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1186411

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	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, what plans she has to waive National Insurance requirements in determining the eligibility of claimants for social security in response to the covid-19 outbreak.
tabling member constituency	Westmorland and Lonsdale
tabling member printed	Tim Farron
uin	32100
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/03/2020 answer text <p>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, we continue to keep the situation under review and will keep Parliament updated accordingly.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 24/03/2020 14:26:25 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	1591 label Biography information for Tim Farron

1186431

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	Department for Work and Pensions: Coronavirus
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 take steps to remove the requirement for explicit consent for enquiries to her Department during the covid-10 outbreak.
tabling member constituency	Glasgow Central
tabling member printed	Alison Thewliss
uin	32160
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/03/2020 answer text <p>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, we continue to keep the situation under review and will keep Parliament updated accordingly.</p><p> </p><p>The Universal Credit system is structured around an online personal account which contains all the information relevant to the claim. This includes claimant’s bank account details, savings, capital, medical history, family relationships and address information, which means that we have a responsibility to ensure that a high level of security and protection is in place, and that we take all reasonable steps to protect the position of claimants and their data which includes ensuring that consent is explicitly given to share it.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 24/03/2020 13:20:46 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	4430 label Biography information for Alison Thewliss

1186500

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	Winter Fuel Payment: Coronavirus
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 plans to extend the winter fuel allowance for recipients who (a) have to self-isolate or (b) are diagnosed with covid-19.
tabling member constituency	Wallasey
tabling member printed	Ms Angela Eagle
uin	32053
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, we continue to keep the situation under review and will keep Parliament updated accordingly.</del></p><p><ins class="ministerial">There are no plans to extend the winter fuel allowance scheme. </ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has, however, published a series of measures designed to help those affected by the coronavirus outbreak with the cost of their energy bills. </ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">Further information on the measures is available here:</ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial"><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-agrees-measures-with-energy-industry-to-support-vulnerable-people-through-covid-19" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-agrees-measures-with-energy-industry-to-support-vulnerable-people-through-covid-19</a></ins></p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 24/03/2020 14:36:54 question first ministerially corrected 15/04/2020 15:03:49 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman previous answer version 14287 answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	491 label Biography information for Dame Angela Eagle

1186675

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	Food: Voucher Schemes
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans his Department has for an emergency food voucher referral system due to (a) the closure of referral agencies due to staff self-isolation or sickness relating to the covid-19 outbreak and (b) increased need for food banks due to the economic effects of that outbreak.
tabling member constituency	Barnsley East
tabling member printed	Stephanie Peacock
uin	32296
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/03/2020 answer text <p>Food banks are independent charitable organisations and, as such, are best placed to decide on the most appropriate arrangements for supporting people who use them. As both the Prime Minister and the 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, we continue to keep the situation under review and will keep Parliament updated accordingly.</p><p> </p><p>I also refer the honourable member to the response given by the Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in response to an oral question made on 19 March:</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2020-03-19/debates/EBB8F3D7-F9F4-4C5C-B913-86FD27851B5D/VulnerablePeopleFoodSupplies" target="_blank">https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2020-03-19/debates/EBB8F3D7-F9F4-4C5C-B913-86FD27851B5D/VulnerablePeopleFoodSupplies</a>”</p><p /><p>[Additionally announcements were made at the Prime Minister’s daily briefings on 21 and 22 March in relation to food supply]</p><p /><p><strong> </strong></p><p> </p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 24/03/2020 12:41:16 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	4607 label Biography information for Stephanie Peacock

1185279

registered interest
date	16/03/2020
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	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, what alternative arrangements will be made available for benefit claimants who are unable to attend face to face meetings.
tabling member constituency	Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle
tabling member printed	Emma Hardy
uin	30017
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, we continue to keep the situation under review and will keep Parliament updated accordingly.</del></p><p><ins class="ministerial">We are doing all we can to keep our Jobcentres and service centres operational, but as of 24th March, Jobcentres are only offering face-to-face appointments – conducted in accordance with PHE guidelines on social distancing - for the small number of claimants who would otherwise not be able to receive support. This helps us to continue to deliver our critical services whilst keeping our customers and staff safe.</ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">From 17th March, we suspended all face-to-face assessments for health and disability benefits. For existing claimants, we have automatically extended awards and suspended any new review or reassessment activity, except where claimants notify us of changes to their needs that may result in an increase to their award. This temporary measure is being taken to ensure the Department’s resources are focused on providing access to financial support for new claimants, and it will also reassure claimants about continuity of their benefit during the coronavirus outbreak.</ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">We have also taken the decision to temporarily suspend the requirement for face-to-face Jobcentre Plus appointments for all claimants in Universal Credit, Job Seekers’ Allowance (JSA), Employment Support Allowance (ESA) and Income Support. This means that claimants are not expected to contact their Jobcentre Plus while this temporary suspension is in place. They will continue to receive benefits as normal and they will not be sanctioned for not taking part in interviews with Jobcentres.</ins></p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 24/03/2020 12:25:33 question first ministerially corrected 15/04/2020 15:00:37 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies previous answer version 14243 answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	4645 label Biography information for Emma Hardy

1185321

registered interest
date	16/03/2020
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	Pension Credit
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 measure the effectiveness of the 12-week awareness campaign on Pension Credit take-up that started on 12 February 2020.
tabling member constituency	Ochil and South Perthshire
tabling member printed	John Nicolson
uin	30051
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/03/2020 answer text <p>The Government wants to make sure that all pensioners eligible can claim the Pension Credit to which they are entitled. There are already around 1.6 million people claiming some £5.4 billion in Pension Credit but some people may be missing out. That is why on the 10<sup>th</sup> February we launched a 12 week nationwide campaign to raise awareness of Pension Credit and encourage those over State Pension age to check whether they’re eligible. The campaign includes a short, animated video that is being shown in GP waiting rooms and in Post Offices. It is also being shown to Facebook users and supported by messaging on social media.</p><p> </p><p>As part of the campaign we are asking a sample of callers to the Pension Credit claim line whether they are calling as result of having seen the campaign materials and where they heard about Pension Credit. We are monitoring the Facebook activity using digital metrics which will give us insight on the performance of the adverts and how long people are watching the videos for. We are also monitoring the number of visits to the Pension Credit pages on <a href="http://www.gov.uk" target="_blank">www.gov.uk</a> and use of the Pension Credit Toolkit (<a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pension-credit-toolkit" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pension-credit-toolkit</a>). At the end of the campaign, we will carry out a full evaluation based on these results in order to measure the effectiveness and impact of the campaign.</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 24/03/2020 17:12:42 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	4415 label Biography information for John Nicolson