The Armed Forces Covenant has been in place since May 2011 and sets out the relationship between the nation, the Government and the Armed Forces. The covenant is a written and publicised voluntary pledge from businesses and other organisations who wish to demonstrate their support for the armed forces community.<\/p>
<\/p>
The covenant can be signed by a business or other organisation of any size, and from any industry whether they are an employer of a member of the armed forces community or simply wish to acknowledge publically their support for the armed forces.<\/p>
<\/p>
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) National Employer and Partnership Team (NEPT) actively promote the Armed Forces Covenant to those employers and partner organisations they work with. This has been adopted into routine business to ensure that those new to DWP\u2019s employer portfolio are aware of the opportunity and benefits of support to the Armed Forces community.<\/p>
<\/p>
Every Jobcentre Plus District has an Armed Forced Champion (AFC) who is key to delivering our commitments under the covenant. The AFC will ensure that any concerns and issues raised which affect Service Personnel and their families are integrated within the wider work of Jobcentre Plus. AFCs ensure Work Coaches and other DWP staff can effectively support serving personnel, service leavers, veterans and their families.<\/p>
<\/p>
In addition to the local activity in Jobcentres to support veterans our National Employer and Partnership Team (NEPT) also work closely with the Ministry of Defence to align engagement activity in support of the veteran\u2019s strategy. In particular NEPT work closely with the MOD Careers Transition Partnership (CTP) and the Defence Relationship Management (DRM) team to encourage large employers, trade body associations and partner organisations to provide practical support to the Armed Forces Covenant, particularly the employment of veterans.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4423", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Will Quince"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Colchester"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Will Quince"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2019-04-05", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2019-04-05T12:15:41.003Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "29"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Work and Pensions"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Work and Pensions"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2019-04-01", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Employment: Veterans"} , "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, what steps the Government is taking to support armed forces veterans into employment.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/1447", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Andrew Rosindell"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Romford"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Andrew Rosindell"} ], "uin" : "239329"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1127882", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Work and Pensions"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1127882/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
No Universal Credit (UC) claimant has to wait five weeks for their first payment and there are many reasons why people use foodbanks.<\/p>
<\/p>
If required, advances of up to 100 per cent of their expected UC award are available to claimants from day one of their claim. Advances are paid back over a maximum of 12 months and in the Autumn Budget 2018, we announced that from October 2021, the payback period for these advances will be extended further, allowing claimants up to 16 months.<\/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 onto UC a two week \u2018transitional housing payment\u2019. We are also introducing a two-week run on for eligible claimants of Income Support, Jobseeker\u2019s Allowance and Employment and Support Allowance from July 2020.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4423", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Will Quince"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Colchester"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Will Quince"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2019-05-29", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2019-05-29T13:48:24.69Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "29"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Work and Pensions"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Work and Pensions"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2019-05-21", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Universal Credit"} , "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, what assessment she has made of the effect of a five-week wait for a first payment of universal credit on trends in the level of food bank usage.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/1447", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Andrew Rosindell"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Romford"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Andrew Rosindell"} ], "uin" : "257005"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1171149", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Work and Pensions"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1171149/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
Universal Credit is now the main system of working age welfare support across the country. It is available in every Jobcentre, with a caseload of over 2.7 million claimants, growing every month, now able to access the additional support and flexibilities it offers.<\/p>
<\/strong><\/p> The latest available information on the number of households on Universal Credit in the parliamentary constituency of Romford is published online and can be found at:<\/p> https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/<\/a>.<\/p> <\/p> Guidance on how to extract the information required can be found at:<\/p> Year<\/strong><\/p><\/td> Amount overpaid as a percentage of the Department\u2019s expenditure<\/strong><\/p><\/td><\/tr> 2009/10<\/p><\/td> 2.2%<\/p><\/td><\/tr> 2010/11<\/p><\/td> 2.1%<\/p><\/td><\/tr> 2011/12<\/p><\/td> 2.1%<\/p><\/td><\/tr> 2012/13<\/p><\/td> 2.1%<\/p><\/td><\/tr> 2013/14<\/p><\/td> 2.1%<\/p><\/td><\/tr> 2014/15<\/p><\/td> 1.8%<\/p><\/td><\/tr> 2015/16<\/p><\/td> 1.9%<\/p><\/td><\/tr> 2016/17<\/p><\/td> 2.0%<\/p><\/td><\/tr> 2017/18<\/p><\/td> 2.2%<\/p><\/td><\/tr> 2018/19<\/p><\/td> 2.2%<\/p><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table> <\/p> The Department for Work and Pensions has worked hard to deliver major welfare reform during much of this period, all whilst limiting fraud and error to 2.2% or less.<\/p> <\/strong><\/p> We continue to focus on preventing loss before it occurs, which is in everyone\u2019s interest. Sophisticated data matching rules are increasingly allowing us to cross check what claimants tell us, with potential discrepancies being routed to our fraud investigators.<\/p> <\/p> We are constantly exploring the use of new data sources, which will improve this process still further.<\/p>"}
, "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4423", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Will Quince"}
}
, "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Colchester"}
, "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Will Quince"}
, "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2020-02-11", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2020-02-11T14:23:23.163Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
]}
, "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "29"}
, "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Work and Pensions"}
, "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Work and Pensions"}
, "date" : {"_value" : "2020-02-03", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Social Security Benefits"}
, "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, what proportion of expenditure on welfare benefits payments was classified as overpaid in each of the last 10 years.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/1447", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Andrew Rosindell"}
}
, "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Romford"}
, "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Andrew Rosindell"}
], "uin" : "11468"}
, {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1175766", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Work and Pensions"}
], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1175766/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : " The Government\u2019s assessment is that someone who has been convicted of a crime and is serving a custodial sentence should not be receiving benefits. That is why the Department\u2019s policy is to stop benefits where people have been convicted and go to prison. This includes convictions for acts of terrorism.<\/p>"}
, "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4423", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Will Quince"}
}
, "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Colchester"}
, "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Will Quince"}
, "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2020-02-11", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2020-02-11T14:28:51.737Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
]}
, "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "29"}
, "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Work and Pensions"}
, "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Work and Pensions"}
, "date" : {"_value" : "2020-02-03", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Social Security Benefits: Terrorism"}
, "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, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of removing entitlement to benefits from people convicted of terrorism offences.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/1447", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Andrew Rosindell"}
}
, "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Romford"}
, "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Andrew Rosindell"}
], "uin" : "11469"}
, {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1379049", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Education"}
], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1379049/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : " The voluntary sector will play a vital role in the effective delivery of family hubs.<\/p> The National Centre for Family Hubs was launched in May 2021, delivered by the Anna Freud Centre - a leading mental health charity for children and families who have been funded by the department to support the scale up of family hubs across England. The National Centre\u2019s role will be fundamental in ensuring local authorities have the right guidance and resources they need to develop their family hubs.<\/p> The "Family Hub Implementation Toolkit" published by the National Centre is clear that through family hubs, statutory services and voluntary and community sector (VCS) partners work together to get families the help they need. The toolkit sets out that representatives from the VCS should be involved in the process of developing the local hub model, and highlights the role that the VCS can play in meeting the needs of the local community. The department has already seen innovative partnerships between local authorities and VCS partners who have moved to a family hub model, and we will work with the National Centre to develop and spread effective practice.<\/p>"}
, "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4423", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Will Quince"}
}
, "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Colchester"}
, "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Will Quince"}
, "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2021-11-23", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2021-11-23T16:36:51.127Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
]}
, "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "60"}
, "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Education"}
, "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Education"}
, "date" : {"_value" : "2021-11-16", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Family Hubs"}
, "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"}
, "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"}
}
], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he has made an assessment of the role of charity providers in the roll out of family hubs.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/1447", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Andrew Rosindell"}
}
, "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Romford"}
, "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Andrew Rosindell"}
], "uin" : "75828"}
, {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1379051", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Education"}
], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1379051/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "