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1224664

	registered interest
	date	14/07/2020
	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, pursuant to the Answer of 5 May 2020 to Question 40669 on universal credit, prior to raising the local housing allowance to the 30th percentile, what assessment she made of the levels of need this would match.
	tabling member constituency	Bristol West
	tabling member printed	Thangam Debbonaire
	uin	73885
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/07/2020 answer text <p>Raising the local housing allowance (LHA) rate to the 30<sup>th</sup> percentile ensured over 1 million households will see an increase, on average, of £600 this year.</p><p> </p><p>This increase means that 30% of properties in each broad rental market area charge a rent within the LHA rate, with the exception of 15 rates in central and inner London where the national maximum caps continue to apply. The national caps have also been increased and are now based on the Outer London LHA rate plus 20%.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 20/07/2020 17:22:02 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince previous answer version 38775 answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4433 label Biography information for Thangam Debbonaire

1243360

	registered interest
	date	14/10/2020
	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, pursuant to Answer of 13 July 2020 to Question 69600 and Answer of 1 July 2020 to Question 63208, what progress has been made on implementing the decision of the court of appeal on 22 June 2020 on universal credit systems taking account of the day that a monthly salary is paid.
	tabling member constituency	Bristol West
	tabling member printed	Thangam Debbonaire
	uin	103554
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/10/2020 answer text <p>On 20<sup>th</sup> October I laid secondary legislation in response to the Court of Appeal Judgment made on 22 June in the case of Johnson, Woods, Barrett and Stewart, which concerned claimants who receive two calendar monthly payments of earnings in one Universal Credit assessment period. This will allow us to reallocate a payment of earnings reported via the Real Time Information service to a different Universal Credit assessment period, either because it was reported in the wrong assessment period or (in the case of calendar monthly paid employees) it is necessary to maintain a regular payment cycle. This will mean that claimants who are paid calendar monthly will therefore have one salary payment taken into account in each assessment period. It also means that certain claimants will also benefit from any applicable work allowance.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 22/10/2020 16:41:40 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4433 label Biography information for Thangam Debbonaire

1328085

	registered interest
	date	26/05/2021
	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	Food Banks
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what information she holds on the number of households in (a) in Bristol West constituency and (b) the UK who used a (i) food bank, (ii) food club and (iii) similar organisation for the first time during the covid-19 outbreak.
	tabling member constituency	Bristol West
	tabling member printed	Thangam Debbonaire
	uin	7850
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/06/2021 answer text <p>Foodbanks are independent, charitable organisations and the Department for Work and Pensions does not have any role in their operation. There is no consistent and accurate measure of food bank usage at a constituency or national level.</p><p> </p><p>We take the issue of food insecurity seriously, which is why we added internationally used food security questions to the Family Resources Survey in 19/20 and published the data in March this year. (<a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/family-resources-survey-financial-year-2019-to-2020" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/family-resources-survey-financial-year-2019-to-2020</a>). Food insecurity data from the Family Resources survey for 20/21 is not yet available.</p><p> </p><p>This Government is wholly committed to supporting those on low incomes, including by increasing the living wage, and by spending an estimated £111 billion on welfare support for people of working age in 2020/21. This included around £7.4 billion of Covid-related welfare policy measures.</p><p> </p><p>We introduced our Covid Winter Grant Scheme providing funding to Local Authorities in England to help the most vulnerable children and families stay warm and well fed during the coldest months. It will now run until June as the Covid Local Support Grant, with a total investment of £269m.</p><p> </p><p>We are investing up to £220m in the Holiday Activities and Food programme which has been expanded to every local authority across England this year. Children eligible for benefits-related Free School Meals will have the option to join a holiday club programme that provides healthy food and enriching activities during the summer, Christmas and Easter holidays in 2021. We also increased the value of Healthy Start Vouchers from £3.10 to £4.25 in April.</p><p> </p><p>As the economy recovers, our ambition is to help people move into and progress in work as quickly as possible based on clear evidence around the importance of employment, particularly where it is full-time, in substantially reducing the risks of poverty in all its forms. We are investing over £30 billion in our ambitious Plan for Jobs which is already delivering for people of all ages right across the country.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince grouped question UIN 7852 question first answered 10/06/2021 16:36:38 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4433 label Biography information for Thangam Debbonaire

1328087

	registered interest
	date	26/05/2021
	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	Food Banks
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps the Government is taking to eradicate the need for foodbanks.
	tabling member constituency	Bristol West
	tabling member printed	Thangam Debbonaire
	uin	7852
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/06/2021 answer text <p>Foodbanks are independent, charitable organisations and the Department for Work and Pensions does not have any role in their operation. There is no consistent and accurate measure of food bank usage at a constituency or national level.</p><p> </p><p>We take the issue of food insecurity seriously, which is why we added internationally used food security questions to the Family Resources Survey in 19/20 and published the data in March this year. (<a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/family-resources-survey-financial-year-2019-to-2020" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/family-resources-survey-financial-year-2019-to-2020</a>). Food insecurity data from the Family Resources survey for 20/21 is not yet available.</p><p> </p><p>This Government is wholly committed to supporting those on low incomes, including by increasing the living wage, and by spending an estimated £111 billion on welfare support for people of working age in 2020/21. This included around £7.4 billion of Covid-related welfare policy measures.</p><p> </p><p>We introduced our Covid Winter Grant Scheme providing funding to Local Authorities in England to help the most vulnerable children and families stay warm and well fed during the coldest months. It will now run until June as the Covid Local Support Grant, with a total investment of £269m.</p><p> </p><p>We are investing up to £220m in the Holiday Activities and Food programme which has been expanded to every local authority across England this year. Children eligible for benefits-related Free School Meals will have the option to join a holiday club programme that provides healthy food and enriching activities during the summer, Christmas and Easter holidays in 2021. We also increased the value of Healthy Start Vouchers from £3.10 to £4.25 in April.</p><p> </p><p>As the economy recovers, our ambition is to help people move into and progress in work as quickly as possible based on clear evidence around the importance of employment, particularly where it is full-time, in substantially reducing the risks of poverty in all its forms. We are investing over £30 billion in our ambitious Plan for Jobs which is already delivering for people of all ages right across the country.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince grouped question UIN 7850 question first answered 10/06/2021 16:36:38 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4433 label Biography information for Thangam Debbonaire

1520999

	registered interest
	date	12/10/2022
	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	Working Tax Credit: Cost of Living Payments
	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 take steps to ensure that people on working tax credits receive their cost of living payment within the same timescales as those not receiving working tax credits.
	tabling member constituency	Bristol West
	tabling member printed	Thangam Debbonaire
	uin	61967
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/10/2022 answer text <p>People on working tax credits are often in receipt of other means-tested benefits.</p><p> </p><p>HMRC issue payments to people on working tax credits after the other payments have been made, to allow time to ensure those who claim tax credits as well as a means tested benefit do not receive the payment twice. This decreases the risk of overpayments to tax credits customers.</p><p /><p><strong> </strong></p><p /><p><strong> </strong></p> answering member constituency Banbury answering member printed Victoria Prentis question first answered 21/10/2022 13:20:25 answering member 4401 label Biography information for Victoria Prentis
	tabling member	4433 label Biography information for Thangam Debbonaire

1377894

	registered interest
	date	12/11/2021
	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	Jobcentre Plus: Interpreters
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that Jobcentre Plus clients who need interpreters are provided with interpreting services at appointments with their Work Coach.
	tabling member constituency	Bristol West
	tabling member printed	Thangam Debbonaire
	uin	73893
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/11/2021 answer text <p>DWP offers interpreting and translation services under the Language Services Contract, currently provided by The Big Word. All DWP staff, including Work Coaches, have access to spoken and non-spoken face to face interpreting, telephone interpreting, British Sign Language (BSL) interpretation through the video relay services, and written translation. These services are readily available to support customers who have additional communication needs.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 18/11/2021 18:01:11 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
	tabling member	4433 label Biography information for Thangam Debbonaire

1587136

	registered interest
	date	20/02/2023
	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	Pension 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 average processing time was for a pension credit application that (a) did and (b) did not require a habitual residence test from application to payment in the latest period for which data is available.
	tabling member constituency	Bristol West
	tabling member printed	Thangam Debbonaire
	uin	148650
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/02/2023 answer text <p>This information is only available at disproportionate cost to The Department for Work &amp; Pensions as the Department does not have a business requirement for this information to be retained.</p> answering member constituency Sevenoaks answering member printed Laura Trott question first answered 24/02/2023 12:12:57 answering member 4780 label Biography information for Laura Trott
	tabling member	4433 label Biography information for Thangam Debbonaire

1600226

	registered interest
	date	01/03/2023
	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	Pension Credit
	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 24 of February 2023 to Question 148650 on Pension Credit, what is the current average processing time of Pension Credit applications from date of application to date of (a) decision and (b) first payment.
	tabling member constituency	Bristol West
	tabling member printed	Thangam Debbonaire
	uin	156185
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/03/2023 answer text <p>This information is only available at disproportionate cost to The Department for Work &amp; Pensions as the Department does not have a business requirement for this information to be retained.</p> answering member constituency Sevenoaks answering member printed Laura Trott question first answered 08/03/2023 16:17:57 answering member 4780 label Biography information for Laura Trott
	tabling member	4433 label Biography information for Thangam Debbonaire

1228667

	registered interest
	date	28/08/2020
	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, if her Department will carry out a review into deaths of benefits claimants.
	tabling member constituency	Bristol West
	tabling member printed	Thangam Debbonaire
	uin	82063
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/09/2020 answer text <p>The Department interacts with millions of people, and among them are some of the most vulnerable people in our society. There are many reasons why people pass away whilst claiming a DWP benefit and it would not be appropriate for the Department to investigate the circumstances surrounding the deaths of every individual. This is a consideration and decision for a Coroner.</p><p> </p><p>As a department we want to do all we can to ensure people get the support they need. We are striving towards becoming a learning organisation, for example through the Serious Case Panel, which considers themes and systemic issues that come out of serious cases and makes recommendations for improvements.</p><p> </p><p>Where the Department is made aware of a death and there is a suggestion or allegation that the Department’s actions or omissions may have negatively contributed to the customer’s circumstances an Internal Process Review will be conducted. Internal Process Reviews are not designed to identify or apportion blame, but to look at whether processes were followed correctly and what learning we can derive from this.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 03/09/2020 13:57:27 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	4433 label Biography information for Thangam Debbonaire

1228709

	registered interest
	date	28/08/2020
	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	Personal Independence Payment: Bristol
	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 14 July to Question 69599, what steps she is taking to bring the performance at the Bristol personal independence payment assessment centre back to the published service standard of 90% of claimants being examined within 30 minutes of their appointment time; and if she will make an estimate of when that standard will be achieved.
	tabling member constituency	Bristol West
	tabling member printed	Thangam Debbonaire
	uin	82062
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/09/2020 answer text <p>All face-to-face assessments for sickness and disability benefits are currently suspended in line with public health advice. During the Covid-19 period we continue to assess people based on written evidence alone, where that is possible, and have introduced telephone assessments. Telephony-based assessments do not fall within the same waiting time criteria. Once face-to-face assessment are reinstated we will work closely with suppliers to improve the waiting times whilst maintaining a high level of customer satisfaction.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 03/09/2020 13:41:39 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	4433 label Biography information for Thangam Debbonaire