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167612

registered interest
date	03/12/2014
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	Poverty: Children
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the comments by Lord Freud in the Grand Committee debate on the Child Poverty Act 2010 (Persistent Poverty Targets) Regulations 2014, that the facts Lord McAvoy had quoted were "simply not true" (HL Deb, 25 November, col GC 263), how they were not true.
tabling member printed	Lord McAvoy
uin	HL3387
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/12/2014 answer text <p /> <p>I wrote to the Noble Peer on this issue on 4<sup>th</sup> December 2014. I have placed a copy of this letter in the library of the House and have also attached it to this response.</p> answering member printed Lord Freud question first answered 08/12/2014 15:43:27 answering member 3893 label Biography information for Lord Freud attachment 1 file name Letter to Lord McAvoy 4.12.14.PDF title Letter to Lord McAvoy 4th Dec 2014
tabling member	4158 label Biography information for Lord McAvoy

167853

registered interest
date	03/12/2014
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
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, in what circumstances benefit claimants are permitted to undertake paid work which is regarded as therapeutic.
tabling member constituency	East Ham
tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
uin	217129
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/12/2014 answer text <p /> <p>A person who is entitled to Employment and Support Allowance and who does any work will normally be treated as not having limited capability for work and will lose their entitlement accordingly. However, under existing provisions, there are types of work that a claimant can do without losing their benefit entitlement.</p><p> </p><p>This is called ‘exempt work’ (more commonly referred to as ‘permitted work’). <br> The categories of exempt work are Permitted Work; Voluntary Work and work done in a Work Placement. There are four types of permitted work.</p><p> </p><p>· Permitted Work Lower Level: work for no more than £20 a week at any time for as long as the person is on benefit;<br> <br></p><p>· Permitted Work Higher Level: work for less than 16 hours a week with earnings of no more than £104.00 a week for a fixed period of 52 weeks with the aim of progressing to work of more than 16 hours per week; <br> <br></p><p>· Permitted Work Higher Level Subsequent: at the end of the 52 week period of PWHL, if they have not progressed to work of more than 16 hours, claimants can continue to work for no more than £20 per week. After a gap of 52 weeks customers can undertake a subsequent period of 52 weeks at the higher level;<br> <br></p><p>· Supported Permitted Work: claimants can work for no more than £104.00 a week for as long as they are on benefit if they have a disability which is unlikely to improve over time and they need regular and on going support or supervision in the work place in order to make as much progress as they can towards full-time work. A person is able to work and earn up to and including £104.00 a week indefinitely where their work is supervised by someone who is employed by a public or local authority, or a voluntary organisation whose job it is to arrange work for people with disabilities.</p><p> </p><p>A person can only do one type of Permitted Work at any one time and there are rules which cover the length of time that claimants may undertake each category, and the amount they can earn.</p> answering member constituency Forest of Dean answering member printed Mr Mark Harper question first answered 08/12/2014 12:24:20 answering member 1520 label Biography information for Mr Mark Harper
tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

167854

registered interest
date	03/12/2014
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 and Support Allowance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, in what circumstances claimants of employment and support allowance are permitted to retain their benefit while undertaking voluntary work.
tabling member constituency	East Ham
tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
uin	217130
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/12/2014 answer text <p>A person can do voluntary work as long as they do not receive any payment other than reasonable expenses. The work can be for a charitable or voluntary organisation, for example, or any other type of volunteering as long as it is not for a relative.</p> answering member constituency Forest of Dean answering member printed Mr Mark Harper question first answered 08/12/2014 12:35:05 answering member 1520 label Biography information for Mr Mark Harper
tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

167856

registered interest
date	03/12/2014
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 and Support Allowance: Work Capability Assessment
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 who have been found fit for work following a work capability assessment have reapplied for employment and support allowance within (a) 12, (b) 24 and (c) 36 months.
tabling member constituency	Erith and Thamesmead
tabling member printed	Teresa Pearce
uin	217123
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/12/2014 answer text <p /> <p>The information as requested is not available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.</p> answering member constituency Forest of Dean answering member printed Mr Mark Harper question first answered 08/12/2014 12:48:54 answering member 1520 label Biography information for Mr Mark Harper
tabling member	4003 label Biography information for Teresa Pearce

167861

registered interest
date	03/12/2014
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 and Support Allowance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of recent trends in the number of people claiming employment and support allowance; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Bolton South East
tabling member printed	Yasmin Qureshi
uin	217109
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/12/2014 answer text <p>Statistics on the number of Employment and Support Allowance claimants are published at:</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/dwp-statistics-tabulation-tool" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/dwp-statistics-tabulation-tool</a></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Guidance for users is available at:</p><p> </p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dwp-tabulation-tool-guidance" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dwp-tabulation-tool-guidance</a></p> answering member constituency Forest of Dean answering member printed Mr Mark Harper question first answered 08/12/2014 13:13:01 answering member 1520 label Biography information for Mr Mark Harper
tabling member	3924 label Biography information for Yasmin Qureshi

167863

registered interest
date	03/12/2014
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 and Support Allowance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the reasons for the increased number of claimants of employment and support allowance receiving benefit sanctions since mid-2013.
tabling member constituency	East Ham
tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
uin	217132
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/12/2014 answer text <p /> <p>The number of ESA claimants referred to the Work Programme has increased by more than half over the last 2 years and as such we would expect to see a consequential increase in sanction referrals as more people join the programme.</p><p> </p><p>ESA claimants are not sanctioned for not finding or taking up work and all activities claimants are referred to must be reasonable given their circumstances and capabilities. In any month less than 1% of ESA claimants are sanctioned.</p><p> </p><p>Evidence suggests that work and work related activity is good for people with health conditions. Through the Work Programme ESA claimants have access to the support they need to improve their skills and move closer to the labour market. With this increased support, comes increased expectations and where claimants fail to meet reasonable requirements, proportionate sanctions are applied.</p> answering member constituency Forest of Dean answering member printed Mr Mark Harper question first answered 08/12/2014 12:43:13 answering member 1520 label Biography information for Mr Mark Harper
tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

167383

registered interest
date	02/12/2014
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	Renewable Energy
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the capacity of his Departmental buildings for the micro-generation of renewable energy; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Brighton, Kemptown
tabling member printed	Simon Kirby
uin	216737
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/12/2014 answer text <p /> <p>DWP has outsourced the provision of its estate until 31st March 2018 under a 20-year PFI contract with its private sector partner Telereal Trillium.</p><p> </p><p>Telereal Trillium’s technical experts have undertaken regular extensive reviews (both site based and desk-top studies) of the Department’s estate with a view to assessing the practical and financial viability of investing in micro-generation. These have included:</p><p> </p><p>• solar photo-voltaic and wind turbine generation of electricity; and</p><p> </p><p>• solar and bio-mass generation of heat.</p><p> </p><p>Following this review 18 sites were identified for a site visit and more detailed examination by Telereal Trillium’s technical experts and potential suppliers. Detailed business cases were then developed for the biomass sites offering the quickest payback and with the potential to meet the Department’s investment criteria. Unfortunately, although these sites offered a practical means of generating renewable energy they did not meet the Department’s investment criteria and so have not been pursued. Solar photo-voltaic and wind turbine generation projects had even longer payback periods.</p><p> </p><p>The Department also commissioned EDF to undertake independent surveys at five sites. These confirmed the results of the work undertaken by Telereal Trillium’s technical experts in that the break-even periods were too long to meet the Department’s investment criteria.</p><p> </p><p>Telereal Trillium are continuing to assess whether reductions in costs and/or improvements in technology will improve the financial viability of micro-generation.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 08/12/2014 13:04:50 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
tabling member	3929 label Biography information for Simon Kirby

167384

registered interest
date	02/12/2014
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	Funeral Payments
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department plans to review the process for applying for funeral payments.
tabling member constituency	Bedford
tabling member printed	Richard Fuller
uin	216782
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/12/2014 answer text <p /> <p>We are currently taking steps to improve the scheme and will continue to monitor its effectiveness.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 08/12/2014 12:54:59 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
tabling member	3912 label Biography information for Richard Fuller

167569

registered interest
date	02/12/2014
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	Personal Independence Payment
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent steps he has taken to reduce the length of time it takes for a decision to be reached on eligibility for personal independence payments.
tabling member constituency	Barnsley Central
tabling member printed	Dan Jarvis
uin	216884
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/12/2014 answer text <p>The department has made a number of improvements to reduce times. For example, we have significantly increased staffing resources and improved IT processes. The improvements also include both providers increasing the number of health professionals they employ and opening more assessment centres.</p> answering member constituency Forest of Dean answering member printed Mr Mark Harper question first answered 05/12/2014 10:24:23 answering member 1520 label Biography information for Mr Mark Harper
tabling member	4243 label Biography information for Dan Jarvis

167570

registered interest
date	02/12/2014
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	Housing Benefit
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 Government's commitment in its response to the Oakley Review, Cm 8904, to implement an IT solution so that local authorities are given the information they need to suspend housing benefit only in cases where it is appropriate to do so, what progress has been made in implementing such a solution; whether the planned implementation date of Autumn 2014 was achieved; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	East Ham
tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
uin	216814
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/12/2014 answer text <p /> <p>Following Matthew Oakley’s report we have implemented a number of improvements to communications to ensure that claimants understand the sanctions process and can take the necessary action.</p><p>An investigation of housing benefit with local authorities showed that the IT solution is working to specification and correct notifications are being sent. As a safeguard we have also improved guidance to ensure that staff advise all claimants, when sanctioned, to inform their local authority so that their housing benefit is not inadvertently stopped.</p><p>We will continue to monitor the position in cooperation with local authorities.</p> answering member constituency Wirral West answering member printed Esther McVey question first answered 05/12/2014 15:02:34 answering member 4084 label Biography information for Esther McVey
tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms