Asked by: Baroness Meacher (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to identify individuals who will need support in making Universal Credit claims; and what support they will provide to all claimants.
Answered by Baroness Buscombe
All claimants, including those who are vulnerable or with mental health conditions, receive continuous tailored support through their personal work coaches, and all DWP staff working with claimants complete extensive training that prepares them for their role. Specific training is provided for working with different vulnerable groups, with guidance to signpost claimants to relevant support, and these circumstances will be recorded on a claimant’s online account.
We take a number of steps to identify individuals who will need support in making a claim to Universal Credit. For example, we identify claimants either prior to or at the initial claim stage, to discuss what support mechanisms need to be in place to make a claim. This can be through discussions with their Work Coach, the Universal Credit helpline and/or through home visits.
For those individuals identified as requiring support, Universal Support provides advice and assistance to help claimants manage their Universal Credit claim, with a focus on budgeting advice and digital support. Since 2017, Universal Support has been delivered by individual local authorities, funded by grants from DWP.
From April 2019 Citizens Advice (England and Wales) and Citizens Advice Scotland will take on the responsibility for delivering a strengthened Universal Support service, a move which will ensure a consistent and streamlined service for claimants across the country. This new partnership will ensure vulnerable claimants get the support they need to make a claim and manage their money.
Asked by: Baroness Meacher (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to using order-making powers to give legal recognition to marriages officiated by Humanists UK, irrespective of any wider plans for wholesale marriage reform.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie
Amending the existing law on marriage to make provision for legally valid humanist ceremonies may involve a range of issues that the Government is carefully considering.
Asked by: Baroness Meacher (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to initiate a cross-departmental review of funeral poverty to make recommendations for reform.
Answered by Baroness Buscombe
Bereavement is a very distressing and difficult time. The Government is committed to working with local authorities, funeral directors and groups helping bereaved people to ensure that funeral services meet the needs of vulnerable people. It will continue to consider this issue in the context of discussions with these organisations.
Asked by: Baroness Meacher (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the Burials and Cremations (Scotland) Act 2016 as a possible basis for reform of the law of England and Wales.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie
The Scottish legislative framework, among a range of other evidence, is being taken into account in developing burial and cremation policy in England and Wales.
Asked by: Baroness Meacher (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to match the ten-day target for the administration of Social Fund Funeral Payments pledged by the Scottish Government; and, if not, what plans they have to enable bereaved families to bury their relatives in the absence of any estate from which to draw funds to cover funeral costs.
Answered by Baroness Buscombe
The Department has no plans to change its clearance standard of 15 working days for Funeral Expenses Payments. The Department provides Funeral Expenses Payments to people who are arranging a funeral and who are in receipt of a qualifying income-related benefit. They make a significant contribution towards the cost of arranging a funeral, and are paid as swiftly as possible when all the necessary evidence has been provided. In most cases, payments are made directly to the funeral director who arranged the funeral.
Asked by: Baroness Meacher (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the level of compliance with the School Admissions Code across all schools, especially in the light of the report by the Fair Admissions Campaign and the British Humanist Association, <i>An Unholy Mess</i>, that claimed a widespread failure to comply among religiously selective schools in England.
Answered by Lord Nash
The Department will be conducting a full public consultation in due course and will give careful consideration to all the views expressed in that consultation as part of the current review of the School Admissions Code. In addition, the Schools Adjudicator reports annually to the Secretary of State on fair access. The Department is therefore also taking account of the Adjudicator’s report for the 2014 -2015 school year.
Asked by: Baroness Meacher (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what percentage of objections submitted to the Office of the Schools Adjudicator by secularist campaign groups were upheld in the period from 2012 to 2015.
Answered by Lord Nash
Since 2012, 87% of all objections submitted to the Office of the Schools Adjudicator by secularist campaign groups were upheld or partially upheld. The Office of the Schools Adjudicator Annual Report contains data about the objections referred to the OSA and the outcome of those objections.
Asked by: Baroness Meacher (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of comments be the Chief Executive of Mumsnet stating that the Department for Education's proposal to prevent organisations from objecting to the admission arrangements of schools will "add to parental dissatisfaction".
Answered by Lord Nash
The Government’s proposed changes are designed to make sure that the Schools Adjudicator can concentrate on parental complaints. We want to ensure that the Adjudicator is able to focus on any concerns which parents may have about the fairness of the admission arrangements of their local school and that the Adjudicator is not held up by the need to consider objections referred by interest groups from outside the area.
The changes are still subject to a full public consultation and the Department will give careful consideration to all the views expressed in that consultation.
Asked by: Baroness Meacher (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of how many breaches of the School Admissions Code there have been as a consequence of groups and organisations being able to object to schools' admission arrangements.
Answered by Lord Nash
The Schools Adjudicator reports annually to the Secretary of State on fair access, and this report includes information on the objections referred to the Schools Adjudicator and the outcomes of those objections. The Department is carefully considering the findings contained in the report and will take these into account, along with other relevant information, as part of the current review of the School Admissions Code.
Asked by: Baroness Meacher (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact that preventing groups and organisations from objecting to school admissions arrangements will have on overall levels of compliance with the School Admissions Code.
Answered by Lord Nash
The Government’s proposed changes are intended to ensure that the Adjudicator is able to focus on any concerns which parents may have about the fairness of the admission arrangements of their local school, and that adjudications are not delayed by the need to consider large numbers of objections referred by interest groups from outside the area.
The Department does not believe that preventing other organisations from submitting objections will have a detrimental impact. The Government will be conducting a full public consultation in due course and will give careful consideration to all the views expressed in that consultation.