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 percentage of board members at the Money and Pensions Service have not had their appointments renewed in the last two years; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
In accordance with the Governance Code on Public Appointments, there is no automatic presumption of reappointment. Two non-executive board members at the Money and Pensions Service have not been re-appointed over the last two years, one in 2020/2021 and one in 2021/2022.
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 serving board members at the Money and Pensions Advice Service have not had their appointments renewed in each of the last two years; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
In accordance with the Governance Code on Public Appointments, there is no automatic presumption of reappointment. Two non-executive board members at the Money and Pensions Service have not been re-appointed over the last two years, one in 2020/2021 and one in 2021/2022.
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, pursuant to the Answer of 10 February 2022 to Question 119672, on Social Security Benefits: Disqualification, in which months the proof of concept is planned to (a) start and (b) finish in 2022; and in what parts of the country it will run.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The proof of concept is due to run in Spring. As this is a small-scale test we do not plan to publish further details on timeframe or location so as to not adversely affect the proof of concept. Sites for the proof of concept are chosen in such a way that ensures we are able to assess the concept / policy under consideration.
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 single claims for universal credit were suspended while a new joint claim was processed and paid in the most recent 12 months for which data is available.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
There is no requirement for a claim to be suspended as a result of such a change of circumstance.
When a single claimant becomes part of a couple, they form a benefit unit with their new partner. Their single claim becomes a joint claim and, as a result, the claim continues with a partner being added to the household, without the need for a new claim.
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, pursuant to the Answer of 21 June 2021 to Question 16143 on Food Banks, when she will publish her Department’s review of the drivers of foodbank demand.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Department reallocated resources to prioritise work to help the COVID-19 effort. This caused delays to some work, including this literature review. The review summarises publicly available information and does not contain any new research carried out by the Department.
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 she will place a copy of her Department’s evidence-based review of foodbank use in the House of Commons Library.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Department reallocated resources to prioritise work to help the COVID-19 effort. This caused delays to some work, including this literature review. The review summarises publicly available information and does not contain any new research carried out by the Department.
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 new claims for universal credit were processed and paid by her Department within (a) five weeks, (b) six weeks, (c) seven weeks, (d) eight weeks, (e) nine weeks, (f) ten weeks and (g) longer than ten weeks in the most recent 12 months for which data is available.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Due to unforeseen circumstances we are unable to access the data to answer your question in time. I will write to you with a response as soon as possible.
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, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of exempting people from sanctions if there is evidence of severe mental health or associated risk of self harm.
Answered by Chloe Smith
Those who are not expected to look for work, such as those with severe health conditions, including mental health, are not subject to work search or work availability requirements.
Work Coaches engage at an individual level with them and are committed to tailoring support for specific individual needs, including agreeing realistic and structured steps to encourage claimants into or towards the labour market where conditionality requirements are regularly reviewed to ensure that they remain appropriate for the claimant. This would include tailoring to reflect any mental health or associated self-harm issues the claimant raised.
Sanctions are only applied where a claimant fails to comply with a mandatory requirement set out in their claimant commitment such as a failure to attend an appointment. When considering whether a sanction is appropriate, a Decision Maker will take all the claimant’s individual circumstances, including any health conditions or disabilities and any evidence of good reason, into account before deciding whether a sanction is warranted.
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 she is taking to help avoid a gap in income for households whose single universal credit claims have been closed due to a change of circumstances and who are in the process of establishing a new joint claim with their partner.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
When a single claimant becomes part of a couple, they form a benefit unit with their new partner. As the claimant(s) is now part of a benefit unit, their single claim becomes a joint claim as a change of circumstance has occurred.
Support is available to claimants, through a ‘change of circumstances’ advance, for those who face short-term financial need, where a change of circumstances will significantly increase the amount of their benefit entitlement, i.e. from the single standard allowance to a couple’s standard allowance. This advance will be available to claimants in the same Assessment Period in which the change of circumstance occurs.
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 support is available to personal independence payment claimants who cannot afford the fees they are being asked to pay by GPs for medical evidence in support of their claim.
Answered by Chloe Smith
We ask claimants to provide evidence they already have available so they do not have to pay a charge which a General Practitioner (GP) may choose to impose. Where a claimant has provided details of their GP or other healthcare professional, the health professional working for our Assessment Providers can request additional evidence from them where they think that would provide helpful evidence of the claimant’s condition or functional needs.