Universal Credit, which is replacing six legacy benefits, provides a single earnings taper rate to ensure claimants are better off working and working more. DWP\u2019s recently published Universal Credit Full Service Survey found an increase in earnings for those in work and on Universal Credit by an average of £600 per year. Additionally, our Universal Credit employment impact analysis (published in September 2017) found that people on Universal Credit are four percentage points more likely to have been in work than JSA claimants<\/p>
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At Autumn Budget 2018, we recently announced a £1000 increase in work allowances from April 2019, which will provide a £630 boost for households with children, and for people with disabilities.<\/p>
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To support the transition to Universal Credit for all self-employed people, the Autumn Budget also announced we will be extending the 12-month grace period (the period before the Minimum Income Floor applies) to all gainfully self-employed people, giving claimants time to grow their businesses.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4014", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Reading West"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Alok Sharma"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2018-11-23", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2018-11-23T14:59:20.057Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "29"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Work and Pensions"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Work and Pensions"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2018-11-15", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Unemployment"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what progress her Department is making on its policy to make work pay.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/1597", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for David Simpson"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Upper Bann"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "David Simpson"} ], "uin" : "191896"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1007887", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Work and Pensions"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1007887/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
Less than 2% of people receiving Universal Credit did not have a bank account at the point of first payment, as of April 2018, according to departmental data. Those who do not have a bank account can be paid through a Post Office Card Account, or alternatively payments can be made into someone else\u2019s bank account. Payments can also be made using the HM Government Payment Exception Service.<\/p>
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We do not collect data on the number of people who received help through Universal Support to open a bank account.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4014", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Reading West"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Alok Sharma"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2018-11-23", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2018-11-23T14:49:45.683Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "29"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Work and Pensions"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Work and Pensions"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2018-11-15", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Universal Credit"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of people making a claim for universal credit do not have a bank account in the most recent period for which figures are available; and how many of those people have received help through universal support to open a bank account.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/478", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Birkenhead"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Frank Field"} ], "uin" : "191872"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1007135", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Work and Pensions"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1007135/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) use the Labour Force Survey (LFS) to provide estimates for the number of people employed on zero hours\u2019 contracts.<\/p>
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The ONS figures for people in employment on zero hours\u2019 contracts broken down by age, do not go back to 2010 and are only currently available up to April-June 2018. Therefore no directly comparable figures to the youth unemployment statistics cited are available.<\/p>
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The majority of young people are not employed on zero hours\u2019 contracts. In 2018 (Apr-Jun) there were 261,000 16-24 year olds on a zero hours\u2019 contracts \u2013 representing only 6.9% of employed 16-24 year olds.<\/p>
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This is down from 299,000 young people (7.8% of employed young people) in 2017 (Apr-Jun), but a slight increase from the first comparable data available, which shows in 2014 (Apr-Jun) there were 235,000 young people on a zero hours\u2019 contract (or 6.3% of employed young people).<\/p>
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Many people in full-time education are employed on zero hours\u2019 contracts, in part because of the flexibility they provide. 18.5% of all people in 2018 (Apr-Jun) on zero hours\u2019 contracts were in full-time education \u2013 compared to 2.3% of people not on a zero hours\u2019 contract.<\/p>
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The ONS data shows that the majority of people on zero hours\u2019 contracts are happy with the hours provided by their zero hours\u2019 contract.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4014", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Reading West"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Alok Sharma"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2018-11-20", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "previousAnswerVersion" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1007135/answer/previousversion/85857", "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4014", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Reading West"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Alok Sharma"} } , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2018-11-20T16:24:01.813Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "29"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Work and Pensions"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Work and Pensions"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2018-11-14", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Zero Hours Contracts: Young People"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to her Department's press release entitled Youth unemployment down 50% since 2010, published on gov.uk on 16 October 2018, what proportion of recorded employment was under a zero-hours contract.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "true", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4243", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Dan Jarvis"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Barnsley Central"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Dan Jarvis"} ], "uin" : "191422"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1007159", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Work and Pensions"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1007159/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "