Asked by: Laura Pidcock (Labour - North West Durham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what criteria her Department will use to select the 10,000 people for managed migration test phase.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
On 11 January 2019, Written Statement HCWS1243 confirmed our plans for a pilot phase for the managed migration of 10,000 claimants from legacy benefits onto Universal Credit.
The Department will proceed with care and attention to ensure that every single claimant moved accesses Universal Credit smoothly and receives the support they need during the transition. The draft regulations, which are currently before Parliament, contain provision to provide transitional protection to those who are moved through managed migration onto Universal Credit without a change in circumstances. This will ensure that these claimants receive the same level of entitlement to Universal Credit as they were entitled to on legacy benefits.
The aim of the pilot is to ensure that claimants on all legacy benefits, with a range of differing characteristics are successfully migrated to Universal Credit. The Department is currently working closely with a wide and diverse range of stakeholders to design the managed migration process and we are considering our approach to the pilot, including which groups or individuals we might begin to migrate first.
Asked by: Laura Pidcock (Labour - North West Durham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department has plans to provide transitional protection to people that will naturally migrate to universal credit as a result of a change in circumstances.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
Claimants only move from existing benefits to Universal Credit through natural migration when they experience a significant change in their circumstances that triggers a new claim to a benefit that Universal Credit replaces. Their entitlement is then calculated on the rules of their new benefit and their new circumstances. Transitional protection is designed to ensure those claimants who are moved onto Universal Credit without a change in circumstances receive the same level of entitlement to Universal Credit as they were entitled to on legacy benefits.
As Universal Credit is simpler, the most recent estimates show that around 700,000 households will get entitlements they were not claiming under the legacy system, worth on average £285 per month.
We have also introduced a number of measures to assist claimants during their transition to Universal Credit. Claimants who naturally migrate to Universal Credit can access a Universal Credit advance, which is worth up to 100 per cent of their indicative award and is available from the date of their claim. This advance is currently repayable over 12 months, but as announced in the 2018 Budget, from October 2021 the maximum repayment period will be extended to 16 months. Claimants may also be entitled to a two week Universal Credit Transitional Housing Payment. From July 2020 the Government is introducing a new two-week run on for income-related Employment and Support Allowance, Income Support and income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance.
Asked by: Laura Pidcock (Labour - North West Durham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the oral evidence of the Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work to the Work and Pensions Committee on PIP and ESA assessments on 20 December 2017, HC 340, what steps she has taken to ensure that (a) work capability assessment providers do not ask claimants with mental health problems why they had not carried out their suicidal ideas and (b) the conduct of assessments does not increase the risk of suicide and self harm among claimants with mental health problems.
Answered by Sarah Newton
All healthcare professionals (HCPs) carrying out WCA assessments were given face to face training on exploring self-harm and suicidal ideation in May 2018. The training which was quality assured by the Royal College of Psychiatrists was designed to enhance the skills of HCPs in sensitively exploring self-harm and suicidal ideation.
Asked by: Laura Pidcock (Labour - North West Durham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether posting a decision notice to close a claim for universal credit on an online journal to which the claimant no longer has access is consistent with the requirements of Regulations 7 and 51 of the Universal Credit, Personal Independence Payment, Jobseeker's Allowance and Employment and Support Allowance (Decisions and Appeals) Regulations 2013 on notifying claimants about decisions.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
Claimants do have access to their journal after their Universal Credit award is terminated. It is read-access only but that does mean they can read the decision notice which explains that their award has been terminated and how the decision can be disputed under regulation 7. Posting the notice to the journal does comply with regulation 51 as in law it is still a “written notice of the decision”.
Asked by: Laura Pidcock (Labour - North West Durham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reason a student maintenance loan is classed as income in respect of applications for universal credit.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
I refer the honourable Member to the reply to UIN 179316 on 18 October.
Asked by: Laura Pidcock (Labour - North West Durham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what is the legal basis for her Department's guidance stating that universal credit claims should be closed one day after a claimant fails to attend a claimant commitment appointment.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
The Welfare Reform Act 2012, Section 4(1) (e), states that it is a condition of entitlement to Universal Credit that a claimant accepts a Claimant Commitment.
Where a claimant has failed to attend an interview for the purposes of accepting a Claimant Commitment, their claim will be closed. We will notify the claimant that their claim has been closed and that they can phone or write to the Department to ask us to explain our decision and/or if they disagree with the decision, to ask us to look at the decision again.
After the Department has looked at decisions again, there is a process known as Mandatory Reconsideration which is where an application for revision of a Universal Credit decision is considered by a Decision Maker. If claimants still disagree with the outcome they can appeal to the First-tier Tribunal.
Should there be any indication that the claimant is vulnerable we will seek to understand why the claimant failed to attend, and to explain the consequences of not re-engaging immediately. We will seek to make contact with the claimant and give them the opportunity to show good reason for non-attendance.
Asked by: Laura Pidcock (Labour - North West Durham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the number of claimants moved from legacy benefits onto universal credit during the natural migration phase that are entitled to less monthly benefit on universal credit than the legacy benefits.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
Claimants only move from existing benefits to Universal Credit through natural migration when they experience a significant change in their circumstances that triggers a new claim to benefit. Their entitlement is then calculated on the rules of their new benefit.
We are therefore unable to estimate whether their entitlement would be different under Universal Credit compared to legacy benefits.
Asked by: Laura Pidcock (Labour - North West Durham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what guidance her Department has issued to decision makers on closing claims for universal credit for non-attendance at appointments in relation to the (a) welfare and (b) safeguarding of children whose subsistence income needs are dependent on that claim.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
Comprehensive guidance outlining the reasons to consider before closing a Universal Credit claim are available to all staff across the Jobcentre network. Universal Credit guidance is published in the House of Commons library and the Department is committed to refreshing this at regular intervals.
Asked by: Laura Pidcock (Labour - North West Durham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people have moved on to universal credit during the natural migration phase without having a specific change of circumstance that would require a new claim for a legacy benefit.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
Claimants only move from existing benefits to Universal Credit through natural migration when they experience a significant change in their circumstances that triggers a new claim to benefit. Their entitlement is then calculated on the rules of their new benefit.
Asked by: Laura Pidcock (Labour - North West Durham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will publish the guidance his Department has issued to jobcentre staff on the (a) evidence requirements for verifying capital for universal credit and (b) viewing of mobile banking on a claimant's mobile device.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
Guidance that the Department has issued to staff on the evidence requirements for verifying capital for Universal Credit is in the House of Commons Library.
No guidance has been issued for viewing banking details on a claimant’s mobile device. It is the claimant’s responsibility to provide the correct information about their banking details.