Asked by: Lord McNicol of West Kilbride (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how are the salaries of employees on Universal Credit who are paid twice within a month, in particular over the Christmas period, being treated for the purposes of benefits payments; and what steps are being taken to prevent such employees being disadvantaged.
Answered by Baroness Buscombe
Universal Credit payments reflect, as closely as possible, the actual circumstances of a household during each monthly assessment period. Assessment periods allow for Universal Credit awards to be adjusted on a monthly basis, ensuring that if a claimant’s income falls, they do not have to wait several months for a rise in their Universal Credit award.
Some claimants receive earnings from work multiple times within an assessment period if they are paid via four-weekly, fortnightly, or weekly patterns. This in turn may reduce, or in some cases, nil the Universal Credit award the claimant receives that month. Claimants can always discuss the implications of this with their case managers and work coaches and can be referred to Personal Budgeting Support to help them manage their budgeting.
If a claimant’s Universal Credit claim is closed due to this, claimants can re-claim the following month via a more simplified process than for an initial claim. We have produced guidance to help ensure claimants, staff and representatives are aware of the importance of reporting accurate dates and the impact on payment cycles, which is attached with this reply.
The Government is working with employers to ensure that they use the most appropriate payment practices and comply with RTI guidelines in order to minimise the incidence of erroneous or late reporting by employers. HMRC have recently updated guidance to reiterate to employers the importance of reporting accurate dates and the impact on payment cycles; the Financial Secretary to the Treasury is working closely with HMRC and employers to do this.
Asked by: Lord McNicol of West Kilbride (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether advance payments for Universal Credit are working.
Answered by Baroness Buscombe
Advances are available to all new claimants of Universal Credit. Our latest internal data shows around 60 percent of eligible new claims to Universal Credit received an advance in October 2018. Subject to some fluctuation, this rate of advance take up has been broadly consistent. This shows that claimants are being made aware of advances and that our advance system is being utilised so people get help when they need it.
Asked by: Lord McNicol of West Kilbride (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Statement by Baroness Fairhead on 26 October (HLWS1015), what steps they have taken to ensure a free and fair recruitment process for those announced as members of staff for the Trade Remedies Authority.
Answered by Baroness Fairhead
On 26 October 2018 my Rt Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Trade announced, in a Written Ministerial Statement to Parliament, that the Trade Remedies Authority (TRA) Chief Executive Designate had been recruited as a member of staff to the Department of International Trade (DIT). It was also announced that the Chief Economist, Chief Operating Officer, General Counsel and Joint Chief Investigators had also been recruited to DIT, with the intention that they be transferred to the TRA once it is legally established through Royal Assent of the Trade Bill, subject to the will of Parliament.
I can confirm that all of these members of staff were recruited through a standard Civil Service external recruitment process in accordance with the Civil Service Commission Recruitment Principles April 2018. These principles set out the rules and procedures which Government Departments must follow in order to ensure that appointments to the Civil Service are made on merit on the basis of fair and open competition. A Civil Service Commissioner chaired the recruitment competition for the TRA Chief Executive Designate and was responsible for, among other things, ensuring that the recruitment process followed these principles.
Asked by: Lord McNicol of West Kilbride (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Statement by Baroness Fairhead on 26 October (HLWS1015), what was the recruitment process of those announced as members of staff for the Trade Remedies Authority.
Answered by Baroness Fairhead
On 26 October 2018 my Rt Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Trade announced, in a Written Ministerial Statement to Parliament, that the Trade Remedies Authority (TRA) Chief Executive Designate had been recruited as a member of staff to the Department of International Trade (DIT). It was also announced that the Chief Economist, Chief Operating Officer, General Counsel and Joint Chief Investigators had also been recruited to DIT, with the intention that they be transferred to the TRA once it is legally established through Royal Assent of the Trade Bill, subject to the will of Parliament.
I can confirm that all of these members of staff were recruited through a standard Civil Service external recruitment process in accordance with the Civil Service Commission Recruitment Principles April 2018. These principles set out the rules and procedures which Government Departments must follow in order to ensure that appointments to the Civil Service are made on merit on the basis of fair and open competition. A Civil Service Commissioner chaired the recruitment competition for the TRA Chief Executive Designate and was responsible for, among other things, ensuring that the recruitment process followed these principles.
Asked by: Lord McNicol of West Kilbride (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to protect products that benefit from protected geographical or traditional status under EU legislation.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
The Government recognises the economic and cultural importance of UK geographical indications (GIs). We are working with the Devolved Administrations and stakeholders to develop new UK GI schemes for when we leave the EU.
We will use the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 to ensure that GI schemes are in place on day one of leaving the EU for wines, aromatised wines, spirit drinks, agricultural products and foodstuffs. This will provide UK protection for UK GIs when we leave the EU and ensure that the UK fulfils its obligations under World Trade Organisation Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights rules.
The protection of UK GIs in the EU and EU GIs in the UK is subject to ongoing negotiations. We anticipate that all current UK GIs will continue to be protected by the EU’s GI schemes after we leave the EU.