Asked by: Ellie Reeves (Labour - Lewisham West and East Dulwich)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average length of time was for telephone callers kept on hold before speaking to a Job Centre Plus adviser in each of the last 12 months for which data is available.
Answered by Lord Sharma
Telephone calls made to a Jobcentre Plus Work Coach are made to the direct number they provide rather than via a switchboard. Although there is a facility to put the caller on hold, Jobcentre telephone systems do not record the length of time a caller is put on hold.
Universal Credit Full Service claimants can also contact their Work Coach and Case Manager via their online journal.
Asked by: Ellie Reeves (Labour - Lewisham West and East Dulwich)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the effect of the universal credit income taper and work allowances on gender equality in the labour market.
Answered by Lord Sharma
The Government now provides more support than ever before to help parents with the costs of childcare, including providing 15 hours a week of free childcare in England for all 3 and 4 year olds and disadvantaged 2 year olds, and doubling free childcare available for working parents of 3 and 4 year olds to 30 hours a week. We have also increased the level of support for childcare costs within Universal Credit from 70% to 85%, its highest ever level. This gives parents up to £646.35 per month for one child and £1108.04 per month for two or more children.
We know that the longer someone is out of the labour market, the harder it can be to return when they are ready. As a result parents will be helped to prepare for work when their youngest child is two, and look for work when they are three. This will give them the best chance of finding a job which fits in with their caring responsibilities. Work-related requirements are tailored to individual circumstances and compatible with child care responsibilities. Work coaches can consider caring responsibilities when setting availability and work search hours. This will also include work preparation activities.
In Universal Credit, there are none of the cliff edges or complicated hours rules of the old system, just a single, simple, taper so payments reduce in a transparent and predictable way as earnings increase. We know this is having a positive impact on employment outcomes, as shown in three separate research studies. The reports for these studies can be found at:
Asked by: Ellie Reeves (Labour - Lewisham West and East Dulwich)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the effect of the universal credit income taper and work allowances on women returning to work after childbirth.
Answered by Lord Sharma
The Government now provides more support than ever before to help parents with the costs of childcare, including providing 15 hours a week of free childcare in England for all 3 and 4 year olds and disadvantaged 2 year olds, and doubling free childcare available for working parents of 3 and 4 year olds to 30 hours a week. We have also increased the level of support for childcare costs within Universal Credit from 70% to 85%, its highest ever level. This gives parents up to £646.35 per month for one child and £1108.04 per month for two or more children.
We know that the longer someone is out of the labour market, the harder it can be to return when they are ready. As a result parents will be helped to prepare for work when their youngest child is two, and look for work when they are three. This will give them the best chance of finding a job which fits in with their caring responsibilities. Work-related requirements are tailored to individual circumstances and compatible with child care responsibilities. Work coaches can consider caring responsibilities when setting availability and work search hours. This will also include work preparation activities.
In Universal Credit, there are none of the cliff edges or complicated hours rules of the old system, just a single, simple, taper so payments reduce in a transparent and predictable way as earnings increase. We know this is having a positive impact on employment outcomes, as shown in three separate research studies. The reports for these studies can be found at:
Asked by: Ellie Reeves (Labour - Lewisham West and East Dulwich)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the effect of universal credit rules on a mother's ability to return to work.
Answered by Lord Sharma
Universal Credit is designed to strengthen incentives for parents to move into and progress in work, and it is working. Universal Credit claimants move into work faster and spend more time looking for work.
The Government now provides more support than ever before to help parents with the costs of childcare, including providing 15 hours a week of free childcare in England for all 3 and 4 year olds and disadvantaged 2 year olds, and doubling free childcare available for working parents of 3 and 4 year olds to 30 hours a week. We have also increased the level of support for childcare costs within Universal Credit from 70% to 85%, its highest ever level. This gives parents up to £646.35 per month for one child and £1108.04 per month for two or more children.
We know that the longer someone is out of the labour market, the harder it can be to return when they are ready. As a result parents will be helped to prepare for work when their youngest child is two, and look for work when they are three. This will give them the best chance of finding a job which fits in with their caring responsibilities. Work-related requirements are tailored to individual circumstances and compatible with child care responsibilities. Work coaches can consider caring responsibilities when setting availability and work search hours. This will also include work preparation activities.
Asked by: Ellie Reeves (Labour - Lewisham West and East Dulwich)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether responsible carers and lone parents in receipt of legacy benefits and universal credit are required to use the Universal Jobmatch site to look for work; and whether activity on that site can be used as a measure of a claimant actively seeking work.
Answered by Lord Sharma
Universal Credit claimants who are subject to “all work-related requirements” and those claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance are expected to take all reasonable action to look for and take up paid work. This can include the requirement to use the Universal Jobmatch site to look for work.
For responsible carers and lone parents receiving Universal Credit or Jobseeker’s Allowance, there are specific flexibilities to safeguard and help them balance their caring responsibilities with work search and availability requirements, so any requirements set are realistic and achievable.
Activity on Universal Jobmatch can be used as evidence of a claimant actively seeking work.
All work-related requirements are set in discussion with claimants, who take ownership of planning how they will meet the requirements and ultimately secure employment. The requirements any claimant is asked to meet are clearly set out in their Claimant Commitment.
Asked by: Ellie Reeves (Labour - Lewisham West and East Dulwich)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of whether there is a sufficient number of vacancies advertised on the Universal Jobmatch site for responsible carers and lone parents with children aged between five and 12 years old who are required to look for work of at least 25 per hours per week in order to receive universal credit.
Answered by Lord Sharma
We have made no assessment of the sufficiency of the number of roles with part time or flexible hours advertised on Universal Jobmatch. However, full-time roles can be explored on a part-time basis and vice versa.
Asked by: Ellie Reeves (Labour - Lewisham West and East Dulwich)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of whether there is a sufficient number of part-time vacancies on the Universal Jobmatch site suitable for carers and lone parents with pre-school aged children who will be required to look for work in order to receive universal credit.
Answered by Lord Sharma
We have made no assessment of the sufficiency of the number of roles with part time or flexible hours advertised on Universal Jobmatch. However, full-time roles can be explored on a part-time basis and vice versa.
Asked by: Ellie Reeves (Labour - Lewisham West and East Dulwich)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many responsible carers and lone parents in receipt of legacy benefits and universal credit have received a sanction for not applying for a sufficient number of jobs using the Universal Jobmatch website.
Answered by Lord Sharma
The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
We engage at a personal and individual level with all of our claimants and are committed to tailoring support and any conditionality requirements to reflect individuals’ specific circumstances and ensure they remain realistic and achievable.
We take a number of steps to make sure our decisions are fair. When considering whether a sanction is appropriate, a Decision Maker will take all the claimant’s individual circumstances, including any caring responsibilities and any evidence of good cause, into account before deciding whether a sanction is warranted.