Asked by: Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru - Arfon)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average length of time is between a claim being submitted for the Access to Work programme and claimants being contacted by her Department for an assessment of their claim in (a) Wales, (b) England, and (c) Scotland.
Answered by Julie Marson
The current average time between claim submission and first contact is 47.3 days. This is the average of total claims and as we do not hold the information broken down by (a) Wales, (b) England, and (c) Scotland.
Please note that the data supplied is derived from unpublished management information, which was collected for internal Departmental use only, and have not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standard. They should therefore be treated with caution.
Asked by: Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru - Arfon)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many calls were made to the Child Maintenance Service telephone line in each of the last three years.
Answered by Guy Opperman
Calls made to the Child Maintenance Group over the last three years:
Calls Offered. - The total volume of calls entering a queue to await answer.
Calls Answered - The total volume of calls successfully connected to agents from the queue.
Source: Operational MI System (OPMIS) / Historical Management Information (HMI).
Asked by: Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru - Arfon)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when her Department plans to begin issuing migration notices to claimants living in Wales following the resumption of the managed migration process on the 9 May 2022.
Answered by David Rutley
The Department is currently focused on the Discovery Phase of managed migration. During this phase we will work with small numbers of existing benefit claimants from different places across the country to focus on identifying what is needed to prompt and help someone to make a claim to Universal Credit.
The first 500 notices were successfully issued in Bolton and Medway and we will now be expanding to new areas from the end of July, beginning in Cornwall.
We are committed to ensuring that Universal Credit is rolled out smoothly by the end of 2024.
Asked by: Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru - Arfon)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department conducted a public sector equality duty assessment on its decision to discontinue uprating Local Housing Allowance in line with the 30th percentile of market rates.
Answered by David Rutley
Local Housing Allowance (LHA) determines the maximum financial support available for renters in the private rented sector.
The Secretary of State has complied with her duties under the Equality Act 2010 in respect of her decisions on the LHA. Copies of the equality analysis for the decisions on LHA rates for 2021-22 and 2022-23 were placed in the House of Commons Library on 26 April 2022.
Asked by: Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru - Arfon)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Universal Credit claims were subject to deductions in each parliamentary constituency; what the (a) average size of sums and (b) total sum deducted was in each constituency; what proportion of each of those sums was deducted to repay advance payments; and how many children were living in households that were subject to deductions in each constituency in the most recent month for which data is available.
Answered by David Rutley
The Government recognises the importance of supporting welfare of claimants who have incurred debt. We seek to balance recovery of debt against not causing hardship for claimants and their families. Processes are in place to ensure deductions are manageable, and customers can contact DWP Debt Management if they are experiencing financial hardship, to discuss a reduction in their rate of repayment or a temporary suspension, depending on their financial circumstances.
Since April 2021, we have reduced the normal maximum rate of deductions in Universal Credit from 40% to 25% of a claimant’s Standard Allowance. These positive measures were put in place to support claimants to manage financial difficulties
Advances are a claimant’s benefit entitlement paid early, allowing claimants to access 100% of their estimated Universal Credit payment upfront. They ensure nobody has to wait for a payment in Universal Credit and those who need it are able to receive financial support as soon as possible. Claimants can receive up to 100% of their estimated Universal Credit award if required, resulting in 25 payments over a 24-month period. This is not a debt.
The requested analysis of Universal Credit claims with a deduction in February 2022 by Parliamentary Constituency in Great Britain (GB) is provided in the separate spreadsheet.
Asked by: Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru - Arfon)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 5 July 2022 to Question 27621 on Social Security Benefits: Injuries and Death, if she will publish that information by nation of the UK in which these occurred.
Answered by Chloe Smith
Please see the attached information as requested.
| July 2020 to June 2021 | July 2021 to June 2022 | ||||
| Eng | Scot | Wales | Eng | Scot | Wales |
IPR Started – Death* | 52 | ≤5 | ≤5 | 35 | ≤5 | ≤5 |
IPR Started - Serious Harm** | 18 | ≤5 | ≤5 | 15 | ≤5 | ≤5 |
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IPR Completed – Death* | 33 | ≤5 | ≤5 | 39 | ≤5 | ≤5 |
IPR Completed - Serious Harm** | 11 | ≤5 | ≤5 | 15 | ≤5 | ≤5 |
* Death includes the categories death, alleged suicide and confirmed suicide.
** Serious Harm includes the categories self-harm, serious harm, attempted suicide and ‘other’.
NB: Prior to July 2020 IPR data on the nation of occurrence was not captured. We do not hold information for Northern Ireland.
≤5 signifies figures less than or equal to 5.