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1284319

	registered interest
	date	05/02/2021
	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	social security benefits: Coronavirus
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the APPG on Poverty's £20 uplift report published on 1 February 2021, what recent assessment she has made of the (a) removal of the £20 uplift to universal credit and working tax credit; (b) decision not to extend the £20 uplift to legacy and related benefits and (c) suspension of the benefit cap.
	tabling member constituency	Arfon
	tabling member printed	Hywel Williams
	uin	149727
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/02/2021 answer text <p>No assessment has been made.</p><p> </p><p>The £20 per week uplift to Universal Credit and Working Tax Credit was announced by the Chancellor as a temporary measure in March 2020 to support those facing the most financial disruption as a result of the public health emergency. This measure remains in place until March 2021. As the Government has done throughout this crisis, it will continue to assess how best to support low-income families, which is why we will look at the economic and health context before making any decisions.</p><p> </p><p>There are no plans to extend the temporary £20 uplift to legacy benefits. Claimants on legacy benefits can make a claim for Universal Credit (UC) if they think they will be better off and should check carefully their eligibility and entitlements under UC before applying, as legacy benefits will end when claimants submit their UC claim and they will not be able to return to them in the future. For this reason, prospective claimants are signposted to independent benefits calculators on GOV.UK. Neither DWP nor HMRC can advise individual claimants whether they would be better off moving to UC or remaining on legacy benefits.</p><p> </p><p>No assessment has been made with regards to suspending the benefit cap. There are currently no plans to change the Benefit Cap.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 10/02/2021 17:31:26 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	1397 label Biography information for Hywel Williams

1307530

	registered interest
	date	12/04/2021
	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	long Covid: Disability
	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 make an assessment of the potential merits of recognising long covid as a disability.
	tabling member constituency	Hendon
	tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
	uin	179050
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/04/2021 answer text <p>Given Long COVID is an emerging condition, the Government cannot comment whether consideration should be given to its addition to the list of conditions classed as a disability under the Equality Act 2020. An individual is defined as disabled under the Equality Act 2010 if they have a physical or mental impairment that has a “substantial” and “long-term” negative effect on their ability to carry out normal daily activities. The Act defines “long-term” as where an impairment has lasted, or is likely to last for at least 12 months, or where the impairment is likely to last for the rest of a person’s life. “Substantial” on the other hand is defined as an impairment that is more than minor or trivial.</p><p> </p><p>COVID-19 is a new disease and therefore it is not yet clear what the physical, psychological and rehabilitation needs will be for those experiencing long-term effects of the virus. The Government is funding ambitious and comprehensive research into the long-term physical and mental health effects of COVID-19 to better understand how to help and support those affected, with the most recent research call published on 25 March 2021 by the National Institute of Health Research/UK Research Institute.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 16/04/2021 13:45:58 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord

1186422

	registered interest
	date	19/03/2020
	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	Zero Hours Contracts: Coronavirus
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what support her Department is providing to people on zero-hours contracts whose employment has been terminated as a result of covid-19 and do not qualify for Statutory Sick Pay because they are not self-isolating.
	tabling member constituency	Harlow
	tabling member printed	Robert Halfon
	uin	32138
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/03/2020 answer text <p><del class="ministerial">As both the Prime Minister and Chancellor have made clear, the Government will do whatever it takes to support people affected by COVID 19 and we have been clear in our intention that no one should be penalised for doing the right thing. These are rapidly developing circumstances and we continue to keep the situation under review and will keep Parliament updated accordingly.</del></p><p><ins class="ministerial">The Government has been clear in its commitment to support those affected in these difficult times and we have made a number of changes to the welfare system in the past fortnight to ensure people are supported in doing this. These changes include:</ins><br /></p><ul><li><ins class="ministerial">making it easier to access benefits. Those applying for Contributory ESA will be able to claim from day 1 – as opposed to day 8 - and we have removed the need for face-to-face assessment. Both Universal Credit and Contributory ESA can now be claimed by phone or online;</ins></li><li><ins class="ministerial">increasing the standard allowance of Universal Credit and working tax credit for this year by around £1000 per year;</ins></li><li><ins class="ministerial">temporarily relaxing the application of the Minimum Income Floor (MIF) for all self-employed claimants affected by the economic impact of COVID-19 to ensure that the self-employed can access UC at a more generous rate; and</ins></li><li><ins class="ministerial">increasing in the Local Housing Allowance rates for Universal Credit and Housing Benefit claimants so that it covers the cheapest third of local rents – which is on average £600 in people’s pockets.</ins></li></ul><p><ins class="ministerial">Together, these measures represent an injection of over £6.5 billion into the welfare system.</ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">The Chancellor has also confirmed that, depending on their status, workers on zero hours contracts may be eligible for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and we would urge people to explore this avenue too.</ins></p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 24/03/2020 11:57:37 question first ministerially corrected 15/04/2020 15:01:33 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson previous answer version 14226 answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	3985 label Biography information for Robert Halfon

