Chris Stephens

In line with Public Health England (PHE) and Health and Safety Executive (HSE) guidance, the House of Commons is implementing numerous measures to facilitate Parliamentary Business and the eventual full return to Parliament of staff; hon. Members; and visitors when it is safe to do so.

Measures to promote social distancing on the estate include the physical re-arrangement of workspaces; installation of floor markings and provision of signage to encourage people to stay 2m apart. Additional measures have been implemented to facilitate frequent hand washing; support workers getting to and from the estate; move around the estate and use communal areas safely.

The comprehensive list of measures being implemented is contained within the House of Commons’ COVID-19 risk assessment and has been shared with people working on the estate.

Contractors working on the estate have implemented commensurate measures as part of their assessment of their own activities.

The Cabinet Office works closely with all departments on many of the matters outlined within the Civil Service Management Code. All departments are expected to follow the instructions within the Civil Service Management Code when setting terms and conditions of Civil Service employment.

Paragraph three of the Civil Service Management Code outlines the authority delegated to Ministers in charge of departments.

Some legislative employment provisions are applied to Civil Servants. These areas, which include notice and redundancy, are as set out in the Civil Service Management Code and departmental policies.

The Cabinet Office works closely with all departments on many of the matters outlined within the Civil Service Management Code. All departments are expected to follow the instructions within the Civil Service Management Code when setting terms and conditions of Civil Service employment.

Paragraph three of the Civil Service Management Code outlines the authority delegated to Ministers in charge of departments.

Some legislative employment provisions are applied to Civil Servants. These areas, which include notice and redundancy, are as set out in the Civil Service Management Code and departmental policies.

The Cabinet Office works closely with all departments on many of the matters outlined within the Civil Service Management Code. All departments are expected to follow the instructions within the Civil Service Management Code when setting terms and conditions of Civil Service employment.

Paragraph three of the Civil Service Management Code outlines the authority delegated to Ministers in charge of departments.

Some legislative employment provisions are applied to Civil Servants. These areas, which include notice and redundancy, are as set out in the Civil Service Management Code and departmental policies.

The Ministerial Code makes clear that: “harassing, bullying or other inappropriate or discriminating behaviour wherever it takes place is not consistent with the Ministerial Code and will not be tolerated”. Sections 1.4 to 1.6 of the Ministerial Code sets out steps to investigate allegations of a breach of the Ministerial Code.

The model contract for Special Advisers and the Code of Conduct for Special Advisers sets out the standards of conduct expected of special advisers, and the disciplinary procedures that will be followed where necessary.

The Ministerial Code makes clear that: “harassing, bullying or other inappropriate or discriminating behaviour wherever it takes place is not consistent with the Ministerial Code and will not be tolerated”. Sections 1.4 to 1.6 of the Ministerial Code sets out steps to investigate allegations of a breach of the Ministerial Code.

The model contract for Special Advisers and the Code of Conduct for Special Advisers sets out the standards of conduct expected of special advisers, and the disciplinary procedures that will be followed where necessary.

Cabinet Office has an obligation to provide reasonable paid time off to recognised trade union representatives to undertake trade union duties. This includes paid time off for safety representatives as set out in section 3.1.8 of the Civil Service Management Code.

In line with the legislative obligation, set out in the Trade Union Act (2016), information relating to facility time for relevant union officials is published annually. Facility time, defined by that Act as including time off taken by a relevant union official (permitted by the official’s employer) includes, where this arises, under “regulations made under section 2(4) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974."

The Government recognises there are significant benefits to both employers and employees when organisations and unions work together effectively to deliver high quality public services, but facility time within the public sector must be accountable and represent value for money.

GDPR has not affected the rights of unions in the Cabinet Office to bargaining information provided under section 181 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992.

The Government is sympathetic to the unique challenges that new parents have faced because of COVID-19 and the social distancing measures that we had to put in place to protect lives and the NHS. We recognise that these restrictions have meant that some parents have been, or still are unable to participate in activities normally available to them, such as baby groups.

The Government is not minded at this stage to extend Paternity Leave and Pay entitlements. We believe current entitlements to Paternity Leave and Pay and Shared Parental Leave and Pay are generous enough to allow fathers to care for the child and support the child’s mother or adopter. Fathers have access to two weeks of Paternity Leave and Pay and through Shared Parental Leave and Pay, they can share up to 50 weeks of leave and up to 37 weeks of pay with the mother if she does not intend to use her full maternity entitlements.

We understand that social distancing guidelines have made finding childcare more challenging. Parents who are unable to find suitable childcare can contact their local authority where they will receive advice on available settings. In addition, parents of children aged under 14 are now able to form ‘childcare bubbles’ to allow friends or family from one other household to provide informal childcare. Early Years settings (including nurseries and childminders) also remain open during the new national lockdown.

The NHS has made arrangements to ensure that new parents were supported throughout the pandemic. Operating digitally where possible, community health services have continued to provide support, prioritising higher needs families, and NHS mental health services also remained open.

In 2019 we consulted on high-level options for reforming parental leave and pay. We are also conducting a formal evaluation of the Shared Parental Leave and Pay scheme, including large-scale, representative surveys of employers and parents. Together, these will give us a fuller picture of how well the current system of parental leave and pay is working for parents and employers.

We are currently processing and analysing the data from the research and analysing the information that we have collected through the consultation. We intend to publish our findings later this year.

The Government has also remained in close contact with stakeholders and charities supporting parents throughout the pandemic.

We have taken steps to support new parents by passing emergency legislation which ensures that parents who are furloughed during the period that is used to determine entitlement to Maternity, Adoption and other family-related statutory pay do not lose out. This legislation ensures that entitlement to pay and the rate of pay that parents receive is based on their normal earnings, not their furlough pay.

There are a number of projects currently being undertaken or considered by the Department, in some cases the progression will be dependent on availability of budget from next financial year.

BEIS are exploring AI and machine learning techniques internally to enable more efficient working. Projects are being:

(i) undertaken:

• a proof of concept for the use of virtual assistants to help staff find information regarding corporate policies, whereby the assistant will improve by learning from the enquires responses
• planning a proof of concept using Machine Learning for automatic labelling, setting up retention periods for past and future documents that form the official record.

(ii) considered:

• the use of AI handling of inbound enquiries into the department to create draft responses and to triage requests to the correct teams.

BEIS Analysts use machine learning techniques, under the umbrella of artificial intelligence, where appropriate as part of analysis supporting policy development.

Machine Learning projects are being

(i) undertaken:

• identifying the location of industrial strengths
• pilot for targeting communications about business support
• Categorising internal documents by subject
  

(ii) considered:

• project to understand the labour market through analysing job adverts
• a pilot for organising internal processes
• a pilot for predicting economic impacts using real time indicators
• exploring automatic text generation
• planning to repeat a machine learning exercise on HMRC data to identify high growth potential businesses, to build on the successful ‘DECA pilot’ of 2019. This would underpin further operations in 2021, depending on the outcome of the SR process

BEIS policy teams are exploring the use of Artificial Intelligence. AI projects are being:

(ii) considered:

• by the Better Regulation Executive who are looking to convert the stock of regulatory requirements placed on business into machine readable code and pilot hosting this as open source a metadata set on the ‘Open Regulation Platform’ (ORP), freely available on The National Archives .gov.uk platform. The project is currently in discovery phase to identify all data that government holds on regulatory obligations that could be relevant for this platform. This application is closely related to work that has already been undertaken as part of BEIS GovTech challenge to apply Artificial Intelligence (AI) to understand the cumulative impact of regulation

HM Land Registry has been exploring new and emerging technologies including Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning as part of its Digital Street research and development project since 2017. It is aiming to begin to use Machine Learning capabilities within its casework management systems in 2021/22, and is building its Data Science capability to explore and exploit future opportunities that Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning may provide.

The safety of all of those on the estate is the key concern of the Commission. Working extensively with Public Health England and via the implementation of the Covid-19 workplace guidance the appropriate steps have been taken to ensure the safety of all on the estate.

The House authorities have met with representatives of the Trades Unions for staff in the House of Commons and PDS formally at least three times per week since the beginning of March, and with representatives of Members’ and Peers’ Staff Association (MAPSA) and Unite as representatives of Members’ staff.

The House authorities on behalf of the House of Commons Commission have met with representatives of the Trades Unions for staff in the House of Commons and PDS formally at least three times per week since the beginning of March, and with representatives of the Members’ and Peers’ Staff Association (MAPSA) and Unite as representatives of Members’ staff.

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy is compliant with section 3.1.8 of the Civil Service Management Code - that Health and Safety representatives are entitled to reasonable paid time off to undertake relevant training. Time off for non-industrial staff is not set against the facility time allowed under existing arrangements unless the period of time also discharges a liability under Section 168 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992.

The introduction of General Data Protection Regulation has not affected the right of recognised Trade Unions to bargaining information in accordance with section 181 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992.

Responsibility for free school meals and disadvantage policy is devolved and is therefore the responsibility of the devolved administrations.

Free school meals are intended as a benefit in kind, rather than a cash benefit, and our primary interest is that schools meet their legal duties to provide nutritious free lunches to eligible children. It is important that all pupils have access to healthy and nutritious meals at school and we would encourage all eligible children and parents to claim their free meals.

