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Written Question
Department for Work and Pensions: Health and Safety
Monday 26th February 2024

Asked by: Chris Stephens (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South West)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to comply with principle (d) of schedule 1 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999.

Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

On joining DWP, all members of staff must complete a DSE assessment, which will highlight any special requirements specific to their role. Members of staff are then required to revisit this assessment every 3 years or at any time their circumstances change.

DWP endeavours to provide a contemporary and safe working environment, which meets the requirements of the Approved Documents (Building Regulations) in England and their equivalents in the devolved nations. We also follow the guiding principles of a variety of government specifications e.g. Publicly Available Specification 3000 for ‘Smart Working’ (PAS300), which recommends the use of a range of different work settings throughout a typical day to encourage movement, collaboration, and wellbeing. As well as the Government Property Agency’s Workplace Design Guidance.

The Department also has a Reasonable Adjustment Process for complex needs. This can include changes to the physical environment, alternative working patterns, or changes to work tasks.

Any changes to the way people are expected to work that might introduce significant new risk are identified and their impact considered against existing DWP health and safety policies and procedures.

DWP Health and Safety Impact Assessments are designed to give step by step support to programmes and projects who may introduce new risk. They provide a framework to help identify hazards and who might be harmed and enables DWP to record what needs to be done to reduce the risk to an acceptable level. It is mandatory for use by new programmes and projects with managers consulting with Trade Union representatives during the process.


Written Question
Department for Work and Pensions: Health and Safety
Monday 19th February 2024

Asked by: Chris Stephens (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South West)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether all (a) buildings and (b) workplaces staff from their Department occupy have a suitable and sufficient risk assessment under Section 3 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999.

Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Department for Work and Pensions has suitable and sufficient risk assessments in place across the Department in accordance with Section 3 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999.

There is a suite of generic risk assessments, which include building and people related hazards, used to manage and mitigate people safety risks across the Department. Where hazards are identified for a certain process or procedure not captured within the generic documents, these are included via specific risk assessments.

Suitable and sufficient risk assessments relating to the DWPs estate are completed whenever significant hazards are identified or where risk assessment is required by statute.


Written Question
Personal Independence Payment: Appeals
Thursday 11th January 2024

Asked by: Chris Stephens (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South West)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many appeals against Personal Independence Payment decisions were lapsed by her Department in the latest period for which data is available.

Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

A lapsed appeal is where DWP changed the decision in the customer’s favour after an appeal was lodged but before it was heard at a tribunal hearing.

The table below provides information on Personal Independence Payment (PIP) appeal registrations and lapsed appeals. Data is provided for appeals registered in the 2022/23 financial year, the latest full financial year that data is available.

Table 1: Appeals registered in 2022/23 and how many were subsequently lapsed

Appeals registered

Appeals lapsed

81,000

18,000 (22% of appeals registered)

Notes:

  1. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 1,000.
  2. Data provided is for England and Wales (excluding Scotland).
  3. These figures include appeal registrations and decisions for PIP New Claims, Reassessments, Award Reviews and Change of Circumstances. These figures include appeals registered in 2022/23 financial year and any lapsed appeals related to these appeal registrations up to the 30th September 2023, the latest date for which published data is available.
  4. Appeals data has been taken from DWP PIP customer system’s management information. Therefore, this appeal data may differ from that held by His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service for various reasons such as delays in data recording and other methodological differences in collating and preparing statistics.
  5. This data is unpublished data. It should be used with caution, and it may be subject to future revision.

Written Question
Jobcentres: Glasgow
Thursday 11th January 2024

Asked by: Chris Stephens (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South West)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has made an estimate of the number of violence-at-work incidents that have been reported at Govan job centre.

Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Department for Work and Pensions record all reported violence-at-work incidents. In the current financial year, April – October 2023, Govan Jobcentre recorded 27 incidents.

In 2022/2023 financial year there were 19 incidents and in 2021/2022 financial year there were 20 incidents.

All incidents reported at Govan Jobcentre have been categorised as verbal or written with none being classed as physical incidents.


Written Question
Jobcentres: Glasgow
Thursday 11th January 2024

Asked by: Chris Stephens (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South West)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when the most recent risk assessment on violence at work was conducted at Govan jobcentre.

Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Department for Work and Pensions assess the risks around violence at work via the Jobcentre Claimant Facing Risk Assessment (JCFRA). Govan Jobcentre has a site-specific Jobcentre Claimant Facing Risk Assessment in place, and this was last reviewed 18th September 2023.


Written Question
Social Security Benefits: Fraud
Monday 8th January 2024

Asked by: Chris Stephens (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South West)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many staff in his Department investigate benefit fraud; and what recent estimate he has made of the cost of fraud to the public purse in the last 12 months.

Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The latest information of the number of Full Time Equivalent (FTE) staff who are in paid employment and undertake investigations on benefit fraud is in the table below:

Nov

DWP Product

2023

CFC ESOC

527.7

CFC Fraud Investigations (Including Surveillance)

627.05

Totals

1154.8

Please note the following caveats

  • Data is drawn at the end of each month. Data is correct as of end of November 2023.
  • Figures were derived from the Department’s Activity Based Model (ABM), which provides Full Time Equivalent (FTE) figures based on point in time estimate by Line Managers. They cover only FTE of staff with paid employment. They have been rounded to one decimal place.
  • Figures include all staff on CFC Economic Serious Organised Crime and CFC Investigations including staff undertaking surveillance activities.
  • The data is frequently revised and changes to definitions / benefits / DWP structure effect comparisons over time. It should therefore be treated with caution and must be seen as an indication of how staff have been deployed.
  • The number of staff is unpublished management information, collected and intended for internal department use and has not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics standard. As the Department holds the information, we have released it.

Information on the cost of fraud to the public purse has been set out in the DWP Annual Report and Accounts 2022-23. DWP annual report and accounts 2022 to 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)


Written Question
Jobcentres: Armed Forces
Monday 8th January 2024

Asked by: Chris Stephens (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South West)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many jobcentre clients have been assisted by an Armed Forces Champion in Glasgow South West constituency in the last 12 months.

Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

Since April 2023, 231 members of the local Armed Forces community have been supported by an Armed Forces Champion in the Glasgow South West constituency.

Please note that the data supplied is derived from unpublished management information, which was collected for internal departmental use only, and has not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standard.


Written Question
Universal Credit: Deductions
Friday 20th October 2023

Asked by: Chris Stephens (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South West)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of universal credit claims were subject to deductions in the most recent month for which data is available per constituency; what was the (a) average and (b) total sum of deduction per constituency; what proportion of deductions were used to repay advance payments; and if he will make a statement.

Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Government recognises the importance of supporting the welfare of claimants who have incurred debt. We seek to balance recovery of debt against not causing hardship for claimants and their families. Processes are in place to ensure deductions are manageable, and customers can contact the DWP Debt Management Team if they are experiencing financial hardship, to discuss a reduction in their rate of repayment, or a temporary suspension, depending on their financial circumstances.

Since April 2021, we have reduced the normal maximum rate of deductions in Universal Credit from 40% to 25% of a claimant’s Standard Allowance. These positive measures were put in place to support claimants to manage financial difficulties.

Advances are a claimant’s benefit entitlement paid early, allowing claimants to access 100% of their estimated Universal Credit payment upfront. They ensure nobody has to wait for a payment in Universal Credit, and those who need it are able to receive financial support as soon as possible. Claimants can receive up to 100% of their estimated Universal Credit award if required, resulting in 25 payments over a 24-month period. This is not a debt.

The requested analysis of Universal Credit claims with a deduction in May 2023 by parliamentary constituency in Great Britain (GB) is provided in the separate spreadsheet.

Data for May 2023 has been provided in line with the latest available Universal Credit Household Statistics.


Written Question
Social Security Benefits: Disqualification
Friday 20th October 2023

Asked by: Chris Stephens (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South West)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of benefit claims were subject to sanctions in the last three months for which data is available per constituency; and how much was the (a) total and (b) average sum of benefit income lost by claimants due to sanctions in each constituency in that period.

Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Sanctions are only ever applied when a claimant fails to meet their agreed conditionality requirements without good reason.

Statistics are published regularly showing the number of Universal Credit full service claimants with a payment that has been reduced due to a sanction. These can be found in the UC sanction rates dataset on Stat-Xplore and are available by Westminster parliamentary constituency, monthly from April 2019 to May 2023

The additional information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.


Written Question
Universal Credit: Deductions
Tuesday 4th July 2023

Asked by: Chris Stephens (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South West)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many universal credit claims were subject to deductions in the most recent month for which data is available, broken down by parliamentary constituency; how much on average was deducted in each constituency; what the total sum was of deductions in each constituency; and what proportion of each of those sums was deducted to repay advance payments; and if he will make a statement.

Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Government recognises the importance of supporting the welfare of claimants who have incurred debt. We seek to balance recovery of debt against not causing hardship for claimants and their families. Processes are in place to ensure deductions are manageable, and customers can contact the DWP Debt Management Team if they are experiencing financial hardship, to discuss a reduction in their rate of repayment, or a temporary suspension, depending on their financial circumstances.

Since April 2021, we have reduced the normal maximum rate of deductions in Universal Credit from 40% to 25% of a claimant’s Standard Allowance. These positive measures were put in place to support claimants to manage financial difficulties.

Advances are a claimant’s benefit entitlement paid early, allowing claimants to access 100% of their estimated Universal Credit payment upfront. They ensure nobody has to wait for a payment in Universal Credit, and those who need it are able to receive financial support as soon as possible. Claimants can receive up to 100% of their estimated Universal Credit award if required, resulting in 25 payments over a 24-month period. This is not a debt.

The requested analysis of Universal Credit claims with a deduction in February 2023 by parliamentary constituency in Great Britain (GB) is provided in the separate spreadsheet.

Data for February 2023 has been provided in line with the latest available Universal Credit Household Statistics.