1191899

	registered interest
	date	29/04/2020
	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	Zero Hours Contracts: Coronavirus
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the benefits being made available to employees as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic are available to those who were on zero-hours contracts and whose employment has ceased.
	tabling member printed	Lord Roberts of Llandudno
	uin	HL3717
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/05/2020 answer text <p>The Government is committed to supporting people through this unprecedented time. We have introduced a number of measures, including the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme and the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS), as well as ensuring Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) is payable from day 1, to ensure people are supported.</p><p> </p><p>Unemployed people who are not eligible for SSP or CJRS, may be able to claim Universal Credit (UC), ‘new style’ Jobseeker’s Allowance, or ‘new style’ Employment and Support Allowance, and this will include those people who are self-isolating in accordance with government guidelines.</p><p> </p><p>People on zero hour contracts who are already claiming UC do not need to take any actions, as UC will auto adjust to represent the income received within that assessment period.</p><p> </p><p>More information about the support available during the Covid-19 outbreak is available at: <a href="http://www.gov.uk/coronavirus" target="_blank">www.gov.uk/coronavirus</a>.</p><p> </p><p><strong> </strong></p> answering member printed Baroness Stedman-Scott question first answered 18/05/2020 11:13:19 answering member 4174 label Biography information for Baroness Stedman-Scott
	tabling member	3691 label Biography information for Lord Roberts of Llandudno

1221932

	registered interest
	date	08/07/2020
	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	Zero Hours Contracts: Coronavirus
	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 will take to support workers on zero-hour contracts who are not working as a result of the covid-19 outbreak and are unable to qualify for universal credit because they are considered to have employment.
	tabling member constituency	Preston
	tabling member printed	Sir Mark Hendrick
	uin	70984
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/07/2020 answer text <p>It is wrong to say that workers on zero-hour contracts, who are not working as a result of the covid-19 outbreak, are unable to qualify for Universal Credit because they are considered to have employment.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>Universal Credit is payable in and out of work including for those working zero-hour contracts, part-time or temporary jobs.</p><p> </p><p>The amount of Universal Credit paid to claimants reflects, as closely as possible, the actual circumstances of a household during each monthly assessment period. Monthly assessment periods align to the way the majority of employees are paid and also allows Universal Credit to be adjusted each month. This means that if a claimant’s income falls, they will not have to wait several months for a rise in their Universal Credit.</p><p /><p>The Chancellor has also confirmed that, depending on their status, workers on zero hour contracts may be eligible for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and we would urge people to explore this avenue too.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 13/07/2020 16:09:54 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	473 label Biography information for Sir Mark Hendrick

