Asked by: Anna Turley (Labour (Co-op) - Redcar)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much revenue the removal of the spare room subsidy has generated for the public purse since its introduction.
Answered by Will Quince
The removal of the spare room subsidy (RSRS) policy has not generated revenue for the public purse. However, this policy has saved over £1.7bn since its introduction in April 2013. A breakdown by financial year is provided in the table below:
Total Estimated Housing Benefit RSRS Deductions, 2013/14 to 2017/18 (£m pa)
2013/14 | 2014/15 | 2015/16 | 2016/17 | 2017/18 |
385 | 365 | 355 | 335 | 320 |
Deductions 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.
Figures do not include claimants on Universal Credit (UC) with a removal of the spare room subsidy (RSRS) deduction, as these data are not currently available.
Asked by: Anna Turley (Labour (Co-op) - Redcar)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of exempting children under child arrangement orders from the benefit cap.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
Asked by: Anna Turley (Labour (Co-op) - Redcar)
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 number of families whose benefit entitlement exceeds the benefit cap as a result of looking after children under child arrangements orders.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
We do not hold any data that identifies families with a child under child arrangements order.
The lower cap is still the equivalent of gross family earnings of £25k, and £29k in London. Where claimants need further financial support, Local Authorities can provide additional support through the use of Discretionary Housing Payments. The funding for DHPs is specifically aimed at a number of groups who are likely to be particularly affected by the benefit cap. These include people with family and friend care responsibilities.
Asked by: Anna Turley (Labour (Co-op) - Redcar)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to support vulnerable people who will become ineligible for pension credit and other passported benefits as a result of the April 2018 state pension increase taking their income above the standard minimum guarantee threshold for pension credit.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
In April 2018 there was above indexation increase in the standard minimum guarantee of Pension Credit, to match the cash increase in the basic State Pension. This prevents the increase in the basic State Pension (in isolation) from taking people out of the scope of Pension Credit, excluding the impact of any other changes in circumstances. The full rate of the new State Pension is set each year above the level of the basic means test in Pension Credit, reducing reliance on means testing over time and providing a firm foundation on which to build private pension provision.
Asked by: Anna Turley (Labour (Co-op) - Redcar)
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 number of people whose income has increased above the standard minimum guarantee threshold for pension credit as a result of the April 2018 state pension increase.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
In April 2018 there was above indexation increase in the standard minimum guarantee of Pension Credit, to match the cash increase in the basic State Pension. This prevents the increase in the basic State Pension (in isolation) from taking people out of the scope of Pension Credit, excluding the impact of any other changes in circumstances. The full rate of the new State Pension is set each year above the level of the basic means test in Pension Credit, reducing reliance on means testing over time and providing a firm foundation on which to build private pension provision.
Asked by: Anna Turley (Labour (Co-op) - Redcar)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to ensure that benefit claimants who cannot attend appointments due to adverse weather conditions will not be sanctioned.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
Nobody is sanctioned where they can demonstrate they had good reason for failing to attend an appointment. Each case is considered individually, taking into account individual and prevailing circumstances. Where adverse weather conditions make it unreasonable for someone to attend, no sanction would be applied.
Asked by: Anna Turley (Labour (Co-op) - Redcar)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department has taken to ensure staff at a JobCentre Plus are adequately trained in their duties to improve the level of claimant satisfaction rates.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The Department has effective processes to identify individual training needs, resulting in role specific learning, including the provision of excellent customer service. This is underpinned by workplace consolidation activities observed by managers, which supports individuals to continuously improve and develop their skills and knowledge.
Asked by: Anna Turley (Labour (Co-op) - Redcar)
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 work capability assessment decisions overturned in Redcar in each of the last five years where figures are available; and what steps he is taking to improve the accuracy of benefit entitlement awards.
Answered by Sarah Newton
This information is not readily available at constituency level and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
The Department is continually working to improve the accuracy of benefit entitlement awards. This includes working with Assessment Providers to ensure claimants receive high quality assessments and improving the way further evidence is collected to ensure all relevant information about an individual’s needs is available to decision makers at the earliest opportunity. Furthermore, the recruitment of approximately 150 Presenting Officers provides valuable insight into why decisions are overturned on appeal and is helping us identify improvements throughout the claimant journey.
Asked by: Anna Turley (Labour (Co-op) - Redcar)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, by what date his Department plans to complete its longitudinal study into former employees of Sahaviriya Steel Industries UK; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
DWP has been working to identify; quality assure; integrate and securely store and handle data on former Sahaviriya Steel Industries (SSI) UK employees and workers in its supply chain. Our analysis combines data from the official receiver; local tracking data from the SSI taskforce; DWP/HMRC administrative data; and published ONS data. We expect to share our analysis with the SSI Task Force and publish it after quality assurance is complete in 2018.
Asked by: Anna Turley (Labour (Co-op) - Redcar)
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 track the employment status of former employees of Sahaviriya Steel Industries UK to complete its study into the former employees of that organisation.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
DWP has been working to identify; quality assure; integrate and securely store and handle data on former Sahaviriya Steel Industries (SSI) UK employees and workers in its supply chain. Our analysis combines data from the official receiver; local tracking data from the SSI taskforce; DWP/HMRC administrative data; and published ONS data. We expect to share our analysis with the SSI Task Force and publish it after quality assurance is complete in 2018.