Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Rawmarsh and Conisbrough)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many armed forces champions work in Jobcentres.
Answered by Mims Davies - Shadow Minister (Women)
Please see below table for data relating to Armed Forces Champions working in Jobcentres.
As the role is not a stand-alone role (i.e. it is in addition to the role of a Work Coach or leader) we have provided the number of Champions which is Staff In Post and also the Full time Equivalents (FTE) that this equates to.
Armed Forces Champions |
|
|
Job title | Staff in post | FTE |
(UCJC) Armed Forces Champion Lead. | 8 | 6.12 |
(UCJC) Armed Forces Champion. | 49 | 38.69 |
TOTAL | 57 | 44.81 |
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Rawmarsh and Conisbrough)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 27 September 2022 to Question 47343 on Universal Credit: Veterans, how many Universal Credit claimants have been identified as (a) serving and (b) having previously served in the Armed Forces for the assessment periods ending in August 2022.
Answered by Guy Opperman
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) started collecting data on the Armed Forces status of Universal Credit (UC) claimants in Great Britain (GB) in April 2021. Further information on the caseload definition used for the UC official statistics can be found on Stat-Xplore: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/
GB UC caseload by recorded Armed Forces status
UC caseload Month | Proportion of caseload with a recorded status | Currently serving | Served in the past | Not served | Prefer not to say |
August 2022 | 53% | 3,200 | 40,100 | 2,912,500 | 21,800 |
Notes:
1. Data is not collected on the Armed Forces status of UC claimants in Northern Ireland. The figures provided only relate to Great Britain.
2. Percentages are rounded to the nearest percent and numbers are rounded to the nearest hundred.
3. Figures may be subject to retrospective changes as more up-to-date data becomes available or if methodological improvements are made.
4. The figures above differ from those previously provided because methodological improvements mean it is no longer necessary to restrict analysis to claimants with UC assessment periods ending in a given month. Instead, the figures have been provided on a basis that is consistent with the caseload definition that is used for the UC official statistics.
5. Further information on the caseload definition used for the UC official statistics can be found on Stat-Xplore: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Rawmarsh and Conisbrough)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she has made a recent assessment of the potential impact of the cost of living crisis on trends in the number of serving armed forces personnel who are claiming Universal Credit.
Answered by Baroness Prentis of Banbury
The data we hold reflects the fact that month, on month DWP is asking more Universal Credit (UC) claimants about their Armed Forces status. They do not necessarily indicate more demand for UC from serving personnel or veterans due to rises in the cost of living or any other factor.
Both veterans and serving personnel may be able to benefit from cost-of-living measures already put in place by the Government, this includes the new “Energy Price Guarantee” which will ensure that a typical household in Great Britain pays an average £2,500 a year on their energy bill from 1 October 2022. The consumer saving will be based on usage, but a typical household will save at least £1,000 a year (based on current prices from October).
Also included is the over £37bn of cost-of-living support announced earlier this year which includes the £400 non-repayable discount to eligible households provided through the Energy Bills Support Scheme as well as additional targeted support for those on lower incomes.
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Rawmarsh and Conisbrough)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many households with serving Armed Forces personnel are currently claiming Universal Credit.
Answered by Baroness Prentis of Banbury
The information requested is not available.
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Rawmarsh and Conisbrough)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 27 September 2022 to Question 47343 on Universal Credit: Veterans, if she will provide these figures by parliamentary constituency.
Answered by Baroness Prentis of Banbury
The information requested is not available. We do not believe the current data is of suitable quality to present at sub-national levels. We will review this when coverage has improved.
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Rawmarsh and Conisbrough)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 27 September 2022 to Question 47342 on Universal Credit: Veterans, if she will provide these figures by parliamentary constituency.
Answered by Baroness Prentis of Banbury
The information requested is not available. We do not believe the current data is of suitable quality to present at sub-national levels. We will review this when coverage has improved.
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Rawmarsh and Conisbrough)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 21 July 2022 to Question 36699 on Universal Credit: Veterans, how many Universal Credit claimants have been identified as serving in the Armed Forces for the assessment periods ending in (a) April, 2022, (b) May 2022, (c) June 2022, (d) July 2022 and (e) August 2022.
Answered by Baroness Prentis of Banbury
The requested information is not available for August. The latest available information is provided in the table below
UC Claimants with an assessment period ending in month, by armed forces status
Month | Proportion of claimants for whom a response is held | Number of claimants recorded as currently serving in the Armed Forces |
April 2022 | 46% | 2,500 |
May 2022 | 48% | 2,600 |
June 2022 | 50% | 2,800 |
July 2022 | 51% | 2,900 |
Notes:
1. Percentage rounded to the nearest percent
2. Number rounded to the nearest 100
3. Figures can differ from previous numbers due to methodological changes and retrospective updates of armed forces status information and UC claims.
4. Figures for GB only
5. Held a response is defined as the claimant having answered one of the following options “previously served”, “currently serving”, “never served”, or “prefer not to say”
6. Armed forces status is self-reported by the UC claimant
7. Armed forces status is as at the end of the UC assessment period
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Rawmarsh and Conisbrough)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 21 July 2022 to Question 36699 on Universal Credit: Veterans, how many Universal Credit claimants have been identified as previously serving in the Armed Forces for the assessment periods ending in (a) June, (b) July 2022 and (c) August 2022.
Answered by Baroness Prentis of Banbury
The requested information is not available for August. The latest available information is provided in the table below
UC Claimants with an assessment period ending in month, by armed forces status
Month | Proportion of claimants for whom a response is held | Number of claimants recorded as having previously served in the Armed Forces |
April 2022 | 46% | 33,800 |
May 2022 | 48% | 35,100 |
June 2022 | 50% | 36,600 |
July 2022 | 51% | 38,000 |
Notes:
1. Percentage rounded to the nearest percent
2. Number rounded to the nearest 100
3. Figures can differ from previous numbers due to methodological changes and retrospective updates of armed forces status information and UC claims.
4. Figures for GB only
5. Held a response is defined as the claimant having answered one of the following options “previously served”, “currently serving”, “never served”, or “prefer not to say”
6. Armed forces status is self-reported by the UC claimant
7. Armed forces status is as at the end of the UC assessment period
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Rawmarsh and Conisbrough)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Universal Credit claimants have been identified as previously serving in the Armed Forces for the assessment periods ending in May 2022.
Answered by David Rutley
For assessment period ending in May 2022, we held a response of “previously served”, “currently serving”, “never served”, or “prefer not to say” for approximately 46% of the GB UC caseload. From this data we have identified around 35,100 UC claimants who have previously served in the Armed Forces.
Notes:
1. Percentage rounded to the nearest percent
2. Number rounded to the nearest 100
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Rawmarsh and Conisbrough)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an estimate on the number of Universal Credit claimants who previously served in the armed forces as of May 2022.
Answered by David Rutley
We are not able to make an estimate of the total number of Universal Credit claimants who previously served in the armed forces.
The previous answers to PQs 11554 and 16851 explained that for assessment periods ending in April 2022, DWP held a response for approximately 45% of UC claimants. Possible responses are “previously served”, “currently serving”, “never served”, or “prefer not to say”. From this data we have identified 33,800 UC claimants who have previously served in the Armed Forces. We will not make an estimate of the total number because the claimants for whom we have data may not be representative of all claimants. Nor can we provide further breakdowns by geography or any characteristics relating to the UC claim because of potential bias in the data.