The department does not collect any information on the total or proportion of unspent funds at school or child level. We trust school leaders to make the best decisions in the interests of their pupils and it is right that they have flexibility around how they deliver free school meals. We know that some schools will allow pupils to carry over their benefit, however, we would not want to instruct schools to follow any specific approach nationally. We will consider how we can share the very best practice around the delivery of free school meals.

Responsibility for free school meals and disadvantage policy is devolved and is therefore the responsibility of the devolved administrations.

In England, free school meal eligibility is used as a proxy measure for allocating the pupil premium. This remains the best available measure at an individual pupil level and the most reliable predictor of academic underperformance. Focusing pupil premium on pupils who have claimed free school meals in the past 6 years ensures schools have additional resources to tackle the educational impact of household economic deprivation.

The continuing provision of free school meals to children from out of work families or those on low incomes is of the utmost importance to this government. Take-up of free school meals is strong, estimated at 89% of eligible pupils.

We want to make sure as many eligible pupils as possible are claiming their free school meals, and to make it as simple as possible for schools and local authorities to determine eligibility. To support this, we provide an Eligibility Checking System to make the checking process as quick and straightforward as possible for schools and local authorities. We have developed a model registration form to help schools encourage parents to sign up for free school meals. We also provide guidance to Jobcentre Plus advisers so that they can make Universal Credit recipients aware that they may also be entitled to wider benefits, including free school meals.

Responsibility for free school meals and disadvantage policy is devolved and is therefore the responsibility of the devolved administrations.

In England, free school meal eligibility is used as a proxy measure for allocating the pupil premium. This remains the best available measure at an individual pupil level and the most reliable predictor of academic underperformance. Focusing pupil premium on pupils who have claimed free school meals in the past 6 years ensures schools have additional resources to tackle the educational impact of household economic deprivation.

The continuing provision of free school meals to children from out of work families or those on low incomes is of the utmost importance to this government. Take-up of free school meals is strong, estimated at 89% of eligible pupils.

We want to make sure as many eligible pupils as possible are claiming their free school meals, and to make it as simple as possible for schools and local authorities to determine eligibility. To support this, we provide an Eligibility Checking System to make the checking process as quick and straightforward as possible for schools and local authorities. We have developed a model registration form to help schools encourage parents to sign up for free school meals. We also provide guidance to Jobcentre Plus advisers so that they can make Universal Credit recipients aware that they may also be entitled to wider benefits, including free school meals.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s (DVSA) priority throughout the COVID-19 pandemic has been the safety of its staff and the wider public. That remains its priority as it restarts its services.

To keep driving examiners safe, and help prevent the spread of coronavirus, examiners will wear face coverings and have the option to wear gloves and use disposable seat covers. These measures have been put in place following discussions with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and Public Health England (PHE).

The assessment of the Department for Transport is that the General Data Protection Regulation has not affected the rights of unions in the DfT in relation to bargaining information provided under section 181 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992.

The Department for Transport provides trade union representatives with reasonable facility time to undertake trade union duties, union learning representative duties and health and safety duties. This is in line with the departmental policy, the Civil Service Management Code, the Cabinet Office Framework on Trade Union Facility Time and our legislative obligations. These include a requirement to publish, as set out in the Trade Union Act (2016), information relating to facility time for relevant union officials, with facility time defined by that Act as including time off taken by a relevant union official that is permitted by the official’s employer, including under “regulations made under section 2(4) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974”.

The Government recognises there are significant benefits to both employers and employees when organisations and unions work together effectively to deliver high quality public services, but facility time within the public sector must be accountable and represent value for money.

The Department has consistently taken a proactive approach to reporting and reviewing all reported cases of Covid-19 infections. This has ensured that wherever possible sites remain open or partially open.

During the 6-month period May to October 2021, 11 offices have been closed for a circuit breaks, 6 of these were closed due to multiple positive cases on the site. Circuit breaks are tight restrictions and/or closures designed to stop and bring the number of cases down.

The following offices were closed or partially closed due to circuit breaks:

• Blackburn Service Centre
• Wigan Jobcentre
• Caxton House (Corporate Centre/Hub)
• Manchester St Peters SQ (Corporate Centre/Hub)
• Dudley Pedmore House Service Centre
• Guisely Jobcentre
• Weymouth Jobcentre
• Newcastle Tyne View Park (Corporate Centre/Hub)
• Caerphilly Jobcentre
• Kirkby Jobcentre
• Montrose Jobcentre

The offices listed above are sites that were closed for a Circuit Break due to the potential of workplace transmission and therefore do not include sites where they were temporarily closed to allow for deep clean to take place.

Throughout the pandemic, Jobcentres remained open for claimants who required face-to-face support. From April, Jobcentres in England, Scotland and Wales returned to their pre-lockdown opening hours and restarted face-to-face appointments, in accordance with government guidelines.

Work Coaches manage their diaries to ensure that they are supporting their claimants back into work, whilst also allowing time for admin and other duties. The amount of time allocated to carry out duties other than face-to-face appointments will vary, depending on the needs of individual claimants.

There is no maximum number of face-to-face appointments a full-time Work Coach is expected to deliver in one day. The number each day is determined by the circumstances of each claimant and the type of appointment being conducted. If a Work Coach is not available due to annual leave, sick leave, training, or any other reason, the Work Coach Team Leader will manage the situation to ensure that claimants continue to receive the appropriate level of support.

For each of the last six months, the total number of claimants attending a face-to-face appointment in a Jobcentre is as follows:

Please note that the data supplied is derived from unpublished management information which was collected for internal Departmental use only and has not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standard. The data should therefore be treated with caution.

Throughout the pandemic, Jobcentres remained open for claimants who required face-to-face support. From April, Jobcentres in England, Scotland and Wales returned to their pre-lockdown opening hours and restarted face-to-face appointments, in accordance with government guidelines.

Work Coaches manage their diaries to ensure that they are supporting their claimants back into work, whilst also allowing time for admin and other duties. The amount of time allocated to carry out duties other than face-to-face appointments will vary, depending on the needs of individual claimants.

There is no maximum number of face-to-face appointments a full-time Work Coach is expected to deliver in one day. The number each day is determined by the circumstances of each claimant and the type of appointment being conducted. If a Work Coach is not available due to annual leave, sick leave, training, or any other reason, the Work Coach Team Leader will manage the situation to ensure that claimants continue to receive the appropriate level of support.

For each of the last six months, the total number of claimants attending a face-to-face appointment in a Jobcentre is as follows:

Please note that the data supplied is derived from unpublished management information which was collected for internal Departmental use only and has not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standard. The data should therefore be treated with caution.

Throughout the pandemic, Jobcentres remained open for claimants who required face-to-face support. From April, Jobcentres in England, Scotland and Wales returned to their pre-lockdown opening hours and restarted face-to-face appointments, in accordance with government guidelines.

Work Coaches manage their diaries to ensure that they are supporting their claimants back into work, whilst also allowing time for admin and other duties. The amount of time allocated to carry out duties other than face-to-face appointments will vary, depending on the needs of individual claimants.

There is no maximum number of face-to-face appointments a full-time Work Coach is expected to deliver in one day. The number each day is determined by the circumstances of each claimant and the type of appointment being conducted. If a Work Coach is not available due to annual leave, sick leave, training, or any other reason, the Work Coach Team Leader will manage the situation to ensure that claimants continue to receive the appropriate level of support.

For each of the last six months, the total number of claimants attending a face-to-face appointment in a Jobcentre is as follows:

Please note that the data supplied is derived from unpublished management information which was collected for internal Departmental use only and has not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standard. The data should therefore be treated with caution.

Throughout the pandemic, Jobcentres remained open for claimants who required face-to-face support. From April, Jobcentres in England, Scotland and Wales returned to their pre-lockdown opening hours and restarted face-to-face appointments, in accordance with government guidelines.

Work Coaches manage their diaries to ensure that they are supporting their claimants back into work, whilst also allowing time for admin and other duties. The amount of time allocated to carry out duties other than face-to-face appointments will vary, depending on the needs of individual claimants.

There is no maximum number of face-to-face appointments a full-time Work Coach is expected to deliver in one day. The number each day is determined by the circumstances of each claimant and the type of appointment being conducted. If a Work Coach is not available due to annual leave, sick leave, training, or any other reason, the Work Coach Team Leader will manage the situation to ensure that claimants continue to receive the appropriate level of support.

For each of the last six months, the total number of claimants attending a face-to-face appointment in a Jobcentre is as follows:

Please note that the data supplied is derived from unpublished management information which was collected for internal Departmental use only and has not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standard. The data should therefore be treated with caution.

The Department has prioritised the safety of our workforce and claimants throughout the pandemic and part of that is ensuring that we have robust national and site level risk assessments and guidance that ensures all appropriate mitigations are in place. The impact assessment informs the generic risk assessment, which we then apply at a local level, within the parameters that are set.

We have a suite of Health & Safety risk assessments in place developed following extensive consultation with departmental trade union representatives. These cover all of the measures in place to protect staff and customers and are regularly reviewed.

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer given for PQ 11582.

We carefully balance our duty to the taxpayer to recover overpayments with our support for claimants. Safeguards are in place to ensure deductions are manageable. From 12 April 2021, we further reduced the cap on deductions from Universal Credit (UC) awards to 25 per cent and lengthened the payback period from 12 to 24 months meaning in effect someone can receive 25 payments over 24 months, giving them more flexibility over the payments of their UC award. This will also allow claimants to retain more of their award, giving additional financial security.

Customers can contact the Department if they are experiencing financial hardship in order to discuss a reduction in their rate of repayment, depending on financial circumstances.

The information requested is provided in the attached spreadsheet.

The Department reallocated resources to prioritise work to help the COVID-19 effort. This caused delays to some work, including this literature review. The review summarises publicly available information and does not contain any new research carried out by the Department.

The Department has recently published new data from the Family Resources Survey on household food security, giving us a better understanding of who is most at risk. This underlines how seriously we take the issue of food insecurity.

Personal Independence Payment (PIP) claimants, invited to a telephone assessment, can opt to have their assessment recorded by assessment providers, who will provide the equipment necessary to allow this service to proceed.

The department is currently working with PIP assessment providers to deliver an audio recording service for face to face assessments, that removes the requirement for the claimant to provide the equipment. Work is also ongoing to introduce an audio recording facility for video assessments. This will bring the audio recording of face to face and video assessments in line with the recording of telephone assessments and we aim to complete both as soon as it is practically possible.

Currently, PIP claimants invited to a face to face assessment, can record their assessment themselves, subject to the conditions set by the department. These are listed in the PIP Assessment Guide, and are contained within correspondence sent to claimants from the assessment providers.

The removal of the spare room subsidy policy has been an important tool to help to manage housing support expenditure and enable mobility within the social rented sector. For those who require additional support with housing costs, Discretionary Housing Payments are available.

The information requested for households in Housing Benefit is published and available at: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk

Guidance for users is available at: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started.html

The information for Universal Credit is not readily available.

The information requested is not readily available for Universal Credit, and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

Data on households in Housing Benefit impacted by the Removal of Spare Room Subsidy is published and available at: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk within the section on “Housing Benefit”.

Guidance for users is available at: https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started.html

The information requested is not readily available for part (a) and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

Some of the information requested for part (b) is published and available at: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk link is external within the sections on “Housing Benefit” and “Households on Universal Credit”.

Guidance for users is available at: https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started.html

The information requested is published and available at: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk within the sections on “Housing Benefit” and “Households on Universal Credit”.

Guidance for users is available at: https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started.html

Monthly Universal Credit payment timeliness statistics for new claims are published in the Households on Universal Credit section of Stat-Xplore and can be found at:

https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/

Guidance on how to extract the information required can be found at:

https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started.html

The option for a claimant to request an Audio Recording of their PIP Telephone Assessment is available with both Assessment Providers and also for Work Capability Assessments undertaken over the telephone.

The Department is currently working with both PIP Assessment Providers to deliver an audio recording service for face to face assessments that removes the requirement for the Claimant to provide the equipment. This will bring the audio recording of PIP face to face assessments in line with the audio recording of telephone assessments. The option of audio recording a face to face assessment is already available for Work Capability Assessments and IIDB assessments where requested in advance by the claimant.

The information requested is published and available at: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk within the sections on “Housing Benefit” and “Households on Universal Credit”.

For the total size of reduction in benefit payments average reduction per affected claimant “RSRS reduction” with “measures” will need to be used. Guidance for users is available at: https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started.html

The Department committed to look at processes to give claimants a written warning, instead of a sanction, for a first sanctionable failure to attend a Work-Search Review. Before making an assessment of the merits of extending such a system we are under-taking a series of small-scale Proof of Concepts of this warning system.

The increase in claimants due to Covid has led to a pause in this testing in order to prioritise support for claimants during this difficult time.

Throughout the pandemic, Jobcentres remained open for anyone who needed face-to-face support. From April, all Jobcentres in England, Scotland and Wales returned to their pre-lockdown opening hours and restarted face-to-face appointments, in accordance with government guidelines. As of w/c 24 May we estimate that 273,318 claimants have attended booked face-to-face appointments in England, 20,997 in Scotland and 15,877 in Wales.

Please note that the data supplied is derived from unpublished management information which was collected for internal Departmental use only and has not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standard. The data should therefore be treated with caution.

Monthly sanction referral statistics for those people claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance, Employment Support Allowance (Work Related Activity Group), Income Support and Universal Credit (Live Service) are available by referral reason and are published quarterly at:

https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/

Guidance for users is available at:

https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started.html

The latest statistics are available to January 2021, with the statistics to April 2021 and July 2021 expected to be published in August 2021 and November 2021 respectively.

Sanction referral statistics for those people claiming Universal Credit (Full Service) are not readily available and to provide them would incur disproportionate cost.

No comparative assessment of face-to-face appointments for groups of claimants in jobcentres and other channels has currently been made.

The return to a face-to-face regime is based on evidence from past large scale trials of what interventions work best for out of work benefits claimants. These show that face-to-face performs better than telephony and that seeing a claimant fortnightly produces substantially better outcomes than not seeing claimants at all.

https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20130314010347/http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd5/rrs-index.asp (report 382)

On 18 March 2003 the UK government formally recognised that British Sign Language (BSL) is a language in its own right. Provision for accessing services by users of BSL are covered by the Equality Act 2010 and the Public Sector Equality Duty.

Existing equality legislation already means employers, service providers and public bodies have to provide services in BSL and other formats when it is reasonable to do so. The Public Sector Equality Duty requires public bodies to have due regard to the needs of all those with protected characteristics.

As referenced in my previous answer, as part of its response to the Covid-19 situation, in Spring 2020 the Department extended award dates for existing PIP claims. We restarted the PIP award review process in July. New decisions made since then will not have had their awards extended. However, we are aware that some claimants on fixed term awards without a review date are now falling out of payment before we have been able to make a decision on renewal claims they have made. We are prioritising these cases to ensure we can make a decision as quickly as possible.

No assessment has been made. The latest estimates of Pension Credit take-up, published in October 2020, relate to the financial year 2018/19 and do not reflect any potential impacts of the BBC TV license.

Ahead of the return to full opening hours and the restart of face-to-face appointments, every jobcentre has reviewed all relevant site risk assessments, including the Jobcentre Claimant Facing Risk Assessment, in consultation with local Trade Union representatives. We have maintained an open dialogue with Departmental Trade Union Side, meeting with them weekly to discuss our plans for the 12 April (and 26 April in Scotland), and giving them opportunity to review and comment on all of the supporting products we have provided for our people, and, wherever possible, making changes to reflect their feedback and concerns.

The Department does not hold the information necessary to provide the requested figure.

The severe disability premium in Employment and Support Allowance and the additional amounts for persons severely disabled in State Pension Credit are not separate benefits in themselves but are payable as part of the award to those who are eligible, i.e. those severely disabled people who live independently and who are most likely to need to purchase care. When a claim to either benefit is made, the claimant is asked questions, for example if they are in receipt of a qualifying disability benefit or if anybody is caring for them, which helps to determine if the premium or the additional amount is payable. Once entitled to the benefit, claimants are required to report any change of circumstance including ones which may lead to the awarding of the premium or the additional amount. The Department also makes use of the information that it holds to prompt enquiries of the claimant as to possible entitlement to the premium or the additional amount. There is information for claimants about the severe disability premium and the additional amount for persons severely disabled on the relevant pages of www.gov.uk.

As of 13th April 2021, 42,400 people were repaying Carer’s Allowance overpayments.

The total original value of those debts was just over £138million; the total amount currently outstanding is £89million.

The Department has a duty to recover overpaid benefits as quickly and efficiently as possible, but it is not intended that the recovery of an overpayment should cause any customer undue financial hardship.

Overpayment recovery of Carer’s Allowance, as with all benefits is subject to various legislative limitations and safeguards.

The information requested is not available.

We take the health and safety of colleagues extremely seriously, and are absolutely committed to ensuring all our sites remain COVID secure in line with Public Health and Government guidance to keep colleagues and customers safe. We have adopted a slow, steady and safe approach to returning colleagues to the workplace, with the number of colleagues able to return varying by site and based on the COVID secure capacity of the jobcentre. An announcement about the department’s intention to return to full opening hours and restart face-to-face appointments was made by the Permanent Secretary on the 18th March. In advance of their return to the workplace, every colleague, including those who were in the clinically extremely vulnerable group, is having a one-to-one with their manager to make sure they are aware of the support available to them.

From 3rd April 2020, deductions from Universal Credit for some government debt, such as Tax Credits, benefit overpayments and Social Fund Loans were suspended for 3 months. This was done to ease the financial pressure of debt recovery on benefit claimants and to also allow Debt Management staff to be re-deployed to focus on the unprecedented volume of new claims received during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Universal Credit advance repayments are made gradually over 12 months, and deductions are capped at 30% of a claimant’s standard allowance. This is further to the reduction of the overall maximum level of deductions from 40% to 30% of the standard allowance since October 2019.

From April 2021, the repayment period will be extended from 12 months to 24 months and the deductions cap will be reduced from 30% to 25%.

For those who find themselves in unexpected hardship, advance repayments can be deferred for up to three months in certain cases.

The requested information surrounding deductions to Universal Credit payments by parliamentary constituency is shown in the attached table.

The Department only holds information relating to its own staff. Average working days lost figures are calculated on rolling year to date basis, therefore the following data relate to the year to 31 December. Due to the way that data is structured in our systems we do not hold this data in the format requested and it could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Declaration of ethnicity is not mandatory, however as at December 2020, 87.8 per cent of staff have declared their ethnicity.

