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931151

	registered interest
	date	25/06/2018
	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	Unemployed People: Voluntary Work
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what definition Jobcentre Plus uses for volunteering when it encourages jobseekers to take up volunteering roles.
	tabling member constituency	Croydon North
	tabling member printed	Mr Steve Reed
	uin	157171
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/06/2018 answer text <p>A volunteer is defined as a person:</p><p> </p><p>1. who is engaged in voluntary work for someone who is not a relative; and</p><p>2. where the only payment that person receives or is due to be paid to that</p><p>person is in respect of expenses they have reasonably incurred in connection</p><p>with that work.</p><p><em> </em></p><p>Source:</p><p> </p><p>Advice for Decision Makers Guide (Chapter R2) - <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/687088/admr2.pdf" target="_blank">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/687088/admr2.pdf</a></p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 28/06/2018 13:49:33 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	4268 label Biography information for Steve Reed

932290

	registered interest
	date	28/06/2018
	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	Unemployed People: Voluntary Work
	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 25 June 2018 to Question 157171 on Unemployed People: Voluntary Work, what steps she is taking to ensure that Jobcentre Plus staff apply that definition of volunteering.
	tabling member constituency	Croydon North
	tabling member printed	Mr Steve Reed
	uin	158759
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/07/2018 answer text <p>DWP recognises the value of voluntary work in developing skills which can be transferred into the world of paid work, as well as benefitting local communities and wider society.</p><p>Work coaches will discuss and promote the benefits of voluntary work during all interventions with claimants. The definition is considered when reviewing the Claimant Commitment.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 03/07/2018 16:26:27 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	4268 label Biography information for Steve Reed

1001921

	registered interest
	date	05/11/2018
	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, if she will set out the timeframe for implementing her Department's response to the court judgement of June 2018 on the payment of Severe Disability Premium to claimants who are already in receipt of Universal Credit.
	tabling member constituency	Croydon North
	tabling member printed	Mr Steve Reed
	uin	188119
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/11/2018 answer text <p>Written statement HCWS745 on 7 June 2018 , which preceded the Court judgment of 14 June, set out our plans to make provision for claimants already in receipt of Universal Credit, to receive a Severe Disability Premium backdated.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>The ‘Universal Credit (Managed Migration) Amendment Regulations 2018’, which contain these provisions, were laid in Parliament on 5 November 2018 and will now be scrutinised and voted on by Parliament.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 12/11/2018 18:08:45 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	4268 label Biography information for Steve Reed

101677

	registered interest
	date	29/10/2014
	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	Public Opinion
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much his Department spent on (a) focus groups and (b) surveys in (i) 2013 and (ii) 2014 to date.
	tabling member constituency	Croydon North
	tabling member printed	Mr Steve Reed
	uin	212512
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/11/2014 answer text <p /> <p>The Department spent on surveys:</p><p> </p><p>i. 2013: £9,482,924</p><p>ii. 2014 to date: £10,033,878</p><p> </p><p>This includes high profile, internationally recognised surveys such as the Family Resources Survey, English Longitudinal Study of Ageing, the Labour Force Survey and the Wealth and Assets Survey.</p><p> </p><p>Please note</p><p> </p><p>· That the figures for 2014 to date are estimates based on planned research spend;</p><p>· the survey spend is made up of “regular” surveys as there may also be research that we carry out that includes some surveying not within this cost; and</p><p>· The figures for focus group are not consolidated and only available at disproportionate cost.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 19/11/2014 14:03:50 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	4268 label Biography information for Steve Reed

