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 to amend the Universal Credit (Managed Migration) Regulations 2018 after the conclusion of the 2019 test pilot.
Answered by Lord Sharma
On 14 January 2019, we withdrew the draft Universal Credit (Managed Migration) Regulations 2018, and laid two new sets of regulations. The draft Universal Credit (Managed Migration Pilot and Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2019 will allow the Department to begin the managed migration pilot phase. This pilot phase is to ensure that our systems and processes are working well. We have committed to reporting on our findings from the pilot before bringing forward legislation to continue with managed migration.
The regulations for the pilot phase are subject to Parliamentary approval and will be debated and voted on in due course.
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 Autumn Budget 2018, whether the Department has plans to bring forward the two week run-on of legacy benefits for the universal credit managed migration pilot.
Answered by Lord Sharma
In the 2018 Autumn Budget, we committed to allowing DWP income-related legacy benefits to continue for two-weeks after a claim has been made to Universal Credit from July 2020. This measure will give around 1.1 million households a one-off gain of approximately £200 between 2020/21 and 2023/24.
The Department has committed to supporting all claimants who are moved on to Universal Credit as part of the managed migration process. The draft regulations, currently before Parliament, will deliver on our commitment to provide transitional protection to those who are managed migrated onto Universal Credit without a change in their circumstances. The Department already offers a range of support to claimants who migrate to Universal Credit, such as advances worth up to 100 per cent of their indicative award. Claimants may also be eligible for the two-week Universal Credit Transitional Housing Payment.
The Department will be introducing a Discretionary Hardship Payment to support those claimants who will be managed migrated as part of the pilot phase. The power for Discretionary Hardship Payments is broad and could be used to pay the equivalent of the two-week legacy run on to the 10,000 claimants who will be moved to Universal Credit as part of the piloting phase and who are in hardship on account of the absence of the run on. We will also have the discretion to make payments if any other issues related to managed migration have resulted in hardship.
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 her oral answer of 7 January 2019 to Question 908384, Official Report, column 3, if she will published the updated guidance on real-time support for universal credit.
Answered by Lord Sharma
We have worked with HMRC and employers to ensure that they are aware of the actions they need to take to reflect an employee’s earnings. Guidance was issued to employers by HMRC in December on Real Time Information reporting obligations for payments made early over the festive period.
The Department’s Universal Credit guidance for staff on earnings and the actions to take is regularly reviewed. 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, what steps she plans to take to ensure that the 10,000 people selected for the universal credit managed migration test phase will not be worse off as a result of participation in that test phase.
Answered by Lord Sharma
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, what criteria her Department will use to select the 10,000 people for managed migration test phase.
Answered by Lord Sharma
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 Lord Sharma
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.