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1140519

registered interest
date	19/07/2019
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 assessment her Department has made of the implications for her Department's policies of the statement in the press release by Save the Children on 3 July 2019, that 30,000 families on universal credit face paying up to £800 in childcare costs this summer.
tabling member constituency	Liverpool, West Derby
tabling member printed	Stephen Twigg
uin	279359
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/07/2019 answer text <p>The Department listens to a range of stakeholders and considers recommendations, such as those from Save the Children’s recent report, that may improve support for our claimants. We have already improved Universal Credit’s (UC) childcare support; for example, our Work Coaches are already providing increased support through the Flexible Support Fund to help eligible claimants who need help with paying upfront childcare costs, as well as allowing greater flexibility in when claimants can report their childcare costs.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>As UC is paid as a single monthly amount directly into people’s bank accounts, it helps families have control over their own budget and making the move into work easier. However, we recognise that childcare costs can affect parents’ decisions to both obtain and maintain employment and we are committed to removing barriers that prevent parents moving into work.</p><p> </p><p>Claimants are able to claim up to 85% of their childcare costs on UC, compared to 70% on the legacy system. This can be worth up to £13,000 a year for families with two children. The UC childcare policy aligns with the wider government childcare offer, which includes free childcare hours and tax free childcare and, during 2019/20, a record amount of £6 billion is being spent on childcare support overall. This offer means that reasonable childcare costs should not form a barrier to work.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>We are aware of the difficulty that some claimants might have in paying childcare costs over the summer holidays and our work coaches are able to discuss this with them and explain and promote both the UC childcare offer and the wider government childcare offer. In addition to this, budgeting advances are available for eligible claimants that can be used to cover the cost of paying additional upfront childcare cost or a deposit that might be needed during the school holidays.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 23/07/2019 11:10:11 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	167 label Biography information for Stephen Twigg

1140534

registered interest
date	19/07/2019
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, if she will make it her policy to extend the eligibility for budgeting loans to all families in receipt of universal credit.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne North
tabling member printed	Catherine McKinnell
uin	279419
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/09/2019 answer text <p>This Government is committed to providing a strong safety-net for those who need it and continues to spend over ￡95 billion a year on working age welfare benefits. This includes a well-established system of hardship payments, benefit advances and budgeting loans for those who need extra support. The Government also provides a range of additional financial support to families and this includes free school meals, Healthy Start vouchers and help with health costs.</p><p>Budgeting Advances have replaced Budgeting Loans for those in receipt of Universal Credit helping to provide additional assistance for emergency household costs, such as replacing a broken cooker, getting a job or staying in work or funeral costs. Eligibility for a Budgeting Advance is explained on GOV.UK and can be accessed at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/universal-credit/other-financial-support" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/universal-credit/other-financial-support</a></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 02/09/2019 14:24:22 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	4125 label Biography information for Catherine McKinnell

1140598

registered interest
date	19/07/2019
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, when she plans to start the universal credit managed migration pilot.
tabling member constituency	Newport East
tabling member printed	Jessica Morden
uin	279396
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/09/2019 answer text <p>The Department commenced the Move to Universal Credit pilot in the area served by Harrogate Jobcentre on 24 July 2019. Following the pilot, we will report back to Parliament on our progress and findings, and at that point, will determine the process for bringing forward further legislation to move claimants beyond the pilot phase.</p><p> </p><p>The regulations also allowed for people potentially eligible for Severe Disability Premium transitional awards to start receiving payments. Statistics published on 2 September 2019 show over 6,300 claims worth over £16 million have been paid.</p><p> </p><p>The Secretary of State delivered an Oral Statement to the House on 22 July 2019 to announce the commencement of the Universal Credit managed migration pilot (also known as the Move to Universal Credit pilot), which can be viewed here - <a href="https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2019-07-22/debates/8111667B-E194-41D6-9496-FE1E870225E6/UniversalCreditManagedMigration" target="_blank">https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2019-07-22/debates/8111667B-E194-41D6-9496-FE1E870225E6/UniversalCreditManagedMigration</a></p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 03/09/2019 15:41:34 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	1548 label Biography information for Jessica Morden

1140204

registered interest
date	18/07/2019
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, with reference to the May 2019 High Court judgment, when she plans to deliver transitional and ongoing payments for people who have lost the Severe Disability Premium since moving onto universal credit.
tabling member constituency	Newport East
tabling member printed	Jessica Morden
uin	278934
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/07/2019 answer text <p>The transitional payments provisions for claimants previously entitled to the severe disability premium contained in the Universal Credit (Managed Migration and Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2019 will come into force 24<sup>th</sup> July 2019. That means that we will be able to provide immediate support for these claimants who were entitled to the Severe Disability Premium on legacy benefits and who have already moved onto Universal Credit. These claimants will also be considered for backdated payments covering the time since they moved onto Universal Credit, as well as ongoing monthly payments that reflect any lost Severe Disability Premium. We will make these payments as quickly as possible.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 23/07/2019 16:58:45 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	1548 label Biography information for Jessica Morden

1139894

registered interest
date	17/07/2019
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, pursuant to the Answer of 15 July 2019 to Question 275662, what provision her Department makes for claimants who do not have access to the internet and are unable to check how their award is calculated and a breakdown of what deductions are being made.
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
uin	278343
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/09/2019 answer text <p>Our Universal Credit Claimant Survey, found that 98 per cent of claimants have internet access and did claim online, and the majority of those said they found the claim process overall to be straightforward. This can be accessed at:<a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/universal-credit-full-service-claimant-survey" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/universal-credit-full-service-claimant-survey</a></p><p>All Jobcentre Plus offices across the country have Wi-Fi and computers available for claimants to access the internet. For those that are still unable to access or use digital services, or are not able to travel, assistance to make and maintain their claim is available via the Freephone Universal Credit helpline. In exceptional circumstances, a home visit can be arranged to support a claimant in making and maintaining their claim.</p><p>The Work Coach or Case Manager supporting the claimant can inform them of how their award is calculated and the breakdown of their deductions and, where needed, can provide this in writing.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 02/09/2019 14:45:47 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

1139921

registered interest
date	17/07/2019
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 proportion of claimants of universal credit that have taken an advance payment have seen payments reduced by (a) up to 20 percent (b) between 21 and 30 per cent, (c) 31 to 40 per cent and (d) over 40 percent of the initial amount in each of the last three years.
tabling member constituency	Vale of Clwyd
tabling member printed	Chris Ruane
uin	278385
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/07/2019 answer text <p>Universal Credit (UC) new claim advances provide access to a payment for those in financial need, which can be accessed on the same day, until their first UC payment is due. Claimants can access up to 100% of the total expected monthly award, for which they can pay back over a period of up to 12 months.</p><p> </p><p>The Department has taken a number of steps to ensure that advances meet the needs of claimants and that recovery arrangements are personalised and reasonable. The maximum rate of deductions cannot normally exceed 40 per cent of the Universal Credit standard allowance and does not reduce other components of an award, such as money paid for children, housing or when someone is caring for a severely disabled person. From October 2019 this will be reduced to 30 per cent and from October 2021 we are increasing the maximum recovery period for advances from 12 to 16 months.</p><p> </p><p>However, the Government recognises the importance of safeguarding the welfare of claimants who have incurred debt, so last resort deductions can be applied to protect vulnerable claimants from eviction and/or having their fuel supply (gas/electricity) cut off, by providing a last resort repayment method for arrears of these essential services. In these cases, when it is considered to be in the best interests of the claimant and their family, deductions may be taken above the 40 per cent limit.</p><p> </p><p>If a claimant is in financial difficulty as a result of the level of deductions being made they can contact the Department to request that a reduction in deductions be considered.</p><p> </p><p>The latest available data for eligible claims to UC Full Service is provided in table 1:</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Table 1</p></td><td colspan="3"><p>Month Payment Due</p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p>Feb-17</p></td><td><p>Feb-18</p></td><td><p>Feb-19</p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p>%</p></td><td><p>%</p></td><td><p>%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>up to 20 percent of Standard Allowance</p></td><td><p>42%</p></td><td><p>49%</p></td><td><p>47%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>between 21 and 30 per cent of Standard Allowance</p></td><td><p>20%</p></td><td><p>19%</p></td><td><p>18%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>31 to 40 per cent of Standard Allowance</p></td><td><p>35%</p></td><td><p>31%</p></td><td><p>33%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>over 40 percent of Standard Allowance</p></td><td><p>3%</p></td><td><p>1%</p></td><td><p>2%</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p><p>Notes</p><p>1. The latest month for which data is available is February 2019.</p><p>2. When categorising claims into the groups above, the figures for the percentage of the Standard Allowance for individual claims have been rounded to the nearest percent.</p><p>3. Deductions include advance repayments and all other deductions, but exclude sanctions and fraud penalties which are reductions of benefit rather than deductions.</p><p>4. A claim can have more than one type of deduction applied to a given payment e.g. the total deduction could be the total of both an advance repayment and another deduction type.</p><p>5. Figures are for Universal Credit Full Service only; Universal Credit full service was fully rolled out by the end of 2018.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 22/07/2019 15:03:58 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
tabling member	534 label Biography information for Chris Ruane

1140016

registered interest
date	17/07/2019
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	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure that Universal Credit payments begin within a week of a person registering for that benefit.
tabling member printed	Lord Hylton
uin	HL17251
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/09/2019 answer text <p>Universal Credit payments are available on the first day of a claim in the form of an advance payment of benefit. Advances of up to 100 per cent of a claimant’s expected Universal Credit award are available from day one of their claim, if required. Advances are paid back over a maximum of 12 months and in the Autumn Budget 2018, we announced that from October 2021, the payback period for these advances will be extended further, to 16 months.</p><p> </p><p>This is just one of a number of measures the Department has put in place to support claimants during their first assessment period, such as removing waiting days and paying those claimants moving from Housing Benefit onto Universal Credit a two week ‘transitional housing payment’. We are also introducing a two-week run on for eligible claimants of Income Support, Jobseeker’s Allowance and Employment and Support Allowance from July 2020.</p> answering member printed Baroness Stedman-Scott question first answered 02/09/2019 15:49:10 answering member 4174 label Biography information for Baroness Stedman-Scott
tabling member	2018 label Biography information for Lord Hylton

1138864

registered interest
date	15/07/2019
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 assessment he has made of the potential benefits of enabling childcare costs to be paid directly to providers through universal credit.
tabling member constituency	Hampstead and Kilburn
tabling member printed	Tulip Siddiq
uin	277240
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/07/2019 answer text <p>The Government recently submitted its response to the Work and Pensions Select Committee’s follow-up report into Universal Credit: Childcare which sets out an assessment of the position in relation to payments direct to childcare providers. The response will be published in due course.</p><p> </p><p>Universal Credit is paid in a single monthly amount directly into people’s bank accounts, giving them control over their own money and making the move into work easier.</p><p> </p><p>The Government is committed to supporting parents with moving into work and, as part of this, we have increased the level of support for childcare costs from 70 per cent in legacy benefits to up to 85 per cent in Universal Credit. The Universal Credit childcare policy aligns with the wider government childcare offer, which includes free childcare hours and tax free childcare. This offer means that reasonable childcare costs should not form a barrier to work.</p><p> </p><p>Where upfront childcare costs or deposits may prevent a claimant from starting work, jobcentres will use the Flexible Support Fund to support the transition into work. When parents have good reason for late reporting of their childcare costs, the Department is piloting a more flexible approach to enable parents to be reimbursed at a later point.</p><p> </p><p>Since February 2018, Universal Credit claimants have been able to upload digital copies of their childcare cost receipts or invoices through their online Universal Credit account.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 18/07/2019 15:39:49 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	4518 label Biography information for Tulip Siddiq

1138133

registered interest
date	10/07/2019
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 people have people on universal credit who have turned down a job offer in the last 12 months have cited lack of affordable childcare as the reason; and how many of those people received (a) a civil penalty and (b) a sanction.
tabling member constituency	High Peak
tabling member printed	Ruth George
uin	275817
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/07/2019 answer text <p>On Universal Credit, claimants are able to claim up to 85 per cent of their childcare costs, compared to 70 per cent on the legacy system. Where the initial month’s childcare costs may prevent a claimant from starting work, Jobcentres can use the Flexible Support Fund to help claimants. This is a non-repayable award, which can be used to meet the upfront costs of childcare to help support a claimant into work.</p><p> </p><p>Civil Penalties may be imposed by both DWP and Local Authorities, where an individual incurs a recoverable overpayment as a result of failing to provide accurate information as part of their benefit claim or in connection with an award of benefit, and have not taken reasonable steps to correct the error. Civil Penalties are not imposed in the event of a claimant refusing to accept a job offer.</p><p> </p><p>The information request about those receiving a sanction is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 15/07/2019 15:15:03 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
tabling member	4662 label Biography information for Ruth George

1138168

registered interest
date	10/07/2019
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, pursuant to the Answer of 18 June 2019 to Question 263677, for what reason the letter sent to a universal credit claimant’s journal to confirm an advance payment does not specify the (a) amount to be repaid each month or (b) number of months that the repayments will last; and if he will add that information to that letter.
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
uin	275662
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/07/2019 answer text <p>The Department encourages all Universal Credit claimants to actively consider how best to manage their personal budget, with additional advice and support available from work coaches and case managers. When an advance payment is appropriate, claimants decide what percentage of their expected monthly award to apply for and over what period to repay it, up to a maximum of 12 monthly instalments.</p><p>Claimants have the ability to make the decision for themselves on the time period for repayment. Most claimants (around 85%) choose to repay their advance over a 12-month period, with others repaying in a shorter timeframe.</p><p>The Department has taken a number of steps to ensure that advances meet the needs of claimants and that recovery arrangements are personalised and reasonable. From October 2019 we are reducing the maximum rate of deductions to 30 per cent and from October 2021 we are increasing the maximum recovery period for advances from 12 to 16 months.</p><p>Claimants can view their Universal Credit statement online to see how their award is calculated and a breakdown of what deductions are being made.</p><p>We are committed to keeping all Universal Credit services and processes, under review and will make improvements where necessary.</p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 15/07/2019 15:51:24 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe