Asked by: Alison Thewliss (Scottish National Party - Glasgow Central)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when she plans to respond to the letter of 21 August 2018 from the hon. Member for Glasgow Central on the matter of a constituent, Neil Rothnie.
Answered by Sarah Newton
I responded to the letter from the honourable member on 1 October 2018. I will ensure that another copy is dispatched as a matter of urgency.
Asked by: Alison Thewliss (Scottish National Party - Glasgow Central)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what reasonable adaptations are available for people with disabilities to apply for universal credit online.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
We are committed to providing personalised support for all claimants, including vulnerable groups. Where our claimants require assistance to access our services and information, we make reasonable adjustments to meet their individual needs. This includes communicating with claimants in a variety of different formats such as braille, audio, large print, through third party interpreters or by arranging for a member of staff to visit the customer in their home.
Face to face and telephony support is in place for those vulnerable claimants who cannot self-serve online; the Universal Credit telephone helpline is now a free phone number. In certain circumstances, where a claimant is unable to manage their own affairs, an appointee can act on their behalf, taking responsibility for making and maintaining any benefit claim.
Universal Support provides Universal Credit claimants with additional help to use a computer to make or maintain their claim (Assisted Digital Support), help in managing their monthly Universal Credit payment and possible advice on their finances (Personal Budgeting Support).
Asked by: Alison Thewliss (Scottish National Party - Glasgow Central)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what information her Department holds on the level of food bank usage in (a) areas with full service universal credit and (b) areas where universal credit has not been fully rolled-out.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department does not hold information on the number of people using food banks: however, we are constantly reviewing research carried out by organisations, including the Trussell Trust, to add to our understanding of food bank use, and will consider requirements to add to our evidence base.
Asked by: Alison Thewliss (Scottish National Party - Glasgow Central)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the cost to the public purse of the proposed Pensions Dashboard project to date.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Aside from the usual staff running costs, the costs to the Department to date for undertaking the pension dashboard feasibility study are around £100k. This covers the period from October 2017 when the Department assumed policy responsibility from HM Treasury, to end of August 2018 when I published the written statement.
Asked by: Alison Thewliss (Scottish National Party - Glasgow Central)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether plans are still in place for her Department to provide a Pensions Dashboard online tool.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
On Tuesday 4 September 2018, I published a written statement providing an update on pensions including the pensions dashboard. This statement can be found here: https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2018-09-04/HCWS933/
An industry-led dashboard, facilitated by Government, will harness the best of industry innovation. We will continue to engage with industry, consumer groups and other stakeholders on this model and Government will protect pension savers and personal information by legislating where necessary.
We will shortly report on the findings of the Feasibility Study.
Asked by: Alison Thewliss (Scottish National Party - Glasgow Central)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when her Department plans to publish the feasibility study of the Pensions Dashboard.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
On Tuesday 4 September 2018, the Minister for Pensions published a written statement providing an update on pensions including the pensions dashboard. This can be found here: https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2018-09-04/HCWS933/
The work that the Department has done in assessing feasibility for a pensions dashboard has made it clear that we should not underestimate the size of complexity of the challenge.
We will report shortly on the findings of the feasibility study.
Asked by: Alison Thewliss (Scottish National Party - Glasgow Central)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 16 July 2018 to Question 163137, on Child Tax Credit and Universal Credit, on how many occasions have claimants been refused an exception to the two child limit for (a) child tax credits and (b) universal credit as a result of (i) not meeting the conditions and (ii) not providing sufficient evidence to support their request.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
DWP and HMRC published statistics on 28 June 2018 related to the policy to provide support for a maximum of two children, which can be accessed at https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/719458/Two_children_and_exceptions_in_tax_credits_and_Universal_Credit_April_2018.pdf.
There is an explanation on page 5 about why this publication does not contain information about claimants who have applied for an exception but have not met the criteria to qualify.
Asked by: Alison Thewliss (Scottish National Party - Glasgow Central)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many claims have been rejected under each exception to the two child limit for (a) child tax credits and (b) universal credit.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
There are no circumstances in which a claimant has been refused an exception where they meet the conditions and have provided relevant evidence to support their request.
Asked by: Alison Thewliss (Scottish National Party - Glasgow Central)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on the calculation of entitlements to benefits consequential on entitlements to personal independence payment.
Answered by Sarah Newton
All social security benefits, including Personal Independence Payment are discussed regularly across Government, including the calculation of entitlement.
Asked by: Alison Thewliss (Scottish National Party - Glasgow Central)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether deficiencies have been identified recently in the calculation of people's entitlement to personal independence payments.
Answered by Sarah Newton
Please see the response provided to PQ 155836 that was tabled on 20 June 2018.