Asked by: Deidre Brock (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh North and Leith)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department is taking steps to ensure protections for people with disabled worker status are maintained in the managed migration to Universal Credit.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
People who are being moved to Universal Credit (UC) from Employment and Support Allowance take with them their Work Capability Assessment decision. They are not required to have another assessment to get the disability element they are entitled to on Universal Credit.
At the point of moving over to Universal Credit as part of the managed migration process, all claimants will be assessed for transitional protection and paid where appropriate. Transitional protection is designed so that eligible claimants will not have a lower entitlement to Universal Credit than they had entitlement to legacy benefits, at the point they move to the new benefit system.
Asked by: Deidre Brock (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh North and Leith)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that legacy benefit claimants do not have their support terminated before moving to Universal Credit.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
It is a fundamental principle of social security in the United Kingdom that people need to make a claim for benefits. For those already in receipt of benefits, Parliament made it clear, though its passage of the Welfare Reform Act 2012, that entitlement to those benefits would cease as Universal Credit (UC) was implemented.
The Department provides a range of support to individuals, to assist them during migration including a dedicated DWP telephone line and signposting to independent support through the Help to Claim service. Help to Claim is an independent service and is available to those moving from legacy benefits because of managed migration, voluntary moves, or a change of circumstances.
The Migration Notice is the key way in which we initially communicate with legacy benefit claimants to inform them of the requirement to migrate to UC within 3 months. However, we also provide a reminder after 7 weeks and at week 10. If claimants haven’t made a claim for UC and after the 3 month period, on a case by case basis, there is a grace period of 1 month within which a tax credit claimant can make a claim for UC without losing eligibility for transitional protection.
Terminating benefits is our last resort. If a claimant does not claim by their extended deadline, they will be notified that their current benefit(s) will be terminated, unless they have significant support needs requiring a further extension. For those claimants who require significant support, we hold case conferences with Advanced Customer Support Senior Leaders who provide local expertise, working with different organisations to take a multi-agency approach. Where a claimant’s legacy benefit(s) has been terminated and they make a claim to UC within one month, their claim can be backdated to their deadline date and still be awarded Transitional Protection where applicable.
Asked by: Deidre Brock (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh North and Leith)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has issued guidance on the circumstances in which the deadline for an application for Universal Credit could be extended.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department has issued guidance on the circumstances in which the deadline for an application for Universal Credit could be extended. This guidance is regularly reviewed and updated.
Asked by: Deidre Brock (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh North and Leith)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how existing overpayments will be handled in the managed migration from Working Tax Credits to Universal Credit.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
When a claimant’s tax credit claim is closed, for whatever reason, including a move to Universal Credit, the debt is transferred to the Department’s Debt Management team.
Once Universal Credit is in payment, the overpayment will be recovered in line with the Universal Credit regulations.
Asked by: Deidre Brock (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh North and Leith)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, which Department provides secretariat support for the Domestic and Economic Affairs (Union) committee.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Cabinet Secretariat in the Cabinet Office exists to support the Prime Minister and the chairs of Cabinet committees in ensuring that government business is conducted in an effective and timely way and that proper collective consideration takes place. This includes providing secretariat support for the Domestic and Economic Affairs (Union) Cabinet committee.
Asked by: Deidre Brock (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh North and Leith)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when his Department will next publish an up-to-date organogram.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
The most recent Cabinet Office organogram of staff roles and salaries for the period ending 31 March 2023 is published at:
Asked by: Deidre Brock (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh North and Leith)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many staff support the Cabinet's Domestic and Economic Affairs (Union) committee (a) full-time, (b) part-time and (c) on flexible working arrangements.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Within the Cabinet Office there are 1.5 full time equivalent members of staff who support the operation of the Domestic and Economic Affairs (Union) Committee, working with policy teams across government departments, as is typical for Cabinet committees.
This reflects one full time member of staff supporting the Committee alongside other members of staff, which equates to 50% of a full time member of staff.
Asked by: Deidre Brock (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh North and Leith)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the budget is of the Cabinet's Domestic and Economic Affairs (Union) committee.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
There is no individual budget for the Domestic and Economic Affairs (Union) committee, as it sits within the broader Cabinet Secretariat in the Cabinet Office.
Asked by: Deidre Brock (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh North and Leith)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment her Department has made of the (a) estimated cost and (b) suitability of accommodating asylum seekers on the MS Victoria cruise ship in Leith.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
Cost information is prospective and commercially sensitive, and as such is not available to be released. Our proposal was to use the same berth, the same quayside infrastructure and the same principal contractor that was put in place by Scottish Government officials. Furthermore, this is the same vessel used by the Scottish Government. The Home Office also proposed introducing new financial incentives for local authorities to encourage the uptake of dispersal accommodation and delivering large accommodation sites that will produce safe and secure accommodation for thousands of asylum seekers.
The Home Office met with representatives of Scottish government and Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) on several occasions in May to discuss the possibility of placing a vessel in Leith to accommodate asylum seekers.
The last Multi-Agency Forums (MAF) were held on the 22nd June. We are committed to work closely with all local authorities and stakeholders through MAF meetings to address any concerns of the local community and reduce the impact on local services.
If you would like to put forward specific proposals, please do contact the Home Office at: rasiengagementhubregionalconsultation@homeoffice.gov.uk and officials will happily discuss this in greater detail with you.
Asked by: Deidre Brock (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh North and Leith)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has held recent discussions with (a) City of Edinburgh Council, (b) the Scottish Government, (c) Forth Ports Ltd and (d) any other stakeholders on proposals to accommodate asylum seekers on the MS Victoria cruise ship in Leith.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The Home Office met with representatives of Scottish government and Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) on several occasions in May to discuss the possibility of placing a vessel in Leith to accommodate asylum seekers.
In addition, the Home Office established a Multi-Agency Forum (MAF), involving the Council, Health, Police and other public agencies, as a structured forum for discussion with statutory bodies and key stakeholders.
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