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1109510

	registered interest
	date	03/04/2019
	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	Poverty: Children
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the effect of the benefit freeze on child poverty rates.
	tabling member constituency	East Ham
	tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
	uin	240462
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/04/2019 answer text <p>An Impact Assessment of the benefit freeze was published in 2015. The Welfare Reforms such as the benefit freeze were designed to incentivise parents to choose to move into and progress in work. Evidence shows that work is the best route out of poverty. Children in workless households are five time more likely to be in poverty than those in households where all adults were working.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 08/04/2019 10:56:13 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

1110573

	registered interest
	date	09/04/2019
	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 steps she is taking to ensure that universal credit adequately supports social housing tenants paying rent weekly to meet their obligations in relation to the 53 week year.
	tabling member constituency	East Ham
	tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
	uin	242667
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/04/2019 answer text <p>No year contains 53 weeks. This perceived issue of their being 53 weeks in a year arises where a landlord charges rent weekly on a Monday and, because of the way the calendar falls every 5 or 6 years, seeks 53 rent payments in a year, with the 53rd payment in part covering the tenancy for the first few days of the following year.</p><p>Universal Credit payments are designed to mirror the world of work, with monthly payments reflecting the way many working people are paid. This model of monthly payments allows claimants to take responsibility for budgeting their own income and helps prepare them for getting back to work. The Money and Pension Service can provide debt advice and money guidance to claimants if they need support managing their monthly Universal Credit payments.</p><p>We are aware of a separate issue with respect to the way the calculation in the Universal Credit regulations converts a weekly liability into a monthly allowance. The conversion is achieved by multiplying the weekly rent by 52 and then dividing by 12. This effectively means one day’s rent a year (two days in a leap years) are not covered by UC. We are currently considering whether this formulation around weekly rents, and potentially other weekly amounts in the UC calculation, should be amended.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 15/04/2019 14:48:11 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

1121768

	registered interest
	date	18/04/2019
	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
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she has plans to change her Department’s policy on consent requirements for authorised representatives to act on behalf of claimants of universal credit.
	tabling member constituency	East Ham
	tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
	uin	245555
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/04/2019 answer text <p>We have had a number of workshops with stakeholders during which consent has been discussed, and we plan to do further work on explicit consent. This activity will include working with claimants and their representatives to ensure the process works effectively for vulnerable claimants to access the service.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 25/04/2019 10:32:29 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

1124268

	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	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 steps she is taking to promote the use of benefits calculators to help ensure that people claim the benefits to which they are entitled.
	tabling member constituency	East Ham
	tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
	uin	249806
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/05/2019 answer text <p>The independent benefits calculators we endorse are intended to provide useful estimations of what people can get in certain circumstances, based on what information is entered on the calculators themselves. This is to allow people to safely explore what help they may receive from Universal Credit before they apply, or based on potential changes of circumstances.</p><p> </p><p>Information on accessing independent benefit calculators is readily available via the gov.uk website. This includes links to three independent calculators and advice on the type of information required to complete a calculation.</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/benefits-calculators" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/benefits-calculators</a></p><p> </p><p>In addition, DWP staff will signpost post people to independent benefit calculators and websites which provide additional advice and guidance.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 08/05/2019 15:40:26 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

1124957

	registered interest
	date	07/05/2019
	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: Mortgages
	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 has made of the difficulties faced by universal credit claimants applying for a mortgage; and if she will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	East Ham
	tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
	uin	251193
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/05/2019 answer text <p>The Financial Conduct Authority Handbook sets out rules and guidance for lenders. This provides that, prior to entering into a mortgage, a lender must assess whether the customer will be able to pay the sums due and must not enter into the transaction unless it can demonstrate that the mortgage is affordable for the customer (and any guarantor).</p><p> </p><p>It is up to individual lenders to determine how to ensure adherence to this requirement. Each lender is required to publish a written statement setting out the factors it will take into account in assessing a customer's ability to pay. This must, inter alia, address how income and expenditure is to be assessed, including details of the types of income which are acceptable.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 13/05/2019 12:55:26 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

