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1169230

	registered interest
	date	07/01/2020
	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: Glasgow South West
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many advance benefit payments have been made to claimants in Glasgow South West constituency in each month since January 2019.
	tabling member constituency	Glasgow South West
	tabling member printed	Chris Stephens
	type	WrittenParliamentaryQuestion
	uin	1097
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/01/2020 answer text <p><strong> </strong></p><p>New Universal Credit claimants who require urgent financial support, can apply for new claim advances to provide access to a payment quickly, until the first regular payment is due. Additionally, existing Universal Credit claimants who have told the Department about a change in their circumstances, which means more Universal Credit is owed, may also apply for an advance payment. Budgeting Advances exist to help pay for emergency household costs, for example, buying a new cooker or for help getting a job or staying in work.</p><p> </p><p>There are a range of advance payments that Universal Credit claimants can access. Information surrounding eligibility conditions and how to apply is published online at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/guidance/universal-credit-advances#how-to-apply-for-a-universal-credit-advance" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/guidance/universal-credit-advances#how-to-apply-for-a-universal-credit-advance</a></p><p> </p><p>The entirety of the number of advances paid, in Glasgow South West parliamentary constituency since January 2019, is provided in the table below.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong> </strong> <strong>Month</strong></p></td><td><p><strong> </strong> <strong>Universal Credit advances paid</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>January 2019</p></td><td><p>420</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>February 2019</p></td><td><p>590</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>March 2019</p></td><td><p>520</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>April 2019</p></td><td><p>510</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>May 2019</p></td><td><p>450</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>June 2019</p></td><td><p>550</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>July 2019</p></td><td><p>510</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>August 2019</p></td><td><p>510</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>Notes</strong></p><p> </p><ol><li>Figures are rounded to the nearest 10</li><li>Figures go up to August 2019 in line with published statistics relating to households on Universal Credit</li><li>Figures include all types of advances</li><li>Figures relate to Universal Credit full service only</li></ol><p> </p><p><strong> </strong></p><p> </p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 14/01/2020 14:21:23 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4463 label Biography information for Chris Stephens

1169232

	registered interest
	date	07/01/2020
	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: Glasgow
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent progress has been made with housing associations in (a) Glasgow South West constituency and (b) Glasgow on their access to information from the Landlord Portal on universal credit claimants; and if she will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	Glasgow South West
	tabling member printed	Chris Stephens
	type	WrittenParliamentaryQuestion
	uin	1099
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/01/2020 answer text <p><strong> </strong></p><p>The Universal Credit Landlord Portal allows social landlords who are registered users, to verify rent and submit managed payment requests through the Landlord Portal, rather than through the established email processes.</p><p> </p><p>Our Trusted Partner scheme allows social landlords to play a key role in engaging with their tenants who are on Universal Credit, helping those who cannot manage their housing payments to access the support available and to request that managed payments are in place where appropriate.</p><p> </p><p>There are now over 750 Social Landlords using the Portal and Trusted Partner scheme, and enrolment onto the Portal &amp; Trusted Partner remains open for any eligible Social Landlords (further details can be found at <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/universal-credit-landlord-portal-and-trusted-partner-scheme-for-social-landlords/landlord-portal-and-trusted-partner-scheme-for-social-landlords" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/universal-credit-landlord-portal-and-trusted-partner-scheme-for-social-landlords/landlord-portal-and-trusted-partner-scheme-for-social-landlords</a>). The total number of landlords currently enrolled on the Portal represent around 96% of the total Social Rented Sector housing stock.</p><p> </p><p>The Department maintains guidance on GOV.UK, relevant for private and social sector landlords, with information about Universal Credit including the Landlord Portal which has existed since 2017. This can be accessed at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/universal-credit-and-rented-housing--2/universal-credit-and-rented-housing-guide-for-landlords" target="_blank">www.gov.uk/government/publications/universal-credit-and-rented-housing--2/universal-credit-and-rented-housing-guide-for-landlords</a></p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 15/01/2020 17:58:13 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4463 label Biography information for Chris Stephens

