Asked by: Liz Kendall (Labour - Leicester West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, on what evidential basis he stated to The Telegraph on 20 March 2024 that GPs were signing people off work for feeling down and bluesy.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
In his interview with The Telegraph on 20 March 2024, the Secretary of State set out the challenges we are facing with tackling long-term sickness related economic inactivity, particularly due to mental health.
The Secretary of State gave an example of why someone might go to their GP for a fit note, for a mental health condition. The figure that 94% of fit notes issued were ‘Not fit for work’ refers to all fit notes issued by GP practices in England between October 2022 - September 2023.
Of the fit notes issued by GP practices in England between October 2022 – September 2023 with a known diagnosis, 37% are for mental and behavioural disorders.
This Government is committed to reforming the fit note to ensure that people get timely access to work and health support, in turn reducing sickness absence and improving health outcomes.
Asked by: Liz Kendall (Labour - Leicester West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 20 March 2024 to Question 18113 on Jobcentres: Finance, what the individual incentives are in the two incentive pilot programmes for work coaches supporting people into work.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
DWP ran an initial incentives pilot for a 6-month period from March 2023 until August 2023. A second phase of the incentives pilot commenced 1 January 2024 and ended on 31 March 2024. The pilot was in line with existing Reward and Recognition policy, with vouchers between £95 and £250 issued to individuals working in those Jobcentres that qualify for an award.
Asked by: Liz Kendall (Labour - Leicester West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 20 March 2024 to Question 18113 on Jobcentres: Finance, what the cost to the public purse was of the two incentive pilot programmes.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Incentive pilots were funded from within the Department’s existing Reward and Recognition budget at no additional cost to the public purse.
Asked by: Liz Kendall (Labour - Leicester West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to paragraph 4.58 of the Office for Budget Responsibility publication entitled Economic and Fiscal Outlook, published in March 2024, whether he has made an estimate of future trends in the level of fraud in Universal Credit claims.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
DWP produces forecasts of overpayments in the benefit system as part of its forecasts for benefit expenditure. These are reviewed and agreed by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), which uses them as part of its fiscal forecasting and to evaluate policy costings.
As per our commitment published in the Treasury Minutes, CP 1029 – Treasury Minutes – Government Response to the Committee of Public Accounts on the Eightieth report from Session 2022-23 and the First to the Sixth reports from Session 2023-24 (parliament.uk), we will set out our forecast in the Annual Report and Accounts for financial year 23/24, expected to be published later this year.
Asked by: Liz Kendall (Labour - Leicester West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he plans to offer financial incentives for Jobcentre work coaches to get people into work.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
DWP ran an initial incentives pilot for a 6-month period from March 2023 until August 2023. This was piloted alongside Additional Jobcentre Support (AJS) to support more claimants into work. A second phase of the incentives pilot commenced 1 January 2024 and is due to end 31 March 2024. The pilot is in line with existing Reward and Recognition policy and incentives are paid as reward vouchers.
Asked by: Liz Kendall (Labour - Leicester West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Office for Budget Responsibility publication entitled Economic and Fiscal Outlook, published in March 2024, whether he has made a comparative assessment of the potential impact of the projected labour participation rate on the number of job vacancies over the next five years.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The DWP is not an economic forecaster. This sits with the OBR who have forecast total hours worked in the economy will increase over the next 5 years.
Asked by: Liz Kendall (Labour - Leicester West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has made an estimate of the number and proportion of tax credit claimants that have closed a claim rather than migrate to Universal Credit in each of the last three years.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The requested information and can be found in Table 2 here: Completing the move to Universal Credit: Statistics related to the move of households claiming TaxCredits and DWP Benefits to Universal Credit: data to end of December 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) and in Annex A: Completing the move to Universal Credit: Learning from the Discovery Phase - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Asked by: Liz Kendall (Labour - Leicester West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of Universal Credit claimants have received a budgeting advance in each of the last three years.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Table 1 below provides the number and proportion of Universal Credit households who received a Budgeting Advance in each of the last three years.
Year | Number of Universal Credit households who received a Budgeting Advance | Proportion of Universal Credit households who received a Budgeting Advance |
Dec 2020 - Nov 2021 | 1,045,000 | 18% |
Dec 2021 - Nov 2022 | 1,026,000 | 18% |
Dec 2022 - Nov 2023 | 1,092,000 | 18% |
Notes:
1. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 1,000.
2. Figures are provisional and are subject to retrospective change as later data becomes available.
3. Data up to November 2023 has been provided in line with the latest available UC Household Statistics.
Asked by: Liz Kendall (Labour - Leicester West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to paragraphs 7.16 and 7.17 of the Ministerial Code, on how many occasions Ministers in his Department have informed the Law Officers that they are the defendants in a libel action in (a) their personal capacity, (b) their official position and (c) both since 19 December 2019.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
We are unable to provide the information requested. As reflected in paragraph 2.13 of the Ministerial Code, ‘The fact that the Law Officers have advised or have not advised and the content of their advice must not be disclosed outside Government without their authority’.
The Law Officers’ Convention, reflected in paragraph 2.13 of the Ministerial Code, is a long-standing convention observed by successive governments. It exists to preserve the ability of ministers to seek the advice of the Law Officers and not to be disadvantaged by disclosing when they have done so, and what advice they received.
Asked by: Liz Kendall (Labour - Leicester West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reason the increase in the maximum repayment period on new budgeting advance loans starts is scheduled for December 2024.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Universal Credit is an iterative system and all changes to the system are carefully planned and scheduled.