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1436969

	registered interest
	date	01/03/2022
	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	Social Security Benefits: 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 she is taking to tackle fraudsters who seek to exploit the benefits system.
	tabling member constituency	Woking
	tabling member printed	Mr Jonathan Lord
	uin	132247
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/03/2022 answer text <p>The Department takes benefit fraud very seriously and is taking a wide range of steps to tackle fraud, as well as seeking to actively prevent it.</p><p>In addition to having dedicated teams to investigate cases of suspected fraud, we continue to invest in innovative measures to combat fraud, focussing wherever possible on preventing it entering the benefit system in the first place.</p><p>To this end, the Department successfully secured additional funding of £613m last year, recognising and supporting the steps we have already made in tackling Fraud and Error, enabling us to make a significant impact towards reducing levels of fraud and error in DWP, more effective collection of debt and providing effective counter fraud operations on a larger scale.</p><p>In particular, it will support the development of several new initiatives to:</p><ul><li>Drive down the level of fraud and error in Universal Credit (UC) through a targeted review of UC claims. This allows us to systematically review stock UC cases to immediately uncover fraud and error and remove it from the system.</li><li>Target hard to collect debt through the formation of a new Debt Enforcement Function.</li><li>Continue our recruitment into the Counter Fraud and Compliance Directorate (CFCD) up to 9,500 FTE so that we can continue to respond quickly and effectively to threats.</li></ul><p> </p><p>Where fraud does enter the benefit system, we take action to recover the money and apply appropriate penalties, including prosecution.</p> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley question first answered 09/03/2022 11:56:27 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley
	tabling member	4090 label Biography information for Mr Jonathan Lord

1436974

	registered interest
	date	01/03/2022
	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	Children: Maintenance
	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 increase collection rates of child maintenance payments.
	tabling member constituency	Woking
	tabling member printed	Mr Jonathan Lord
	uin	132249
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/03/2022 answer text <p>The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) take rigorous action to collect maintenance, combining robust negotiation activity with the highly effective use of its extensive range of Enforcement Powers.</p><p>There has been a consistent downward trend in the proportion of unpaid maintenance as a proportion of maintenance arranged, falling from 12.5% in 2017 to 8.5% in September 2021</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 09/03/2022 17:18:47 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
	tabling member	4090 label Biography information for Mr Jonathan Lord

1486675

	registered interest
	date	05/07/2022
	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	Cost of Living Payments: Woking
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the number of Universal Credit claimants in the borough of Woking who will receive a cost of living payment.
	tabling member constituency	Woking
	tabling member printed	Mr Jonathan Lord
	uin	31097
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/07/2022 answer text <p>Universal Credit claimants who were entitled to at least 1p during assessment periods that ended between 26 April 2022 to 25 May 2022 will be eligible for the £326 Cost of Living Payment from 14 July.</p><p> </p><p>Statistics on the number of households that had an assessment period which covered the monthly count date and received a Universal Credit payment are available by Westminster parliamentary constituency at: <a href="https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/" target="_blank">https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/</a></p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The latest statistics show the number of households with Universal Credit in payment on 10 February 2022. Guidance on how to extract the information required can be found at:</p><p> </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> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley question first answered 13/07/2022 15:07:09 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley
	tabling member	4090 label Biography information for Mr Jonathan Lord

1486676

	registered interest
	date	05/07/2022
	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	Social Security Benefits: Fraud and Maladministration
	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 reduce the level of fraud and error in the welfare system.
	tabling member constituency	Woking
	tabling member printed	Mr Jonathan Lord
	uin	31098
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/07/2022 answer text <p>Our Fraud Plan, Fighting Fraud in the Welfare System, published 19 May 2022, sets out our plans for reducing the level of fraud and error in the welfare system by:</p><ul><li>Investing in DWPs frontline counter-fraud professionals and data analytics, including recruiting 2,000 trained specialists to review over two million Universal Credit cases.</li><li>Creating new legal powers to investigate potential fraud and punish fraudsters (subject to legislation).</li><li>Bringing together the full force of public and private sectors to keep one step ahead.</li></ul><p>The full document can be found at <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fighting-fraud-in-the-welfare-system" target="_blank">Fighting Fraud in the Welfare System - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)</a></p><p> </p><p>The government is investing £1.4bn of funding over the next three years, to combat fraud and error.</p><p> </p><p>We estimate this investment will stop over £2.0bn of loss in fraud and error during this time.</p> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley question first answered 13/07/2022 15:10:17 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley
	tabling member	4090 label Biography information for Mr Jonathan Lord

1486677

	registered interest
	date	05/07/2022
	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	Way to Work Scheme
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent estimate she has made of the number of people who have moved into work during the Way to Work campaign.
	tabling member constituency	Woking
	tabling member printed	Mr Jonathan Lord
	uin	31099
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/07/2022 answer text <p>As of 6 July, we estimate that at least 520,400 unemployed Universal Credit claimants and Job Seekers Allowance (JSA) claimants have moved into work during the Way to Work Campaign between 31 January and the end of 30 June 2022.  <br>  <br>This total figure is composed of our into work measure to the end of May (over 386,000) and our internal management information up to 30 June (72,800). We are now also able to include JSA claimants who have moved into work between 31 January and 9 June 2022 (35,100) into our total. Furthermore, we have also included those claimants with a sanction in place that moved into work during the period of the campaign up to 30 June (26,500). Figures are rounded to the nearest 100.   <br>  <br>The management information presented here has not been subjected to the usual standard of quality assurance associated with official statistics but is provided in the interests of transparency and timeliness.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Hertford and Stortford answering member printed Julie Marson question first answered 11/07/2022 11:47:44 answering member 4768 label Biography information for Julie Marson
	tabling member	4090 label Biography information for Mr Jonathan Lord

1486678

	registered interest
	date	05/07/2022
	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	Personal Pensions
	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 help people understand their personal pensions.
	tabling member constituency	Woking
	tabling member printed	Mr Jonathan Lord
	uin	31100
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/07/2022 answer text <p>The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is currently introducing several initiatives to assist people in understanding their pensions.</p><p> </p><p>We currently offer pensions guidance, through the Money and Pensions Service, in the form of MoneyHelper and Pension Wise.</p><p> </p><p>The Stronger Nudge to pensions guidance regulations, which came into force in June 2022, ensures no-one will be able to access their savings through pension freedoms without having received Pension Wise guidance or opted out. As part of this, schemes now offer to book of a Pension Wise appointment for the member as part of the application process, removing the inertia introduced by members having to book their own appointment.</p><p> </p><p>On 14<sup>th</sup> June DWP published the ‘Helping savers understand their pension choices’ call for evidence, to explore what support members of pension schemes need to help them make informed decisions about how to use their savings. The responses to this call for evidence and other engagement with industry and member representatives will inform what, if any, government action is needed.</p><p> </p><p>From October this year, new regulations come into force that require defined contribution schemes used for automatic enrolment to send simpler, 2-page maximum, statements to members. These short, simpler statements will give savers the key information they need to be able to better engage with and understand their pensions. They will help people plan for the retirement they want.</p><p> </p><p>Finally, on 31st January 2022, DWP published a consultation on the draft regulations for Pensions Dashboards, which closed on 13 March 2022. Following publication of its response, expected this summer, the department will lay regulations for dashboards when parliamentary time allows. Pensions dashboards can help make accessing pensions information easier by empowering people to see what they have in their various pensions, including their State Pension, at the touch of a button on their smartphone, laptop or computer at home. This will put the saver in control and help reconnect people with their lost pension pots, transforming how people think and plan for their retirement.</p><p> </p><p>DWP regulates for trust-based workplace pensions. Individual and other personal pensions within the contract-based market are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 12/07/2022 14:39:07 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
	tabling member	4090 label Biography information for Mr Jonathan Lord

1651967

	registered interest
	date	11/07/2023
	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: 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 his Department is taking to use technological innovations to (a) find and (b) prevent fraud in the welfare system.
	tabling member constituency	Woking
	tabling member printed	Mr Jonathan Lord
	uin	193355
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/07/2023 answer text <p>The department continues to explore the application of cutting-edge technology, including artificial intelligence and machine learning to prevent, detect and deter those who would try to cheat the system, whilst also supporting genuine and vulnerable claimants.</p><p>Details of our work in this area are set out in the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dwp-annual-report-and-accounts-2022-to-2023" target="_blank">DWP annual report and accounts 2022 to 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)</a>.</p> answering member constituency Corby answering member printed Tom Pursglove question first answered 19/07/2023 10:57:22 answering member 4369 label Biography information for Tom Pursglove
	tabling member	4090 label Biography information for Mr Jonathan Lord