447306

	registered interest
	date	25/01/2016
	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: Autism
	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 adults with autism are in full-time employment; and what steps his Department is taking to help adults on the autism spectrum into work.
	tabling member constituency	Croydon North
	tabling member printed	Mr Steve Reed
	uin	23990
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/01/2016 answer text <p>Government does not collect data specifically on employment rates for people with Autistic Spectrum Conditions (ASC).</p><p>Estimates are available from the National Autistic Society (NAS), who suggest that 15% of working age people with autism are in full time employment.</p><p>Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is taking a number of steps to help adults on the autism spectrum into work, including:</p><ul><li>the development of an Autism/ Hidden Impairment Network across Jobcentre Plus;</li><li>the expansion of the Access to Work Mental Health specialist advisory team to cover people with autism and associated hidden impairment conditions;</li><li>work to implement autism specific opportunities on LMS, Jobcentre Plus’s IT system;</li><li>the introduction of a Job-Shadowing Work Placement Initiative for young disabled people (65% of participants in the first tranche had autistic spectrum conditions)</li><li>The formation of an Autism Taskforce involving disability organisations and disabled people.</li></ul><p>DWP has worked in close partnership with the Hidden Impairment National Group (HING) to produce an ‘Uncovering Hidden Impairments’ toolkit, which helps employers to recruit and retain people with hidden impairment conditions.</p><p>DWP is fully committed to the Government’s Autism Strategy. The latest progress report on the Autism Strategy can be viewed here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/progress-report-on-strategy-for-adults-with-autism" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/progress-report-on-strategy-for-adults-with-autism</a></p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 28/01/2016 13:08:10 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	4268 label Biography information for Steve Reed

1110003

	registered interest
	date	05/04/2019
	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	Universal Credit: Croydon
	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 had made of the effect of the roll out of universal credit on child poverty in working families in the London borough of Croydon .
	tabling member constituency	Croydon North
	tabling member printed	Mr Steve Reed
	uin	241434
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/04/2019 answer text <p>We have not made an assessment at this level.</p><p> </p><p>The best way to help people improve their lives is through employment, and people on Universal Credit move into work faster and stay in work longer. We are committed to helping the most vulnerable to improve their life chances by tackling the root causes of poverty, and ensuring that children have the best possible start in life.</p><p> </p><p>We want to see child poverty falling, and we remain determined to tackle it. We will look at what more can be done to help the most vulnerable and improve their life chances by tackling the root causes of poverty, ensuring that children have the best possible start in life.</p><p> </p><p>That is why we have recently implemented a £1000 increase in Work Allowance rates as part of a package worth £1.7 billion in 2023/24 to some of the most vulnerable low paid working families. It will increase the amount that hardworking families can earn before Universal Credit is tapered away, providing 2.4 million working families with an extra £630 a year.</p><p> </p><p>A child growing up in a home where all the adults work is around five times less likely to be in poverty than a home in which no one is working.</p><p> </p><p>It is also worth noting that absolute and relative poverty rates for children in London are lower than in 2010, on both a before and after housing cost basis.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 15/04/2019 14:44:24 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4268 label Biography information for Steve Reed

1110004

	registered interest
	date	05/04/2019
	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	Universal Credit: Croydon
	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 had made of the effect of the roll out of universal credit on levels of homelessness in the London borough of Croydon .
	tabling member constituency	Croydon North
	tabling member printed	Mr Steve Reed
	uin	241435
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/04/2019 answer text <p>We do not track homelessness at Jobcentre level so the assessment asked for is not available, but statutory homelessness and rough sleeping figures for Croydon are available within Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government’s homelessness statistical release: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-homelessness" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-homelessness</a>.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>The causes of homelessness are numerous, varied and complex.. A joint study between the Department and the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government, has shown that there is not a direct causal link between welfare and homelessness. This report was published on 25 March 2019 and can be found at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/causes-of-homelessness-and-rough-sleeping-feasibility-study" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/causes-of-homelessness-and-rough-sleeping-feasibility-study</a>. Attributing homelessness to a single Governmental policy would simplify the issue, and this approach would wrongly deny it the multi-faceted approach which we’re committed to delivering.</p><p> </p><p>It is our priority to ensure that those who are homeless, or at risk of homelessness, get the appropriate support to stabilise their lives and move into work. We have provided around £1 billion in Discretionary Housing Payment funding since 2011 to protect the most vulnerable claimants.</p><p> </p><p>There is a range of support available for people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, such as access to Alternative Payment Arrangements, easements to work-search requirements and partnerships between Jobcentres and homeless charities and housing services. 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> </p><p>Data on homelessness by local authority level, provided by the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government, is available at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/homelessness-statistics" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/homelessness-statistics</a>.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 10/04/2019 12:03:09 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4268 label Biography information for Steve Reed

1110402

	registered interest
	date	08/04/2019
	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	Universal Credit: Croydon
	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 had made of the effect of the roll out of universal credit on levels of foodbank use in the London borough of Croydon.
	tabling member constituency	Croydon North
	tabling member printed	Mr Steve Reed
	uin	242146
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/04/2019 answer text <p>The Department does not keep official statistics on food bank use, so the assessment requested is not available. Some food aid providers, such as the Trussell Trust, produce statistics on the number of food parcels distributed, but the Government has no plans to require individual food banks to keep records as this would place a significant burden on charitable and voluntary organisations.</p><p> </p><p>We have always said there are many reasons why people use foodbanks. We have listened to feedback on how we can support our claimants and acted quickly, making improvements such as extending advances, removing waiting days, and introducing housing benefit run on. These changes are giving support to vulnerable people who need it most, whilst at the same time helping people get into work faster.</p><p><strong> </strong></p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 11/04/2019 16:05:01 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4268 label Biography information for Steve Reed

1121462

	registered interest
	date	11/04/2019
	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	Universal Credit: Housing
	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 had made of the effect of the roll out of universal credit on levels of rent arrears in the London borough of Croydon.
	tabling member constituency	Croydon North
	tabling member printed	Mr Steve Reed
	uin	244110
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/04/2019 answer text <p>We have not made an assessment of this nature, as it is wrong to attribute any change in rent arrears solely to Universal Credit. The initial analytical work we have carried out with a single housing provider suggests that many tenants are arriving on Universal Credit with pre-existing rent arrears, that their arrears tend to increase prior to making a claim for Universal Credit, and that Universal Credit actually appears to be helping to clear arrears over time. We are currently extending this analysis to include a number of housing providers. It will be published when completed. Furthermore, according to latest figures (November 2018) only about 8% of social rented households were on Universal Credit; therefore it is difficult to see how a national trend can be attributed to Universal Credit.</p><p> </p><p>We have responded to concerns in this area by putting a number of safeguards in place - 100% advances repayable over 12 months, increasing to 16 months in October 2021; a two-week Transition to Universal Credit Housing Payment; a new Help to Claim service; and Managed Payment to Landlord Arrangements, which allow for payments direct to the landlord if the tenant is likely to have difficulty in managing their rent payments, is unlikely to pay their rent or is in rent arrears equivalent to eight weeks.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 24/04/2019 10:17:09 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4268 label Biography information for Steve Reed

1129339

	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, in what circumstances her Department refers universal credit claimants to contact their Member of Parliament.
	tabling member constituency	Croydon North
	tabling member printed	Mr Steve Reed
	uin	259247
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/06/2019 answer text <p>Information is available via Gov.uk regarding the Department’s complaints procedure and what steps people can take if at any stage they disagree with the response they have received from the Department.</p><p>If after following the Department’s complaints procedure a claimant remains unsatisfied with the Departments final response, they can ask the Independent Case Examiner (ICE) to review the Departments handling of the complaint.</p><p>If the claimant is unhappy with the response they receive from ICE we would then advise the claimant to contact their Member of Parliament (MP) to request the complaint is sent to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman for further review.</p><p>In addition, the Department will respond to all complaints regarding current Policy/Legislation providing a full explanation of the Policy and how it is applied. However, if the claimant disagrees with the actual Policy/Legislation rather than its application they may be advised to contact their local MP to raise their concerns.</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-work-pensions/about/complaints-procedure" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-work-pensions/about/complaints-procedure</a></p><p>Prior to the roll-out of Universal Credit Full Service in their constituency, both Ministers and Service Leaders (formally District managers) wrote to each Hon. Member. The letter explained the implicit consent arrangements for MPs and also provided the telephone number and email address of the Service Leader in the constituency, so that MPs can contact Service Leaders if there are urgent constituent cases that need attention. This is the best route to raise issues on behalf of constituents and works well because MPs’ offices can establish local relationships.</p><p>We have recently written to hon. Members to confirm named contacts and local telephone numbers to allow local constituency related Universal Credit cases to be raised directly. The letters also extend an invitation for MPs to visit their local Jobcentre to see the work they are doing.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 11/06/2019 14:46:22 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	4268 label Biography information for Steve Reed