Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to reduce risks for farmers at work.
Answered by Sarah Newton
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has responsibility for the regulation of health and safety standards on Great Britain’s farms. In March 2018, HSE published its Agriculture Sector Intervention Strategy (available at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/aboutus/strategiesandplans/sector-plans/ag-sec-intervention-strategy.pdf) which details the actions they will take to tackle farm accidents and ill health.
Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many budgeting loans were issued in 2018.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson
In the period January to December 2018, there were 1,177,200 awards of Budgeting Loans in Great Britain. This figure does not include awards made after review, reconsideration or appeal following an initially unsuccessful application, and is rounded to the nearest 100
Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to reduce the number of personal independence payment applications that go to appeal.
Answered by Sarah Newton
Since PIP was introduced 3.5m decisions have been made, of these 9% have been appealed and 4% have been overturned.
The Department endeavors to get decisions right first time. The main reason why decisions are changed at tribunal is a combination of the claimant’s oral evidence, the tribunal reaching a different conclusion on the same evidence and new written evidence not available to the original decision makers.
We continue to monitor and improve our decision making processes. This includes the deployment of 150 Presenting Officers to represent the Department at tribunal hearings and provide valuable feedback to both Decision Makers and Health Care Professionals.
Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that employees have access to good toilet facilities in the workplace.
Answered by Sarah Newton
The law requires employers to provide suitable and sufficient toilet facilities at readily accessible places. Employers should ensure, amongst other things, that toilets are kept clean and well maintained.
The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 apply to most workplaces. There is more specific legislation for construction sites, namely the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 (CDM).
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) or Local Authority, as the relevant enforcing authority, will follow up complaints regarding unsuitable welfare facilities at workplaces.
HSE provides guidance on what constitutes suitable and sufficient sanitary and washing facilities which is available to download for free on the HSE website:
http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/books/l24.htm
http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg293.pdf
http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/priced/l153.pdf
http://www.hse.gov.uk/construction/healthrisks/welfare/toilets-and-washing.htm
http://www.hse.gov.uk/agriculture/topics/welfare.htm
HSE is also currently updating guidance to advise that drivers must have access to welfare facilities in the premises they visit as part of their work.
Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what progress her Department is making on its policy to make work pay.
Answered by Lord Sharma
Universal Credit, which is replacing six legacy benefits, provides a single earnings taper rate to ensure claimants are better off working and working more. DWP’s recently published Universal Credit Full Service Survey found an increase in earnings for those in work and on Universal Credit by an average of £600 per year. Additionally, our Universal Credit employment impact analysis (published in September 2017) found that people on Universal Credit are four percentage points more likely to have been in work than JSA claimants
At Autumn Budget 2018, we recently announced a £1000 increase in work allowances from April 2019, which will provide a £630 boost for households with children, and for people with disabilities.
To support the transition to Universal Credit for all self-employed people, the Autumn Budget also announced we will be extending the 12-month grace period (the period before the Minimum Income Floor applies) to all gainfully self-employed people, giving claimants time to grow their businesses.
Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what guidance her Department provides to people in receipt of benefits on managing their personal finances.
Answered by Lord Sharma
Work coaches will signpost claimants to additional help from other agencies if they need it, including advice on managing their personal finances. This includes the Money Advice Service that offers a free and independent service to help people make informed choices on all issues to do with money.
Universal Credit, which is replacing six legacy benefits, provides an enhanced level of personalised support as people receive tailored support managed through personal work coaches.
As part of the Universal Support package Personal Budgeting Support (PBS) is offered to Universal Credit claimants from the outset of their claim. PBS helps claimants as they transition to Universal Credit and adapt to the financial changes that Universal Credit brings, such as managing their money on a monthly basis and paying their bills on time.
PBS face to face services are currently offered through Local Authorities via Universal Support delivered locally. From April 2019 Citizens Advice (England and Wales) and Citizens Advice Scotland will take on the responsibility for delivering a strengthened Universal Support service, a move which will ensure a consistent and streamlined service for claimants across the country.
Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many crisis loans were awarded in 2017.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson
No Crisis Loans were awarded in 2017.
Crisis Loans were abolished in England, Scotland and Wales from 1st April 2013 and in Northern Ireland from November 27th 2016 as part of Welfare Reform.
Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to tackle benefit fraud.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is committed to reducing benefit fraud across all benefits administered by or on behalf DWP.
DWP’s key focus is on preventing potential benefit fraud before it occurs. Internal and external data matches are increasingly helping inform benefit payments and alerting staff to check for any undeclared changes in people’s circumstances.
The Department’s Risk and Intelligence Service uses data and analytics to identify fraud and uses that information to direct investigations. The Department is investing significantly in this area, which will enhance its future risk assessment capability.
DWP takes effective action against people who commit benefit fraud. This includes the use of tough financial penalties referred to as administrative penalties and where appropriate prosecution. DWP convicted nearly 5,000 people of benefit fraud last year alone, as well as issuing over 5,500 Administrative Penalties.
Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what her Department's policy is on universal credit support for parents with a third child.
Answered by Lord Sharma
The policy to provide additional Universal Credit support for a maximum of two children encourages families who receive benefits to make the same financial decisions as those families who support themselves solely through work. We recognise that some claimants are not able to make the same choices about the number of children in their family and exceptions have been put in place to protect certain groups.
When moving to Universal Credit under the managed migration process, families’ existing entitlement will be protected, so long as they remain responsible for the same children and entitled to benefit. Child Benefit continues to be paid for all children, and, within Universal Credit the additional element for any disabled children is paid regardless of the total number of children in the household.
Additional help for eligible childcare costs are also available for all children. Universal Credit is more generous in terms of childcare costs with an increased level of support for childcare costs: from 70 per cent in legacy benefits, to 85 per cent within Universal Credit. This means that working families claiming Universal Credit can reclaim up to 85 per cent of their eligible childcare costs each month, up to a maximum of £646.35 for one child and £1,108.04 for two or more children. Universal Credit childcare costs can be claimed for one month prior to starting work, to enable a child to settle into a new routine. In addition, the Flexible Support Fund is also available to help parents pay childcare deposits or up-front fees.
Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the number of claimants of universal credit that moved into full-time employment.
Answered by Lord Sharma
Since 2010, we are helping on average 1,000 more people into work each and every day – the vast majority of which are full-time permanent roles.
Universal Credit replaces six benefits with one, to simplify the system and make work pay. As a result, people claiming Universal Credit move into work faster, stay in work longer and spend more time looking to increase their earnings. Universal Credit also provides more help with childcare costs, a dedicated Work Coach, scraps the 16-hour ‘cliff edge’ and the prohibitive tax rates should someone start work. When it is fully rolled out we expect Universal Credit will generate £8 billion in economic benefits every year and increase the total number of hours worked by 113 million per year for those already in work.
In our recent Universal Credit Full Service Claimant Survey, we found around six in ten claimants were looking to increase their hours and/or income, primarily by increasing the hours of their existing role. The survey can be accessed at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/universal-credit-full-service-claimant-survey.
Further information on the impact of Universal Credit on the labour market can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/universal-credit-understanding-its-impact-on-the-labour-market