The Department only holds information relating to its own staff. Average working days lost figures are calculated on rolling year to date basis, therefore the following data relate to the year to 31 December. Due to the way that data is structured in our systems we do not hold this data in the format requested and it could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

The Department only holds information relating to its own staff. Average working days lost figures are calculated on rolling year to date basis, therefore the following data relates to the rolling year to 31 December.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer given on 24 February to question number 155175 at https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2021-02-19/155175.

Deductions are currently capped at 30% of the claimant’s standard allowance down from 40% previously. This is due to reduce further to 25% of the claimant’s standard allowance in October this year

For Universal Credit claims with a payment due during November 2020, 2,128,000 (44% of all claims) had a deduction. The total amount deducted was £166,330,000 (around 5% of the total amount of UC paid during November 2020), with an average of £78 deducted per claim.

Notes:

1. Deductions include advance repayments, third party deductions and other deductions but exclude sanctions and fraud penalties which are reductions of benefit rather than deductions.

2. Number of claims rounded to the nearest 1,000, total deducted rounded to the nearest £10,000.

3. Amount of Universal Credit paid reflects the amount of money paid to claimants and their landlords as part of their award, including the amount which they would have been entitled to had it not been deducted. It does not include other payments such as advances and hardship payments.

4. Figures are affected by the impact of the temporary suspension of some deduction types due to Covid-19. During April 2020, government deductions were temporarily suspended and only began to be reinstated from July. As of November, these had not been fully returned.

5. Figures are provisional and are subject to retrospective change as later data becomes available.

6. Claim numbers may not match official statistics caseloads due to small methodological differences.

No assessment has been made.

Tackling poverty will always be a priority for this Government. Our recent focus has rightly been on supporting people financially during these unprecedented times, with an injection of billions of pounds to strengthen the welfare system in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, including a temporary increase in the Universal Credit Standard Allowance to support those facing the most financial disruption. Through the Covid Winter Grant Scheme, announced on 9 November, we are extending that support with an additional £170m for local authorities in England so that they can support families with children and other vulnerable people with the cost of food and essential utilities this winter.

From October 2019, the overall maximum level for standard deductions is normally limited to 30% of a claimant’s Standard Allowance except for last-resort deductions. From October 2021, this is being reduced to 25% of the claimant’s standard allowance except for last-resort deductions. We recognise the importance of safeguarding the welfare of claimants who have incurred debt, so last resort deductions can be applied to protect vulnerable claimants from eviction and/or having their fuel supply disconnected, by providing an affordable repayment plan for arrears of these essential services.

Claimants can ask for New Claims and Change of Circumstances Advance repayments to be delayed for up to 3 months in exceptional circumstances.

The Department only holds information relating to its own staff. Average working days lost figures are calculated on rolling year to date basis, therefore the following data relate to the year to 31 December.

DWP recognises the importance of the Health & Safety representative role and is compliant with the requirements in section 3.1.8 of the Civil Service Management Code. Arrangements are set out in our Employee Relations Framework which has been the subject of extensive consultation with our trade unions and was most recently reviewed in 2020. We allocate official time as necessary for example in response to serious incidents and to enable training for new H&S representatives, we have also treated all Covid related safety work as official time and keep this under regular review.

The available information on the number of people on Universal Credit, by local authority, is published monthly and can be found at:

https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/

Guidance on how to extract the information required can be found at:

https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started.html

Note:

The latest statistics show those on Universal Credit as at 14 January 2021. Statistics for

February 2021 will be published in March 2021.

The available information on the number of people on Universal Credit, by local authority, is published monthly and can be found at:

https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/

Guidance on how to extract the information required can be found at:

https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started.html

Note:

The latest statistics show those on Universal Credit as at 14 January 2021. Statistics for

February 2021 will be published in March 2021.

Data on the number of Universal Credit claimants living in households with (a) children and (b) disabled people is not available.

It would not be for the Department for Work and Pensions to comment on why workers eligible for furlough have been denied payments.

Those who are out of work or who are on a low income can claim Universal Credit and/or New Style JSA or ESA, if they are entitled.

Help to Claim is available online, over the phone and face to face through local Citizens Advice offices.

It would not be for the Department for Work and Pensions to comment on why workers eligible for furlough have been denied payments.

Those who are out of work or who are on a low income can claim Universal Credit and/or New Style JSA or ESA, if they are entitled.

Help to Claim is available online, over the phone and face to face through local Citizens Advice offices.

We have no records of HMRC staff using DWP service centres to undertake overtime. HMRC staff are bound by their own policies in relation to both overtime and working outside of their normal office, including observing all health and safety policies.

All of our offices are COVID secure and are subject to risk assessments to ensure that occupancy levels are safe and that social distancing can be maintained.

Temporary agency workers are brought into the department through the commercial arrangements under the Crown Commercial Service, Public Sector Resourcing framework, and are supplied by Brook Street.

Agency workers recruited by Brook Street to work in the department are currently receiving 80 per cent of their wage during Covid-19 related absences. This arrangement was implemented with the agreement of HM Treasury following the end of the central Government Contingent Labour Compensation Scheme on 31 October 2020.

The 80 per cent payment mirrors both the previous scheme referred to above and the arrangements in place under the government Job Retention Scheme.

The information requested is commercially sensitive and cannot be disclosed as it will impair the commercial interests of the Department and its ability to obtain goods and services on the best possible commercial terms.

Under ‘Civil Service Recruitment Principles’ for any agency workers to become either fixed term or permanent appointments there would need to be an externally advertised recruitment exercise where they could be assessed alongside other applicants.

Since March 2020 we have increased the number of colleagues with the IT to enable them to work more flexibly by over 50,000, meaning almost 74,000 people in total have equipment to enable them to work from home. This is approximately 81% of our workforce. Every day more colleagues are able to work from home as we continue to roll out more IT equipment to ensure that everyone in DWP is enabled to work from home where appropriate by the end of March 2021.

We are limiting how many colleagues remain working in an office setting in order to balance the need to provide essential public facing services for citizens, whilst maintaining safe social distancing in line with Government / Devolved Administration guidelines. Examples of such roles are some of our Jobcentre services (which provide vital face to face support for our most vulnerable citizens), and clerical processes such as Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit applications.

Since March 2020 we have increased the number of colleagues with the IT to enable them to work more flexibly by over 50,000, meaning almost 74,000 people in total have equipment to enable them to work from home. This is approximately 81 per cent of our workforce. Every day more colleagues are able to work from home as we continue to roll out more IT equipment to ensure that everyone in DWP is enabled to work from home where appropriate by the end of March 2021.

We are limiting how many colleagues remain working in an office setting in order to balance the need to provide essential public facing services for citizens, whilst maintaining safe social distancing in line with Government / Devolved Administration guidelines. Examples of such roles are some of our Jobcentre services (which provide vital face to face support for our most vulnerable citizens), and clerical processes such as Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit applications.

The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

The Department has been automatically applying extension of awards of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) for all claims due to end between March 2020 and January 2021, except those where a new decision has been made since review and reassessment activity resumed in July. Additionally, a small number of awards have not been extended where action on their case is pending. These are not included in Covid-19 easements and will not be extended as part of this exercise.

The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

The Department has been automatically applying extension of awards of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) for all claims due to end during the Covid-19 outbreak, except those where a new decision has been made since review and reassessment activity resumed in July. Further extensions are being applied where a decision on their new award could not be made before they reach their end of award date.

On 31^st October 2020, the latest date for which data is available, there were 95,930 Personal Independence Payment (PIP) Normal Rules new claims that had been referred to the Assessment Provider but were yet to be returned to DWP following an assessment.

Notes

Source: PIP ADS

• PIP analytical data held by the Department does not contain the date the assessment takes place. As a proxy, we use the date an assessment was returned from the Assessment Providers to the Department. This is usually a few days following the assessment.
• The answer includes Normal Rules new claims only
• This is unpublished data. It may be subject to future revision.
• Figures are for Great Britain only.
• The status of claims as 'normal rules' and 'new claim/reassessment' is the status at the point of referral to the Assessment Provider. It is possible for claims to transition between normal/special rules and new claims/reassessments during the course of the claimant journey.

Throughout the pandemic, Jobcentres have remained open to help any claimant who needs face-to-face support, and who we cannot get help in any other way. We have made all of our Jobcentres COVID secure, not only for our staff but for claimants, by introducing a range of safety measures, including screened desks, social distancing signage, mandatory face coverings for customers, the provision of hand sanitiser, and regular touch point cleaning.

In line with public health guidance, colleagues are only advised to follow shielding advice if they receive a new written shielding notification. Colleagues who are classed as clinically extremely vulnerable are not being asked to work from the office and equipment has been provided to enable them to work from home.

Colleagues who are permanent members of teams in Jobcentres which are open on Saturdays, including those currently working from home, are included in this change. This ensures that everyone, regardless of their current working situation, is treated equally.

The frequency of interventions that Universal Credit Work Coaches undertake with claimants is determined by the individual circumstances of the claimant, the duration of their claim, and the level of support required at that particular time. Since Covid restrictions began earlier this year, claimants have been supported by Work Coaches applying a more flexible approach. The Claimant Commitment interview was shortened to enable work coaches to support as many claimants as they can back into work. The length of this interview will be reviewed against our Work Coach recruitment plans and subsequent operational capacity.

