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1173507

registered interest
date	27/01/2020
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	Disability: Children
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 increase the financial support parents receive for raising children with disabilities.
tabling member constituency	Congleton
tabling member printed	Fiona Bruce
uin	8219
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/01/2020 answer text <p>Child Disability Living Allowance (DLA) is a benefit for children under the age of 16 who, due to a disability or health condition, have mobility issues and/or require substantially more care, attention and supervision than children their age normally would. Parents of disabled children may be also able to claim Carer’s Allowance.</p><p>The government is committed to protecting and supporting the most vulnerable in society. It is for that reason the government has continued to uprate disability and carer benefits by inflation, including the disability elements of tax credits.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 30/01/2020 11:16:22 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	3958 label Biography information for Fiona Bruce

1173513

registered interest
date	27/01/2020
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, whether claimants in receipt of transitional protection following their migration to universal credit will continue to receive that protection after an involuntary change in their employer under the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations.
tabling member constituency	East Ham
tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
uin	8135
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/02/2020 answer text <p>Claimants in receipt of transitional protection following managed migration to Universal Credit, who change employers, will continue to be eligible for transitional protection provided that they remain in work and continue to earn above the Administrative Earnings Threshold.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 04/02/2020 17:24:37 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

1173544

registered interest
date	27/01/2020
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	Child Benefit
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 effect of the two child benefit limit on the income of single parents.
tabling member constituency	Houghton and Sunderland South
tabling member printed	Bridget Phillipson
uin	8250
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/01/2020 answer text <p>DWP and HMRC produce a joint report with statistics related to the policy to provide support for a maximum of two children, the latest of which was published in July 2019 and can be found online at:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/child-tax-credit-and-universal-credit-claimants-statistics-related-to-the-policy-to-provide-support-for-a-maximum-of-2-children-april-2019" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/child-tax-credit-and-universal-credit-claimants-statistics-related-to-the-policy-to-provide-support-for-a-maximum-of-2-children-april-2019</a></p><p> </p><p>Providing support for a maximum of two children, or qualifying young persons in Universal Credit and Child Tax Credit, ensures fairness between claimants and those taxpayers who support themselves solely through work.</p><p> </p><p>We recognise that some claimants are not able to make the same choices about the number of children in their family, which is why exceptions have been put in place to protect certain groups. On migration to Universal Credit, families’ existing entitlement will be protected.</p><p><strong> </strong></p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 30/01/2020 12:17:07 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	4046 label Biography information for Bridget Phillipson

