Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what effect the UK leaving the EU without a deal would have on reciprocal pension agreements with EU member states.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government has consistently put citizens’ rights first in our negotiations with the EU. The best way to guarantee those rights, which include social security, both for UK nationals in the EU and EU citizens in the UK, is the deal that the Government has secured. The Government supported the amendment put forward by Alberto Costa MP which requires the Government to seek a joint UK/EU commitment to preserve the citizens’ rights section of the Withdrawal Agreement whatever the outcome of negotiations. The letter to the European Commission setting out the Government’s position and the Commission’s reply is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/costa-amendment-letter-to-the-eu-institutions
The current EU arrangements providing for reciprocity in social security would no longer apply if the UK leaves the EU without a deal.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions the Government have held with (a) the EU and (b) individual EU member states on reciprocal pension agreements after the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government has consistently put citizens’ rights first in our negotiations with the EU. The best way to guarantee those rights, which include social security, both for UK nationals in the EU and EU citizens in the UK, is the deal that the Government has secured. The Government supported the amendment put forward by Alberto Costa MP which requires the Government to seek a joint UK/EU commitment to preserve the citizens’ rights section of the Withdrawal Agreement whatever the outcome of negotiations. The letter to the European Commission setting out the Government’s position and the Commission’s reply is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/costa-amendment-letter-to-the-eu-institutions
The current EU arrangements providing for reciprocity in social security would no longer apply if the UK leaves the EU without a deal.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the Government has made an (a) reciprocal or (b) unilateral agreement to maintain the annual increases to the pensions of UK citizens residing in the Republic of Ireland if the UK leaves the EU without a deal.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The UK and Ireland signed on the 1 February 2019 a reciprocal agreement which will protect the social security rights of UK and Irish nationals living and/or working in each other’s state when the UK leaves the EU. It allows for the payment of each country’s uprated state pensions to recipients living in the other.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reasons the Government has not agreed to uprate the pensions of UK nationals resident outside the EU; and if will she make a statement.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Since WW2 successive Governments, Labour, the Coalition and Conservatives have had the same policy. The policy on up-rating the UK State Pension abroad is long-standing and unchanged. UK State Pensions are payable worldwide and they are up-rated for overseas residents where there is a legal requirement to do so.
The cost of up-rating State Pensions would increase by more than £3 billion over five years if payments to recipients in countries where they are not currently up-rated were increased to the rates payable had the recipients never left the UK. It is not proposed to change this policy.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps the Government is taking to support armed forces veterans into employment.
Answered by Will Quince
The Armed Forces Covenant has been in place since May 2011 and sets out the relationship between the nation, the Government and the Armed Forces. The covenant is a written and publicised voluntary pledge from businesses and other organisations who wish to demonstrate their support for the armed forces community.
The covenant can be signed by a business or other organisation of any size, and from any industry whether they are an employer of a member of the armed forces community or simply wish to acknowledge publically their support for the armed forces.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) National Employer and Partnership Team (NEPT) actively promote the Armed Forces Covenant to those employers and partner organisations they work with. This has been adopted into routine business to ensure that those new to DWP’s employer portfolio are aware of the opportunity and benefits of support to the Armed Forces community.
Every Jobcentre Plus District has an Armed Forced Champion (AFC) who is key to delivering our commitments under the covenant. The AFC will ensure that any concerns and issues raised which affect Service Personnel and their families are integrated within the wider work of Jobcentre Plus. AFCs ensure Work Coaches and other DWP staff can effectively support serving personnel, service leavers, veterans and their families.
In addition to the local activity in Jobcentres to support veterans our National Employer and Partnership Team (NEPT) also work closely with the Ministry of Defence to align engagement activity in support of the veteran’s strategy. In particular NEPT work closely with the MOD Careers Transition Partnership (CTP) and the Defence Relationship Management (DRM) team to encourage large employers, trade body associations and partner organisations to provide practical support to the Armed Forces Covenant, particularly the employment of veterans.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what measures are in place to help universal credit claimants with the repayment of debt.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
The Department recognises the importance of safeguarding the welfare of claimants who have incurred debt, and Universal Credit already has procedures and regulations in place to protect claimants from excessive deductions.
A claimant’s circumstances are always taken into account when applying debt repayment thresholds to avoid undue hardship. If a claimant is having difficulty repaying a benefit overpayment, they can request a reconsideration of the amount that is being taken. Any reduction will be based on the individual circumstances of the claimant rather than the amount of the overpayment, which helps to ensure that a sustainable repayment plan based on affordability is put in place.
The maximum rate of deductions will not normally exceed an amount equal to 40 per cent of the Universal Credit standard allowance, and from October 2019 this maximum rate will be reduced to 30 per cent. However, where it is in the best interest of vulnerable claimants, to protect them from being made homeless or having their fuel disconnected, deductions in excess of the maximum rate may be applied. This is only for ‘last resort’ third party deductions for arrears of service charges, rent, gas and electricity. When we take deductions for gas and electricity arrears, we will also take them for the on-going monthly cost of these utilities.
The Department has also implemented a range of measures to further support claimants such as providing a two-week ‘transitional housing payment’ for those who had been receiving Housing Benefit before transitioning onto Universal Credit, and interest free advances, worth up to 100 per cent of their indicative Universal Credit award which can be paid back over 12 months.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many children in households affected by the two-child limit on welfare payments are in (a) Romford and (b) the borough of Havering.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
Data published in June 2018, broken down by country can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/child-tax-credit-and-universal-credit-claimants-statistics-related-to-the-policy-to-provide-support-for-a-maximum-of-2-children-april-2018.
The information on the level requested was not captured in the reporting database and therefore is not available. This was due to the small numbers of Universal Credit cases recorded as being affected by this policy, meaning it is not possible to break down these totals by smaller geographic areas without the risk of identifying individual claimants.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average amount of time spent looking for a job was each week by individuals claiming (a) universal credit and (b) job seekers allowance in each of the last five years.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
The requested information is not held by the Department.
All work-related requirements are agreed in discussion with claimants. They are tailored to their individual personal circumstances and capacity, and recorded in their claimant commitment. This includes an agreement of the total time they have available and can be expected to be engaged in suitable work related activities including work search activities where appropriate.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people migrated to universal credit in Havering in the last 12 months.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
I refer the hon. Member to my answer to Question 208805 on 23 January 2019.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average length of time is for a claimant to be referred to a work capability assessment by the Romford service centre.
Answered by Sarah Newton
The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.