available data as at August 2020, the number of Universal Credit households with a grace period due to end in each calendar month of January 2021 to March 2021.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Calendar Month</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Number of grace periods ending in Universal Credit</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>January 2021</p></td><td><p>128,100</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>February 2021</p></td><td><p>29,800</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>March 2021</p></td><td><p>25,900</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p><br></p><p>ii. A regional breakdown of the number of Universal Credit households in Great Britain with a grace period due to end in December 2020 is provided in the table below for the latest available data, as at August 2020.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Region</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Number of grace periods in Universal Credit ending in December 2020</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>England</p></td><td><p>139,400</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><em>of which:</em></p></td><td><p><strong> </strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>North East</p></td><td><p>6,200</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>North West</p></td><td><p>18,200</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Yorkshire and the Humber</p></td><td><p>12,200</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>East Midlands</p></td><td><p>10,800</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>West Midlands</p></td><td><p>13,700</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>East of England</p></td><td><p>15,600</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>London</p></td><td><p>27,300</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>South East</p></td><td><p>21,800</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>South West</p></td><td><p>13,600</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Scotland</p></td><td><p>13,200</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Wales</p></td><td><p>7,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Not Known</p></td><td><p>700</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>iii. As at August 2020, there are 51,800 couples with dependent children and 18,800 single parents, who have a Universal Credit grace period due to end in December 2020.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies grouped question UIN 126045 126046 question first answered 17/12/2020 17:27:32 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies previous answer version 68432 answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
	tabling member	4253 label Biography information for Seema Malhotra

1275848

	registered interest
	date	12/01/2021
	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	Social Security Benefits: Coronavirus
	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 she has made of the adequacy of the length of the benefit cap grace period.
	tabling member constituency	Feltham and Heston
	tabling member printed	Seema Malhotra
	uin	136527
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/01/2021 answer text <p>Ministers continue to fulfil the requirements of the Public Sector Equality Duty and to monitor the current situation as it develops. The published benefit cap statistics are currently available to August 2020. Statistics for the number of households capped in Universal Credit and Housing Benefit in November 2020 will be published on the 30 March 2021: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/benefit-cap-statistics.%20" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/benefit-cap-statistics.</a></p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 19/01/2021 13:21:56 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies previous answer version 74970 answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
	tabling member	4253 label Biography information for Seema Malhotra

1276860

	registered interest
	date	14/01/2021
	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	Social Security Benefits: Coronavirus
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many households are not having their benefits capped as a result of the benefit cap grace period.
	tabling member constituency	Feltham and Heston
	tabling member printed	Seema Malhotra
	uin	137935
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/01/2021 answer text <p>Information relating to households not having their benefits capped as a result of the benefit cap grace period is not readily available, and to provide it would incur disproportionate costs.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 19/01/2021 15:27:47 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
	tabling member	4253 label Biography information for Seema Malhotra