1169234

	registered interest
	date	07/01/2020
	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: Fraud
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many employees in her Department investigate benefit fraud: what recent estimate she has made of the cost to the public purse of that fraud; and if she will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	Glasgow South West
	tabling member printed	Chris Stephens
	type	WrittenParliamentaryQuestion
	uin	1101
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/01/2020 answer text <p>As of the end of December 2019, the equivalent of around 1,400 full time staff were working as fraud investigators.</p><p> </p><p>In 2018/19 the total value of benefit overpaid as a result of fraud was £2.3bn. This accounts for 1.2% of benefit expenditure.</p><p> </p><p>The vast majority of benefit expenditure is paid correctly, with front line staff working hard to prevent overpayments from occurring. We are constantly improving our processes and continue to invest in the use of data and analytics to identify fraud and to better target our investigations.</p><p> </p><p>It is important to clarify that any overpayment made as a result of fraud is fully recoverable. Last year, DWP and Local Authorities recovered £1.1bn in benefit debt.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 15/01/2020 18:08:55 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4463 label Biography information for Chris Stephens

1169806

	registered interest
	date	09/01/2020
	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, what recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of universal credit.
	tabling member constituency	Lanark and Hamilton East
	tabling member printed	Angela Crawley
	type	WrittenParliamentaryQuestion
	uin	1767
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/01/2020 answer text <p>Universal Credit has now rolled out in every Jobcentre with a caseload of 2.7 million, growing every month, now able to access the additional support and flexibilities it offers. The latest data shows the proportion of all Universal Credit claims that received their full payment on time was over 95 per cent.</p><p> </p><p>The Universal Credit Full Service Claimant Survey (June 2018) shows that 9 months into a Universal Credit claim, 40 per cent of claimants are working for an employer in a paid role, as opposed to only 23 per cent at the start of their claim, and people on Universal Credit spend around 50% more time looking for a job than they did under Jobseeker’s Allowance. 86 per cent of people on Universal Credit were actively looking to increase their hours, compared to just 38 per cent of people on Jobseeker’s Allowance. This is because they can take on more hours without losing their benefit.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 17/01/2020 13:34:35 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4469 label Biography information for Angela Crawley

1169824

	registered interest
	date	09/01/2020
	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: Telephone Services
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she will make it her policy that all universal credit claimants making phone calls to her Department should be informed that staff can phone them back free of charge.
	tabling member constituency	East Ham
	tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
	type	WrittenParliamentaryQuestion
	uin	1663
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/01/2020 answer text <p>The Department takes seriously the need to support claimants, and wants Universal Credit to be easy to access. It is designed to be a ‘digital-first’ service, ensuring we make best use of technology to deliver a modern and effective working-age welfare system. This allows our staff to concentrate on those people who require additional support through different channels.</p><p> </p><p>Since 29 November 2017 all Universal Credit telephone lines are Freephone ‘0800’ numbers. Once connected to this service, a virtual telephone network will route the call to the most appropriate agent available with required skills to support the caller. Should a claimant call a previous chargeable Universal Credit telephone number, they will be redirected to our current numbers and the call will terminate.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 14/01/2020 15:19:44 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

1169826

	registered interest
	date	09/01/2020
	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: Telephone Services
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of universal credit claimants who have been offered a free of charge call back by her Department have accepted that offer in the latest period for which figures are available.
	tabling member constituency	East Ham
	tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
	type	WrittenParliamentaryQuestion
	uin	1664
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/01/2020 answer text <p>The Department does not hold the data requested.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 14/01/2020 15:22:58 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

1169827

	registered interest
	date	09/01/2020
	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, how many and what proportion of job centres operate a universal credit full digital service.
	tabling member constituency	East Ham
	tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
	type	WrittenParliamentaryQuestion
	uin	1665
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/01/2020 answer text <p>Rollout of the Universal Credit Full Service was completed on 12 December 2018 and is available in every Jobcentre Plus.</p><p> </p><p>Universal Credit is a 24 hour, seven days a week, digital service that allows every claimant to manage their own data and account online at a time which is convenient for them. Claimants can check their Universal Credit benefit payments through their account, notify us of changes and record notes on the online journal facility.</p><p> </p><p>Universal Credit has been designed to be as quick and easy as possible for the user, ensuring that claimants receive money at the earliest opportunity. It is designed to be a ‘digital-first’ service, ensuring we make best use of technology to deliver a modern and effective working-age welfare system.</p><p> </p><p>Our Universal Credit Claimant Survey, found that 98 per cent of claimants have internet access and did claim online, and the majority of those said they found the claim process overall to be straightforward and this can be accessed at:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/universal-credit-full-service-claimant-survey" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/universal-credit-full-service-claimant-survey</a></p><p> </p><p>All Jobcentre Plus offices across the country have Wi-Fi and computers available for claimants to access the internet. For those that are still unable to access or use digital services, or are not able to travel, assistance to make and maintain their claim is available via the Freephone Universal Credit helpline – which is clearly displayed on GOV.UK.</p><p> </p><p>Citizens Advice and Citizens Advice Scotland have been delivering the ‘Help to Claim’ service on a pilot basis since April 2019. The Citizens Advice ‘Help to Claim’ service offers tailored, practical support to help people make a Universal Credit claim up to receiving their first full correct payment on time, and is available online, on the phone and face-to-face through local Citizen’s Advice services.</p><p> </p><p>Although the Department offers comprehensive support for claimants to use our digital service, there will be occasions when people are unable to make their claim online, so telephone applications can be accepted. In these instances, information normally available through a claimant’s online account will be communicated in an alternative format, which is best suited to an individual’s circumstances.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 14/01/2020 17:54:53 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

1169829

	registered interest
	date	09/01/2020
	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, what proportion of universal credit applicants manage their claims primarily (a) online, (b) via telephone, (c) face-to-face, (d) in other ways; and if she will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	East Ham
	tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
	type	WrittenParliamentaryQuestion
	uin	1666
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/01/2020 answer text <p>To provide this information would incur a disproportionate cost to the Department.</p><p>Universal Credit is designed to be a ‘digital-first’ service, ensuring we make best use of technology to deliver a modern and effective working-age welfare system, allowing our staff to concentrate on those people who require additional support.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 14/01/2020 17:48:21 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

1169830

	registered interest
	date	09/01/2020
	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, what recent assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of Universal Support in helping people who are not digitally literate to make an online claim for universal credit; and if she will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	East Ham
	tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
	type	WrittenParliamentaryQuestion
	uin	1667
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/01/2020 answer text <p>The Department offers comprehensive support for claimants to use our digital service, but we recognise there will be occasions when people are unable to make and/or maintain their Universal Credit claim online, and so telephone and face to face support is available. In these instances, information normally available through a claimant’s online account, will be communicated in an alternative format which is best suited to an individual’s circumstances. The Help to Claim service, which replaced the previous “Universal Support” service was introduced on 1 April 2019 and is delivered by Citizens Advice and Citizens Advice Scotland.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>Help to Claim offers tailored, practical support to help people make their claim to Universal Credit and can work with claimants up to receiving their first full correct payment on time. It is available online, through a Freephone telephone number and face to face channels.</p><p> </p><p>The Department is committed to ensuring that delivery of support services, such as Help to Claim, is carefully monitored and evaluated to provide effective support to our most vulnerable claimants, whilst ensuring value to taxpayers.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 14/01/2020 17:45:16 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

1169837

	registered interest
	date	09/01/2020
	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	Carer's Allowance
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people have been prosecuted for Carer's Allowance (a) overpayments and (b) wrongful payment in the last 10 years.
	tabling member constituency	Airdrie and Shotts
	tabling member printed	Neil Gray
	type	WrittenParliamentaryQuestion
	uin	1757
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/01/2020 answer text <p>To provide this information would incur a disproportionate cost to the Department.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>The Department would only seek to prosecute an individual where there was strong evidence to suggest that the individual had committed benefit fraud.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 14/01/2020 12:58:21 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4365 label Biography information for Neil Gray