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1139846

	registered interest
	date	17/07/2019
	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	Carer's Allowance
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of increasing the rate of the carer’s allowance to match the rate of jobseeker’s allowance.
	tabling member constituency	Sheffield Central
	tabling member printed	Paul Blomfield
	uin	278481
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/07/2019 answer text <p>This Government recognises and values the vital contribution made by carers in supporting some of the most vulnerable in society.</p><p> </p><p>The information requested on the cost to the public purse of increasing the rate of Carer’s Allowance to that of Jobseeker’s Allowance is not available but an indicative cost can be calculated using data published on StatXplore and gov.uk.</p><p> </p><p>The current rate of Jobseeker’s Allowance for those aged 25 and over is £73.10. The difference between this and the rate of Carer’s Allowance (currently £66.15 a week) is £6.95. As of November 2018, there were approximately 780,000 claimants receiving Carer’s Allowance in England and Wales. Thus, paying an additional £6.95 a week to carers in England and Wales would cost in the region of £280m a year. Carer’s Allowance has been devolved to the Scottish Government since September 2018 and is delivered in Scotland by DWP for an interim period under an Agency Agreement.</p><p> </p><p>The Government also provides targeted financial support for carers on low incomes through income-related benefits such as Universal Credit, Pension Credit and Income Support. In April 2019, the additional amount for carers in receipt of Pension Credit and Income Support increased to £36.85 a week. The Universal Credit carer element increased to £160.20 per monthly assessment period. Universal Credit also adjusts to fluctuating earnings and periods when paid employment is not feasible, for example due to caring responsibilities. The Government is committed to helping carers balance providing care with their own paid employment where this is possible, as indicated in the Carers Action Plan.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson grouped question UIN 278482 question first answered 22/07/2019 13:33:57 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	4058 label Biography information for Paul Blomfield

1139847

	registered interest
	date	17/07/2019
	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	Carer's Allowance: Costs
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of increasing carer's allowance to the same level as jobseeker’s allowance.
	tabling member constituency	Sheffield Central
	tabling member printed	Paul Blomfield
	uin	278482
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/07/2019 answer text <p>This Government recognises and values the vital contribution made by carers in supporting some of the most vulnerable in society.</p><p> </p><p>The information requested on the cost to the public purse of increasing the rate of Carer’s Allowance to that of Jobseeker’s Allowance is not available but an indicative cost can be calculated using data published on StatXplore and gov.uk.</p><p> </p><p>The current rate of Jobseeker’s Allowance for those aged 25 and over is £73.10. The difference between this and the rate of Carer’s Allowance (currently £66.15 a week) is £6.95. As of November 2018, there were approximately 780,000 claimants receiving Carer’s Allowance in England and Wales. Thus, paying an additional £6.95 a week to carers in England and Wales would cost in the region of £280m a year. Carer’s Allowance has been devolved to the Scottish Government since September 2018 and is delivered in Scotland by DWP for an interim period under an Agency Agreement.</p><p> </p><p>The Government also provides targeted financial support for carers on low incomes through income-related benefits such as Universal Credit, Pension Credit and Income Support. In April 2019, the additional amount for carers in receipt of Pension Credit and Income Support increased to £36.85 a week. The Universal Credit carer element increased to £160.20 per monthly assessment period. Universal Credit also adjusts to fluctuating earnings and periods when paid employment is not feasible, for example due to caring responsibilities. The Government is committed to helping carers balance providing care with their own paid employment where this is possible, as indicated in the Carers Action Plan.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson grouped question UIN 278481 question first answered 22/07/2019 13:33:57 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	4058 label Biography information for Paul Blomfield

1143289

	registered interest
	date	02/09/2019
	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	Children: Day Care
	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 (a) affordability and (b) adequacy of provision of childcare for parents subject to the benefit cap.
	tabling member constituency	Sheffield Central
	tabling member printed	Paul Blomfield
	uin	284637
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text <p>The Department for Work and Pensions has not undertaken a specific assessment of the affordability and adequacy of provision of childcare for parents subject to the benefit cap. As part of its evaluation of the benefit cap policy, we have commissioned the National Centre for Social Research to conduct a survey of capped households to assess the effects of the cap on claimants’ behaviours toward employment and the drivers behind different responses to the cap, which will include childcare availability and costs. We anticipate publishing the findings in the Autumn.</p><p> </p><p>The department recognises that high childcare costs can be a real barrier to parents taking up employment or increasing their working hours. To help overcome this, Universal Credit is more generous than legacy benefits in the support it provides towards childcare costs, with an increased level of support for childcare costs from 70% in legacy to up to 85% in Universal Credit.</p><p> </p><p>In addition, significant work has been undertaken within the department to raise awareness and understanding of the UC Childcare Offer amongst work coaches and work continues across Government to support take up of the different childcare offers, ensuring information is readily accessible for parents, providers and employers, including via digital channels. The Government now provides more support than ever before to help parents with the costs of childcare and will be spending a record amount of around £6 billion on childcare support in 2019-20.</p> answering member constituency Eastleigh answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 09/09/2019 12:13:40 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
	tabling member	4058 label Biography information for Paul Blomfield

1143585

	registered interest
	date	02/09/2019
	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: Support for Mortgage Interest
	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 restriction on earned income for eligibility for support for mortgage interest under universal credit on the incentive to work.
	tabling member constituency	Sheffield Central
	tabling member printed	Paul Blomfield
	uin	285016
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/09/2019 answer text <p>The earned income rule for help with mortgage interest on Universal Credit ensures that owner occupier claimants have the right incentives to move into work and increase their hours of work over time where possible.</p><p>Universal Credit’s income taper, along with work allowances for qualifying claimants, ensure a strong work incentive is maintained. For certain owner occupiers, the withdrawal of support for mortgage interest means they qualify for the higher work allowance, and so they could earn up to £503 before there is any effect on their Universal Credit award.</p><p>My Department has made no formal assessment of the effect of the rule on work incentives.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 05/09/2019 09:40:59 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4058 label Biography information for Paul Blomfield

1143586

	registered interest
	date	02/09/2019
	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, how many claimants of universal credit were (a) employed and (b) unemployed as at 15 August 2019.
	tabling member constituency	Sheffield Central
	tabling member printed	Paul Blomfield
	uin	285260
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/09/2019 answer text <p>The latest available information as at July 2019 on the number of people on Universal Credit by Employment Indicator is published and can be found at:</p><p><a href="https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/" target="_blank">https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/</a>.</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> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 05/09/2019 09:35:52 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4058 label Biography information for Paul Blomfield

1143587

	registered interest
	date	02/09/2019
	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, what assessment she has made of the ability of universal credit claimants to access passported benefits.
	tabling member constituency	Sheffield Central
	tabling member printed	Paul Blomfield
	uin	285018
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/09/2019 answer text <p>Claimants may currently be entitled to a number of other benefits because they are in receipt of Universal Credit. These are known as passported benefits, which include free school meals and free prescriptions. The eligibility criteria for each passported benefit remain the responsibility of the Departments and Devolved Administrations that own them.</p><p> </p><p>Government Departments and Devolved Administrations continue to work closely together to look at how to reduce the complexity of the current passported benefits system and put in place arrangements for Universal Credit, as it expands, that will continue to target available support at those who need it most.</p><p> </p><p>The Department currently signposts Universal Credit households to other financial support via their online account/payment statement, as well as on the GOV.UK website at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/universal-credit/other-financial-support" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/universal-credit/other-financial-support</a></p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 06/09/2019 10:21:46 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4058 label Biography information for Paul Blomfield

