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582438

	registered interest
	date	13/09/2016
	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	Fit for Work Programme
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the contract with Maximus for delivery of the Fit for Work programme includes provision of public funding for taxi journeys for anyone (a) turned away from or (b) moved to a different assessment centre.
	tabling member constituency	Croydon North
	tabling member printed	Mr Steve Reed
	uin	46095
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/10/2016 answer text <p>The Fit for Work service provides a supportive occupational health assessment and general health and work advice to employees, employers and General Practitioners (GPs), to help individuals stay in or return to work. Advice is delivered via a website, telephone line and webchat and does not involve participants travelling to an Assessment Centre.</p> answering member constituency Portsmouth North answering member printed Penny Mordaunt question first answered 10/10/2016 11:15:44 answering member 4017 label Biography information for Penny Mordaunt
	tabling member	4268 label Biography information for Steve Reed

707337

	registered interest
	date	02/03/2017
	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 the latest annual percentage change was in the claimant court in areas operating universal credit (a) full service and (b) live service; and what reasons he ascribes to the difference in the change in the claimant count between full service and live service areas.
	tabling member constituency	Croydon North
	tabling member printed	Mr Steve Reed
	uin	66330
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/03/2017 answer text <p>The latest claimant count data is for January 2017.</p><p> </p><p>The cumulative claimant count figure for the offices operating Full Service increased by 25.5% in the 12 months to January 2017. The remaining offices operating Live Service saw an overall fall of 1.5% in the count over the same period.</p><p> </p><p>Universal Credit will tend to increase the claimant count because it extends our support to find work to claimants who have never received this support before. For example, people who, in the past, only claimed Child Tax Credit or Housing Benefit (and not Jobseekers Allowance) and now will claim Universal Credit, will be helped to prepare for and look for work. So will partners of Universal Credit claimants.</p><p> </p><p>The roll out of this support is more advanced in Full Service areas, and as we bring these people onto Universal Credit, it is to be expected that the claimant count will be higher than it would otherwise have been.</p> answering member constituency East Hampshire answering member printed Damian Hinds question first answered 07/03/2017 13:22:03 answering member 3969 label Biography information for Damian Hinds
	tabling member	4268 label Biography information for Steve Reed

752815

	registered interest
	date	17/07/2017
	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	Medical Examinations
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to ensure that health and disability assessment centres are accessible to wheelchair users.
	tabling member constituency	Croydon North
	tabling member printed	Mr Steve Reed
	uin	5252
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/07/2017 answer text <p>All Assessment Centre buildings [operated by Independent Assessment Services (an Atos company), Capita, and the Centre for Health and Disability Assessments (CHDA)] are compliant with the Equality Act 2010 and are wheelchair accessible.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>The assessment providers are required to ensure that the needs of all claimants are considered, including proximity to public transport routes and access to suitable parking. Before attending an assessment, claimants are given the opportunity to alert the assessment provider to any additional requirements they may have. The providers will endeavour to meet any reasonable requests.</p><p> </p><p>If a claimant is unable to travel to, or access an Assessment Centre as a result of their health condition or impairment, a home visit may be offered.</p> answering member constituency Portsmouth North answering member printed Penny Mordaunt grouped question UIN 5251 5253 question first answered 20/07/2017 12:53:59 answering member 4017 label Biography information for Penny Mordaunt
	tabling member	4268 label Biography information for Steve Reed

752814

	registered interest
	date	17/07/2017
	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	Medical Examinations
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to ensure that access to health and disability assessment centres is compliant with the Equality Act 2010.
	tabling member constituency	Croydon North
	tabling member printed	Mr Steve Reed
	uin	5253
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/07/2017 answer text <p>All Assessment Centre buildings [operated by Independent Assessment Services (an Atos company), Capita, and the Centre for Health and Disability Assessments (CHDA)] are compliant with the Equality Act 2010 and are wheelchair accessible.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>The assessment providers are required to ensure that the needs of all claimants are considered, including proximity to public transport routes and access to suitable parking. Before attending an assessment, claimants are given the opportunity to alert the assessment provider to any additional requirements they may have. The providers will endeavour to meet any reasonable requests.</p><p> </p><p>If a claimant is unable to travel to, or access an Assessment Centre as a result of their health condition or impairment, a home visit may be offered.</p> answering member constituency Portsmouth North answering member printed Penny Mordaunt grouped question UIN 5251 5252 question first answered 20/07/2017 12:53:59 answering member 4017 label Biography information for Penny Mordaunt
	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

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

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

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

1129719

	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, what plans she has to amend the income assessment periods for universal credit for claimants with flexible incomes.
	tabling member constituency	Croydon North
	tabling member printed	Mr Steve Reed
	uin	260013
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/06/2019 answer text <p>Universal Credit takes earnings into account in a way that is fair and transparent. The amount of Universal Credit paid reflects, as closely as possible, the actual circumstances of a household during each monthly assessment period, including any earnings reported by the employer during the assessment period, regardless of when they were paid, or which month they relate to.</p><p>Assessment periods allow for Universal Credit awards to be adjusted on a monthly basis, ensuring that if claimants’ incomes fall, they do not have to wait several months for a rise in their Universal Credit award.</p><p>Claimants can discuss queries about how fluctuating income effects Universal Credit with their case managers and work coaches, who can also signpost to services appropriate to individual circumstances.</p><p>The Government is working with employers to ensure that they use the most appropriate payment practices and comply with RTI guidelines in order to minimise the incidence of erroneous or late reporting by employers. HMRC have updated the guidance to reiterate to employers the importance of reporting accurate dates and the impact on payment cycles.</p><p>More guidance on this is available at the following link: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/universal-credit-different-earning-patterns-and-your-payments/universal-credit-different-earning-patterns-and-your-payments-payment-cycles" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/universal-credit-different-earning-patterns-and-your-payments/universal-credit-different-earning-patterns-and-your-payments-payment-cycles</a></p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 10/06/2019 14:06:38 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	4268 label Biography information for Steve Reed