The frequency of interventions that Universal Credit Work Coaches undertake with claimants is determined by the individual circumstances of the claimant, the duration of their claim, and the level of support required at that particular time. Since Covid restrictions began earlier this year, claimants have been supported by Work Coaches applying a more flexible approach. The Claimant Commitment interview was shortened to enable work coaches to support as many claimants as they can back into work. The length of this interview will be reviewed against our Work Coach recruitment plans and subsequent operational capacity.

From 3rd April 2020, deductions from Universal Credit for some government debt, such as Tax Credits, benefit overpayments and Social Fund Loans were suspended for 3 months. This was done to ease the financial pressure of debt recovery on benefit claimants and to also allow Debt Management staff to be re-deployed to focus on the unprecedented volume of new claims received during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Universal Credit advance repayments are made gradually over 12 months, and deductions are capped at 30% of a claimant’s standard allowance. This is further to the reduction of the overall maximum level of deductions from 40% to 30% of the standard allowance since October 2019.

From October 2021, the repayment period will be extended from 12 months to 24 months deductions cap will be reduced from 30% to 25%.

For those who find themselves in unexpected hardship, advance repayments can be deferred for up to three months in certain cases.

The requested information surrounding deductions to Universal Credit payments by parliamentary constituency is shown in the attached table.

In March 2020 we switched off conditionality requirements so that we could concentrate on processing the unprecedented number of new and existing claims.

From the 1st of July, we reintroduced Claimant Commitments as we were able to again tailor reasonable requirements asking claimants to prepare and look for work where it was safe to do so in line with social distancing rules. These commitments will be amended as necessary to account for any new lockdown guidance.

The Department will make use of Artificial Intelligence or Machine Learning technologies where it is appropriate across many areas of work.

· Identity, Trust & Verification - Robust identity verification and authentication provides us with the confidence that people interacting with us are who they say they are. This is essential to our ambitions in enabling self-service and to safeguarding the public purse and to reduce verification demands where it is unnecessary.

· Process Automation – We incrementally utilise robotic automations on some existing processes to remove the need for routine administrative work and to speed up the processing of claims and changes to be timely, with less backlogs.

· Signposting & Support Offers for Citizen Outcomes– We are exploring how to provide a more relevant non-financial support offer for customers, more tailored signposting to provision, more preventative interventions for the individual and more effective place and sector-based interventions.

· Countering Fraud, Error and Debt – We are developing our counter fraud and error risk services to help prevent and reduce fraud and error losses. Our aim is to increasingly prevent fraud and error at the point of contact with customers and to reduce costs of interventions.

· Cyber Security – This means continuously evolving our cyber security and resilience to detect rapidly moving security threats as we increase our on-line presence.

In all cases our own data experts assure these results, learn at scale and iteratively improve.

It is a long-established policy of all governments, that provision of income-related benefits is contingent on a person making a valid claim. Like other means-tested benefits, Pension Credit eligibility and award amounts are determined by a person’s financial and personal circumstances and it is the responsibility of the person making a claim to provide the correct and accurate information required to establish entitlement.

Pension Credit is intended to target help at the poorest pensioner households. It would not therefore be practical to automatically register everyone of State Pension age for Pension Credit when the majority of them will simply not qualify. There may also be pensioners, who might qualify for Pension Credit, who do not wish to claim it.

In 2010 the Department ran an innovative pilot scheme to try to boost take-up of Pension Credit. The trial involved automatically paying Pension Credit to some 2,000 people who the Department had identified as possibly having entitlement to Pension Credit without them having to make an actual claim first. At the end of the trial the group were invited to go on and make a claim. The level of take-up was surprisingly low and disappointing, with less than 9% of those involved going on to take up their entitlement. It was therefore not considered a viable and cost effective mechanism to take forward. A copy of the evaluation of the pilot is available at https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/214583/rrep796.pdf.

Information on the number of Pension Credit claimants in each parliamentary constituency as of February 2020 is published and available at https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk.

The information requested on the proportion of pensioners eligible to Pension Credit who are in receipt of the benefit is only available at the Great Britain level. The latest data for 2017/18 is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/income-related-benefits-estimates-of-take-up-financial-year-2017-to-2018.

The DWP publishes annual take-up statistics for income-related benefits, including Pension Credit. These are estimates based on data collected through the Family Resource Survey as well as DWP administrative data. However, the sample sizes available from the survey data are not large enough to enable reliable take-up statistics to be produced at sub-national level e.g. for parliamentary constituencies.

We do not hold the information requested on the number and proportion of claims made by eligible pensioners for pension credit in each parliamentary constituency.

No job centres have closed as a result of safety concerns since the 1 August 2020.

DWP has 877 locations and has recruited into over a quarter of these during July and August 2020. The number of staff recruited by each Group and number of locations is as follows:

Data has been provided by month and to end August 2020 as weekly data is not available for all recruitment.

Since 1 April 2020 the Department has held regular discussions with our Departmental Trade Union Side on our recruitment programme. Specific discussions on recruitment have taken place on at least ten separate occasions.

The requested information surrounding deductions to Universal Credit payments by parliamentary constituency is shown in the attached table.

Universal Credit advance repayments are made gradually over 12 months, and deductions are capped at 30% of claimants’ standard allowance. This is further to the reduction of the overall maximum level of deductions from 40% to 30% of the standard allowance since October 2019.

From October 2021, the repayment period will be extended from 12 months to 24 months and the reduction of the deductions cap from 30% to 25%.

For those who find themselves in unexpected hardship, advance repayments can be deferred for up to three months in certain cases.

In order to provide additional protection to both colleagues and the public against droplets potentially containing coronavirus, following BEIS guidance and the completion of risk assessments a mitigation of a physical barrier is required during extended face to face customer interactions. There have been no reports or incidents that would suggest the screen design is not fit for purpose.

Jobcentres have remained open throughout, providing support to our most vulnerable customers. In line with the easing of restrictions in England, from 1^st July, people will be able to make an appointment with their Work Coach if they can’t get the help they want online or over the phone. Work Coaches, as part of the individualised approach, will be calling all claimants to engage with them. We will continue to be align with current guidance from Scotland and Wales.

The Department is continually assessing the service being offered to customers and we continue to keep staff numbers under review as part of our response to the impact of COVID-19 on the labour market. We have already committed to increasing the number of Work Coaches and Case Managers and recruitment is already underway.

In each of the most recent six months, the number of individuals claiming Personal Independence Payment (PIP), Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) and Universal Credit (UC) with either an assessment scheduled or awaiting scheduling in the UK can be found in the table below.

The department continues to process both New Claims and Changes of Circumstance and encourage anyone with a change in their needs to contact the Department so that we can ensure they are receiving the correct level of support.

We are unable to separate out individuals for the Limited Capability for Work element of Universal Credit and have therefore provided the total number of individuals claiming Universal Credit awaiting an assessment.

Please note: data has been rounded to the nearest 10.

The data provided is derived from unpublished contractual management information produced by the Assessment Providers which was collected for Internal Departmental use only and has not been quality assured to Official Statistics Publication standards.

The information requested is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Our priority throughout this Covid-19 period continues to be to protect the public and staff, while ensuring people receive the benefits they are entitled to quickly and safely. We suspended face-to-face assessments, reviews and reassessments. We continue to assess people based on written evidence alone, where that is possible, and have introduced telephone assessments. We also automatically extended awards where necessary for certain health and disability benefits, providing reassurance to those in receipt of them. This action enabled us to prioritise activity on new claims and changes of circumstances.

The number of assessments that were scheduled to have taken place between 1 March 2020 and 30 May 2020 and the number of assessments that took place during that time can be found in the table below:

Please note:

Data has been rounded to the nearest 10.

Figures do not include paper based reviews.

PIP

The Assessments Scheduled data has been produced by the assessment providers (Capita and Independent Assessment Services).

The Assessments Completed data is derived from unpublished contractual management information produced by the assessment providers which was collected for internal departmental use only and has not been quality assured to Official Statistics Publication standards.

Face-to-face assessments for PIP were paused due to Covid-19 from 17 March 2020. Telephone assessments began a piloted roll out from 23 March 2020 for Capita and 03 April 2020 for IAS.

ESA and UC

Face-to-face assessments for UC and ESA were paused due to Covid-19 from 17 March 2020. Telephone assessments began a piloted roll out from 04 May 2020 where only Limited Capability for Work Related Activity recommendations were being made.

The department continues to process both New Claims and Changes of Circumstance and encourage anyone with a change in their needs to contact the Department so that we can ensure they are receiving the correct level of support.

Statistics for Universal Credit claims by postcode area, and starts by postcode area and Jobcentre Plus office can be found on Stat-Xplore:

https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/

The available information on the number of households with children on Universal Credit, by parliamentary constituency, is published and can be found at:

https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/

Guidance on how to extract the information required can be found at:

https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started.html

Statistics for Universal Credit claims by postcode area, and starts by postcode area and Jobcentre Plus office can be found on Stat-Xplore:

https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/

The available information on the number of households with children on Universal Credit, by parliamentary constituency, is published and can be found at:

https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/

Guidance on how to extract the information required can be found at:

https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started.html

We took the decision to temporarily suspend for 3 months the requirement for face-to-face Jobcentre Plus appointments for all claimants in Universal Credit, New Style Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) and Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), old-style JSA and ESA, and Income Support. They will continue to receive benefits as normal and they will not be sanctioned for not taking part in appointments with Jobcentres.

The number of Universal Credit claimants who have been sanctioned is published quarterly. The latest figures for Universal Credit sanction rates are up to February 2020 and can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-work-pensions/about/statistics

Additional breakdowns of the figures can be found at:

https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/

Guidance for users is available at:

https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started.html

The Government has committed to annual statistics releases related to the operation of this policy.

Statistics for 2018/19 can be found 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-2019

Statistics related to 2019/20 will be published in the summer.

The Department is conducting a literature review on the factors driving the use of food banks, which we aim to publish before the end of the summer; at which point it will be placed in the Library.

The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

The latest available information on assessment outcomes for Personal Independence Payment and Employment and Support Allowance, for various geographical areas, is published and can be found at:

https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/jsf/login.xhtml

Guidance for users is available at:

https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started.html

The number of individuals awaiting an assessment can be found below. However, we are unable to provide data at constituency level or to separate out individuals for the Limited Capability for Work element of UC. I have therefore provided the total number of individuals claiming UC awaiting an assessment.

(a) As of the 27 April 2020, the number of individuals claiming PIP with either an assessment scheduled or awaiting scheduling in the UK was 166,630. This PIP data does not include Northern Ireland. 20,870 of these cases were in Scotland.

(b) As of the 4 May 2020, the number of individuals claiming ESA with either an assessment scheduled or awaiting scheduling in the UK was 101,910. 14,460 of these cases were in Scotland.

(c) As of the 4 May 2020, the number of individuals claiming UC with either an assessment scheduled or awaiting scheduling in the UK was 121,640. 13,510 of these cases were in Scotland.

Data supplied by Assessment Provider reports, and rounded to the nearest 10.

Please note this is unpublished data.

The latest published journey time for PIP is 8 weeks on average for a new claim assessment and 10 weeks for a DLA to PIP reassessment (based on the latest published data) and 9 weeks for ESA and we are working with our suppliers to ensure those claimants currently going through the assessment journey are seen as quickly as possible.

The Government currently spends £5.8 billion a year providing some help to 1.43 million people of pension age with the cost of their care needs. Attendance Allowance provides financial support towards the extra costs faced by those with a severe disability. It is only available to those over State Pension age who require care or supervision as a result of their disability.

Information on the availability of Attendance Allowance is widely available including online on GOV.UK; from places such as Libraries and Doctors Surgeries; directly from Health Care Professionals who might be supporting those with care needs; and from a range of groups and charities who provide advice and support to elderly people with care needs. DWP continually seeks to improve the information it makes available so as to encourage people to claim Attendance Allowance where they may be entitled. We have not made any estimates in take-up rates of Attendance Allowance.

From 17^th March, we suspended all face-to-face assessments for health and disability benefits. For existing claimants, we have also automatically extended awards and suspended any new review or reassessment activity, except where claimants notify us of changes to their needs that may result in an increase to their award.

We have temporarily suspended the requirement for face-to-face Jobcentre Plus appointments for all claimants in Universal Credit, Job Seekers’ Allowance (JSA), Employment Support Allowance (ESA) and Income Support. This means that claimants are not expected to contact their Jobcentre Plus while this temporary suspension is in place. They will continue to receive benefits as normal and they will not be sanctioned for not taking part in interviews with Jobcentres.

As announced on Monday 16 March we are stopping all face-to-face assessments for sickness and disability benefits and introducing alternative measures to assess from Tuesday 17 March. We are working at pace with our Assessment Providers to minimize any inconvenience and delays as much as possible.

No estimate has yet been made on the average waiting times for Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and Universal Credit (UC) while these alternative arrangements are in place. Claims to ESA and UC will be payable prior to a Work Capability Assessment having been carried out and payments for Personal Independence Payment will be backdated from the date of decision in line with normal rules following an assessment.

The table below provides details of the average time taken for complainants to receive a decision from the Independent Case Examiner’s (ICE) Office, in the current reporting year (April 2019 to February 2020).

When the ICE Office accepts a complaint for investigation, it will consider whether it can be resolved by brokering a solution between the complainant and the relevant department or supplier, without having to request evidence to inform an investigation. If the complaint can’t be resolved, the evidence will be requested and the case will await allocation to an Investigation Case Manager (ICM). Cases are dealt with by dedicated teams and are usually brought into investigation in strict date order.

Following an investigation of the evidence the complaint may be settled, if agreement can be reached on actions that satisfy the complainant. If the complaint cannot be settled, the Independent Case Examiner will issue a report detailing findings and any recommendations for redress.

The cases that reach the Independent Case Examiner are the most complex and investigations will not be compromised in order to be completed within certain timescales. We keep people updated about the timings involved with their case and the vast majority of complainants are satisfied with the service they receive.

Those in receipt of Personal Independence Payment may be entitled to additional premiums as part of their income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA). Whilst our ambition is to provide automated solutions to facilitate the payment of these there will always be occasions – whether because of the relative costs and benefits of a particular approach or the complexity or lifespan of the product – where this is not possible and human intervention is required. To support our people to deliver a high quality service we are undertaking regular scans of our ESA caseload to identify and eliminate error; prioritising payment related processing across sites; re-organising the delivery of our services to maximise capability and capacity and digital transformation to support delivery.

This Government is committed to providing a strong welfare safety-net for those who need it. Our deductions policy strikes a fair balance between a claimant’s need to meet their financial obligations and their ability to ensure they can meet their day-to-day needs. Since October 2019, Universal Credit deductions are set at a maximum of 30% of a claimant’s standard allowance, down from 40% previously.

The requested information surrounding deductions to Universal Credit payments by parliamentary constituency is shown in the attached table.

This Government is committed to providing a strong welfare safety-net for those who need it. Our deductions policy strikes a fair balance between a claimant’s need to meet their financial obligations and their ability to ensure they can meet their day-to-day needs. Since October 2019, Universal Credit deductions are set at a maximum of 30% of a claimant’s standard allowance, down from 40% previously.

The requested information surrounding deductions to Universal Credit payments by parliamentary constituency is shown in the attached table.

The Department publishes annual statistics on fraud and error in the benefit system, which are available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/fraud-and-error-in-the-benefit-system. These include estimates of underpayments due to errors relating to premia and income from other benefits. The information requested on the total number of claimants receiving ESA or Universal Credit payments inconsistent with their PIP and other relevant living and care arrangements is not available and it would incur disproportionate cost to determine this number.

The Department publishes annual statistics on fraud and error in the benefit system, which are available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/fraud-and-error-in-the-benefit-system. These include estimates of underpayments due to errors relating to premia and income from other benefits. The information requested on the total number of claimants receiving ESA or Universal Credit payments inconsistent with their PIP and other relevant living and care arrangements is not available and it would incur disproportionate cost to determine this number.

This Government is committed to providing a strong welfare safety-net for those who need it. There is a well-established system of hardship payments, benefit advances and budgeting loans for those who need extra support.

Our deductions policy strikes a fair balance between a claimant’s need to meet their financial obligations and their ability to ensure they can meet their day-to-day needs. Since October 2019, Universal Credit deductions are a maximum of 30% of a claimant’s standard allowance down from 40% previously.

We also recognise the importance of safeguarding the welfare of claimants who have incurred debt, so last resort deductions over the 30% cap can be applied to protect vulnerable claimants from eviction and/or having their fuel supply disconnected, by providing a repayment method for arrears of these essential services.

Of all eligible claims to Universal Credit Full Service due a payment in November 2019, 58% (1,307,000 claims) had a deduction.

Of this 1,307,000 claims with a deduction:

a) 44% (569,000 claims) had deductions up to and including 20% of the Standard Allowance (25% of all eligible claims).

b) 52% (681,000 claims) had deductions between 20% and 30% of the Standard Allowance (30% of all eligible claims).

For last resort deductions –

c) 4% (51,000 claims) had deductions between 30% and 40% of their Standard Allowance (2% of all eligible claims).

d) 1% (7,000 claims) had deductions above 40% of their Standard Allowance (0.3% of all eligible claims).

Notes:

1. Claim numbers may not match official statistics caseloads due to small methodological differences.

2. Claim numbers are rounded up to the nearest 1,000.

3. Deductions include advance repayments and all other deductions, but exclude sanctions and fraud penalties which are reductions of benefit rather than deductions.

4. Deduction bands exclude the lower limit but include the upper limit, i.e. 'between 20% and 30% of the Standard Allowance' includes claimants having 30% of their standard allowance deducted but not those having 20% deducted.

The Department has received a total of number of 39,187 Universal Credit complaints up to January 2020.

Details of the number of complaints concerning Universal Credit that have been decided on by the Independence Case Examiner’s is 185 (please note the data is only available from July 2016 to January 2020)

All ICE Reports signpost the complainant to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman’s Office, via a Member of Parliament, in the event that they are dissatisfied with the outcome of the ICE investigation. We do not hold information about the number of complaints about Universal Credit which were subsequently referred by an MP to the Ombudsman’s Office.

For context, the latest figures show that there are 3 million people on Universal Credit as of 12 March 2020.

Data on the medical conditions of Disability Living Allowance (DLA) claimants who are invited to apply for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

However, data on claimants who have a visual disease recorded as their primary disabling condition on either DLA or PIP and who were previously in receipt of DLA is available on Stat Xplore for those who have had a PIP assessment.

