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1551626

registered interest
date	14/12/2022
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	Cost of Living: Domestic Abuse
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing additional protections for survivors of domestic abuse during the cost-of-living crisis.
tabling member constituency	Oxford East
tabling member printed	Anneliese Dodds
uin	110828
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/12/2022 answer text <p>The government understands the pressures people are facing with the cost of living and is providing £26bn in cost-of-living support for 2023/24. This includes Cost of Living Payments for the most vulnerable. In addition, the Home office Tackling Domestic Abuse Plan invests over £230 million, including over £140 million to support victims.</p><p> </p><p>For those who require extra support, the Government is providing an additional £1 billion of funding, including Barnett impact, to enable the extension of the Household Support Fund in England in the next financial year. This is on top of what we have already provided since October 2021, bringing total funding to £2.5 billion. In England this will be delivered through an extension to the Household Support Fund backed by £842 million, running from 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024, which local authorities use to help households with the cost of essentials. It will be for the devolved administrations to decide how to allocate their additional Barnett funding.</p><p> </p><p>DWP recognises the pressures and challenges that this group face, which is why we have made Discretionary Housing Payments available to allow LAs to provide financial help with rental costs. These are aimed at a number of groups likely to be affected by welfare reforms, including individuals or families fleeing domestic violence and abuse. Discretionary Housing Payments may also be given to victims that have remained in their home, which has been adapted under a sanctuary scheme.</p><p> </p><p>Jobcentres remain a safe place to share concerns and obtain advice and support for those impacted by domestic abuse.</p><p> </p><p>- <strong>Shared Accommodation Rate</strong></p><p>From 1 October 2022, up to 11,000 victims of domestic abuse and modern slavery on Universal Credit or Housing Benefit will be able to claim extra help towards their rental costs, as they will no longer be expected to share accommodation. These groups will be able to claim the higher one-bedroom rate of Local Housing Allowance. This is worth approximately £140 on average per month but the amount will vary depending on the area in which they live.</p><p> </p><p>- <strong>Benefit cap levels increase</strong></p><p>In April 2023, the government will also increase the benefit cap levels in line with inflation by 10.1%. The benefit cap levels will rise from £23,000 to £25,323 for families in Greater London and from £20,000 to £22,020 for families nationally. The levels for single households without children will rise from £15,410 to £16,967 in Greater London and from £13,400 to £14,753 nationally.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 19/12/2022 14:52:27 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	4657 label Biography information for Anneliese Dodds

1551627

registered interest
date	14/12/2022
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	Social Security Benefits: Domestic Abuse
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of exempting people impacted by domestic abuse from (a) the benefit cap and (b) repaying benefit advances.
tabling member constituency	Oxford East
tabling member printed	Anneliese Dodds
uin	110829
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/12/2022 answer text <p>There are no current plans to introduce new exemptions into the benefit cap policy.</p><p> </p><p>Households receiving disability benefits and/or entitled to carer benefits are exempt together with households that earn at least £658 a month. Households may also be exempt for a period of nine months where the claimant, their partner or ex-partner has a sustained work history.</p><p> </p><p>DWP recognises the pressures and challenges that this group face, which is why we have made Discretionary Housing Payments available to allow LAs to provide financial help with rental costs. In order to facilitate that, DWP has made it clear to LAs that we consider this group to be among those for whom DHPs should be a priority.</p><p> </p><p>Universal Credit advances are a claimant’s entitlement paid early, repaid through future payments being automatically reduced. Making Universal Credit advances non-repayable for victims of domestic abuse would mean this cohort of claimants receiving greater entitlement than others, raising equality concerns from other groups of claimants. The Government has taken steps to support all new Universal Credit claimants receiving a new claim advance. In April 2021, the repayment period for new claim advances was doubled to give more flexibility.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p><strong> </strong></p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 20/12/2022 15:10:06 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	4657 label Biography information for Anneliese Dodds

1457317

registered interest
date	14/04/2022
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	Severe Disability Premium: Homes for Ukraine Scheme
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether a person will continue to be treated as living alone under the qualifying conditions for the severe disability premium in the event that they are hosting Ukrainian refugees under the Homes for Ukraine scheme.
tabling member constituency	Oxford East
tabling member printed	Anneliese Dodds
uin	154357
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/04/2022 answer text <p>Ukrainian refugees living temporarily with a host, are not considered to be normally residing with them. This means that the host will not lose their entitlement to the severe disability premium.</p> answering member constituency Norwich North answering member printed Chloe Smith question first answered 22/04/2022 12:52:33 answering member 1609 label Biography information for Chloe Smith
tabling member	4657 label Biography information for Anneliese Dodds

1453565

registered interest
date	23/03/2022
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	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 steps she is taking to ensure that the cap for the childcare element of universal credit reflects rising costs of childcare.
tabling member constituency	Oxford East
tabling member printed	Anneliese Dodds
uin	145971
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/04/2022 answer text <p>We know that for some UC claimants’, the cost of childcare makes it more difficult to enter work. To support parents to start work, eligible UC claimants can claim back up to 85% of their registered childcare costs each month regardless of the number of hours they work. This is higher than under tax credits, which reimbursed up to 70%.</p><p> </p><p>This is up to the maximum amount of £646.35 per month for one child and £1,108.04 per month for two or more children. For families with two children, this could be worth up to £13,000 a year. Currently we do not have any plans to increase the childcare caps but continue to keep the policy under review.</p><p> </p><p>In cases where people need to pay for childcare upfront, prior to starting work, Work Coaches can use the Flexible Support Fund for eligible claimants to meet these costs until their first wage is received.</p><p> </p><p>The UC childcare policy aligns with the wider government childcare offer in England and there are similar funded early learning offers in devolved nations. The free childcare offer provides 15 hours a week of free childcare in England for all 3 and 4 year olds and disadvantaged 2 year olds, doubling for working parents of 3 and 4 year olds to 30 hours a week.</p><p> </p><p>The UC childcare element can be used to top up a claimant’s eligible free childcare hours if more hours are worked and childcare required.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley question first answered 04/04/2022 15:23:28 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley
tabling member	4657 label Biography information for Anneliese Dodds

1453567

registered interest
date	23/03/2022
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	Flexible Support Fund: Parents
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that Work Coaches are routinely offering Flexible Support Fund payments to help parents who may face challenges in meeting all or part of the upfront costs of their childcare.
tabling member constituency	Oxford East
tabling member printed	Anneliese Dodds
uin	145972
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/04/2022 answer text <p>The Department is fully committed to supporting parents moving into work. In Universal Credit, childcare costs can be claimed up to a month before starting a job. Eligible Universal Credit claimants can claim back up to 85 per cent of eligible childcare costs each month, up to the maximum amount of £646.35 per month for one child and £1,108.04 per month for two or more children, regardless of the number of hours they work.</p><p> </p><p>In cases where people need to pay for childcare upfront, prior to starting work, Work Coaches may be able to use the Flexible Support Fund for eligible claimants to meet these costs until their first wage is received. Budgeting advances are also available to eligible claimants who require help with upfront costs, for example when altering hours worked or changing childcare providers.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 01/04/2022 13:36:39 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	4657 label Biography information for Anneliese Dodds

1453570

registered interest
date	23/03/2022
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	Flexible Support Fund: Lone Parents
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that Flexible Support Fund payments are offered to single parents for the purposes of enabling them to meet the new job-seeking requirements in the Way to Work campaign.
tabling member constituency	Oxford East
tabling member printed	Anneliese Dodds
uin	145973
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/04/2022 answer text <p>Way to Work is a campaign to move job-ready claimants into work faster and fill vacancies more quickly. We are supporting jobseekers by providing new claimants with more time with their Work Coaches. Individual circumstances, such as childcare arrangements, are always taken into account and agreed with the claimants as part of the Claimant Commitment meeting. At that stage, Work Coaches will agree with the claimant what they are able to do with respect to finding and having a job as well as discussing eligibility for support through the Flexible Support Fund (FSF) and how this might suit their circumstances.</p><p> </p><p>The FSF is a non-recoverable discretionary fund that Jobcentre staff can use to purchase goods or services to supplement mainstream services and tailor support to the needs of individuals and the local area. Work Coaches have flexibility and discretion to make awards that will enhance the employment prospects of eligible claimants with whom they are engaged. A key element of Flexible Support Fund is giving Work Coaches a means by which they can support claimants move into work, such as paying for upfront childcare costs, travel costs to interviews and for clothing, tools and equipment needed to start work.</p><p> </p><p>No changes to the FSF or the policy around have been made as a result of the Way to Work Campaign.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 01/04/2022 13:41:26 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	4657 label Biography information for Anneliese Dodds

1437453

registered interest
date	02/03/2022
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	Health and Safety: Pregnancy
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether there is a specialist Health and Safety Executive service to deliver advice to employers, employees and local authority officers on risk assessment and management for pregnant women and new mothers in the workplace.
tabling member constituency	Oxford East
tabling member printed	Anneliese Dodds
uin	133268
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/03/2022 answer text <p>The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has a long established advice line where concerns can be raised, general enquiries answered and where appropriate, referred to policy, inspector and occupational health specialists for further advice. This includes advice on risk assessment and management for pregnant women and new mothers. <a href="https://www.hse.gov.uk/contact/contact.htm#health-and-safety-guidance" target="_blank">Ways to contact HSE</a></p><p> </p><p>HSE do not hold data on the number of pregnant women whose employer undertakes an individual risk assessment and who report that all risks were addressed during that assessment.</p> answering member constituency Norwich North answering member printed Chloe Smith grouped question UIN 133269 question first answered 10/03/2022 11:59:19 answering member 1609 label Biography information for Chloe Smith
tabling member	4657 label Biography information for Anneliese Dodds

1437455

registered interest
date	02/03/2022
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	Health and Safety: Pregnancy
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department has made an assessment of the proportion of pregnant women in the workplace (a) whose employer undertakes an individual risk assessment and (b) who report that all risks were addressed during that assessment.
tabling member constituency	Oxford East
tabling member printed	Anneliese Dodds
uin	133269
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/03/2022 answer text <p>The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has a long established advice line where concerns can be raised, general enquiries answered and where appropriate, referred to policy, inspector and occupational health specialists for further advice. This includes advice on risk assessment and management for pregnant women and new mothers. <a href="https://www.hse.gov.uk/contact/contact.htm#health-and-safety-guidance" target="_blank">Ways to contact HSE</a></p><p> </p><p>HSE do not hold data on the number of pregnant women whose employer undertakes an individual risk assessment and who report that all risks were addressed during that assessment.</p> answering member constituency Norwich North answering member printed Chloe Smith grouped question UIN 133268 question first answered 10/03/2022 11:59:19 answering member 1609 label Biography information for Chloe Smith
tabling member	4657 label Biography information for Anneliese Dodds

1419265

registered interest
date	02/02/2022
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	Employment: Pregnancy
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans her Department has to work with unions and industry groups to prepare example individual risk assessments for pregnant women and new mothers in different roles indicating the circumstances in which women should be suspended on full pay under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999.
tabling member constituency	Oxford East
tabling member printed	Anneliese Dodds
uin	117051
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/02/2022 answer text <p>Employers know their workplace and associated risks the best, and should discuss the individual circumstances with new and expectant mothers who work for them.</p><p> </p><p>The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) provides guidance to employers on managing risk and how to complete a risk assessment for their business (<a href="https://www.hse.gov.uk/mothers/employer/risk-assessment.htm" target="_blank">Protecting new and expectant mothers at work - Risk assessment (hse.gov.uk)</a>). This guidance includes examples of common risks faced by new and expectant mothers. It also explains what to do if significant risks cannot be controlled, and where suspending workers on full pay may be appropriate.</p><p> </p><p>HSE is working with unions and industry groups to ensure this guidance is up to date.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Norwich North answering member printed Chloe Smith question first answered 09/02/2022 15:52:58 answering member 1609 label Biography information for Chloe Smith
tabling member	4657 label Biography information for Anneliese Dodds

1419267

registered interest
date	02/02/2022
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	Employment: Pregnancy
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many calls the Health and Safety Executive public advice line has received in relation to new and expectant mothers in the workplace since it was reinstated during the covid-19 outbreak.
tabling member constituency	Oxford East
tabling member printed	Anneliese Dodds
uin	117052
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/02/2022 answer text <p>The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has operated a concerns and advice telephone service since before the covid-19 pandemic. Concerns can also be submitted online.</p><p> </p><p>Over the last five financial years and current year to date, the total number of concerns reported to HSE related to the terms ‘pregnant’, ‘pregnancy’ and ‘new mother’ are:</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Financial Year</p></td><td><p>Pregnancy/New mother Related</p></td><td><p>Total Concerns Received</p></td><td><p>% of total</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>16/17</p></td><td><p>167</p></td><td><p>22,497</p></td><td><p>0.74%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>17/18</p></td><td><p>156</p></td><td><p>26,507</p></td><td><p>0.59%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>18/19</p></td><td><p>146</p></td><td><p>29,476</p></td><td><p>0.50%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>19/20</p></td><td><p>173</p></td><td><p>32,490</p></td><td><p>0.53%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>20/21</p></td><td><p>282</p></td><td><p>46,103</p></td><td><p>0.61%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>21/YTD</p></td><td><p>104</p></td><td><p>19,904</p></td><td><p>0.52%</p></td></tr></tbody></table> answering member constituency Norwich North answering member printed Chloe Smith question first answered 09/02/2022 15:47:45 answering member 1609 label Biography information for Chloe Smith
tabling member	4657 label Biography information for Anneliese Dodds