Asked by: Karen Buck (Labour - Westminster North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will place in the Library a copy of the equality analysis referred to in the letter of 6 September 2022 from the Permanent Secretary of his Department to the Chair of the Public Accounts Committee.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
This document contains information that could be used to defraud the benefit system and adversely impact the public purse, it is therefore not in the public interest to publish this. Our equality analyses are detailed live documents and change each time our models and projects change, which provides assurance that we are considering bias and balance at each stage of development of these initiatives.
Asked by: Karen Buck (Labour - Westminster North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if it remains his Department's policy to not publish the evaluation of the lowered Benefit Cap completed in Spring 2019.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Secretary of State's initial priorities have included very urgent decisions relating to the recent Autumn Statement. The Secretary of State will be receiving further advice regarding the evaluation of the lowered Benefit Cap, and he will make decisions about its publication in due course.
Asked by: Karen Buck (Labour - Westminster North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has taken recent steps to help reduce the number of errors made by his officials in the administration of the benefits system.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The Department maintains vigorous control of Official Error via its Quality Assurance Framework, which provides an assurance that the necessary quality controls are in place.
Asked by: Karen Buck (Labour - Westminster North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent steps his Department has taken to improve the process of explicit consent used in Universal Credit.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department keeps the process under review.
Asked by: Karen Buck (Labour - Westminster North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent progress his Department has made on establishing a National Advocacy Service.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
In Shaping Future Support: The Health and Disability Green Paper, we set out our intention to test providing extra support for claimants who find it difficult to navigate the benefits system. We will provide an update on our progress in a White Paper which we will publish in the coming months.