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1127101

registered interest
date	16/05/2019
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	Universal Credit: Tower Hamlets
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the report from the London Borough of Tower Hamlets' Housing Scrutiny Sub-Committee, published 26 February 2019, which found that in 2018-19 the local authority had referred 539 universal credit cases back to her Department due to accuracy queries, of which 197 were still outstanding.
tabling member constituency	Poplar and Limehouse
tabling member printed	Jim Fitzpatrick
uin	255255
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/05/2019 answer text <p>The vast majority of Universal Credit (UC) claimants’ claims are administered in real time and accurately. Every UC award is calculated based on the circumstances of individuals during each assessment period, taking into account savings, assets and income.</p><p> </p><p>All claimants have a responsibility to notify the Department about changes in their circumstances, as this could alter the monthly award and/or the responsibilities associated with receiving UC.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 24/05/2019 12:47:03 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	197 label Biography information for Jim Fitzpatrick

1127116

registered interest
date	16/05/2019
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	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 estimate her Department has made of the effect of the 5-week wait for the first payment of universal credit on (a) a claimant’s level of (i) debt and (ii) rent arrears and (b) the finances of disabled claimants.
tabling member constituency	Wirral West
tabling member printed	Margaret Greenwood
uin	255340
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/05/2019 answer text <p>No one has to wait 5 weeks for their first payment of Universal Credit. Advances are available from the first day of a valid claim, if required, to support claimants.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 21/05/2019 15:59:56 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
tabling member	4400 label Biography information for Margaret Greenwood

1127119

registered interest
date	16/05/2019
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	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 universal credit payments have been subject to a deduction as a result of a claimant’s historic debt to (a) her Department and (b) HM Treasury in the latest month for which data is available.
tabling member constituency	Wirral West
tabling member printed	Margaret Greenwood
uin	255341
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/05/2019 answer text <p>Internal Management information shows that in April 2019, 280,000 payments of Universal Credit (UC) had a deduction applied to repay a non UC debt owed to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), and 340,000 payments of UC had a deduction applied to repay a Tax Credit debt (these figures have been rounded to the nearest 10,000). Some payments of UC may have had a deduction for both a non UC debt and a Tax Credit debt. These claimants would appear in both totals, therefore the figures cannot be summed.</p><p> </p><p>In line with the deductions policy in UC, for both types of debt, the deductions would not usually exceed the maximum amounts, which are set out legislation. Only in cases where last resort deductions are applied can these rates be exceeded. DWP ensures that appropriate safeguards are in place to protect claimants who have deductions from their benefit to repay overpayments. If a claimant is struggling they can contact DWP’s Debt Management to discuss lowering their repayment rate.</p><p> </p><p>It is also worth noting that it is not possible to provide this as a proportion at April 2019, as the latest UC caseload data is only available as of 14 February 19. However, for context, as of 14 February 19, 1.4m households received payments of UC.</p><p> </p><p>N.B. This data on deductions has been sourced from internal management information. It should therefore not be compared to any other similar data subsequently released by the DWP.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 21/05/2019 15:53:23 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
tabling member	4400 label Biography information for Margaret Greenwood

1127130

registered interest
date	16/05/2019
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	Statutory Sick Pay
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on mandating private healthcare companies to provide statutory sick pay; and if she will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle-under-Lyme
tabling member printed	Paul Farrelly
uin	255297
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/05/2019 answer text <p>All employers are already required to provide Statutory Sick Pay to an employee on sickness absence who meet certain criteria.</p><ol><li>To qualify for Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) an individual must:</li></ol><p>(a) be an “employed earner” working for an employer who has liability to pay secondary Class 1 NI contributions</p><p>(b) have done some work for the employer</p><p>(c) have been ill for at least 4 days in a row (including non-working days)</p><p>(d) earn above the Lower Earnings Limit (currently at £118 per week)</p><p>(e) have given the correct notice to the employer.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 24/05/2019 11:56:23 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	1436 label Biography information for Paul Farrelly

1127131

registered interest
date	16/05/2019
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	Unemployment Benefits
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of waiving the recommencement of waiting times for the receipt of out-of-work benefits after the completion of a short-term contract; and if she will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Birkenhead
tabling member printed	Frank Field
uin	255281
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/05/2019 answer text <p>Short-term contracts where earnings are above the relevant threshold would lead to the closure of a claim to benefit. Once this short-term contract has ended, Universal Credit can be claimed.</p><p> </p><p>The Universal Credit assessment period and payment structure are fundamental parts of the design. They help reduce welfare dependency by mirroring the world of work, where currently around 70 per cent of tax credit claimants are paid monthly or four weekly.</p><p> </p><p>The assessment period runs for a full calendar month from the date of entitlement and the Universal Credit pay date will be seven calendar days after the end of the initial assessment period. Subsequent pay dates will be the same each month.</p><p> </p><p>It is therefore not possible to award a Universal Credit payment as soon as a claim is made, as the assessment period must run its course before the award of Universal Credit can be calculated.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>No claimant has to go five weeks without receiving support, as advances, worth up to 100 per cent of a claimant’s indicative award, are available up front if there is need.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 24/05/2019 13:15:20 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead

1127134

registered interest
date	16/05/2019
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	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 much the Government has spent on promoting and advertising universal credit since it was introduced.
tabling member constituency	Cardiff Central
tabling member printed	Jo Stevens
uin	255342
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/05/2019 answer text <p>The Department provides services to around 22 million people and, as with other government departments, it has a responsibility to communicate policy and essential information to customers and other key audiences.</p><p> </p><p>The ‘Opening Up Work’ campaign aims to increase understanding of how Universal Credit removes barriers to work and career progression, and to ensure people can access information to help people make a claim. The Department has dedicated funds to this campaign to make sure claimants know how to access the support that they need.</p><p> </p><p>Advertising spend to date from 2016-17 onwards on the Universal Credit Opening Up Work campaign is around £6.3 million.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 21/05/2019 12:33:41 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
tabling member	4425 label Biography information for Jo Stevens

1127179

registered interest
date	16/05/2019
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	Workplace Pensions
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when the Government plans to bring forward legislative proposals to provide for collective defined contribution pension schemes.
tabling member constituency	East Antrim
tabling member printed	Sammy Wilson
uin	255316
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/05/2019 answer text <p>This Government has recently published a response to a Collective Defined Contribution schemes consultation, and have engaged extensively with key stakeholders. In this response we have committed to facilitate Collective Defined Contribution schemes and have stated that the Government will bring forward Primary legislation as soon as parliamentary time allows.</p><p> </p><p>The response can be viewed here:</p><p><a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/789051/response-delivering-collective-defined-contribution-pension-schemes.pdf" target="_blank">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/789051/response-delivering-collective-defined-contribution-pension-schemes.pdf</a></p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 24/05/2019 09:23:36 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	1593 label Biography information for Sammy Wilson

1127195

registered interest
date	16/05/2019
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	Access to Work Programme: Self-employed
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 Access to Work scheme supports disabled people who are self-employed.
tabling member constituency	Battersea
tabling member printed	Marsha De Cordova
uin	255393
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/05/2019 answer text <p>We have undertaken significant reform of Access to Work, but there are still further opportunities for improvements and we are committed to listening to our customers and stakeholders.</p><p> </p><p>For example, to address points raised about the Access to Work self-employment customer journey in the DWP research report ‘Access to Work: Qualitative research with applicants, employers and delivery staff’, published in November 2018, we worked closely with customers and stakeholders to identify the issues and develop a new self-employment customer journey for freelancers and contractors.</p><p> </p><p>To support this work, we are also developing an Access to Work ‘Workplace Adjustments Passport’, comprising a current record of an Access to Work customer’s support needs. This ‘passport’ is designed to be shared with new employers and commissioners, so that Access to Work customers who change jobs or move between contracts can be sure that their support needs are known in advance and adjustments may be put in place swiftly.</p><p>We will be announcing the detail of these new reforms later in the year.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 24/05/2019 12:40:20 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	4676 label Biography information for Marsha De Cordova

1127200

registered interest
date	16/05/2019
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	Access to Work Programme
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent discussions she has had with (a) disabled people and (b) disabled people's organisations on the Access to Work scheme.
tabling member constituency	Battersea
tabling member printed	Marsha De Cordova
uin	255394
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/05/2019 answer text <p>I am committed to ensuring that disabled people and disabled people’s organisations are engaged with and listened to. My diary for this year is filling up with meetings with disabled people and stakeholders, ranging from individual Access to Work customers to larger organisations such as Action on Hearing Loss.</p><p> </p><p>Access to Work has a regular stakeholder forum which brings together disabled people and disabled people’s organisations to discuss how the Access to Work offer works for our customers. This group includes representatives from organisations such as the Thomas Pocklington Trust, Versus Arthritis and the National Deaf Children’s Association. The group is due to meet next month and will discuss plans for future improvements for the Access to Work scheme.</p><p> </p><p>DWP also undertakes regular engagement with stakeholders on specific issues. For example, this week officials held a stakeholder workshop on Access to Work’s Tech Fund policy, exploring strategies for encouraging the take-up of assistive technology to meet support needs. Next week, we are hosting the latest in a series of stakeholder workshops to discuss the Access to Work offer for self-employed people.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 24/05/2019 12:10:30 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	4676 label Biography information for Marsha De Cordova

1127204

registered interest
date	16/05/2019
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	Universal Credit: Domestic Abuse
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 16 May 2019 to Question 253698 on Universal Credit: Domestic Abuse, what progress has been made on establishing the practicalities of delivering separate payments in Scotland.
tabling member constituency	Midlothian
tabling member printed	Danielle Rowley
uin	255374
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/05/2019 answer text <p>The development of a detailed policy to split payments of Universal Credit in Scotland is something for the Scottish Government to determine.</p><p> </p><p>Any policy has to be capable of implementation and as a consequence must fit with the existing architecture of the system if it is not to undermine system stability for all claimants across Great Britain.</p><p> </p><p>Scottish Government final proposals have not yet been shared with the Government. We welcome the great care Scottish Government is taking with this.</p><p> </p><p>When a comprehensive set of proposals has been decided upon by the Scottish Government, we will provide advice on timing and implementation dates, with regard to the wider plan to deliver Universal Credit and the relative priorities of split payment proposals against other demands.</p><p> </p><p>Officials from both Governments continue to explore these issues together to see if a workable solution to the many issues raised can be found.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 21/05/2019 12:50:22 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	4628 label Biography information for Danielle Rowley