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1105486

	registered interest
	date	27/03/2019
	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 universal credit claimants are able to deduct the tax relief claimed by relief at source pension schemes from their earned income figure to calculate their award of universal credit.
	tabling member constituency	East Ham
	tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
	uin	237575
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/06/2019 answer text <p>100% of contributions to employer pension schemes, whether Net or Relief at Source pensions, will be taken into account when calculating the level of employed earnings in UC. This means that a UC claimant that contributes to either type of pension will, automatically (where employers report the information correctly), have their UC entitlement calculated on their taxable pay, after their pension contribution. This ensures fairness for all affected UC employed claimants.</p><p> </p><p>If there is some discrepancy in the way in which it’s reported, DWP will manually ensure that the Relief at Source pension contribution is deducted before any UC entitlement is calculated on their employed earnings.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 17/06/2019 15:25:05 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	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

1134009

	registered interest
	date	24/06/2019
	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 assessment her Department has made of the effect on a universal credit claimant’s health and well-being of the ability to repay hardship payments.
	tabling member constituency	East Ham
	tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
	uin	268345
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/06/2019 answer text <p>Hardship payments are available as a safeguard if a claimant demonstrates that they cannot meet their immediate and most essential needs (including accommodation, heating, food and hygiene) as a result of a benefit sanction.</p><p> </p><p>Work Coaches ensure they consider the claimant’s circumstances, including issues relating to their health and well-being, at the point of the new claim to Universal Credit, to tailor the service accordingly. This also includes when claimants are repaying any hardship payments.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 27/06/2019 14:23:18 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

1138414

	registered interest
	date	11/07/2019
	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	Independent Case Examiner
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many complaints to the Independent Complaints Commissioner are (a) allocated to a caseworker and (b) awaiting allocation to a caseworker as at 11 July 2019.
	tabling member constituency	East Ham
	tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
	uin	276137
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/07/2019 answer text <p>When the Independent Case Examiner’s (ICE) office accepts a complaint for investigation, it will initially attempt to broker a solution between the complainant and the relevant business area or supplier, without having to request evidence to inform an investigation – this is known as “resolution”. If it’s not possible to resolve the complaint, the evidence will be requested and the case will await allocation to an Investigation Case Manager (ICM). The majority of complaints that are referred to ICE are complex and require a full investigation.</p><p> </p><p>Complaint investigations are dealt with by dedicated teams and complaints are usually brought into investigation in strict date order. The time complaints wait to be allocated for investigation varies depending on the volume and complexity of cases on hand and the available investigative resource. Productivity within the ICE Office increased during the 2018-19 reporting year, with the Office clearing 1,246 complaints, compared to 955 during the 2017-18 reporting year.</p><p> </p><p>As at 11 July 2019, there were 488 complaints under investigation (allocated to an ICM), and 1,377 complaints were awaiting allocation to an ICM.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 16/07/2019 13:47:47 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

1138415

	registered interest
	date	11/07/2019
	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	Independent Case Examiner
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average time taken is between a case being accepted by the Independent Complaints Commissioner and being allocated to a caseworker in the most recent period for which figures are available; and if she will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	East Ham
	tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
	uin	276138
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/07/2019 answer text <p>Complaint investigations are dealt with by dedicated teams and complaints are usually brought into investigation in strict date order. The time complaints wait to be allocated to an Investigation Case Manager (ICM) varies depending on the volume and complexity of cases on hand and the available investigative resource. Productivity within the ICE Office increased during the 2018-19 reporting year, with the Office clearing 1,246 complaints, compared to 955 during the 2017-18 reporting year.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>As at 11 July 2019, the average time taken for a complaint which requires investigation to be allocated to an ICM was 52 weeks.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 16/07/2019 14:01:36 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

1138418

	registered interest
	date	11/07/2019
	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	Independent Case Examiner
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many complaints for the Independent Complaints Commissioner were received in 2018; and how many of those complaints have been allocated to a caseworker.
	tabling member constituency	East Ham
	tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
	uin	276139
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/07/2019 answer text <p>The Independent Case Examiner’s (ICE) Office received 5,307 complaints in 2018 of which 1,943 were accepted for examination. Of those complaints accepted, 567 have been allocated to Case Managers.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 16/07/2019 13:45:25 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

1139323

	registered interest
	date	16/07/2019
	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	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, whether the liability for the whole rent of a property is reflected in the calculation of universal credit in cases where a claimant of universal credit in a joint tenancy remains after a partner leaves; and if she will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	East Ham
	tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
	uin	277617
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/07/2019 answer text <p>The Universal Credit regulations provide that a claimant is to be treated as liable to make rent payments - where the person who is liable to make the payments is not doing so, the payments are required in order to continue occupation, and it would be unreasonable to expect them to make other arrangements. Therefore, in the example described, it would be possible for the whole liability to be considered as part of the UC calculation, subject to any usual restrictions such as the Local Housing Allowance or removal of the spare room subsidy.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 22/07/2019 13:01:27 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

1144372

	registered interest
	date	03/09/2019
	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 options her Department is considering to reduce the five week waiting time for universal credit claimants.
	tabling member constituency	East Ham
	tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
	uin	286082
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text <p>Nobody has to wait for five weeks for a payment following an application for Universal Credit (UC).</p><p> </p><p>UC new claim advances provide access to a payment for those in financial need, which can be accessed urgently, until their first regular UC payment is due. Claimants can access up to 100% of the total expected monthly award, for which they can pay back over a period of up to 12 months.</p><p> </p><p>The Department has taken a number of steps to ensure that advances meet the needs of claimants and that recovery arrangements are personalised and reasonable. The maximum rate of deductions cannot normally exceed 40 per cent of the UC standard allowance and does not reduce other components of an award, such as money paid for children, housing or when someone is caring for a severely disabled person. From October 2019 this will be reduced to 30 per cent and from October 2021 we are increasing the maximum recovery period for advances from 12 to 16 months.</p><p> </p><p>This is just one of a number of measures the Department has put in place to support claimants such as paying those claimants moving from Housing Benefit to UC a two week ‘transitional housing payment’. We are also introducing a two-week run on for eligible claimants of Income Support, Jobseeker’s Allowance and Employment and Support Allowance from July 2020.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 09/09/2019 15:32:16 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

1144373

	registered interest
	date	03/09/2019
	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	Local Housing 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 has been made of the affordability of (a) one and (b) two bedroom properties for Local Housing Allowance claimants in each region of England and Wales.
	tabling member constituency	East Ham
	tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
	uin	286083
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text <p>The proportion of private market rents that are at or below the LHA rate for (a) one and (b) two bedroom accommodation for each region in England and Wales are set out below. This is based on:</p><ul><li>2019/20 LHA rates published here <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-housing-allowance-lha-rates-applicable-from-april-2019-to-march-2020" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-housing-allowance-lha-rates-applicable-from-april-2019-to-march-2020</a></li></ul><ul><li>Valuation Office Agency data <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-housing-allowance-list-of-rents" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-housing-allowance-list-of-rents</a></li></ul><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p>1 Bed</p></td><td><p>2 Bed</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>East Midlands</p></td><td><p>17%</p></td><td><p>17%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Eastern</p></td><td><p>9%</p></td><td><p>9%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>London</p></td><td><p>7%</p></td><td><p>7%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>North East</p></td><td><p>26%</p></td><td><p>25%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>North West</p></td><td><p>23%</p></td><td><p>22%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>South East</p></td><td><p>10%</p></td><td><p>10%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>South West</p></td><td><p>14%</p></td><td><p>14%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>West Midlands</p></td><td><p>16%</p></td><td><p>14%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Yorks &amp; the Humber</p></td><td><p>20%</p></td><td><p>21%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Wales</p></td><td><p>22%</p></td><td><p>22%</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 09/09/2019 15:43:34 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

1144374

	registered interest
	date	03/09/2019
	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: Deductions
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of universal credit payments were subject to a deduction for council tax arrears.
	tabling member constituency	East Ham
	tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
	uin	286084
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text <p>In May 2019, 54,000 (3%) Universal Credit payments were subject to a deduction for council tax arrears.</p><p> </p><p>Notes:</p><p> </p><ol><li>The number of deductions is rounded to the nearest 1000</li><li>The proportion is rounded to the nearest %</li></ol><p><strong> </strong></p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 09/09/2019 16:02:32 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms