Asked by: Hugh Gaffney (Labour - Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent estimate she has made of the cost to the public purse of reassessing the eligibility of people applying for personal independence payments in Scotland.
Answered by Sarah Newton
I refer the honourable member to the answer I gave to his previous question UIN 160814
Asked by: Hugh Gaffney (Labour - Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the effect on low-income families of the roll-out of universal credit in Scotland.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I provided to Question 129558 on 1 March 2018.
Asked by: Hugh Gaffney (Labour - Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill)
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 cost to the public purse of the Government’s reassessment of people who may be eligible for personal independence payments in Scotland.
Answered by Sarah Newton
We have not estimated costs of Personal Independence Payments at this level. As a result this information is not available for Scotland only and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Hugh Gaffney (Labour - Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill)
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 recent trends in the average levels of household debt of people in receipt of universal credit.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
The Government has taken a number of steps to reduce the risk of problem debt, including capping payday lending costs and promoting savings.
Within Universal Credit, we have interest free advances and a system of priority deductions to help claimants who have got into arrears. This year we have also successfully implemented a further package of measures announced at the Autumn Budget 2017, such as making interest free advances of up to 100% of the indicative award available and increasing the repayment period to 12 months, removing the 7 waiting days from all claims, providing an additional payment of 2 weeks of Housing Benefit to support claimants when they transition to Universal Credit, and changing how claimants in temporary accommodation receive support for their housing costs.
Additionally, budgeting advice is offered to all Universal Credit claimants when they make a new claim, and is discussed throughout the customer journey where needed. Where problem debt is identified, claimants may be referred to appropriate external organisations for additional support.
Asked by: Hugh Gaffney (Labour - Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the effect of the proposed closures of jobcentres on local communities in Scotland.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
The 20-year contract covering the majority of DWP offices came to an end on 31 March 2018. Our announcement on 5 July 2017 confirmed that some smaller jobcentres would merge with larger ones, and others would be co-located with local government premises. As part of this, we confirmed that there would be a net reduction of 10 jobcentre offices, from 94 to 84, across Scotland. All mergers have now taken place, with the exception of Alexandria Jobcentre, which is merging with Dumbarton by the end of August 2018.
Throughout the estate review, DWP has been mindful of its duties under the Equality Act 2010 and has carried out local level equality analysis to inform understanding of the effect of our plans and careful consideration has been given to the wider effect on local communities.
The equality analysis findings were one of a number of considerations used to make decisions about our jobcentres. These included a complex range of factors, such as the effect on our people, customer service, the equality analysis, value for money and business needs.
This is not about reducing jobs or services. It is about reducing the amount that we spend on rent that goes towards empty space and reinvesting those savings in supporting claimants.
Asked by: Hugh Gaffney (Labour - Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of recent trends in the number of in-work households living in poverty.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
It is clear that work is the best route out of poverty, as the rate of poverty in working households is one third of that among workless households. The latest data for 2016/17 shows there were 2.4 million working households in absolute low income before housing costs. Since 2010 the number of people in absolute poverty has fallen by 1 million, including 500,000 working age adults.
Asked by: Hugh Gaffney (Labour - Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill)
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 personal independence payment assessments are undertaken fairly and efficiently.
Answered by Sarah Newton
We are committed to ensuring claimants receive high quality, objective assessments. The Department holds regular performance meetings with Providers at local and senior levels. Assessments are independently audited and Departmental clinicians periodically observe assessments. Both providers have increased personalised clinical support to all Health Professionals.
Asked by: Hugh Gaffney (Labour - Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans the Government has to bring forward legislative proposals to strengthen maternity protections for women with (a) casual and (b) zero hours employment contracts.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
There are two maternity payments available to pregnant working women depending on their circumstances. Statutory Maternity Pay paid by employers to qualifying employed women; and Maternity Allowance paid by the Department for Work and Pensions, to eligible women including those employed women who cannot get SMP and the self-employed.
The qualifying rules for Maternity Allowance are based on a woman’s recent record of employment or self-employment and her earnings regardless of the type of employment contract she may have. The rules are more flexible than those for Statutory Maternity Pay and do not require a continuous employment record. Providing a woman has worked for 26 weeks out of the 66 weeks immediately preceding the week her baby is due, she may qualify for Maternity Allowance. Women can qualify with a mixture of casual, fixed term and zero hours employment, as well as periods of self-employment or unemployment.
The flexibilities within existing maternity provisions aim to enable as many working women as possible to stop work in the interest of her health and that of her baby whilst maintaining a balance with the needs of employers. Currently there are no plans to introduce any legislative changes in this area.
Asked by: Hugh Gaffney (Labour - Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Written Statement of 19 January 2018, HCWS414, what estimate she has made of the cost to the public purse of additional PIP benefits payable following the High Court's December 2017 judgement on the Social Security (Personal Independence Payment) (Amendment) Regulations 2017.
Answered by Sarah Newton
I refer the Hon. Member to the statement made by myself, Official Report, 30 January 2018, Column 703.
Asked by: Hugh Gaffney (Labour - Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much was spent by the Government from the public purse in legal fees on seeking to overturn the Upper Tribunal Administrative Appeals Chamber decision of April 2016 on personal independent payments.
Answered by Sarah Newton
There are no Upper Tribunal judgments on Personal Independence Payments dated April 2016 that the Department is currently appealing to the Court of Appeal.