1173555

registered interest
date	27/01/2020
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	Poverty: Children
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many children lived in (a) poverty and (b) extreme poverty in (i) the North West, (ii) Merseyside and (iii) Wallasey in each of the last 10 years.
tabling member constituency	Wallasey
tabling member printed	Ms Angela Eagle
uin	8151
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/01/2020 answer text <p>The tables below provide estimates of the number of children in the North West living in households where equivalised income is a) below 60% of median income and b) below 50% of median income. Information is only available for regions on an average of three financial years as the sample sizes in the survey used to collect income data are not large enough to provide robust single year estimates. Estimates for geographical areas that are smaller than regions are not possible due to sample sizes so it is not possible to provide estimates for Merseyside and Wallasey.</p><p> </p><p>Relative low income sets a threshold as a proportion of the UK average (median) income and moves as average income changes over time. Absolute low income takes the 60 per cent of median income threshold from 2010/11 and moves this in line with inflation. This is designed to assess how low incomes are faring with reference to inflation.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Number (millions) of children living in households with equivalised income below 60% of median income in the North West</strong></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>3 year average</p></td><td><p>Relative Low Income (Before Housing Costs)</p></td><td><p>Relative Low Income (After Housing Costs)</p></td><td><p>Absolute Low Income (Before Housing Costs)</p></td><td><p>Absolute Low Income (After Housing Costs)</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015/16 to 2017/18</p></td><td><p>0.4</p></td><td><p>0.5</p></td><td><p>0.3</p></td><td><p>0.4</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014/15 to 2016/17</p></td><td><p>0.4</p></td><td><p>0.5</p></td><td><p>0.3</p></td><td><p>0.4</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2013/14 to 2015/16</p></td><td><p>0.3</p></td><td><p>0.5</p></td><td><p>0.3</p></td><td><p>0.4</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012/13 to 2014/15</p></td><td><p>0.3</p></td><td><p>0.4</p></td><td><p>0.3</p></td><td><p>0.4</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2011/12 to 2013/14</p></td><td><p>0.3</p></td><td><p>0.4</p></td><td><p>0.3</p></td><td><p>0.5</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2010/11 to 2012/13</p></td><td><p>0.3</p></td><td><p>0.4</p></td><td><p>0.3</p></td><td><p>0.5</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2009/10 to 2011/12</p></td><td><p>0.3</p></td><td><p>0.5</p></td><td><p>0.3</p></td><td><p>0.5</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2008/09 to 2010/11</p></td><td><p>0.3</p></td><td><p>0.5</p></td><td><p>0.3</p></td><td><p>0.5</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2007/08 to 2009/10</p></td><td><p>0.4</p></td><td><p>0.5</p></td><td><p>0.4</p></td><td><p>0.5</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2006/07 to 2008/09</p></td><td><p>0.4</p></td><td><p>0.5</p></td><td><p>0.4</p></td><td><p>0.5</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p><p><strong>Number (millions) of children living in households with equivalised income below 50% of median income in the North West</strong></p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>3 year average</p></td><td><p>Relative Low Income (Before Housing Costs)</p></td><td><p>Relative Low Income (After Housing Costs)</p></td><td><p>Absolute Low Income (Before Housing Costs)</p></td><td><p>Absolute Low Income (After Housing Costs)</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015/16 to 2017/18</p></td><td><p>0.2</p></td><td><p>0.3</p></td><td><p>0.2</p></td><td><p>0.3</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014/15 to 2016/17</p></td><td><p>0.2</p></td><td><p>0.3</p></td><td><p>0.2</p></td><td><p>0.3</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2013/14 to 2015/16</p></td><td><p>0.1</p></td><td><p>0.3</p></td><td><p>0.2</p></td><td><p>0.3</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012/13 to 2014/15</p></td><td><p>0.2</p></td><td><p>0.3</p></td><td><p>0.2</p></td><td><p>0.3</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2011/12 to 2013/14</p></td><td><p>0.2</p></td><td><p>0.3</p></td><td><p>0.2</p></td><td><p>0.3</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2010/11 to 2012/13</p></td><td><p>0.2</p></td><td><p>0.3</p></td><td><p>0.2</p></td><td><p>0.3</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2009/10 to 2011/12</p></td><td><p>0.2</p></td><td><p>0.3</p></td><td><p>0.2</p></td><td><p>0.3</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2008/09 to 2010/11</p></td><td><p>0.2</p></td><td><p>0.3</p></td><td><p>0.2</p></td><td><p>0.3</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2007/08 to 2009/10</p></td><td><p>0.2</p></td><td><p>0.3</p></td><td><p>0.2</p></td><td><p>0.3</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2006/07 to 2008/09</p></td><td><p>0.2</p></td><td><p>0.3</p></td><td><p>0.2</p></td><td><p>0.3</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Numbers are rounded to the nearest 0.1million children</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 30/01/2020 18:07:27 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	491 label Biography information for Dame Angela Eagle

1173556

registered interest
date	27/01/2020
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	Food Poverty: Wallasey
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 plans to take to tackle food poverty in Wallasey.
tabling member constituency	Wallasey
tabling member printed	Ms Angela Eagle
uin	8152
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/01/2020 answer text <p>The government is committed to delivering a sustainable long-term solution to poverty in all its forms and in all parts of the UK by building a strong economy and ensuring that the benefit system works with the tax system and the labour market to support employment and higher pay.</p><p>The evidence shows that full time work substantially reduces the risk of being in poverty. Universal Credit is designed to help people move into work faster, stay in work longer and spend more time looking to increase their earnings, provides more financial help with childcare costs and removes the 16-hour ‘cliff edge<strong>’</strong> for those who are working. To help families keep more of what they earn we have delivered another rise in the National Living Wage, increasing a full-time worker’s annual pay by over £2,750 since its introduction, and by nearly £3,700 with the recently announced rise from this April, with our tax changes making basic rate tax payers over £1,200 better off from April 2019, compared with 2010.</p><p>In order to develop a better understanding of the drivers of food insecurity and identify which groups are most at risk we have introduced a new set of food security questions in the Family Resources Survey questionnaire from April 2019 onwards. This will enable us in the future to monitor the prevalence and severity of household food insecurity across the UK and for specific groups.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 30/01/2020 15:53:05 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	491 label Biography information for Dame Angela Eagle

1173662

registered interest
date	27/01/2020
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 additional financial support her Department provides to vulnerable people who claim universal credit.
tabling member constituency	Hendon
tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
uin	8248
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/02/2020 answer text <p>Millions of people who move onto Universal Credit from legacy benefits are better off, including around a million disabled households who will gain on average around £100 per month.</p><p> </p><p>The Department takes seriously the need to support vulnerable claimants, and wants the application process for Universal Credit to be as quick and easy as possible, ensuring that claimants receive money at the earliest opportunity.</p><p> </p><p>Citizens Advice and Citizens Advice Scotland have supported over 180,000 individuals through the ‘Help to Claim’ provision since April 2019, offering tailored and practical support to help people make a Universal Credit claim up to receiving their first full correct payment on time. ‘Help to Claim’ is available online, on the phone and face-to-face in multiple locations including Jobcentres and Citizen’s Advice Bureaux.</p><p> </p><p>We have listened to feedback on how we can improve Universal Credit to support our claimants and acted quickly, making improvements such as extending advances, removing waiting days, and introducing housing benefit run on. These changes are giving support to those who need it most, whilst at the same time helping people get into work faster</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince grouped question UIN 10362 question first answered 04/02/2020 17:50:31 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord

1173675

registered interest
date	27/01/2020
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 assessment her Department has made of the effect of the five-week wait for a first payment of universal credit on levels of poverty.
tabling member constituency	Airdrie and Shotts
tabling member printed	Neil Gray
uin	8322
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/01/2020 answer text <p>No one has to wait five weeks for their first payment of Universal Credit. New claim advances are available to support those in financial need until their first payment is made. The Department has learnt from where we did not get things right in the past in the legacy benefit system. Too often, the desire to pay quickly meant claimants not receiving their correct entitlement as we did not have an appropriate timeframe to review household circumstances.</p><p> </p><p>Claimants can access up to 100% of the total expected monthly award, which they can pay back over a period of up to 12 months. We have announced that from October 2021, the repayment period for these advances will be extended further, to 16 months. Proposed repayments of the advance are explained, and all claimants are advised to request a level of advance which is manageable both now and when considering the repayments required.</p><p> </p><p>The best way to help people improve their lives is through employment. Households where all adults are in work are around 6 times less likely to be in relative poverty than adults in a household where nobody works. This improves further if all the adults are working full time, reducing a child’s risk of being in poverty from 66% for (two-parent) families with only part-time work to 7%. Universal Credit allows households the freedom from the ‘cliff edges’ which featured in the legacy benefits system, where money was lost when working more than 16, 24 or 30 hours.</p><p> </p><p>There are many reasons people use foodbanks and their growth cannot be linked to a single cause. We have listened to feedback on how we can support our Universal Credit claimants and acted quickly, making improvements such as removing waiting days and introducing housing benefit run on. These changes are giving support to vulnerable people who need it most, whilst at the same time helping people get into work faster.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince grouped question UIN 8327 8329 question first answered 30/01/2020 12:24:46 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	4365 label Biography information for Neil Gray

1173676

registered interest
date	27/01/2020
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	Homelessness: 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 assessment her Department has made of the effect of the five-week wait for a first payment of universal credit on levels of homelessness.
tabling member constituency	Airdrie and Shotts
tabling member printed	Neil Gray
uin	8323
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/01/2020 answer text <p>No one has to wait five weeks for their first payment of Universal Credit. New claim advances are available to support those in financial need until their first payment is made. The Department has learnt from where we did not get things right in the past in the legacy benefit system. Too often, the desire to pay quickly meant claimants not receiving their correct entitlement as we did not have an appropriate timeframe to review household circumstances.</p><p> </p><p>Claimants can access up to 100% of the total expected monthly award, which they can pay back over a period of up to 12 months. We have announced that from October 2021, the repayment period for these advances will be extended further, to 16 months. Proposed repayments of the advance are explained, and all claimants are advised to request a level of advance which is manageable both now and when considering the repayments required.</p><p> </p><p>Our Work Coaches gauge claimants’ financial needs from their first interview. For those who need help with budgeting, we are able to signpost additional support, for example through the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS), who can help with personal budgeting and money management through its free helpline, printed guides and digital guidance.</p><p> </p><p>Alternative Payment Arrangements (APAs), such as a managed payment to landlord (MPTL), are available to enable the housing costs element to be paid directly to the landlord if the tenant is likely to have difficulty in managing their rent payments or is in rent arrears. APAs will only be considered where a lack of financial capability poses a risk to the claimant, or their family, and the decision to implement one is assessed on a case by case basis.</p><p> </p><p>Our own analysis shows that Universal Credit in fact reduces rent arrears, supporting research carried out by the National Federation of ALMOs which shows over three quarters of their tenants come onto Universal Credit with pre-existing rent arrears. It also shows that arrears tend to increase prior to making a claim for Universal Credit, and that Universal Credit actually appears to be helping to clear arrears over time. We are currently extending this analysis to include a number of housing providers. It will be published when completed.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince grouped question UIN 8324 8328 question first answered 30/01/2020 12:07:27 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	4365 label Biography information for Neil Gray

1173677

registered interest
date	27/01/2020
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: Debts
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the effect of the five-week wait for a first payment of universal credit on levels of indebtedness.
tabling member constituency	Airdrie and Shotts
tabling member printed	Neil Gray
uin	8324
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/01/2020 answer text <p>No one has to wait five weeks for their first payment of Universal Credit. New claim advances are available to support those in financial need until their first payment is made. The Department has learnt from where we did not get things right in the past in the legacy benefit system. Too often, the desire to pay quickly meant claimants not receiving their correct entitlement as we did not have an appropriate timeframe to review household circumstances.</p><p> </p><p>Claimants can access up to 100% of the total expected monthly award, which they can pay back over a period of up to 12 months. We have announced that from October 2021, the repayment period for these advances will be extended further, to 16 months. Proposed repayments of the advance are explained, and all claimants are advised to request a level of advance which is manageable both now and when considering the repayments required.</p><p> </p><p>Our Work Coaches gauge claimants’ financial needs from their first interview. For those who need help with budgeting, we are able to signpost additional support, for example through the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS), who can help with personal budgeting and money management through its free helpline, printed guides and digital guidance.</p><p> </p><p>Alternative Payment Arrangements (APAs), such as a managed payment to landlord (MPTL), are available to enable the housing costs element to be paid directly to the landlord if the tenant is likely to have difficulty in managing their rent payments or is in rent arrears. APAs will only be considered where a lack of financial capability poses a risk to the claimant, or their family, and the decision to implement one is assessed on a case by case basis.</p><p> </p><p>Our own analysis shows that Universal Credit in fact reduces rent arrears, supporting research carried out by the National Federation of ALMOs which shows over three quarters of their tenants come onto Universal Credit with pre-existing rent arrears. It also shows that arrears tend to increase prior to making a claim for Universal Credit, and that Universal Credit actually appears to be helping to clear arrears over time. We are currently extending this analysis to include a number of housing providers. It will be published when completed.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince grouped question UIN 8323 8328 question first answered 30/01/2020 12:07:27 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	4365 label Biography information for Neil Gray

1173678

registered interest
date	27/01/2020
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 assessment her Department has made of the effect of the five-week wait for a first payment of universal credit on the mental health of applicants.
tabling member constituency	Airdrie and Shotts
tabling member printed	Neil Gray
uin	8325
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/01/2020 answer text <p>No one has to wait five weeks for their first payment of Universal Credit. New claim advances are available to support those in financial need until their first payment is made. The Department has learnt from where we did not get things right in the past in the legacy benefit system. Too often, the desire to pay quickly meant claimants not receiving their correct entitlement as we did not have an appropriate timeframe to review household circumstances. Universal Credit is calculated to reflect the claimant’s circumstances at the end of their monthly assessment period to accurately reflect circumstances at the point of payment.</p><p> </p><p>Claimants can access up to 100% of the total expected monthly award, which they can pay back over a period of up to 12 months. We have announced that from October 2021, the repayment period for these advances will be extended further, to 16 months. Proposed repayments of the advance are explained, and all claimants are advised to request a level of advance which is manageable both now and when considering the repayments required.</p><p> </p><p>Universal Credit is simpler and fairer than the legacy benefit system. It is designed to target resources at those that need them most and to provide support for people who can’t work or need help moving towards the labour market. Our work coaches all undertake a robust learning process which includes a focus on health conditions and disabilities, how to tailor service delivery according to needs, and has specific content on requirement setting for people with mental health conditions.</p><p> </p><p>Our Work Coaches gauge claimants’ financial needs from their first interview. For those who need help with budgeting, we are able to signpost additional support, for example through the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS), who can help with personal budgeting and money management through its free helpline, printed guides and digital guidance.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince grouped question UIN 8326 question first answered 30/01/2020 16:02:57 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	4365 label Biography information for Neil Gray