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1129973

	registered interest
	date	05/06/2019
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Bus Services: Concessions
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will protect the concessionary bus pass in the forthcoming Spending Review.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
	tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
	uin	260537
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/06/2019 answer text <p>Decisions on public spending, including on concessionary travel, will be made in the round as part of the Spending Review.</p> answering member constituency South West Norfolk answering member printed Elizabeth Truss question first answered 11/06/2019 10:53:49 answering member 4097 label Biography information for Elizabeth Truss
	tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

1130121

	registered interest
	date	05/06/2019
	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, pursuant to the Answer of 8 April 2019 to Question 240478, if he will itemise each step referred to in that Answer.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
	tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
	uin	260538
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/06/2019 answer text <p>The Department has taken a number of steps to ensure that advances meet the needs of claimants and that the recovery arrangements are personalised and reasonable.</p><p> </p><p>Affordability is managed by ensuring the recovery rate for these advances will not be more than the equivalent of 40 per cent of the claimant’s standard allowance. The claimant is given the choice over the repayment period and it is explained to them exactly how much will be deducted each month depending on the option they choose. If the claimant is making the advance application online, these options are clearly displayed on screen for them to choose from.</p><p> </p><p>If during the recovery of an advance the claimant experiences an unforeseen expense that would cause them or their family genuine hardship if they were required to continue to repay the advance, then they can be offered a deferral period of the repayment of the advance of up to 3 months for a new claim, benefit transfer or change of circumstance advance and up to 6 months for a budgeting advance.</p><p> </p><p>The Department has also announced that from October 2019 the maximum rate of deductions from a claimant’s standard allowance will be reduced from 40 per cent to 30 per cent and from October 2021 we will be increasing the recovery period for advances from 12 to 16 months, further supporting those in financial need. This is in addition to having previously increasing the amount a claimant could receive as an advance payment from 50 per cent to 100 per cent of their indicative award.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 10/06/2019 12:43:28 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

1130122

	registered interest
	date	05/06/2019
	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, pursuant to the Answer of 8 April 2019 to Question 240478, for what reason the decision was made to extend the recovery period for advances to 16 months.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
	tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
	uin	260539
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/06/2019 answer text <p>Currently, the maximum amount of an advance is determined by the claimants expected UC payment and the need to repay it over 12 months at a maximum deduction rate of 40% of the standard allowance.</p><p>We have announced that we will reduce this maximum rate to 30% to ensure that claimants with the highest rate of deductions will keep more of their monthly payment. UC claimants who currently have deductions of over 30% will benefit from this change, because they will have up to 10% more of their Universal Credit standard allowance available each month.</p><p>We recognise that this could impact the maximum advance available to claimants, to ensure that this does not happen and that claimants still receive the level of support they need, we have increased the amount of time claimants have to repay the Advance from 12 to 16 months.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 10/06/2019 15:58:25 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

1130129

	registered interest
	date	05/06/2019
	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, pursuant to the Answer of 24 May to Question 254729 on universal credit, what penalties can be levied on claimants of universal credit if they are unable to repay their advance within 12 repayment instalments.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
	tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
	uin	260540
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/06/2019 answer text <p>The Department does not levy penalties on claimants who do not repay their advance within either a calendar 12 month from taking out the advance, nor where they do not repay the advance in 12 monthly instalments.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 10/06/2019 12:58:47 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

1130130

	registered interest
	date	05/06/2019
	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 information her Department holds on the number of claimants of universal credit without a permanent fixed address.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
	tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
	uin	260541
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/06/2019 answer text <p>This information is not centrally collated, and to do so would create a disproportionate cost to the Department. Universal Credit case managers and work coaches are aware of the reported circumstances of individuals and are able to provide a tailored approach, which includes those without a fixed address.</p><p> </p><p>The Department is committed to ensuring that those who are homeless, or at risk of homelessness, get the appropriate support to stabilise their lives and move into work. There is a range of support which can be considered, such as access to Alternative Payment Arrangements, easements to work-search requirements, and partnerships between Jobcentres and housing organisations. By law, work coaches in England must offer a voluntary referral to claimants they consider may be homeless or threatened with homelessness to a Local Housing Authority.</p><p>Data on homelessness by local authority level, provided by the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government, is available at:</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/homelessness-statistics" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/homelessness-statistics</a></p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 10/06/2019 12:20:43 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

1129679

	registered interest
	date	04/06/2019
	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, pursuant to the Answer of 13 May to Question 249845 on Universal Credit, what proportion of universal credit claimants who had not fully repaid their advance as of 5 May 2019 had taken out that advance prior to 5 November 2017.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
	tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
	uin	259851
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/06/2019 answer text <p>8.1% of UC advances which were paid before 5 November 2017, have not been fully repaid as at 5 June 2019, which is the latest position available.</p><p>Universal Credit 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>Notes:</p><p>1. This data has been sourced from internal management information and was not intended for public release. It should therefore not be compared to any other similar data subsequently released by the Department.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 10/06/2019 14:08:16 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

