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780319

registered interest
date	30/10/2017
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	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government by what methods they make it generally known that Universal Credit applicants can ask for 50 per cent advances, or other forms of emergency assistance, when faced with serious cash problems.
tabling member printed	Lord Hylton
uin	HL2683
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/11/2017 answer text <p>Any need for an advance payment or other financial or budgeting support is established at the outset of a claim for Universal Credit. In the initial new claim interview, work coaches are trained to offer personal budgeting support and assess whether claimants need help to manage until their first Universal Credit payment. We have taken steps to increase awareness of this support by amending guidance to ensure that claimants are aware at the start of their claim of the maximum amount they can receive and repayment period as an advance.</p> answering member printed Baroness Buscombe question first answered 13/11/2017 14:57:43 answering member 3349 label Biography information for Baroness Buscombe
tabling member	2018 label Biography information for Lord Hylton

780320

registered interest
date	30/10/2017
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 Poverty
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have made an assessment of the Feeding Birkenhead project; if so, what lessons they have learnt about preventing destitution; and what steps they are taking to apply those lessons.
tabling member printed	Lord Hylton
uin	HL2684
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/11/2017 answer text <p>This Government is committed to protecting the most vulnerable by ensuring that the welfare system provides a strong safety-net for those who need it. That is why it continues to spend over £90 billion a year on welfare for people of working age. The decision on engagement with food banks and other local community initiatives will continue to remain at local discretion: where Jobcentre Plus is invited to work with a food bank provider and where there is local need.</p> answering member printed Baroness Buscombe question first answered 06/11/2017 17:07:57 answering member 3349 label Biography information for Baroness Buscombe
tabling member	2018 label Biography information for Lord Hylton

773554

registered interest
date	19/10/2017
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	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether, in the light of increases in the number of rough sleepers and people placed in temporary accommodation, they plan to assess the impact of reforms to the welfare system on homelessness, and, in addition, the effect of such reforms on the extent of food and fuel poverty.
tabling member printed	Lord Hylton
uin	HL2269
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 31/10/2017 answer text <p>The causes of homelessness are numerous and complex. There is currently no clear evidence of the impact of welfare reform amongst all of the other potential causes of homelessness; homelessness reflects a combination of individual, local and national factors. The Department for Work and Pensions will continue to work with the Department for Communities and Local Government to improve our understanding of local housing markets and welfare reform, helping us evaluate fully the causes of homelessness. <br></p><p>The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has just commenced a review of the UK Food Security Assessment – a comprehensive analysis of all aspects of food security, including household food security.</p><p> </p><p>Fuel poverty occurs when households have a combination of higher than average energy costs and lower than average incomes. The Department for Work and Pensions and Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy are working together to understand issues relating to welfare reform and energy costs. <br></p> answering member printed Baroness Buscombe question first answered 31/10/2017 12:46:01 answering member 3349 label Biography information for Baroness Buscombe
tabling member	2018 label Biography information for Lord Hylton

767314

registered interest
date	09/10/2017
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	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the request from the Chartered Institution of Housing to delay the further rolling out of Universal Credit until existing payment delays and other problems have been resolved.
tabling member printed	Lord Hylton
uin	HL1732
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/10/2017 answer text <p>We have no plans to slow down the rollout of Universal Credit. It is already delivering improvements to people’s lives. Under Universal Credit, people are moving into work faster and staying in work longer than under the old system. It would be wrong to deny people these benefits by delaying the rollout of Universal Credit.</p><p><strong> </strong></p> answering member printed Baroness Buscombe question first answered 23/10/2017 11:46:19 answering member 3349 label Biography information for Baroness Buscombe
tabling member	2018 label Biography information for Lord Hylton

540437

registered interest
date	19/07/2016
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	Jobcentre Plus: Training
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they plan to ensure that Jobcentre staff and Jobcentre Plus advisers understand fully, and respond effectively to, mental health problems.
tabling member printed	Lord Hylton
uin	HL1317
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/07/2016 answer text <p>The Department for Work and Pensions supports its staff in developing the skills required to identify and effectively support claimants with mental health conditions. A number of learning products such as ‘Introduction to Working with People with a Mental Health Condition’ and ‘Supporting Customers with a Vulnerability’ have been specifically developed to build capability for Jobcentre staff. Jobcentre staff also promote “Disability Confident” which is an initiative that includes working with employers to show that employing disabled people, including those with mental health conditions, is good for the individual, business and society.</p> answering member printed Lord Freud question first answered 28/07/2016 14:02:10 answering member 3893 label Biography information for Lord Freud
tabling member	2018 label Biography information for Lord Hylton

540438

registered interest
date	19/07/2016
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	Welfare Assistance Schemes
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much of England is covered by Local Welfare Assistance Schemes; and what assessment they have made of whether those schemes have the necessary resources to make known the emergency financial support that is available to benefit claimants suffering from delays or other problems connected with Universal Credit.
tabling member printed	Lord Hylton
uin	HL1318
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/08/2016 answer text <p>From April 2013, non-ring fenced funding was passed to local authorities in England and to the devolved administrations in Scotland and Wales, who all now administer Welfare Assistance Schemes on a devolved and localised basis. How those local authorities administer this support is for them to decide and outside of my Department’s remit.</p><p> </p><p>In 2014 the Department undertook a review of this change and confirmed that local authorities were delivering targeted support more effectively than was the case with the previous provision under the Social Fund. This confirmed the Government’s wider view that local authorities are best placed to deliver help and support at a local level, ensuring effective provision for those who need it most, and coherent links with wider social care.</p><p> </p><p>Further support is available from Universal Credit and Universal Support for claimants who are in financial difficulty or who are awaiting a Universal Credit payment. This includes advance payments, Alternative Payment Arrangements (more frequent payments, split payments within a household and the payment of rent direct to landlords) and Personal Budgeting support.</p> answering member printed Lord Freud question first answered 02/08/2016 13:16:55 answering member 3893 label Biography information for Lord Freud
tabling member	2018 label Biography information for Lord Hylton

540439

registered interest
date	19/07/2016
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: Disqualification
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress they are making in reforming benefit sanctions and in preventing hardship to children and other dependent family members.
tabling member printed	Lord Hylton
uin	HL1319
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/07/2016 answer text <p>We keep the operation of the sanctions processes under constant review to ensure they continue to function effectively and fairly, to promote positive behaviours. Where we identify an issue, we act to put it right.</p><p>Following the recommendations from the Oakley Review and the subsequent report ‘Benefit sanctions policy beyond the Oakley Review’ by the Work and Pensions Select Committee, we have made a number of improvements to the Jobseekers’ Allowance (JSA) and Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) sanction systems, particularly around communications to claimants and safeguarding measures for those who maybe vulnerable.</p><p>We are now focussing our efforts on continuing with the current improvements in JSA and ESA, to ensure that all the agreed recommendations and improvements can continue to be delivered in Universal Credit.</p><p>We also have a well-established system of hardship payments, available as a safeguard if a claimant demonstrates that they cannot meet their immediate and most essential needs, including accommodation, heating, food and hygiene, as a result of their sanction.</p> answering member printed Lord Freud question first answered 28/07/2016 14:09:59 answering member 3893 label Biography information for Lord Freud
tabling member	2018 label Biography information for Lord Hylton

426910

registered interest
date	09/11/2015
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 Poverty and Fuel Poverty
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they are consulting (1) Barnardos, (2) Save the Children, (3) Oxfam, (4) Citizens UK, (5) the Trussell Trust, (6) Magic Breakfast, (7) FareShare, (8) FoodCycle, (9) Baby Basics, (10) The Children’s Society, and (11) any other organisations, about food and fuel poverty and the relationship between benefit sanctions and food and fuel poverty; and if not, why not.
tabling member printed	Lord Hylton
uin	HL3397
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/11/2015 answer text <p>The Department for Work and Pensions constantly engages with a wide range of stakeholders, interested parties and other organisations across a wide range of issues that affect those receiving benefits.</p><br /><p>The All-Party Parliamentary Inquiry into Hunger, and the Church report ‘Time to rethink benefit sanctions’, amongst others, all recognise that the reasons that people use food banks are complex and overlapping. There is no robust evidence that links sanctions and food bank use.</p> answering member printed Lord Freud question first answered 23/11/2015 15:08:08 answering member 3893 label Biography information for Lord Freud
tabling member	2018 label Biography information for Lord Hylton

417031

registered interest
date	07/09/2015
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: Disqualification
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government under what circumstances, if any, they impose benefit sanctions on persons lacking literacy, numeracy and computer skills, or those with language, communication or mental health problems; and if sanctions are imposed on such groups whether they plan to discontinue them.
tabling member printed	Lord Hylton
uin	HL1951
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/09/2015 answer text <p /> <p>The decision to temporarily halt a jobseeker’s benefit payment is always thoroughly considered and is not something we do lightly.</p><p> </p><p>It is a consequence of a jobseeker not meeting the conditions attached to receiving their benefits without good reason.</p><p> </p><p>Jobseekers are only ever asked to meet reasonable requirements, taking into account their circumstances and capability. The requirements and consequences are clearly communicated with them throughout their claim and set out in their Claimant Commitment.</p><p> </p><p>The vast majority of jobseekers fulfil their requirements and do not receive a sanction.</p> answering member printed Lord Freud question first answered 15/09/2015 15:01:53 answering member 3893 label Biography information for Lord Freud
tabling member	2018 label Biography information for Lord Hylton

417032

registered interest
date	07/09/2015
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: Disqualification
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration, if any, they have given to imposing community service, instead of benefit sanctions, on benefits claimants who wilfully fail to comply with the rules.
tabling member printed	Lord Hylton
uin	HL1952
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/09/2015 answer text <p /> <p>I refer the noble Lord to the answer I gave on 13 July 2015 to Question UIN HL1119 when I wrote, “there are no current plans to replace benefit sanctions with community service.”</p> answering member printed Lord Freud question first answered 15/09/2015 11:24:09 answering member 3893 label Biography information for Lord Freud
tabling member	2018 label Biography information for Lord Hylton