Asked by: Jamie Stone (Liberal Democrat - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what progress her Department has made on the review of the benefits system for people nearing the end of their life.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson
On 11 July the Secretary of State announced an in depth evaluation of how the benefits system supports people nearing the end of their life and those with severe conditions.
The Department understands how important it is to support those nearing the end of their life and is taking this work forward as a priority. We have made progress on all areas of this work, and will be engaging with clinicians and claimants over the coming months.
Asked by: Jamie Stone (Liberal Democrat - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she has plans to bring forward legislative proposals to (a) expedite access to benefits by terminally ill people and (b) ensure the sensitive handling of that process for those people.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson
The Department already has legislation in place to support people with a terminal illness access benefits. There are special rules for people who are terminally ill and claiming benefits. Claims are dealt with sensitively, without a face-to-face assessment, and are fast-tracked through the system.
On 11 July the Secretary of State announced an in depth evaluation of how the benefits system supports people nearing the end of their life and those with severe conditions. The Department is taking this work forward as a priority and is seeking input from a range of stakeholders, including clinicians and those who have first-hand experience of the special rules, as well as others supporting people applying for benefit.
Asked by: Jamie Stone (Liberal Democrat - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans her Department has to reduce the five-week wait for universal credit.
Answered by Will Quince
No one has to wait five weeks for their first payment. New claim advances are available to support those in financial need until their first payment is made.Claimants can access up to 100% of the total expected monthly award, which they can pay back over a period of up to 12 months. We have announced that from October 2021, the repayment period for these advances will be extended further, to 16 months.Our Work Coaches gauge claimants’ financial needs from their first interview. As part of this, every claimant is offered an advance payment on application. Proposed repayments of the advance are explained, and all claimants are advised to request a level of advance which is manageable both now and when considering the repayments required.
Work Coaches can also refer claimants to more specialist support for personal budgeting and money guidance if required.The Department has delivered a number of improvements to support claimants during their first assessment period, such as removing waiting days and paying those claimants moving from Housing Benefit onto Universal Credit a two week ‘transitional housing payment’. We are also introducing a two-week run on for eligible claimants of Income Support, Jobseeker’s Allowance and Employment and Support Allowance from July 2020.
Asked by: Jamie Stone (Liberal Democrat - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many former disability living allowance claimants living in Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross constituency receive (a) a reduced mobility element or (b) a zero mobility element as a result of moving to personal independence payment.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson
The latest available data on the outcomes of reassessments of Disability Living Allowance (DLA) claimants to personal independence payment (PIP) at initial decision can be found on Stat-Xplore here: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/.
The ‘DLA to PIP reassessment’ data table includes a breakdown of a claimant’s DLA Mobility component entitlement and their PIP Mobility award at initial decision, broken down by geographical area (local authority and parliamentary constituency), for clearances made from the introduction of PIP in April 2013 to October 2019.
Guidance on how to use Stat-Xplore can be found here: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/index.html
Asked by: Jamie Stone (Liberal Democrat - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much a universal credit payment to a single mother is reduced by when two maternity payments are received within the universal credit calculation period due to a bank holiday.
Answered by Mims Davies - Shadow Minister (Women)
Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) is paid by an employer through their payroll system and is therefore a form of earnings subject to the work allowance (where a claimant is eligible) and tapering, in the same way as other earned income. As a consequence, information surrounding the volumes of SMP payments received by Universal Credit claimants in the Highland Council area is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
Universal Credit seeks to take earnings into account in a way that is fair and transparent. The amount of Universal Credit paid reflects, as closely as possible, the actual circumstances of a household during each monthly assessment period, including any earnings reported by their employer or employers during the assessment period, regardless of when they were paid, or which month they relate to.
Assessment periods allow for Universal Credit awards to be adjusted on a monthly basis, ensuring that if a claimant’s income changes, they do not have to wait several months for a corresponding change in their Universal Credit award. Claimants can discuss the implications of any changes in earnings with their Case Manager or Work Coach and can be referred to personal budgeting support to help them manage their budgeting.
The Department has been working closely with HMRC since Universal Credit went live in 2013 to support and inform employers who report earnings to emphasise the importance of timely reporting via the Real Time Information system.
HMRC have updated their guidance to reiterate to employers the importance of reporting accurate dates and the impact on payment cycles; the Financial Secretary to the Treasury is also working closely with HMRC and employers to do this.
Asked by: Jamie Stone (Liberal Democrat - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in the Highland Council area received two statutory maternity payments within the universal credit calculation period due to a bank holiday in 2019.
Answered by Mims Davies - Shadow Minister (Women)
Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) is paid by an employer through their payroll system and is therefore a form of earnings subject to the work allowance (where a claimant is eligible) and tapering, in the same way as other earned income. As a consequence, information surrounding the volumes of SMP payments received by Universal Credit claimants in the Highland Council area is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
Universal Credit seeks to take earnings into account in a way that is fair and transparent. The amount of Universal Credit paid reflects, as closely as possible, the actual circumstances of a household during each monthly assessment period, including any earnings reported by their employer or employers during the assessment period, regardless of when they were paid, or which month they relate to.
Assessment periods allow for Universal Credit awards to be adjusted on a monthly basis, ensuring that if a claimant’s income changes, they do not have to wait several months for a corresponding change in their Universal Credit award. Claimants can discuss the implications of any changes in earnings with their Case Manager or Work Coach and can be referred to personal budgeting support to help them manage their budgeting.
The Department has been working closely with HMRC since Universal Credit went live in 2013 to support and inform employers who report earnings to emphasise the importance of timely reporting via the Real Time Information system.
HMRC have updated their guidance to reiterate to employers the importance of reporting accurate dates and the impact on payment cycles; the Financial Secretary to the Treasury is also working closely with HMRC and employers to do this.
Asked by: Jamie Stone (Liberal Democrat - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
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 payments of statutory maternity pay that are delayed due to bank holidays do not affect universal credit payments.
Answered by Mims Davies - Shadow Minister (Women)
Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) is paid by an employer through their payroll system and is therefore a form of earnings subject to the work allowance (where a claimant is eligible) and tapering, in the same way as other earned income. As a consequence, information surrounding the volumes of SMP payments received by Universal Credit claimants in the Highland Council area is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
Universal Credit seeks to take earnings into account in a way that is fair and transparent. The amount of Universal Credit paid reflects, as closely as possible, the actual circumstances of a household during each monthly assessment period, including any earnings reported by their employer or employers during the assessment period, regardless of when they were paid, or which month they relate to.
Assessment periods allow for Universal Credit awards to be adjusted on a monthly basis, ensuring that if a claimant’s income changes, they do not have to wait several months for a corresponding change in their Universal Credit award. Claimants can discuss the implications of any changes in earnings with their Case Manager or Work Coach and can be referred to personal budgeting support to help them manage their budgeting.
The Department has been working closely with HMRC since Universal Credit went live in 2013 to support and inform employers who report earnings to emphasise the importance of timely reporting via the Real Time Information system.
HMRC have updated their guidance to reiterate to employers the importance of reporting accurate dates and the impact on payment cycles; the Financial Secretary to the Treasury is also working closely with HMRC and employers to do this.
Asked by: Jamie Stone (Liberal Democrat - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if her Department will introduce a bus voucher system for universal credit claimants who may not be able to afford public transport costs to attend job centres.
Answered by Will Quince
Since the introduction of Universal Credit, claimants have been supported by Jobcentre Work Coaches applying a more flexible approach to contact, with much greater use of digital and telephone channels. This enables claimants to continue to engage with the Department, receive appropriate support and satisfy the conditions of their personalised Claimant Commitment without having to always attend an appointment in person.
To assist with the affordability of public transport, and where an appointment at a Jobcentre has been agreed as necessary, Work Coaches are able to consider the reimbursement of a claimant’s travel costs. The Department publishes clear guidance to its staff of when mandatory awards for travel must be made from the Flexible Support Fund – a copy of this is available in the House of Commons’ Library. In exceptional situations, where a claimant’s requirements cannot be met in any other way, an advance payment can be made.
The Department works closely with partner organisations in Northern Scotland to deliver services in locations convenient for the local population it serves. Local Jobcentres have the flexibility to work alongside organisations to support the needs of their communities, providing our most vulnerable claimants with help tailored to their circumstances. For those who find it the most challenging to attend in person, we operate a 'Remote Customer Service Delivery' service, within the Wick area, which maximises the use of telephone and postal services to reduce the frequency of face-to-face appointments to make and maintain a claim to Universal Credit.
Asked by: Jamie Stone (Liberal Democrat - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
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 affordability of public transport costs for those attending (a) Wick Job Centre and (b) job centres; and whether her Department is taking steps to provide advance funding to universal credit claimants for those costs.
Answered by Will Quince
Since the introduction of Universal Credit, claimants have been supported by Jobcentre Work Coaches applying a more flexible approach to contact, with much greater use of digital and telephone channels. This enables claimants to continue to engage with the Department, receive appropriate support and satisfy the conditions of their personalised Claimant Commitment without having to always attend an appointment in person.
To assist with the affordability of public transport, and where an appointment at a Jobcentre has been agreed as necessary, Work Coaches are able to consider the reimbursement of a claimant’s travel costs. The Department publishes clear guidance to its staff of when mandatory awards for travel must be made from the Flexible Support Fund – a copy of this is available in the House of Commons’ Library. In exceptional situations, where a claimant’s requirements cannot be met in any other way, an advance payment can be made.
The Department works closely with partner organisations in Northern Scotland to deliver services in locations convenient for the local population it serves. Local Jobcentres have the flexibility to work alongside organisations to support the needs of their communities, providing our most vulnerable claimants with help tailored to their circumstances. For those who find it the most challenging to attend in person, we operate a 'Remote Customer Service Delivery' service, within the Wick area, which maximises the use of telephone and postal services to reduce the frequency of face-to-face appointments to make and maintain a claim to Universal Credit.