1156211

	registered interest
	date	24/10/2019
	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	Zero Hours Contracts
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the number of people employed on zero-hour contracts in each (a) nation and (b) region of the UK in each year since 2010.
	tabling member constituency	Vale of Clwyd
	tabling member printed	Chris Ruane
	uin	4937
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/11/2019 answer text <p>The independent Office for National Statistics (ONS) use the Labour Force Survey (LFS) to provide estimates for the number of people in employment on contracts that do not guarantee minimum hours (known as ‘zero hours’ contracts’). This data is available for the Oct-Dec quarter only for each year from 2010 to 2018 and is set out in the table below.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Table: Level and rate of people aged 16 and over on zero-hours contracts October to December each year</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="2"><p>UK, not seasonally adjusted</p></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2"><p>Percentage of people in employment on a zero-hours contract</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2010</p></td><td><p>0.6</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2011</p></td><td><p>0.6</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012</p></td><td><p>0.8</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2013</p></td><td><p>1.9</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014</p></td><td><p>2.3</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015</p></td><td><p>2.5</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2016</p></td><td><p>2.8</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2017</p></td><td><p>2.8</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2018</p></td><td><p>2.6</p></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2"><p>Source: ONS Labour Force Survey</p></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2"><p>The estimates for 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018 are considered precise</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>ONS advise that the increased media coverage of zero-hours’ contracts arrangements in the latter half of 2013 may have affected the response to this question by raising awareness of this existing type of contractual arrangement. The ONS therefore advise not to compare pre- and post-2013 data.</p><p> </p><p>Data for England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales and the English regions has been published every six months by ONS for since 2016. However, because the data is drawn from a survey, many of these sub-UK breakdowns are considered too unreliable for practical purposes. Regional data and guidance on its reliability can be found in tab 4 of table EMP17 published here:</p><p><a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/datasets/emp17peopleinemploymentonzerohourscontracts/current" target="_blank">https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/datasets/emp17peopleinemploymentonzerohourscontracts/current</a></p> answering member constituency Eastleigh answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 04/11/2019 18:38:37 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
	tabling member	534 label Biography information for Chris Ruane

1645667

	registered interest
	date	19/06/2023
	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	Youth Services: Unemployed People
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many jobseekers (a) were referred to and (b) engaged with Youth Hub services (i) in 2021-22, (ii) in 2022-23 and (iii) between 1 April 2023 and 19 June 2023.
	tabling member constituency	Leicester South
	tabling member printed	Jonathan Ashworth
	uin	190115
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/06/2023 answer text <p>The DWP Youth Offer provides individually tailored work coach support to young people aged 16 to 24 who are in the Universal Credit Intensive Work Search group. This includes the Youth Employment Programme, Youth Employability Coaches and Youth Hubs across Great Britain. Young people are referred to the most appropriate part of the Youth Offer depending on their individual circumstances.</p><p> </p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p>FY21/22</p></td><td><p>FY22/23</p></td><td><p>01 April – 31 May 2023</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Youth Offer</p></td><td><p>278,100</p></td><td><p>284,800</p></td><td><p>44,100</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Youth Employment Programme</p></td><td><p>253,600</p></td><td><p>266,000</p></td><td><p>40,500</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Youth Hub</p></td><td><p>14,600</p></td><td><p>14,700</p></td><td><p>2,100</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Youth Employability Coach</p></td><td><p>21,500</p></td><td><p>18,100</p></td><td><p>2,300</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p><p>Notes:</p><p> </p><ol><li>A claimant can start on multiple strands of the Youth Offer. E.g. a claimant can enrol on the Youth Employment Programme and be referred to a Youth Hub. Therefore, the sum of those enrolled on the Youth Employment Programme, referred to a Youth Hub and referred to a Youth Employability Coach will be greater than the total number of individuals supported by the Youth Offer for each financial year.</li><li>A claimant can start on the Youth Offer multiple times. E.g. a claimant could be referred to a Youth Hub in FY21/22 and referred to a Youth Employability Coach in FY22/23. Therefore, some individuals will be included in the totals for more than one financial year.</li><li>This data is produced from a manual process and although care is taken when processing and analysing Youth Hub and Youth Employability Coach referrals, the data collected might be subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale recording system which features manual data. Therefore, Youth Hub and Youth Employability Coach figures are likely to underestimate the number of young people who have received Youth Hub and/or Youth Employability Coach support.</li><li>When a claimant enrols on the Youth Employment Programme or is referred to a Youth Hub or Youth Employability Coach they are classified as having started on the Youth Offer. We do not have a separate measure of engagement.</li><li>Figures have been rounded to the nearest 100.</li></ol> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 22/06/2023 15:58:42 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
	tabling member	4244 label Biography information for Jonathan Ashworth

1301375

	registered interest
	date	10/03/2021
	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	Young People: Coventry
	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 increase (a) employment and (b) training opportunities for young people in (i) Coventry North East constituency and (ii) Coventry during the covid-19 outbreak.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry North East
	tabling member printed	Colleen Fletcher
	uin	166459
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/03/2021 answer text <p>The Government recognises that young people have been especially vulnerable during the pandemic and are committed to providing support to help them move into work in these difficult times. Our £30bn Plan for Jobs includes specific interventions targeted at young people</p><p> </p><p>From September 2020 we started the implementation of the DWP Youth Offer for all 18 to 24 year olds making a claim to Universal Credit and who are in the Intensive Work Search Group.</p><p> </p><p>Our 13-week Youth Employment Programme delivers wrap-around support for many of the Plans for Jobs initiatives, and helps young people to take up work-related training or a job, such as Kickstart, which has seen young people starting work, a traineeship, an apprenticeship and Sector-based Work Academy Programmes. The Youth Employment Programme is live and our dedicated Work Coaches are delivering the programme to young people.</p><p> </p><p>The Jobcentre team in Coventry have developed a Youth Hub based at the Coventry Jobshop to provide outreach support for young people in Coventry, and have partnered with employers in the area to deliver Mentoring Circles and Sector Work Academy Programmes. In addition, our Jobcentre Youth Employability Coaches are providing flexible support to young people with significant complex needs and barriers to help them move into employment and offering six weeks of in-work support when they start work.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 15/03/2021 17:36:03 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
	tabling member	4378 label Biography information for Colleen Fletcher

1197655

	registered interest
	date	20/05/2020
	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	Young People: Coronavirus
	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 provide support to young people between the ages of 18 and 24 who are disproportionately financially affected by the covid-19 outbreak.
	tabling member constituency	Paisley and Renfrewshire South
	tabling member printed	Mhairi Black
	uin	49722
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/06/2020 answer text <p>We acknowledge that it is important that Jobcentres continue to support young people through the economic recovery post-COVID-19. They have already started to re-engage with new and existing claimants and are signposting them to appropriate support.</p><p> </p><p>Anyone over the age of 18 can claim New Style Employment and Support Allowance and Jobseeker’s Allowance if they have sufficient paid National Insurance contributions. Neither of those benefits is means-tested. Those on low incomes and with limited capital can claim Universal Credit or legacy Jobseeker’s Allowance.</p><p> </p><p>For Universal Credit, New Claims Advances of up to 100% of potential entitlement are available within a few days if a claimant needs support during their first assessment period. Face-to-face checks for Universal Credit advances have been scrapped due to Covid-19, so people get the support they need despite COVID-19 restrictions. We have also increased the Standard Allowance for everyone by over £80 a month on top of the existing 1.7% (CPI) increase already announced. This additional increase means all claimants will be up to £1040 better off.</p><p> </p><p>DWP is also engaging with a number of external stakeholders including the Youth Employment Group (set up by the Prince’s Trust, Youth Employment UK, the Institute for Employment Studies, the Youth Futures Foundation and Impetus) as well as continuing to work across Whitehall to develop appropriate support aimed at young people.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 08/06/2020 16:54:07 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
	tabling member	4421 label Biography information for Mhairi Black

1330589

	registered interest
	date	08/06/2021
	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	Workplace Pensions: Young People
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of increasing auto-enrolment of pensions to 18 to 21 year olds.
	tabling member constituency	North West Durham
	tabling member printed	Mr Richard Holden
	uin	12328
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/06/2021 answer text <p>Yes. The Government is committed to lowering the age range. We will be implementing the 2017 Automatic Enrolment Review ambitions in the mid-2020s.</p><p> </p><p>Our ambition to lower the age limit for automatic enrolment to 18 will normalise workplace pension saving for more young people as they start work for the first time. The 2017 Review estimated that this change would bring an estimated further 910,000 young people into automatic enrolment putting an estimated extra £0.8 billion into pension saving (of which £113m is in tax relief). As the 2017 review makes clear, there is a great deal of uncertainty as to how employers might go about managing the costs of additional contributions and thus the total cost of the package to government. We will update our assessment on the impact of implementing the review measures when appropriate using the best available evidence.</p><p> </p><p>The 2017 Review report was clear that implementation will be subject to learning from previous workplace pension contribution increases, discussions with employers and others on the right approach, and finding ways to make these changes affordable.</p><p> </p><p>We will do this in light of the impact of the pandemic and our overall support for economic recovery, while continuing to support long-term saving, balancing the needs of savers, employers; and tax-payers.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman grouped question UIN 12329 question first answered 14/06/2021 12:58:57 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
	tabling member	4813 label Biography information for Mr Richard Holden