1143588

	registered interest
	date	02/09/2019
	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: Disqualification
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what comparative assessment she has made of the rate of sanctions in areas where universal credit (a) has been and (b) has not been rolled out.
	tabling member constituency	Sheffield Central
	tabling member printed	Paul Blomfield
	uin	285261
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/09/2019 answer text <p>No comparative assessment has been made between Universal Credit (UC) sanction rates and sanction rates for legacy benefits.</p><p> </p><p>There are differences between sanctions policy in UC and other benefits (such as Job Seekers Allowance (JSA)) which means that sanction rates across benefits are not directly comparable. For example, a JSA claimant would have their claim closed (rather than be sanctioned) if they failed to attend a meeting with their Work Coach, and did not make contact within five days. In UC, the same claimant would remain on the benefit and be referred for a sanction. If a sanction was applied, they would continue to receive the UC elements to which they remained entitled, such as those for housing or child costs. UC is designed to provide continuous support to claimants, ensuring that all payment does not cease while we investigate the reasons for loss of contact with a claimant.</p><p /><p>The Department publishes sanction rates quarterly for UC, JSA and Employment &amp; Support Allowance, the latest statistics can be found at the link below.</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/benefit-sanctions-statistics-to-april-2019" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/benefit-sanctions-statistics-to-april-2019</a></p><p> </p><p>The roll out of Universal Credit is now complete and is available in every Jobcentre across the country. By 2023, all existing legacy claimants will be moved to Universal Credit.</p> answering member constituency Eastleigh answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 06/09/2019 13:00:24 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
	tabling member	4058 label Biography information for Paul Blomfield

1143589

	registered interest
	date	02/09/2019
	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, what recent discussions she has had with the Social Security Advisory Committee on the requirement for national advice organisations to receive explicit consent from a claimant to assist with their universal credit claims.
	tabling member constituency	Sheffield Central
	tabling member printed	Paul Blomfield
	uin	285019
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/09/2019 answer text <p>The most recent discussions with SSAC took place on 12<sup>th</sup> July 2019 and 21<sup>st</sup> August 2019.</p><p> </p><p>The Department is continuing to work with SSAC and third party organisations to understand how Universal Credit can support organisations who help our claimants.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 06/09/2019 13:32:05 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4058 label Biography information for Paul Blomfield

1143590

	registered interest
	date	02/09/2019
	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	Social Security Benefits
	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 benefit cap on the income of families with more than two children.
	tabling member constituency	Sheffield Central
	tabling member printed	Paul Blomfield
	uin	285025
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text <p>In May 2019, 49,700 households had their Housing Benefit claim capped in Great Britain, of which 44,800 households had 2 or more dependent children. Claimants are exempt from the cap in Housing Benefit if they are entitled to Working Tax Credits. UC households are exempt if they have earnings of at least £569 per month. There are also exemptions for the most vulnerable groups such as severely disabled claimants and carers. In addition, households are exempt from the cap for 9 months (the grace period) if there is a previous consistent work history.</p><p>The average weekly cap amount for households with 2 or more dependent children deducted from the Housing Benefit award was £56 in May 2019, compared to an average cap amount of £55 for all capped households.</p><p>(Source: DWP Stat Xplore portal, ‘Benefit cap average amount by family type’ table)</p><p>In May 2019, 25,700 households had their Universal Credit claim capped in Great Britain, of which 89% (23,000) had dependent children. Statistics on the Universal Credit capped caseload, by number of dependent children in the household, will be published for the first time on the DWP Stat-Xplore portal during the w/c 9th September.</p> answering member constituency Eastleigh answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 09/09/2019 14:36:41 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
	tabling member	4058 label Biography information for Paul Blomfield

1147998

	registered interest
	date	02/10/2019
	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	Welfare Assistance Schemes
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department has departmental responsibility for local welfare assistance schemes.
	tabling member constituency	Sheffield Central
	tabling member printed	Paul Blomfield
	uin	293545
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/10/2019 answer text <p>Local welfare assistance is an umbrella term used describe local authority provision for people who are in need of urgent help. Local authorities’ abilities to act in this area are provided under various powers, for example, section 2 of the Local Government Act 2000 enables local authorities to provide financial assistance to any individual.</p><p> </p><p>Since the reforms to the Social Fund in 2013 which abolished Crisis Loans and Community Care Grants, the Local Government Financial Settlement has included a notional amount relating to local welfare provision in each upper-tier and unitary authority’s general grant. The settlement for 2015-16 set this amount at £129.6 million for England in each year until 2019/20.</p><p> </p><p>The Department for Work and Pension's (DWP) 2014 review found that local authorities delivered support more effectively than the previous provision and that councils are best placed to decide how to target flexible help to support local welfare needs. The Government has no further plans to review provision.</p><p /> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince grouped question UIN 293440 question first answered 08/10/2019 13:21:57 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4058 label Biography information for Paul Blomfield