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

1124349

	registered interest
	date	01/05/2019
	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 15 April 2019 to Question 243330 on Universal Credit, what proportion of universal credit claimants are unable to pay back the benefit advances they have taken within 12 months of their receipt in each year for which information is available.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
	tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
	uin	249845
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/05/2019 answer text <p>33% of UC advances which were paid before 5th May 2018, have not been fully repaid as at 5th May 2019.</p><p> </p><p>Advances are not loans; they are an interest free payment benefit advance, available to help people who need immediate financial support, which is then recovered over an agreed period. 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. From October 2021 we are increasing the recovery period for advances from 12 to 16 months, further supporting those in financial need.</p><p> </p><p>Queries against the current repayment stock are only ever a snap shot in time and therefore the position at the end of each financial year cannot be recreated.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 13/05/2019 17:00:23 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	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

1105705

	registered interest
	date	27/03/2019
	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	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 she has made of the effect of the five week wait for payment on universal credit on an individual's ability to manage their money.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
	tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
	uin	237589
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/04/2019 answer text <p><strong> </strong></p><p>No claimant has to go five weeks without receiving support, as advances, worth up to 100 per cent of a claimant’s indicative award, are available up front, if there is a need. Advances are paid back over a period of 12 months and in the Autumn Budget 2018, we announced that from October 2021, the payback period for these advances will be extended further, up to 16 months.</p><p>New Claims are often made as a result of a life event such as losing a job or separating from a partner, and these events can be associated with financial problems. To support our claimants fully at these times, the Department has introduced a number of measures to support claimants before they receive their first Universal Credit award.</p><p> </p><p>Following the Autumn Budget 2017, we have already removed waiting days and are providing an additional 2 weeks of Housing Benefit to eligible claimants to support them when they move to Universal Credit.</p><p>From July 2020, we are introducing a two-week run-on for all those on Employment Support allowance, Income Support or Jobseeker’s allowance who move to Universal Credit and their claim for Universal Credit terminates their existing benefit award</p><p> </p><p>On the 1<sup>st</sup> January 2019, The Money and Pension Service (MAPS) replaced the three existing providers of government-sponsored financial guidance – the Money Advice Service, the Pensions Advisory Service and Pension Wise – which has brought together the provision of debt advice, money guidance and pension guidance for the first time.</p><p>The new body delivers free and impartial financial guidance and a more streamlined service to members of the public providing easier access to the information and guidance.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 01/04/2019 16:45:26 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

1133337

	registered interest
	date	19/06/2019
	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 claimants of universal credit have been successful in an application for a budgeting advance.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
	tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
	uin	266644
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/06/2019 answer text <p>A budgeting advance is available for one-off unexpected financial events for Universal Credit claimants and is repayable over a period of up to 12 monthly instalments. Claimants might be able to get help for things such as: emergency household costs, getting a job or staying in work or funeral costs.</p><p /><p>Between June 2015 and May 2019, 404,000 Universal Credit claims have received a budgeting advance.</p><p> </p><p>Notes</p><p> </p><ol><li>Figures relate to Universal Credit full service only</li><li>Figures relate to total number of budgeting advances since their introduction</li><li>Figures are rounded to the nearest 1,000</li><li>Where a claim has received multiple budgeting advances they have only been counted once</li></ol> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 28/06/2019 09:03:05 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

1133335

	registered interest
	date	19/06/2019
	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 universal credit claimants who applied for a budgeting advance (a) received the maximum available advance and (b) chose to repay over the maximum time period allowed.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
	tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
	uin	266643
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/06/2019 answer text <p>A budgeting advance is available for one-off unexpected financial events for Universal Credit claimants and is repayable over a period of up to 12 monthly instalments. Claimants might be able to get help for things such as: emergency household costs, getting a job or staying in work or funeral costs.</p><p> </p><p>Of the 485,000 budgeting advances created, between June 2015 and May 2019, 49% took the maximum entitlement and 78% chose to take the maximum repayment length.</p><p> </p><p>From October 2021 we will be increasing the recovery period for advances from 12 to 16 months, further supporting those in financial need.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Notes </strong></p><p> </p><ol><li>Figures relate to Universal Credit full service only</li></ol><p> </p><ol start="2"><li>Figures relate to total number of budgeting advances since their introduction</li></ol><p> </p><ol start="3"><li>Figures for the number of budgeting advances created is rounded to the nearest 1,000</li></ol><p> </p><p> </p><ol start="4"><li>Budgeting advances with a value of £348, £464 and £812 have been used for proportion of claimants receiving the maximum available advance, as these values relate to the maximum entitlement dependent on the claimant's circumstances.</li></ol> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 28/06/2019 12:26:24 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

