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Written Question
Employment: Remote Working
Wednesday 26th May 2021

Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the potential employment opportunities of remote working for (a) vulnerable, (b) disabled and (c) elderly people who might struggle to physically attend a workplace.

Answered by Justin Tomlinson

The Government is aware of the employment opportunities which flexible working can help create for vulnerable, disabled, older workers and more generally for those who might struggle to attend a workplace.

The Government has committed to consult on making flexible working the default unless employers have good reasons not to. The consultation will consider flexible working in all its forms – it is not just about where people work, but also about when they work and the associated number of hours. The consultation will be launched in due course.

In March 2018, the Flexible Working Taskforce – a partnership across business groups, trade unions, charities, and government departments – was set up and ran for a period of 18 months to advise the Government on policies and proposals around flexible working. Earlier this year the Minister for Small Business, Consumers and Labour Markets wrote to the co-chair of the Taskforce, Peter Cheese, Chief Executive of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), to commission a further 18 months’ work from the Taskforce to help inform the Government’s thinking as we develop the detail of new policies and navigate the impact of Covid-19 on future ways of working.

In recognition of the changes brought by the pandemic, Access to Work introduced a more flexible offer to support disabled people move into and remain in employment. The new flexible offer complements support provided by employers and contains a combination of support that can be tailored to meet the needs of new Covid-19 working arrangements, including for remote working.


Written Question
Universal Credit: Coronavirus
Monday 1st February 2021

Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the potential cost to the public purse of the 2.9 million people excluded from covid-19 financial support claiming universal credit in the event of becoming unemployed during the covid-19 outbreak.

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

At each fiscal event the department works closely with the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) to estimate welfare spend based on latest unemployment projections. The OBR’s latest projections are available here: http://cdn.obr.uk/CCS1020397650-001_OBR-November2020-EFO-v2-Web-accessible.pdf

The latest Universal Credit forecasts, for number of households, estimated each year are published in the Benefit Expenditure and Caseload Tables, which can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/benefit-expenditure-and-caseload-tables-2020


Written Question
Social Security Benefits
Thursday 28th January 2021

Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department has made an estimate of the potential additional costs to welfare benefit spending in the event that (a) one million, (b) two million and (c) three million people were to become unemployed.

Answered by Will Quince

At each fiscal event the Department works closely with the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) to estimate welfare spend based on latest unemployment projections. The OBR’s latest projections are available here: http://cdn.obr.uk/CCS1020397650-001_OBR-November2020-EFO-v2-Web-accessible.pdf

The latest Universal Credit forecasts for number of households, estimated each year are published in the Benefit Expenditure and Caseload Tables and can be found in, Table 1c, Table 2c and Table 3c, at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/953118/outturn-and-forecast-autumn-budget-2020-revised.xlsx


Written Question
Universal Credit
Thursday 28th January 2021

Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate her Department has made of the projected number of universal credit claimants by April 2022.

Answered by Will Quince

At each fiscal event the Department works closely with the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) to estimate welfare spend based on latest unemployment projections. The OBR’s latest projections are available here: http://cdn.obr.uk/CCS1020397650-001_OBR-November2020-EFO-v2-Web-accessible.pdf

The latest Universal Credit forecasts for number of households, estimated each year are published in the Benefit Expenditure and Caseload Tables and can be found in, Table 1c, Table 2c and Table 3c, at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/953118/outturn-and-forecast-autumn-budget-2020-revised.xlsx


Written Question
Barnardos: Work Experience
Thursday 17th January 2019

Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps the Government has taken in support of its work experience collaboration with Barnardos.

Answered by Justin Tomlinson

The Department has been working closely with Barnardo’s to develop and scope a pilot of voluntary work experience opportunities for care leavers in some of Barnardo’s high street shops. The objective of this pilot is to give young people independence within their communities and to support them to gain confidence and skills that will help them gain employment and create a better future for themselves.

The pilot is expected to run for 6 months, with individual placements lasting between 6-8 weeks. Barnardo’s have offered that those engaged in work experience will be able to enrol on a Level 2 training course with the Barnardo’s Volunteer Academy at any stage of their placement. They will also have the option to stay on as a volunteer once the placement has ended.

Participants will have a DWP Care Leaver Single Point of Contact, which is a work coach that leads on care leaver issues. Additional support will also be available in the form of a team of staff, including the claimant’s individual work coach and the care leaver’s Personal Adviser, based in the Local Authority care leaver team. The DWP’s National Employer and Partnership Team lead has arranged to meet the staff who will be involved in the pilot in each Jobcentre.

Care leavers will be given a work book to complete during their placement which will encompass feedback and a record of achievements. After the pilot, care leavers will review their progress with their work coach and update their CV. They will also work to agree the next step for them as individuals, for example further training, an apprenticeship or moving into work.


Written Question
Department for Work and Pensions: Brexit
Friday 11th January 2019

Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much funding from the public purse has been allocated to her Department for financial year 2018-19 for planning for the UK leaving the EU without a deal; and how much of that funding has been spent.

Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)

No additional funding was allocated to DWP by HM Treasury for EU Exit preparations for the 2018/19 financial year. For 2019/20, DWP has been allocated £15 million for EU Exit preparations.

A full breakdown of the £1.5 billion of additional funding HM Treasury announced at Autumn Budget 2017 for 2018/19 can be found in the Chief Secretary’s Written Ministerial Statement, HCWS540, laid on 13 March 2018 (https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2018-03-13/HCWS540/).

For 2019/20, DWP’s allocation can be found in the Chief Secretary’s Written Ministerial Statement HCWS1205, laid on 18 December 2018, which outlines funding for departments for 2019/20. (https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2018-12-18/HCWS1205/).