Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether members of the public who submit reports to her Department on potential benefit fraud receive updates on the development of such cases.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
Members of the public are not given any progress updates concerning allegations of benefit fraud they may have made.
All information gathered or received during the course of an investigation is confidential and must not be disclosed to any unauthorised third party. Third party information falls under the provisions of the Data Protection Act 1998 and can only be released where such disclosure would not breach a person’s right to privacy or the Data Protection Act principles.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people deemed fit to work by Work Place Assessments changed status within a 12 month period in the last five years.
Answered by Sarah Newton
The information requested is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
The latest available information on Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) appeal outcomes for Fit for Work decisions for initial Work Capability Assessments (WCA) can be found in Table 3 of the ESA Outcomes of WCA quarterly statistics published here:
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North)
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 ensure that children's benefits change in line with the cost of living.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
The Government is committed to tackling the root causes of child poverty and disadvantage. We know that children living in workless households have significantly poorer outcomes than those in working families.
We are incentivising work for those who can and providing support to working families. Since April 2016, the Universal Credit childcare element covers up to 85% of eligible childcare costs, compared with 70% in Working Tax Credit. We introduced 15 hours of free childcare for working families with children aged 3 and 4 and have now doubled this to 30 hours a week in England, worth up to £5,000 per child. The number of children living in workless households is now at its lowest level since comparable records began.
Where families face additional costs and barriers to work because of disability and caring responsibilities, we have increased premiums for disabled children in line with inflation.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans the Government has to reduce the number of children living in poverty over the 2017 Parliament.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
Work is key to helping people out of poverty; employment is now at a record high and the number of children living in workless families is down by 608,000 compared with 2010. The Government is committed to action that will make a meaningful difference to the lives of the most disadvantaged children and families. Improving Lives: Helping Workless Families, published on 4 April, set out a framework for a continued focus on improving children’s outcomes, now and in the future.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of people living in social tenancies are subject to the removal of the spare room subsidy in (a) the United Kingdom, (b) England, (c) the East Midlands and (d) Nottingham North constituency.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
The numbers of households with Housing Benefit (HB) deductions due to the Removal of the Spare Room Subsidy (RSRS) by the geographies requested as of May 2016 are shown in the table below. These figures are also expressed as proportions of:
- all Social Rented Sector households;
- all households claiming HB;
- all Social Rented Sector households claiming HB.
| Households with an RSRS deduction | |||
Total | Proportion of all Social Rented Sector households | Proportion of all households claiming HB | Proportion of all Social Rented Sector households claiming HB. | |
Great Britain | 432,360 | 9% | 9% | 13% |
England | 331,760 | 8% | 8% | 12% |
East Midlands | 29,050 | 9% | 10% | 14% |
Nottingham UA | 4,250 | 12% | 12% | 17% |
Nottingham North | 2,060 | - | 15% | 19% |
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of people in receipt of housing benefit are subject to the removal of the spare room subsidy in (a) the United Kingdom, (b) England, (c) the East Midlands and (d) Nottingham North constituency.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
The numbers of households with Housing Benefit (HB) deductions due to the Removal of the Spare Room Subsidy (RSRS) by the geographies requested as of May 2016 are shown in the table below. These figures are also expressed as proportions of:
- all Social Rented Sector households;
- all households claiming HB;
- all Social Rented Sector households claiming HB.
| Households with an RSRS deduction | |||
Total | Proportion of all Social Rented Sector households | Proportion of all households claiming HB | Proportion of all Social Rented Sector households claiming HB. | |
Great Britain | 432,360 | 9% | 9% | 13% |
England | 331,760 | 8% | 8% | 12% |
East Midlands | 29,050 | 9% | 10% | 14% |
Nottingham UA | 4,250 | 12% | 12% | 17% |
Nottingham North | Top of Form 2,060 | - | 15% | 19% |
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of people living in social tenancies and receiving housing benefit are subject to the removal of the spare room subsidy in (a) the United Kingdom, (b) England, (c) the East Midlands and (d) Nottingham North constituency.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
The numbers of households with Housing Benefit (HB) deductions due to the Removal of the Spare Room Subsidy (RSRS) by the geographies requested as of May 2016 are shown in the table below. These figures are also expressed as proportions of:
- all Social Rented Sector households;
- all households claiming HB;
- all Social Rented Sector households claiming HB.
| Households with an RSRS deduction | |||
Total | Proportion of all Social Rented Sector households | Proportion of all households claiming HB | Proportion of all Social Rented Sector households claiming HB. | |
Great Britain | 432,360 | 9% | 9% | 13% |
England | 331,760 | 8% | 8% | 12% |
East Midlands | 29,050 | 9% | 10% | 14% |
Nottingham UA | 4,250 | 12% | 12% | 17% |
Nottingham North | Top of Form 2,060 | - | 15% | 19% |
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many households with a disabled family member are subject to the removal of the spare room subsidy.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
As of May 2017, there were 414 thousand households in Great Britain who had a deduction made from their Housing Benefit due to the removal of the spare room subsidy. Of these, there were 278 thousand where the claimant or partner was receiving Disability Living Allowance (DLA) or Personal Independence Payment (PIP) or Employment and Support Allowance (ESA).
The Government has provided easements to allow an additional bedroom for couples and children who are unable to share a bedroom due to their disability, or where a non-resident overnight carer (or group of carers) is required for an adult, child or non-dependant adult.
From 2011 the Government has provided around £900 million to date to local authorities to help support vulnerable people affected by different welfare reforms. This includes £25 million per year to support disabled people living in significantly adapted accommodation, including any adaptations made for disabled children.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the savings to the public purse as a result of the removal of the spare room subsidy in each year since its introduction.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
The information requested is in the tables below.
Table A – Housing Benefit Spare Room Subsidy deductions, 2013/14 – 2016/17
Financial Year | Savings (£m) |
2013/14 | 385 |
2014/15 | 365 |
2015/16 | 355 |
2016/17 | 335 |
These figures do not take into account any additional savings due to behavioural change before/after the policy has been introduced, for example moving to a smaller property to avoid a deduction.