1651969

	registered interest
	date	11/07/2023
	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: Fraud
	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 he has made of the effectiveness of his Department’s plan on Fighting Fraud in the Welfare System, published on 19 May 2022.
	tabling member constituency	Woking
	tabling member printed	Mr Jonathan Lord
	uin	193356
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/07/2023 answer text <p>The Fraud Plan set out our ambitions in three key areas. We are making good progress in delivering our investment in frontline services and bringing together the full force of the private and public sectors. Decisions on legislation are for the King’s Speech.</p> answering member constituency Sevenoaks answering member printed Laura Trott question first answered 19/07/2023 10:17:35 answering member 4780 label Biography information for Laura Trott
	tabling member	4090 label Biography information for Mr Jonathan Lord

1651970

	registered interest
	date	11/07/2023
	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: Parents
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to support parents on Universal Credit into work.
	tabling member constituency	Woking
	tabling member printed	Mr Jonathan Lord
	uin	193357
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/07/2023 answer text <p>The Spring Budget included transformative childcare plans for parents, children and the economy. By 2027-28, the government expects to be spending in excess of £8 billion every year on free hours and early education, helping working families with their childcare costs. This represents the single biggest investment in childcare in England ever.</p><p> </p><p>The reforms announced build on our current entitlements and childcare offers, which includes the universal 15-hour offer for all 3- and 4-year-olds, a 15-hour offer for the most disadvantaged 2-year-olds, the existing 30 hours offer for 3- and 4-year-olds, as well as Tax-Free Childcare and Universal Credit Childcare.</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 17/07/2023 14:02:43 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
	tabling member	4090 label Biography information for Mr Jonathan Lord

1651971

	registered interest
	date	11/07/2023
	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	Employment: Chronic Illnesses and Disability
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to support people with disabilities and long-term health conditions into work.
	tabling member constituency	Woking
	tabling member printed	Mr Jonathan Lord
	uin	193358
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/07/2023 answer text <p>The Government delivers an extensive programme of initiatives to support disabled people, and people with health conditions, including people with long-term health conditions, to start, stay, and succeed in work. These include:</p><ul><li>Increased Work Coach support in Jobcentres for disabled people and people with health conditions receiving Universal Credit or Employment and Support Allowance;</li><li>Disability Employment Advisers in Jobcentres offering advice and expertise on how to help disabled people and people with health conditions into work;</li><li>The Work and Health Programme and Intensive Personalised Employment Support, providing tailored and personalised support for disabled people;</li><li>Access to Work grants helping towards extra costs of working beyond standard reasonable adjustments;</li><li>Disability Confident, encouraging employers to think differently about disability and health, and to take positive action to address the issues disabled employees face in the workplace;</li><li>An online Information Service called <a href="https://www.support-with-employee-health-and-disability.dwp.gov.uk/support-with-employee-health-and-disability" target="_blank">“Support with Employee Health and Disability”,</a> providing better integrated and tailored guidance on supporting health and disability in the workplace;</li><li>Increasing access to occupational health, including the testing of financial incentives for small and medium-sized enterprises and the self-employed;</li><li>Work in partnership between the DWP and the health system, including:</li></ul><p>o Employment Advice in NHS Talking Therapies, which combines psychological treatment and employment support for people with mental health conditions; and</p><p>o The Individual Placement and Support in Primary Care (IPSPC) programme, a Supported Employment model (place, train and maintain) delivered in health settings, aimed at people with physical or common mental health disabilities to support them to access paid jobs in the open labour market.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>Building on our existing programme, we announced a wide-reaching package at the Spring Budget to support disabled people and people with health conditions to work.</p><p> </p><p>New investment broadens access to additional Work Coach support for disabled people and people with health conditions, introduces a new supported employment programme (Universal Support) and focuses on providing faster access to joined-up work and health support, including for mental health and musculoskeletal conditions, the two leading causes of economic inactivity due to long term sickness.</p> answering member constituency Corby answering member printed Tom Pursglove question first answered 19/07/2023 10:52:09 answering member 4369 label Biography information for Tom Pursglove
	tabling member	4090 label Biography information for Mr Jonathan Lord