1144793

	registered interest
	date	04/09/2019
	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, for what reasons her Department has decided that a 30 per cent deduction from a universal credit claimant’s standard allowance prevents those claimants from being exposed to excessive financial hardship.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
	tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
	uin	286621
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text <p>A claimant’s Universal Credit award will reflect individual circumstances, topping up any earnings or other income that they may have, so Universal Credit may constitute only a proportion of their total income.</p><p> </p><p>Our deductions policy is designed to protect vulnerable claimants by providing a last resort method for arrears of essential services which might otherwise result in those services being cut off, or being evicted from their home. Under Universal Credit there is a structured approach to deductions from benefit, which simplifies the current complex arrangements of the legacy system. This policy also enables social obligations to be enforced when other repayment methods have failed or are not cost effective.</p><p> </p><p>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. Any adjustment to the rate of repayment will be based on the individual circumstances of the claimant. To support this intention, from October 2019 we are reducing the maximum rate of deductions to 30 per cent and from October 2021 we are increasing the maximum recovery period for advances from 12 to 16 months.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 09/09/2019 15:54:55 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

1131841

	registered interest
	date	12/06/2019
	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 10 June to question 260538, what assistance is available for universal credit claimants who (a) are unable to repay their advance, (b) have already had their repayments deferred for three months, (c) are not eligible for benefit transfer or change of circumstance advances and (d) are still repaying a previous budgeting advance.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
	tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
	uin	263677
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/06/2019 answer text <p>A key part of the process for agreeing an advance payment on Universal Credit is ensuring that the claimant can afford to repay it. We will not make advances which encourage recipients to become over-indebted.</p><p> </p><p>The Department encourages all Universal Credit claimants to actively consider how best to manage their personal budget, with additional advice and support available from work coaches and case managers. When an advance payment is appropriate, claimants decide what percentage of their expected monthly award to apply for and over what period to repay it, up to a maximum of 12 monthly instalments.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><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. Outstanding repayments are actively monitored and managed, ensuring we support claimants experiencing financial challenges whilst maintaining responsibility to the taxpayer for recovery.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma grouped question UIN 263678 question first answered 18/06/2019 15:32:14 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma previous answer version 123353 answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

1131842

	registered interest
	date	12/06/2019
	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 10 June to Question 260540, what the consequences are for universal credit claimants who are unable to repay their advance within the agreed timescale.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
	tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
	uin	263678
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/06/2019 answer text <p>A key part of the process for agreeing an advance payment on Universal Credit is ensuring that the claimant can afford to repay it. We will not make advances which encourage recipients to become over-indebted.</p><p> </p><p>The Department encourages all Universal Credit claimants to actively consider how best to manage their personal budget, with additional advice and support available from work coaches and case managers. When an advance payment is appropriate, claimants decide what percentage of their expected monthly award to apply for and over what period to repay it, up to a maximum of 12 monthly instalments.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><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. Outstanding repayments are actively monitored and managed, ensuring we support claimants experiencing financial challenges whilst maintaining responsibility to the taxpayer for recovery.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma grouped question UIN 263677 question first answered 18/06/2019 15:32:14 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma previous answer version 123355 answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

1507408

	registered interest
	date	21/09/2022
	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	Pension Credit: Publicity
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much her Department has spent on Pension Credit awareness campaigns in each since 1 January 2019.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
	tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
	uin	53269
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/10/2022 answer text <p>A targeted, time-limited pilot campaign to promote Pension Credit in early 2020 included advertising in GP surgeries, Post Offices and social media at a cost of £65,000. Activity was curtailed by the early impact of the pandemic.</p><p>In 2021, the Department ran proactive press and social media activity at no cost, focused around the Pension Credit ‘day of action’ on 15 June.</p><p>The current Pension Credit take up campaign, aimed at pensioners and their family members, was launched in April 2022. The total budget committed to the paid campaign so far this year, including paid press advertising, is £1.2m, and the campaign is continuously monitored and optimised to deliver the best value for the money spent.</p><p>Our internal management information suggests that during the week of this year’s Pension Credit ‘day of action’ in June there was a 275% increase in claims compared to the same week in 2021.</p><p>This activity is in addition to the Pension Credit material included in the annual uprating mailing, which is sent to over 11m pensioners in Great Britain.</p> answering member constituency Brentwood and Ongar answering member printed Alex Burghart question first answered 12/10/2022 15:52:16 answering member 4613 label Biography information for Alex Burghart
	tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

1458341

	registered interest
	date	19/04/2022
	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	Access to Work Programme
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many applications to her Department's Access to Work Scheme are delayed as at 19 April 2022.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
	tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
	uin	155573
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/04/2022 answer text <p>Access to Work are currently receiving an increased level of applications for support and are working through all applications to ensure that they are progressed as soon as possible. During the year April 2021-March 2022, c79,800 applications for support were processed.</p><p>For applications where a customer is due to begin a new job with a start date within 4 weeks, their case will be prioritised, and contact made as soon as possible. For renewal applications for on-going support, these are also being prioritised and in the majority of cases, support approved using a new streamlined process. In March 2022, 59% of applications to AtW were treated as a priority and allocated to a case manager for immediate action.</p><p>In addition to cases in progress and those which are prioritised, there are currently c14,700 Access to Work applications outstanding where we have not yet made contact with the customer and which are outside of our usual timescale for initial contact. These cases are considered in the date order we received them.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Norwich North answering member printed Chloe Smith question first answered 26/04/2022 10:44:38 answering member 1609 label Biography information for Chloe Smith
	tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe