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Written Question
Cost of Living Payments: Dunfermline and West Fife
Thursday 29th September 2022

Asked by: Douglas Chapman (Scottish National Party - Dunfermline and West Fife)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in Dunfermline and West Fife did not receive the first cost-of-living benefit instalment due to them receiving a nil award during the relevant universal credit assessment period.

Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General

Between the 14 and 20 July, the department processed over 7.2m cost of living payments worth around £2.4 billion. In total, over eight million families will be eligible for this payment, with around one million eligible because they receive tax credits and no other eligible benefits. These families will receive their first instalment from HMRC in the autumn, and the second instalment in the winter. Further information is available at: 7.2 million Cost of Living payments made to low-income families - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) and at: Cost of Living Payment - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

Universal Credit households can receive a nil award for various reasons. The majority of nil awards are due to household earnings. Other reasons that can cause or contribute to a nil award include; capital, other income, other benefits, sanctions and fraud penalties.

There were 800 households containing 1,000 claimants in Dunfermline and West Fife who have not received the first Cost of Living Payment due to a nil award.

Notes:

1. Figures have been rounded to the nearest hundred.

2. Great Britain level figures have been provided.

3. Nil awards have been defined as households that received a £0 Universal Credit payment and had no deductions for advance repayments, third party debts or government debts and had no money paid directly to their landlord by Universal Credit.

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

5. The methodology used is different to those used to derive the Official Statistics Household series and therefore, figures may not be comparable.

6. The methodology and data source may be slightly different to those used to derive entitlement to the Cost-of-Living Payment.


Written Question
State Retirement Pensions
Friday 17th December 2021

Asked by: Douglas Chapman (Scottish National Party - Dunfermline and West Fife)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reason she has no current plans to include options for receiving the State Pension weekly or bi-weekly on the State Pension claim form.

Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

There are no current plans to include options for receiving State Pension weekly/bi-weekly on the State Pension claim form.

The customer can, however, request a change to another payment frequency if they wish, at any point after the initial claim and award payment is made. A customer may telephone or write to request this change. State Pension systems do have the functionality to provide an alternative payment frequency, at any point after the initial claim and award is made. The easiest way to do this is for the customer to contact Pension Service by telephone and an operational agent can facilitate the change.


Written Question
State Retirement Pensions
Thursday 11th November 2021

Asked by: Douglas Chapman (Scottish National Party - Dunfermline and West Fife)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will ensure that the option of receiving the State Pension weekly or biweekly is made available on the claim form.

Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

There are no current plans to include options for receiving State Pension weekly/bi-weekly on the State Pension claim form.

The customer can, however, request a change to another payment frequency if they wish, at any point after the initial claim and award payment is made. A customer may telephone or write to request this change. State Pension systems do have the functionality to provide an alternative payment frequency, at any point after the initial claim and award is made. The easiest way to do this is for the customer to contact Pension Service by telephone and an operational agent can facilitate the change.


Written Question
State Retirement Pensions
Wednesday 10th November 2021

Asked by: Douglas Chapman (Scottish National Party - Dunfermline and West Fife)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department expects to meet service delivery targets with regards to the processing of new claims to state pension by the end of October 2021.

Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Yes. As of 4 November, there were 3,220 claims where we awaited further information from the customer before we can finalise their claim.


Written Question
Winter Fuel Payments
Friday 22nd October 2021

Asked by: Douglas Chapman (Scottish National Party - Dunfermline and West Fife)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she has taken to ensure that the correct addresses have been used in letters sent to winter fuel payment recipients by her Department.

Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

For Winter Fuel Entitlement, and all customer notifications, DWP uses information from customer records across the Department to identify the most recent address provided by a citizen.

It is the responsibility of the citizen to inform DWP if they change their address and of any other changes that may affect their entitlement to Winter Fuel.


Written Question
Universal Credit: Maladministration
Thursday 22nd July 2021

Asked by: Douglas Chapman (Scottish National Party - Dunfermline and West Fife)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 17 June 2021 to Question 15239, whether her Department is on schedule to automate the process of proactively correcting universal credit payments at risk of being reduced when coinciding with the claimant receiving multiple wages during one assessment period by mid-summer 2021.

Answered by Will Quince

We are currently on schedule to deliver the automation which will allow us to identify and take action when claimants are impacted by two earnings in the one assessment period by Summer 2021.


Written Question
Winter Fuel Payments
Friday 5th February 2021

Asked by: Douglas Chapman (Scottish National Party - Dunfermline and West Fife)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many recipients of the winter fuel payment were paid (a) prior to 31 December 2020 and (b) from 1 January to 1 February 2021; and how many payments remain outstanding.

Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

We are not able to respond to your request as this information is only available at disproportionate cost to DWP.


Written Question
Winter Fuel Payments
Friday 5th February 2021

Asked by: Douglas Chapman (Scottish National Party - Dunfermline and West Fife)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to tackle delays in the payment of the winter fuel payment.

Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

DWP paid ninety-nine per cent of payments on time, which equated to 11.4 Million payments.

DWP has deployed additional resources to ensure that the remaining Winter Fuel Payments are made as soon as possible, as well as boosting our capacity to handle an increase in telephone enquiries.

The remaining 1% of payments, and supplementary payments generated by a customer’s change of circumstances, will be made by 31 March 2021.


Written Question
Winter Fuel Payments
Friday 5th February 2021

Asked by: Douglas Chapman (Scottish National Party - Dunfermline and West Fife)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will commission a review on processes relating to winter fuel payments to ensure that all qualifying recipients are paid (a) accurately and (b) within agreed timescales.

Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

As standard practice, DWP will review the Winter Fuel Payment exercise.


Written Question
Universal Credit: Dunfermline and West Fife
Wednesday 1st July 2020

Asked by: Douglas Chapman (Scottish National Party - Dunfermline and West Fife)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many advanced universal credit payments have been issued in Dunfermline and West Fife constituency since 1 March 2020; and what the cost was of those payments to the nearest thousand pounds.

Answered by Will Quince

Between 1 March 2020 and 16 June 2020 inclusive, 2,310 Universal Credit advance payments were issued to the Dunfermline and West Fife parliamentary constituency totalling a value of £1,013,000.

Notes:

1. Volumes are rounded to the nearest 10 and values to the nearest £1000.

2. Figures include all types of advances, including advances paid after the first assessment period.

3. Figures provided to 16 June 2020 in line with published management information relating to Universal Credit advances.

4. If a claimant has applied for more than one advance, each one is counted separately in these figures.