Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 7 September 2017 to Questions 6552 and the Answers of 25 July 2017 to Questions 5366 and 5365, whether his Department has the details of the mobility requirements of all current claimants.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
Pursuant to questions 6552, 5366 and 5365. While our Work Coaches take into account and understand the individual needs of vulnerable claimants, such as those limited by a health condition or disability or because of caring responsibilities, DWP does not routinely capture and collate information on the mobility requirements of all claimants.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 25 July 2017 to Question 5348, how many health and safety assessments on cladding and external wall insulation systems have been carried out by the Health and Safety Executive on buildings over 18 metres high in the last seven years.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has not undertaken any health and safety assessments on cladding and external wall insulation systems on buildings over 18 metres high in the last seven years. Such assessments are not required by health and safety at work legislation.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
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 number of claimants who will be required to travel further than a distance considered reasonable by his Department to attend appointments and research job vacancies, after the closure of Mountain Ash Jobcentre.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The new site at Aderdare is 4.5 miles and 27 minutes by public transport from Mountain Ash Jobcentre. This proposed closure was subject to consultation and we have carefully considered the points raised by respondents. Whilst we accept that this might mean a longer journey for some claimants we have to balance the need to provide services along with our responsibility to ensure this is achieved in the most cost effective way.
We do not consider the journey to Aberdare Jobcentre to be excessive however claimants will be able to access services at other jobcentres in the area should that be more convenient.
The caseload at Mountain Ash for June 2017 was around 330 claimants (Jobseeker’s Allowance and Universal Credit claimants who are required to seek employment as a condition of entitlement to benefit). It is our intention to transfer this caseload to Aberdare Jobcentre.
Source: https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many claimants will be required to travel further than the distance considered reasonable by his Department to attend appointments and research job vacancies following the closure of Pyle jobcentre.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The new site at Porthcawl is 4.9 miles and 35 minutes by public transport from Pyle Jobcentre. We undertook public consultation for offices over three miles and 20 minutes by public transport of their existing jobcentre. We have considered the points raised by respondents and although they do highlight difficulties for some claimants in making these changes, we have to balance the need to provide services along with the budget available to deliver those services.
Whilst we accept this may mean a longer journey for some claimants, we do also expect (subject to any specific circumstances) claimants to be available to take work within 90 minutes of their homes. We do not, therefore, consider the journey to Porthcawl Jobcentre to be excessive and claimants in other parts of the country do travel further. When a full-time jobcentre such as Pyle Jobcentre closes following a public consultation, we will put an ‘outreach’ service in place within the local community.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many claimants will be required to travel further than the distance considered reasonable by his Department to attend appointments and research job vacancies following the closure of Tredegar jobcentre.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
We believe that it is a reasonable expectation that claimants travel to an office within three miles or 20 minutes by public transport of their existing jobcentre. Whilst we accept this may mean a longer journey for some claimants, we do also expect (subject to any specific circumstances) claimants to be available to take work within 90 minutes of their homes. The new site at Ebbw Vale is 2.8 miles and 22 minutes by public transport from Tredegar Jobcentre. We do not, therefore, consider the journey to Ebbw Vale Jobcentre to be excessive and claimants in other parts of the country do travel further.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the effect of the proposed reduction in the benefit cap to £23,000 per year on the level of homelessness.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
I am replying to both questions as assessments of the effect of the benefit cap are the responsibility of the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions.
The new, lower, tiered benefit cap was introduced from 7 November 2016. The change reduces the total amount a working-age household can receive in benefits to £20,000 for couples and lone parents (£13,400 for single adults with no children) in Great Britain outside Greater London. Within Greater London the level is £23,000 for couples and lone parents (£15,410 for single adults with no children).
Evidence from the 2014 evaluation of the cap showed very little, if any, impact on homelessness as a direct result of the cap. In the cases of a small numbers of capped households who had been evicted, the Local Authorities noted that they had other reasons for rent arrears and they also failed to engage with relevant services, they were considered intentionally homeless.
The lower cap is still the equivalent of gross family earnings of £25k, and £29k in London. There are a number of exemptions, for example, for people receiving disability payments or people who work and qualify for Working Tax Credits. Discretionary Housing Payments can be made by local authorities to help people adjust to the benefit cap and those payments can be made to prevent people becoming homeless.
To help Local Authorities protect the most vulnerable and to support households adjusting to the reforms, the Government has provided around £900 million funding for the Discretionary Housing Payments scheme since 2011.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the effect of the reduction in the benefit cap in November 2016 on the level of homelessness since that date.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
I am replying to both questions as assessments of the effect of the benefit cap are the responsibility of the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions.
The new, lower, tiered benefit cap was introduced from 7 November 2016. The change reduces the total amount a working-age household can receive in benefits to £20,000 for couples and lone parents (£13,400 for single adults with no children) in Great Britain outside Greater London. Within Greater London the level is £23,000 for couples and lone parents (£15,410 for single adults with no children).
Evidence from the 2014 evaluation of the cap showed very little, if any, impact on homelessness as a direct result of the cap. In the cases of a small numbers of capped households who had been evicted, the Local Authorities noted that they had other reasons for rent arrears and they also failed to engage with relevant services, they were considered intentionally homeless.
The lower cap is still the equivalent of gross family earnings of £25k, and £29k in London. There are a number of exemptions, for example, for people receiving disability payments or people who work and qualify for Working Tax Credits. Discretionary Housing Payments can be made by local authorities to help people adjust to the benefit cap and those payments can be made to prevent people becoming homeless.
To help Local Authorities protect the most vulnerable and to support households adjusting to the reforms, the Government has provided around £900 million funding for the Discretionary Housing Payments scheme since 2011.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what his Department's average response rate was to individual Freedom of Information requests in each month from July 2016 to date.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
FOI statistics are Official Statistics and are governed by the standards set out by the UK Statistics Authority (UKSA) in their Code of Practice.
The latest Freedom of Information statistics were published in December 2016 and are available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/freedom-of-information-statistics-july-to-september-2016--2
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what funding his Department has allocated to the Troubled Families Programme for (a) 2016-17, (b) 2017-18 and (c) 2018-19.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The Department for Work and Pensions has not allocated direct funding to the Troubled Families Programme in those financial years. The Department has allocated funding for around 300 Troubled Families Employment Advisors to drive improved employment outcomes.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if his Department will make an assessment of the effect of the Government's welfare reforms on low-income households who are in fuel poverty since 2010.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
The Government’s reforms simplify the system for claimants, helping move more people into work, and reduce the cost for taxpayers. Throughout these reforms the Government is ensuring that the vulnerable are protected. In every year to 2020 spending on disability will be higher than in 2010.
The Warm Home Discount scheme provides eligible households with a £140 energy bill rebate. This winter, almost a million low income working age households will be helped under the scheme.
We are also reforming the Energy Company Obligation to have a greater focus on vulnerable and low income households. It will have a value of £640m a year from 2017 until 2022 and could reduce the energy bills of those who receive energy efficiency improvements by up to £300 per year.
DWP provides help with the additional costs of heating during periods of severely cold weather to eligible claimants on certain income related benefits. In 2015-16, DWP made nearly 155,000 awards worth £3.9 million. For winter 2016/17 the cold weather payment rate will continue to be £25 for each seven day period of very cold weather.