1129153

	registered interest
	date	03/06/2019
	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 information her Department holds on the demographic of (a) universal credit claimants and (b) universal credit claimants that have taken out an advance.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
	tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
	uin	258968
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/06/2019 answer text <p>Statistics on demographics of those on Universal Credit, including age, gender and postcode area, can be found under the ‘People on Universal Credit’ dataset available at:</p><p><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 extract the information required can be found at:</p><p><a href="https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started.html" target="_blank">https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started.html</a></p><p> </p><p>Demographic data on Universal Credit claimants who received an advance is collected but is not published regularly as part of the official statistics. Data relating to advance payments associated with a UC award, rather than individual claimants, can be provided by region, constituency and local authority.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 06/06/2019 16:00:59 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

1129154

	registered interest
	date	03/06/2019
	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 universal credit claimants have been referred to local consumer debt advice in the last 12 months.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
	tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
	uin	258969
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/06/2019 answer text <p>The Department does not maintain records on the number of Universal Credit claimants who have been referred to a local consumer debt advice service.</p><p> </p><p>Jobcentre staff have access to information on services and support available in their local area for claimants and will signpost claimants to national and local organisations who provide specialist debt and money management support.</p><p> </p><p>In addition, support is available for Universal Credit claimants via the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS). MaPS will help UC claimants with personal budgeting and money management through its free helpline, printed guides and digital guidance.</p><p> </p><p>For those UC claimants who are in most need of debt advice, MaPS will continue to work with the DWP and other agencies to ensure that they are signposted and referred quickly to local provision – MaPS funds free-to-consumer debt advice in England through a network of providers including StepChange, the Money Advice Trust and Citizens Advice.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 11/06/2019 15:58:59 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

1129155

	registered interest
	date	03/06/2019
	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 proportion of claimants of universal credit have (a) taken out an advance at a 40 per cent deduction rate and have been unable to pay back that advance within 12 months, (b) taken out at advance at a 40 per cent deduction rate and (c) taken out the maximum available advance at a 40 per cent deduction rate.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
	tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
	uin	258970
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/06/2019 answer text <p>Data showing the proportion of the standard allowance which is being used to repay a Universal Credit (UC) advance which: (a) taken out an advance at a 40 per cent deduction rate and have been unable to pay back that advance within 12 months, (b) taken out an advance at a 40 per cent deduction rate and (c) taken out the maximum available advance at a 40 per cent deduction rate could only be supplied with analysis which would incur disproportionate cost to the Department.</p><p> </p><p>The maximum amount of a UC advance a claimant can access is subject to them being able to repay it over 12 monthly payments at a rate of no greater than 40 per cent of their standard allowance (this will be reduced to 30 per cent from October 2019). However, there are reasons why the advance repayment may not be taken or may be taken at a lower amount from a claimant in any given month, such as:</p><p> </p><p>a. If they have insufficient Universal Credit left in payment, after reductions such as earnings, capital yield and other income are taken into account, then a reduced repayment will be taken or none at all, depending on the amount of UC payment they have left.</p><p>b. If they have a Fraud Penalty or Conditionality Sanction, the repayment of the advance will stop until these end.</p><p>c. If they experience an unexpected financial hardship then they can request a deferral of up to 3 months, during which time they will not make any advance repayments.</p><p>d. If their UC award ends, for whatever reason, they can renegotiate the repayment rate and period with Debt Management who will take into account their new financial circumstances.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 11/06/2019 14:03:33 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

1129156

	registered interest
	date	03/06/2019
	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, pursuant to answer of 20 May 2019 to Question 254733, what information her Department uses to verify the statement that if a claimant is in financial difficulty as a result of the level of deductions being made they can contact the Department to request that a reduction in deductions be considered.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
	tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
	uin	258971
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/06/2019 answer text <p>The Government recognises the importance of safeguarding the welfare of claimants who have incurred debt. Claimants’ circumstances are always taken into account when applying debt repayment thresholds to avoid undue hardship.</p><p> </p><p>Universal Credit already has procedures and regulations in place to protect claimants from excessive deductions. The maximum rate of deductions cannot normally exceed 40 per cent of the Universal Credit standard allowance, and from October 2019 this will be reduced to 30 per cent.</p><p> </p><p>If a claimant is in financial difficulty as a result of the level of deductions, where it relates to benefit debt, a social fund loan or rent arrears, they can request that a reduction be considered. Similarly, if a claimant is having difficulty repaying a benefit overpayment, they can request a reconsideration of the amount that is being taken. Reductions are always based on the individual circumstances of the claimant, rather than the amount of the overpayment, which helps to ensure that a sustainable repayment plan based on affordability is put in place.</p><p> </p><p>The claimant should provide reasonable evidence to support their request. This could include information about the household income and expenditure where hardship is claimed on financial grounds. Where hardship is claimed because either the claimant or a member of their family is seriously ill, they would need to provide supporting evidence to explain how or why recovery would be detrimental to the health or welfare of the claimant or their family.</p><p> </p><p>A Repayment Negotiation Framework based on the individual circumstances of the customer, rather than the size of the debt and repayment period has been developed. This makes the process much simpler, and ensures both on and off benefit customers are treated fairly. This framework is contained within the Benefit Overpayment Recovery Guide which can be found on Gov.uk via the link below. The Repayment Negotiation Framework can be found on page 38, paragraph 5.68.</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/616116/benefit-overpayment-recovery-guide.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/616116/benefit-overpayment-recovery-guide.pdf</a></p><p><strong> </strong></p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 06/06/2019 16:55:08 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe