Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
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 efficacy of the system whereby people in receipt of support through Access to Work have to reapply for that support if they change job, even in cases where their need for support has not changed; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
Access to Work (AtW) is committed to transforming the service, disabled people receive and improving customer experience. The AtW Transformation Programme is progressively digitising the AtW service to enable customers to apply for and claim AtW payments more conveniently online. As part of this we are exploring streamlining current processes including reviewing the circumstances and frequency where new applications are required.
A flexible application has been introduced to support disabled people to access freelancer and contractor opportunities and remove the need for them to re-apply for Access to Work every time a new period of employment begins. The flexible application offers greater flexibility for disabled people to move between jobs and helps to reduce the need for repeated holistic assessments where their needs remain the same.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many new enquiries her Department's MP Urgent Enquiries inbox handled in each month in from January 2021 to May 2022; what steps her Department is taking to manage the (a) performance and (b) case management of those teams; what steps she is taking to oversee the performance of the Urgent Enquiry inbox; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
DWP does not operate a single inbox dedicated to urgent enquiries from MPs.
We offer a range of ways for MPs to contact DWP, with some product lines operating dedicated email addresses where MPs can contact us. This is in addition to dedicated telephone hotlines for MPs within Disability Services, Retirement Services and Child Maintenance. MPs can also contact the Ministerial Correspondence Team by email, telephone or in writing.
We also triage incoming correspondence to identify urgent queries, so we can take action to address these issues quickly and support our customers.
We recognise the importance of MP enquiries and the important role MPs play in supporting their constituents. Information about how MPs and their staff can best contact us is published on the Parliamentary website and this information is regularly updated. Individual product lines also conduct regular engagement with MPs, including bespoke sessions with MPs and their support teams.
Information relating to the numbers of enquiries received by the DWP email addresses which receive MP contact is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
Emails received from MPs about operational issues are managed as part of DWP’s correspondence teams. We closely monitor the performance of these teams and regularly review the resource allocated to this work and where process improvements can be made.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many new enquiries her Department’s MP hotline teams dealt with in each month in 2021; what steps her Department is taking to manage the (a) performance and (b) case management of those teams; what steps she is taking to oversee the performance of those MP hotlines; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Information relating to the numbers of enquiries received by DWP MP hotlines is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
We offer a range of ways for MPs to contact DWP, including through dedicated MP hotlines within Disability Services, CMG, and Retirement Services. Information about how MPs and their staff can best contact us is published on the Parliamentary website and this information is regularly updated. Individual product lines also conduct regular engagement with MPs, including bespoke sessions with MPs and their support teams.
Enquiries received by MP hotlines are managed as part of DWP’s correspondence teams. We closely monitor the performance of these teams and regularly review the resource allocated to this work and where process improvements can be made.
All MP hotlines are regularly checked during operating hours and calls from MPs are either answered directly or allow a voicemail message to be left, which will be picked up and responded to as soon as possible.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people are claiming Universal Credit as of 1 June 2022; and how many of those people have deductions from their Universal Credit in (a) the UK, (b) Wales and (c) Newport East constituency.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government recognises the importance of supporting the 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 in April 2021 we further reduced the cap on deductions from Universal Credit awards to 25% of a claimant’s Standard Allowance enabling them to retain more of the award
Protocols 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 financial circumstances.
The latest published statistics show, of the 4,728,957 households on Universal Credit, in February 2022, there were 2,100,800 UC households in Great Britain with a deduction; of these 107,700 were in Wales and 3,500 in the Newport East Constituency.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reason people in receipt of contributions-based benefits are not eligible for the £650 cost of living payment.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government is committed to managing the public finances in a responsible way by targeting the £650 Cost of Living Payment support at low income means tested households where it is most needed.
The guidance with the full list of support can be found at:
Overall government support for the cost of living: factsheet - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Cost of Living Payments have been designed to target support for households with low incomes, on means-tested benefits. These payments are in addition to the £400 of support for energy bills that the Government is providing through the expansion of the Energy Bills Support Scheme, doubling the £200 of support announced earlier this year and making the whole £400 a non-repayable grant. In addition, individuals may be able to benefit from the disability and pensioner Cost of Living Payments if they are in receipt of disability benefits or eligible for Winter Fuel Payments.
From October 2022, Government is also providing an additional £500 million to help households with the cost of essentials, bringing the total funding for this support to £1.5 billion. In England, £421m will be used to further extend the Household Support Fund (October 2022 – March 2023). Guidance and individual local authority indicative allocations for this further extension to the Household Support Fund will be announced in due course.
In addition to the new support, people on low incomes but not means-tested benefits may also benefit from previously announced measures to help people tackle the cost of living, including frozen alcohol duty and fuel duty, raising the NICs threshold, council tax rebates and the further rise in the National Living Wage to £9.50 an hour from April 2022.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many (a) households and (b) children are affected by the two-child rule as of 1 June 2022.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government has committed to annual statistics releases related to the operation of the policy to provide support for a maximum of two children. Statistics related to the period up to April 2021 were published in July 2021 and can be accessed at Universal Credit and Child Tax Credit claimants: statistics related to the policy to provide support for a maximum of 2 children, April 2021 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). Statistics related to the period up to April 2022 will be published in the summer.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what information is given to claimants on deductions from their benefits (a) when completing an online calculation to move to Universal Credit and (b) before moving to Universal Credit; and whether a person who receives a lower award after moving to Universal Credit is able to move back to legacy benefits in the event that deductions were not used in the calculation of their move to Universal Credit.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We do not give prospective Universal Credit (UC) claimants personalised information on potential deductions from their benefits before moving to UC. This is because the Department only holds limited information about any potential debts a new claimant before a claim is made.
When considering a voluntary move to Universal Credit (as outlined in our recent publication), claimants should check how outstanding debts they may have are recovered through universal credit. They can do this by using an independent benefits calculator and by seeking independent advice, such as through the Help to Claim Service.
Once claimants make a claim, they are not entitled to move back to legacy benefits. This reflects the overarching principle that Universal Credit will replace legacy benefits by the end of 2024.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
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 impact of the change in Discretionary Housing Payments funding between 2021-22 and 2022-23 on (a) local authorities and (b) registered social landlords.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
No such assessment has been made.
Discretionary Housing Payments continue to be an important element of an extensive cross-Government housing support package. Since 2011, the government has provided almost £1.5 billion in Discretionary Housing Payments to local authorities.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of Macmillan's recommendation for an independent commission to review the level of support the benefits system provides to enable (a) disabled people or (b) people with a long-term health condition to cover their living costs.
Answered by Chloe Smith
The Government is providing extensive support to disabled people and those with a health conditions to help them live independent lives. We will spend over £59 billion this year (2021/22) on benefits to support disabled people and people with health conditions.
The Government is also providing support worth around £12 billion this financial year and next to help families with the cost of living. We are cutting the Universal Credit taper to make sure work pays, freezing alcohol and fuel duties to keep costs down, and providing targeted support to help households with the cost of essentials.
In addition to this, the Energy Bills Rebate will provide around 28 million households with an upfront discount on their bills worth £200.
Shaping Future Support: The Health and Disability Green Paper, which was published on 20 July 2021, explored how the benefits system can better meet the needs of disabled people and people with health conditions now and in the future by improving claimant experience of our services, enabling independent living and improving employment outcomes. . We received more than 4,500 responses to our Green Paper proposals and detailed proposals will be brought forward in a White Paper later this year.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average response time was for her Department to respond to an enquiry from an MP once an enquiry had been received by the MP (a) hotline and (b) account management team in (a) 2019, (b) 2020 and (c) 2021.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department does not record the information requested.
Data on the timeliness of responses to correspondence from MPs and Peers for 2019 and 2020 is published on Gov.uk here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/data-on-responses-to-correspondence-from-mps-and-peers . Data for 2021 will be published by the Cabinet Office in due course