The selection of a DLA reassessment to PIP is done on a random basis within specific postcodes and has no relation to the condition of the individual.

The latest available data (to October 2019) on Personal Independence Payment (PIP) initial awards by award type and length of award can be broken down by main disabling condition and can be found in the PIP clearances table at https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/.

Guidance on how to use Stat-Xplore can be found here: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/index.html.

PIP claimants undergoing award reviews do not have their award automatically renewed as the purpose of award review is to look at entitlement at set intervals to ensure a claimant continues to receive the correct award. The review date is selected based on the claimant's individual circumstances.

We want the application process for Universal Credit to be as quick and easy as possible to ensure that claimants receive their money at the earliest opportunity. The Department takes seriously the need to support vulnerable claimants. Comprehensive support is available to claimants to use our digital service, however we recognise there will be occasions when people are unable to make or maintain their claim online, so telephone support is available.

Universal Credit has been designed with a diverse range of claimants in mind, and has been reviewed in conjunction with the Royal National Institute for the Blind for accessibility needs. The Department communicates with customers in a variety of different formats such as Braille, audio, large print, through third party interpreters such as British Sign Language or non-spoken language.

In these instances, information normally available through a claimant’s online account will be communicated in an alternative format, which is best suited to an individual’s circumstances. The initial verification can include a home visit to support a claimant with making their claim and completing any other administrative tasks required to ensure that they receive the correct payment.

Citizens Advice and Citizens Advice Scotland have supported over 200,000 individuals through ‘Help to Claim’ since April 2019, offering tailored and practical support to help people make a Universal Credit claim up to receiving their first full correct payment on time. ‘Help to Claim’ is available online, on the phone and face-to-face in locations including Jobcentres and Citizen’s Advice Bureaux.

In addition, the Department will be bringing forward a Green Paper on health and disability support in the coming months. The Green Paper will explore how the welfare system can better meet the needs of claimants with disabilities and health conditions now and in the future, to build a system that people trust and enables them to live independently and move into work where possible.

Initial decisions following a Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessment for Great Britain since 1^st January 2018 up to 30^th June 2019 are as shown in the table below. Figures are based on decisions where the primary health condition was classed as Visual Disease. This data is for new claims only; it excludes Disability Living Allowance (DLA) claims that have been reassessed for PIP.

Initial decisions following a PIP assessment – new claims – initial decisions made 1st January 2018 to 30th June 2019

Notes:

Data has been rounded to the nearest 10.

Percentages have been rounded to the nearest percent.

Data is for new claims only – it does not include DLA reassessment claims.

Great Britain only.

Data is based on primary disabling condition as recorded on the PIP computer systems. Claimants may often have multiple disabling conditions but only the primary condition is reflected in these statistics. It is not possible to break down the condition of “visual disease” into sight loss or visual impairment from the data.

A lapsed appeal is where DWP changed the decision in the customer’s favour after an appeal was lodged but before it was heard at tribunal.

Claimants who have received benefit decisions more recently may not yet have had time to complete the claimant journey and progress to appeal.

The Northern Irish Assembly has devolved responsibility for social security benefits. The responsibility for statistics in Northern Ireland lies with the Department for Communities: http://www.communities-ni.gov.uk

Claimants can ask for a variety of alternative formats during the initial call to claim or at any time during their claim via letter, email, phone call or via the video relay service. We offer various alternative formats suitable for those with a visual impairment. These include, Large Print, Extra Large Print, Braille, Moon, Audio CD and Email for those who use specific software’s i.e Jaws or Dragon. We also offer telephone assistance and Visiting Officers to assist the customer on the PIP journey.

Unfortunately, we do not have a breakdown of figures for each alternative format as there are several teams throughout PIP Regional Benefit Centres and Alternative Format Teams who record volumes of work not specific formats. To provide this information would be at a disproportionate cost to the Department.

Between November 2014 and September 2017, Universal Credit Full Service was going through its Pilot phase, during which resourcing levels were regularly reviewed in line with the growing needs of the Pilot.

Upon conclusion of the Universal Credit Pilot in September 2017, UC Full Service began rolling out throughout the remainder of the country in a phased approach, which concluded in December 2018. The latest published Caseload position for UC stands at 2,084,952 cases (August 2019 figure), at which point there were 4,508 Case Managers deployed within Universal Credit Service Centres supporting UC claimants, with each Case Manager on average handling 463 cases.

The latest available data on Personal Independence Payment (PIP) Award Review and Change of Circumstances clearances can be found in the published data tables “Data tables: PIP experimental statistics on planned award review and change of circumstance registrations and clearances to October 2019” available here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/personal-independence-payment-april-2013-to-october-2019

This data is broken by type of clearance including claims that were disallowed due to failing to attend an assessment and is broken down by various geographical areas, including region and parliamentary constituency within Great Britain. This data can be found in Tables 2B (i), 2B (ii), 2C (i) and 2C (ii) of the published statistics above.

Please note that whilst we hold data on the number of Award Reviews disallowed for failing to attend an assessment, we do not hold recorded data on the reason that a claimant failed to attend an assessment.

Please note that the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) is only responsible for benefits in Great Britain. Social security benefits, including PIP, are a devolved matter in Northern Ireland and your questions regarding PIP in Northern Ireland should be directed to the Department of Communities in Northern Ireland.

The requested information surrounding the value of deductions to Universal Credit payments by parliamentary constituency is shown in the attached table.

In December 2019 we had 4,598 Case Managers, 12,711 Work Coaches and 1048 UC Decision Makers delivering Universal Credit. All of these job roles will use the journal to correspond with claimants as just one part of their varied job roles, and Case Managers will use their dashboards to see their cases that have a journal entry waiting to be viewed. Not all journal entries will require a response.

The literature review on the drivers of food bank use will be published in due course; at which point it will be placed in the Library.

The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

The Department’s deductions policy strikes a fair balance between a claimant’s need to meet their obligations and their ability to ensure they can meet their day-to-day needs. From October 2019, Universal Credit deductions have been reduced to 30% of a claimant’s standard allowance down from 40% to better achieve these objectives.

Deductions are made following the priority order, which determines the order in which items should be deducted. ‘Last resort’ deductions, such as rent or fuel costs, are at the top of the priority order, ensuring that claimant welfare is prioritised, followed by social obligation deductions, such as child maintenance, and finally benefit debt, such as Social Fund loans and benefit overpayments.

The Department collects and analyses data on Universal Credit regularly, including on the rate of deductions. Alongside this, the Department is always building our understanding on the impact deductions can have on claimants, and has heard evidence from external organisations on this issue. We have to balance these impacts with the need for claimants to meet their obligations.

The Code of Practice ‘What happens if you are overpaid Universal Credit, Jobseeker’s Allowance or Employment and Support Allowance?’ was deposited in the Library 6 May 2014. Deposit reference ‘DEP2014-0790’ refers.

http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/business-papers/commons/deposited-papers/

As a Department, we understand the impact that debt can have on the wellbeing of claimants and we endeavour to ensure that the recovery of any overpayment is managed in a way that takes account of the claimant’s individual circumstances. Where a person says they cannot afford the proposed rate of recovery, a reduction in their rate of repayment may be agreed.

Section 105 of The Welfare Reform Act 2012 amended the Social Security Act 1992, such that for Universal Credit, New Style JSA and New Style ESA, any payment in excess of the entitlement is recoverable, regardless of how the overpayment of entitlement occurred. This policy was brought in to reflect the need for a better value for money welfare system and to reinforce the overarching aim that Universal Credit mirrors work.

In 2018/19, working with local authorities, the Department recovered £1.1bn in overpayments. Of this, £19.3m related to Universal Credit overpayments arising as a result of Departmental errors.

The Department has an obligation to ensure that public funds are administered responsibly and to abide by the principles set out in Her Majesty’s Treasury’s guidance on Managing Public Money. Waiver applications have to be considered in line with this guidance. Debts can only be waived if recovery is causing substantial medical and/or financial hardship to a claimant or their immediate family.

In 2019/20 (up to 31^st December 2019), there were 10 Universal Credit claimants who had their debts waived.

We understand the impact that debt can have on the wellbeing of claimants and we endeavour to ensure that the recovery of any overpayment is managed in a way that takes account of the claimant’s individual circumstances. Where a person says they cannot afford the proposed rate of recovery, a reduction in their rate of repayment may be agreed.

In 2019/20 (up to 31^st December 2019), 159,000 Universal Credit claimants had the rate at which they were repaying a benefit overpayment reduced.

*The figures provided in this response have been sourced from internal management information and were not intended for public release. They should therefore not be compared to any other similar figures subsequently released by the Department. The figure relating to the number of debts waived has been rounded to the nearest 10, and the figure relating to reductions in repayment rates has been rounded to the nearest 1,000. It is important to note that debts waived may not all relate to Universal Credit.

The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

The Department’s deductions policy strikes a fair balance between a claimant’s need to meet their obligations and their ability to ensure they can meet their day-to-day needs. From October 2019, Universal Credit deductions have been reduced to 30% of a claimant’s standard allowance down from 40% to better achieve these objectives.

In the latest period for which figures are available (August 2019), £1.3 billion of Universal Credit was paid, of which £94 million (7%) was deducted. The table below provides a breakdown of the deductions by reason.

Notes:

1. Values of deductions in the table are rounded to the nearest thousand. The total value of all deductions and the amount of universal credit paid is rounded to the nearest £1,000,000.

2. Deductions include advance repayments, third party deductions and all other deductions, but exclude sanctions and fraud penalties which are reductions of benefit rather than deductions.

3. Amount of Universal Credit paid reflects the amount of money paid to claimants and their landlords as part of their award, including the amount which they would have been entitled to had it not been deducted. It does not include other payments such as advances and hardship payments.

4. Figures are provisional and are subject to retrospective change as later data becomes available.

Our latest data shows the proportion of new Universal Credit claims paid in full on time was 88.4%. In many cases where full payment is not made on time, it is due to unresolved issues such as: claimants not accepting their Claimant Commitment or passing identity checks, or having outstanding verification issues, such as housing costs and self-employed earnings.

The latest available information on payments made in full and on time to Universal Credit claimants is published and can be found at:

https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/.

Guidance on how to extract the information required can be found at:

https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started.html

The Universal Credit system is structured around an online personal account which contains all the information relevant to the claim. This includes claimant’s bank account details, savings, capital, medical history, family relationships and address information. We need to ensure a high level of security and protection is maintained to combat unscrupulous individuals and organisations who try to access the information we hold and seek to impersonate genuine advisers. We take all reasonable steps to protect the position of claimants and their data.

Claimants may currently be entitled to a number of other benefits because they are in receipt of Universal Credit. These are known as passported benefits and include free school meals and free prescriptions. The eligibility criteria for each passported benefit remain the responsibility of the departments and devolved administrations that own them. In Scotland and Wales, eligibility criteria for free school meals is a matter for the devolved administrations.

The Department for Education provides an electronic eligibility checking service to all local authorities in England, which is used to confirm eligibility for free school meals.

In the 2015 funding settlement, the Government agreed with the BBC that responsibility for the concession will transfer to the BBC in June 2020.

On 10 June 2019, the BBC announced that the current scheme will end. From 1 June 2020, a free TV licence will only be available to a household with someone aged over 75 who receives Pension Credit.

2018/19 is the first year of the part funding agreement leading up to the BBC taking responsibility for policy and funding of the concession from June 2020. The figures in the table below therefore are DWP’s share only, not the total expenditure.

The table below provides estimates of the costs for 2018/19 of providing free TV licences to people aged 75 years and over in Glasgow South West constituency, Glasgow City local authority and Scotland.

New Universal Credit claimants who require urgent financial support, can apply for new claim advances to provide access to a payment quickly, until the first regular payment is due. Additionally, existing Universal Credit claimants who have told the Department about a change in their circumstances, which means more Universal Credit is owed, may also apply for an advance payment. Budgeting Advances exist to help pay for emergency household costs, for example, buying a new cooker or for help getting a job or staying in work.

There are a range of advance payments that Universal Credit claimants can access. Information surrounding eligibility conditions and how to apply is published online at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/universal-credit-advances#how-to-apply-for-a-universal-credit-advance

The entirety of the number of advances paid, in Glasgow South West parliamentary constituency since January 2019, is provided in the table below.

Notes

1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10
2. Figures go up to August 2019 in line with published statistics relating to households on Universal Credit
3. Figures include all types of advances
4. Figures relate to Universal Credit full service only

As of the end of December 2019, the equivalent of around 1,400 full time staff were working as fraud investigators.

In 2018/19 the total value of benefit overpaid as a result of fraud was £2.3bn. This accounts for 1.2% of benefit expenditure.

The vast majority of benefit expenditure is paid correctly, with front line staff working hard to prevent overpayments from occurring. We are constantly improving our processes and continue to invest in the use of data and analytics to identify fraud and to better target our investigations.

It is important to clarify that any overpayment made as a result of fraud is fully recoverable. Last year, DWP and Local Authorities recovered £1.1bn in benefit debt.

The Universal Credit Landlord Portal allows social landlords who are registered users, to verify rent and submit managed payment requests through the Landlord Portal, rather than through the established email processes.

Our Trusted Partner scheme allows social landlords to play a key role in engaging with their tenants who are on Universal Credit, helping those who cannot manage their housing payments to access the support available and to request that managed payments are in place where appropriate.

There are now over 750 Social Landlords using the Portal and Trusted Partner scheme, and enrolment onto the Portal & Trusted Partner remains open for any eligible Social Landlords (further details can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/universal-credit-landlord-portal-and-trusted-partner-scheme-for-social-landlords/landlord-portal-and-trusted-partner-scheme-for-social-landlords). The total number of landlords currently enrolled on the Portal represent around 96% of the total Social Rented Sector housing stock.

The Department maintains guidance on GOV.UK, relevant for private and social sector landlords, with information about Universal Credit including the Landlord Portal which has existed since 2017. This can be accessed at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/universal-credit-and-rented-housing--2/universal-credit-and-rented-housing-guide-for-landlords

The General Data Protection Regulation has not affected the rights of unions in the Department in relation to bargaining information provided under section 181 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992.

The Department complies with the obligation to provide reasonable paid time off to recognised trade union representatives to undertake trade union duties. This includes paid time off for safety representatives as set out in section 3.1.8 of the Civil Service Management Code.

In line with the legislative obligation, set out in the Trade Union Act (2016), information relating to facility time for relevant union officials is published annually, with facility time defined by that Act as including time off taken by a relevant union official that is permitted by the official’s employer, including where this arises under “regulations made under section 2(4) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974”.

The Government recognises there are significant benefits to both employers and employees when organisations and unions work together effectively to deliver high quality public services, but facility time within the public sector must be accountable and represent value for money.

The General Data Protection Regulation has not affected the rights of unions in the Department in relation to bargaining information provided under section 181 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992.

The Department complies with the obligation to provide reasonable paid time off to recognised trade union representatives to undertake trade union duties. This includes paid time off for safety representatives as set out in section 3.1.8 of the Civil Service Management Code.

In line with the legislative obligation, set out in the Trade Union Act (2016), information relating to facility time for relevant union officials is published annually, with facility time defined by that Act as including time off taken by a relevant union official that is permitted by the official’s employer, including where this arises under “regulations made under section 2(4) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974”.

The Government recognises there are significant benefits to both employers and employees when organisations and unions work together effectively to deliver high quality public services, but facility time within the public sector must be accountable and represent value for money.

The FCDO has no plans to privatise any British Council roles.

The UK Government remains concerned about reports of human rights violations in Colombia. The fundamental human right to peaceful assembly and association must be guaranteed. Colombia is a UK 'Human Rights Priority Country,' and we have raised our concerns with the relevant state actors in Colombia since protests began. Most recently, I spoke with acting Foreign Minister Adriana Mejía on 14 May to express our concerns, and welcome Colombia's commitment to transparent investigations into allegations of abuse.

We look to the Colombian authorities to investigate fully any excessive use of force, and take appropriate action against those responsible. Security services must be held accountable for their actions, with all complaints thoroughly investigated. We will continue to work closely with the UN Verification Mission, and the UN Office of the High Representative for Human Rights in Colombia, as well as the wider international community, in support of their efforts to reduce tensions, and promote dialogue.

We are clear that we support the right of all Colombians to protest peacefully. We look to the Colombian authorities to investigate fully the excessive use of force against protesters, and take appropriate action against those responsible. Security services must be held accountable for their actions, with all complaints thoroughly investigated.

UK Ministers and officials regularly raise human rights issues with their Colombian counterparts, and we will continue to do so. Most recently, the UK's Ambassador for Human Rights, Rita French, raised our concerns around media freedom, sexual violence, and the killing of human rights defenders during her virtual visit to Colombia in February.

We have made it clear to Turkey that we expect the government to undertake any legal processes or actions against opposition parties, MPs, party officials, elected mayors, human rights defenders and journalists, fairly, transparently and with full respect for the rule of law. We will continue to engage closely with Turkey to encourage the full protection of fundamental rights of all peoples, regardless of their legitimate political affiliations, particularly in the area of freedom of expression and assembly, press freedom and the treatment of detainees. We will also continue to raise the human rights situation in Turkey in multilateral organisations, as we did at the UN Human Rights Council's Universal Periodic Review of Turkey in January 2020.

We have made it clear to Turkey that we expect the government to undertake any legal processes or actions against opposition parties, MPs, party officials, elected mayors, human rights defenders and journalists, fairly, transparently and with full respect for the rule of law. We will continue to engage closely with Turkey to encourage the full protection of fundamental rights of all peoples, regardless of their legitimate political affiliations, particularly in the area of freedom of expression and assembly, press freedom and the treatment of detainees. We will also continue to raise the human rights situation in Turkey in multilateral organisations, as we did at the UN Human Rights Council's Universal Periodic Review of Turkey in January 2020.

We have made it clear to Turkey that we expect the government to undertake any legal processes or actions against opposition parties, MPs, party officials, elected mayors, human rights defenders and journalists, fairly, transparently and with full respect for the rule of law. We will continue to engage closely with Turkey to encourage the full protection of fundamental rights of all peoples, regardless of their legitimate political affiliations, particularly in the area of freedom of expression and assembly, press freedom and the treatment of detainees. We will also continue to raise the human rights situation in Turkey in multilateral organisations, as we did at the UN Human Rights Council's Universal Periodic Review of Turkey in January 2020.