Asked by: Jane Hunt (Conservative - Loughborough)
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 evidence each parent must provide in order to permit an accurate assessment of the level of child maintenance required to be paid.
Answered by Guy Opperman
The calculation is initially based on historic income information received directly from HM Revenue and Customs. Parents may need to supply additional evidence which is considered on a case by case basis.
Both parents have the right to request a mandatory reconsideration and supply further evidence to challenge a decision.
Asked by: Jane Hunt (Conservative - Loughborough)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of (a) the impact of off-setting private pension income against income-based employment and support allowance earnings for people who have been able to draw their pension early due to ill health and (b) the potential merits of allowing people who have drawn their pension early due to ill health to retain their employment and support allowance earnings.
Answered by Chloe Smith
Entitlement to income related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA (IR)) is based on financial need and both income and capital will affect entitlement. Any pension income received is deducted from the amount of ESA (IR) payable. Cash lump sums taken from a pension savings are deemed to be capital. Claimants are not entitled to ESA (IR) if their household has capital of more than £16,000. Capital in excess of £6,000 and up to £16000 reduces the amount of ESA (IR) payable.
Asked by: Jane Hunt (Conservative - Loughborough)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment the Government has made of the potential merits of (a) providing the Child Maintenance Service with stronger enforcement powers and (b) reviewing the standard of compliance used by the Child Maintenance Service.
Answered by Guy Opperman
No assessment has been made.
The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) already has tough enforcement powers including taking regular or lump sum payments from bank accounts or regular payments direct from earnings. Other sanctions such as sending parents to prison or disqualifying them from holding or obtaining a driving licence are used as a deterrent and as a last resort where all other methods of enforcement have failed.
These powers were reviewed as part of the Compliance and Arrears Strategy and in 2018 we introduced new powers to deduct child maintenance directly from a wider range of accounts, including certain joint and business accounts; and to disqualify parents from holding or obtaining a passport.
Compliance measures are published quarterly and can be found here:
Asked by: Jane Hunt (Conservative - Loughborough)
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 pensioners who are eligible for pension credit are notified of their eligibility.
Answered by Guy Opperman
1.5 million pensioners currently receive Pension Credit. However, the Government wants to make sure that all pensioners eligible can claim the Pension Credit to which they are rightly entitled. In February 2020 we launched a nationwide campaign to raise awareness of Pension Credit and help dispel some of the misconceptions that people might have about Pension Credit eligibility.
The DWP targets activity on engaging with people who may be eligible to benefits at pivotal stages, such as when they claim State Pension or report a change in their circumstances.