The Government recognises the importance of supporting claimants to manage their liabilities.<\/p>
<\/p>
The Government has reduced the standard deduction cap from 40 per cent to 25 per cent of the Standard Allowance in recent years. These reductions have helped hundreds of thousands of Universal Credit claimants to retain more of their award.\u202fPausing deductions would result in a build-up of arrears of the range of debts a claimant has and stop vital obligations such as Child Maintenance payments being made at all.<\/p>
<\/p>
The primary aim of deductions in Universal Credit is to protect vulnerable claimants by providing a last resort repayment method for arrears of essential services. We aim to strike the right balance between ensuring those protections are in place and allowing claimants to retain as much of their award as possible for day-to-day needs.<\/p>
<\/p>
<\/strong><\/p> <\/p>"}
, "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4142", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Guy Opperman"}
}
, "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Hexham"}
, "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Guy Opperman"}
, "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2022-12-20", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2022-12-20T13:40:15.94Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
]}
, "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "29"}
, "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Work and Pensions"}
, "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Work and Pensions"}
, "date" : {"_value" : "2022-12-12", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Universal Credit: Homelessness"}
, "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"}
, "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"}
}
], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of a policy of pausing deductions from Universal Credit for those people (a) at risk of or (b) experiencing homelessness.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4809", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Beth Winter"}
}
, "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Cynon Valley"}
, "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Beth Winter"}
], "uin" : "108456"}
, {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1354434", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Work and Pensions"}
], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1354434/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : " No impact assessments have been made.<\/p> <\/p> Discretionary Housing Payments provide critical support to vulnerable claimants, including those who are at risk of homelessness, that need help with their housing costs.<\/p> For 2021-22 the Government has made available £140m in Discretionary Housing Payments funding for local authorities in England and Wales. In 2020-21 we boosted investment in the Local Housing Allowance by almost £1 billion and have maintained rates in cash terms for 2021-22. In addition, earlier this year we extended the exemptions from the shared accommodation rate of Local Housing Allowance for care leavers and those who have spent at least three months in a homeless hostel. From 31st May 2021 the care leavers exemption applies up to age 25 and the homeless hostel exemption applies up to age 35.<\/p> <\/p> The Chancellor announced a temporary six-month extension to the £20 per week uplift at the Budget on 3 March to support households affected by the economic shock of Covid-19. Universal Credit has provided a vital safety net for six million people during the pandemic, and the temporary uplift was part of a COVID support package worth a total of £407 billion in 2020-21 and 2021-22.<\/p> <\/p> There have been significant positive developments in the public health situation since the uplift was first introduced. With the success of the vaccine rollout and record job vacancies, it is right that our focus is on helping people back into work.<\/p> <\/p> Through our Plan for Jobs, we are targeting tailored support schemes of people of all ages to help them prepare for, get into and progress in work. These include: Kickstart, delivering tens of thousands of six-month work placements for Universal Credit claimants aged 16-24 at risk of unemployment; Restart, which provides 12 months\u2019 intensive employment support to Universal Credit claimants who are unemployed for a year; and JETS, which provides light touch employment support for people who are claiming either Universal Credit or New Style Jobseekers Allowance, for up to 6 months, helping participants effectively re-engage with the labour market and focus their job search. We have also recruited an additional 13,500 work coaches to provide more intensive support to find a job. In total, our Plan for Jobs interventions will support more than two million people.<\/p>"}
, "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4174", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Baroness Stedman-Scott"}
}
, "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Baroness Stedman-Scott"}
, "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2021-09-27", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2021-09-27T15:43:45.597Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
]}
, "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "29"}
, "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Work and Pensions"}
, "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Work and Pensions"}
, "date" : {"_value" : "2021-09-09", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Universal Credit: Homelessness"}
, "houseId" : {"_value" : "2"}
, "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25277", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Lords"}
}
], "questionText" : "To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of how much homelessness will rise in the worst-case scenario from any modelling they have conducted on the impact of ending the £20 uplift for Universal Credit.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4730", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Baroness Wilcox of Newport"}
}
, "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Baroness Wilcox of Newport"}
], "uin" : "HL2602"}
, {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1078450", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Work and Pensions"}
], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1078450/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : " DWP is committed to providing the best possible support for all our claimants, including the most vulnerable in society. We are continuously reviewing and improving the service for vulnerable people to ensure that it is accessible and responsive to their needs.<\/p> <\/p> Universal Credit has been designed with accessibility in mind and we are committed to providing personalised support for all claimants. Where a homeless claimant requires assistance to complete the initial application process support is available face to face in the Jobcentre. Service delivery teams within jobcentres provide a professional and supportive environment for our customers, providing digital coaching and helping claimants set up and maintain their Universal Credit claims.<\/p> <\/p> If a claimant needs more intensive or specific support to make their claim, face-to-face and other help is available through our current Universal Support Assisted Digital Service offer, which provides bespoke help, support and skills for claimants to make and maintain their digital account online. Since 2017, Universal Support has been delivered by local authorities, funded by grants from DWP.<\/p> <\/p> From 1 April 2019 Citizens Advice (England and Wales) and Citizens Advice Scotland will deliver a new \u201cHelp to Claim\u201d service to support vulnerable claimants through the process of making a claim to Universal Credit.<\/p> <\/p> Jobcentres in England refer claimants considered to be homeless or at risk of homelessness, to the local authority to receive further housing support. The referral is voluntary and there is no impact on the claimants Universal Credit award if they do not consent to the referral being made.<\/p> <\/p> Additional safeguards in place and support available to assist homeless people in making a claim for Universal Credit include:<\/p> <\/p> The Department has not made an estimate of the number of homeless people in full service areas. We do not hold data on homelessness at a postcode or Jobcentre Plus level, which would be necessary to inform such an estimate. Data on homelessness by local authority level is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/homelessness-statistics<\/a>.<\/p> <\/p>