1129611

	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: Pensioners
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reason pensioner couples who no longer receive pension credit because one of them is below state pension age and are no longer entitled to housing benefit will not qualify for the two-week housing benefit run-on after applying for universal credit.
	tabling member constituency	East Ham
	tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
	uin	259829
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/06/2019 answer text <p>The two week transition to Universal Credit housing payment can be paid to mixed age couples who move from Housing Benefit to Universal Credit. The payment will be issued once the UC claim is made and the Housing Benefit claim closed.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 10/06/2019 14:46:09 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

1131990

	registered interest
	date	13/06/2019
	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: Pensioners
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether pensioner couples who are no longer eligible for pension credit and housing benefit because one of the couple is below state pension age, will still be eligible to have their rent paid directly to their landlord under universal credit.
	tabling member constituency	East Ham
	tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
	uin	264296
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/06/2019 answer text <p>Mixed age couples already claiming Pension Credit and/or Housing Benefit for pensioners immediately before the implementation date on 15 May 2019 will not be affected by the policy, so long as they remain entitled to either benefit.</p><p> </p><p>Those making a new claim to Universal Credit, or already claiming it, will be able to have a conversation with their work coach or case manager, in the same way as other claimants, so that a managed payment to their landlord can be considered in Universal Credit for their housing costs.</p><p> </p><p>Couples who would have been eligible for Pension Credit or Housing Benefit for pensioners under the previous rules but had not claimed before 15 May 2019, will have up to 13 August 2019 to make a backdated claim to 14 May 2019.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 18/06/2019 15:07:20 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

790151

	registered interest
	date	15/11/2017
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Slavery and Trafficking Reparation Orders
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many reparation orders have been made under section 8 of the Modern Slavery Act in the last 12 months.
	tabling member constituency	East Ham
	tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
	uin	113365
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/11/2017 answer text <p>No slavery and trafficking reparation orders have been made since their introduction under the Modern Slavery Act 2015 coming into force for offences committed after 31<sup>st</sup> July 2015. They can only be made once someone has been convicted of a relevant offence and the Crown Court has made a confiscation order against them. Modern slavery prosecutions are complex and often take a long time to complete. As the number of concluded prosecutions rise, we expect to see a rise in the number of reparation orders.</p> answering member constituency Louth and Horncastle answering member printed Victoria Atkins question first answered 20/11/2017 17:34:25 answering member 4399 label Biography information for Victoria Atkins
	tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

793183

	registered interest
	date	21/11/2017
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Exploitation: Children
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, in how many cases involving British children exploited in (a) gang crime, (b) violence and (c) drug crime has the statutory defence set out in the Modern Slavery Act 2015 been invoked.
	tabling member constituency	East Ham
	tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
	uin	114968
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/11/2017 answer text <p>Data on the number and type of cases where the statutory defence set out in section 45 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 has been applied are not collated centrally. The statutory defence could arise in any category of offence and may be a consideration in the decision as to whether to charge an individual in circumstances where the defence could apply.</p> answering member constituency Louth and Horncastle answering member printed Victoria Atkins question first answered 27/11/2017 17:26:38 answering member 4399 label Biography information for Victoria Atkins
	tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

795485

	registered interest
	date	27/11/2017
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Slavery: Victim Support Schemes
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the cost of providing weekly drop-in support services for victims of modern slavery.
	tabling member constituency	East Ham
	tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
	uin	115906
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/11/2017 answer text <p>The recent announcements on National Referral Mechanism (NRM) reform indicate the Government’s commitment to markedly improve the identification of, and support provided to, victims of modern slavery. This includes the provision of ‘drop in’ services for all confirmed victims for up to 6 months after leaving support to aid the transition, provided by The Salvation Army.</p><p>The Government also announced its intention to invoke Section 50 of the Modern Slavery Act, setting out in regulation the support that victims are entitled to and to launch a consultation in the preparation of statutory guidance, under Section 49 of the Modern Slavery Act, on identification and support for victims of slavery;</p><p> </p><p>Detailed implementation plans for the reform programme are currently being developed which will identify likely timescales for each of the reform measures and the relevant cost implications will be factored into our routine financial planning process.</p> answering member constituency Louth and Horncastle answering member printed Victoria Atkins grouped question UIN 115908 115911 question first answered 30/11/2017 14:29:17 answering member 4399 label Biography information for Victoria Atkins
	tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms