Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of whether uprating the legacy benefits received by people with disabilities in line with universal credit could remove the income disparities between different groups of disabled people.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
DWP has no plans to increase Jobseeker’s Allowance, Employment and Support Allowance or Income Support. These benefits were increased by 1.7% in April 2020 as part of the annual up-rating exercise.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will publish a breakdown of the number of universal credit claimants by employment sector background for each (a) parliamentary constituency and (b) local authority.
Answered by Will Quince
We do not systematically collect data on the employment sector background of UC claimants because this does not affect entitlement to UC.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Answer of 9 March 2020 to Question 24399, Prisons: Industrial Health and Safety, on how many occasions the Health and Safety Executive inspectors were denied full access to workplaces within prisons in the last (a) two, (b) five and (c) 10 years.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
There have not been any occasions reported in the last two, five and ten years where Health and Safety Executive (HSE) Inspectors have been denied full access to workplaces within prisons.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, on how many occasions in the last (a) 12, (b) 24 and (c) 36 months Health and Safety Executive inspectors were denied full access to workplaces within prisons; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
There have not been any occasions in the last 12, 24 and 36 months where Health and Safety Executive (HSE) Inspectors have been denied full access to workplaces within prisons.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the cost to the public purse was of providing free TV licences to people over the age of 75 for qualifying residents in (a) Dwyfor Meirionnydd constituency, (b) Gwynedd local authority area and (c) Wales in (i) 2017-18 and (ii) 2018-19.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
In the 2015 funding settlement, the Government agreed with the BBC that responsibility for the concession will transfer to the BBC in June 2020.
The government and the BBC agreed this is a fair deal for the BBC - in return we closed the iPlayer loophole and committed to increase the licence fee in line with inflation. And to help with financial planning, we agreed to provide phased transitional funding over 2 years to gradually introduce the cost to the BBC.
This reform was subject to public discussion and debated extensively during the passage of the Digital Economy Act 2017 through Parliament.
On 10 June 2019, the BBC announced that the current scheme will end. From 1 June 2020, a free TV licence will only be available to a household with someone aged over 75 who receives Pension Credit.
The table below provides estimates of the costs for 2017/18 of providing free TV licences to people aged 75 and over in the geographical areas requested, in nominal prices. The figures for 2018/19 will be available in September.
| Expenditure (£m) (Nominal) |
| 2017-18 |
(a) Dwyfor Meirionnydd constituency | £0.85 |
(b) Gwynedd local authority area | £1.41 |
(c) Wales | £34.11 |
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of prisoners in (a) Wales and (b) England that have lost rental accommodation as a result of universal credit.
Answered by Will Quince
The Department is committed to providing personalised support for all claimants. This support extends to those who are in prison, to ensure rehabilitation is as seamless as possible upon release. To facilitate this, the Department has Prison Work Coaches who are based in resettlement prisons across the country.
Prisoners serving short sentences are able to retain the housing element for up to 6 months to prevent them from being homeless on release.
For those prisoners serving longer sentences the Prison Work Coach will engage with the prisoner 2-3 weeks prior to release and will identify any accommodation issues at this point.
All discharged prisoners (sentence to 2 days or more) are supported on release by a MoJ contracted provider – a Community Rehabilitation Company (CRC), the CRC should consider any accommodation issues and support in signposting/engaging with the any appropriate support.
If a Prison Work Coach has identified any accommodation issues during their intervention with the prisoner they would use the District Provision Tool (DPT) to identify any suitable support that might be available locally and refer or signpost the prisoner to that provision.
For those engaging with the Prison Work Coach an advanced appointment will be made for as soon as possible following release. Once the claim to UC is made by the prisoner, they would be able to apply for an advance of their first payment straightaway, meaning that money could be made available on the same day as the claim is made.
Managed Payments to Landlords are also available to support claimants, including prison leavers, who may struggle to manage their monthly payments.
The information requested on the number of prisoners in (a) Wales and (b) England that have lost rental accommodation is not available.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the effect of the roll-out of universal credit on prisoners who are at risk of losing rental accommodation.
Answered by Will Quince
The Department is committed to providing personalised support for all claimants. This support extends to those who are in prison, to ensure rehabilitation is as seamless as possible upon release. To facilitate this, the Department has Prison Work Coaches who are based in resettlement prisons across the country.
Prisoners serving short sentences are able to retain the housing element for up to 6 months to prevent them from being homeless on release.
For those prisoners serving longer sentences the Prison Work Coach will engage with the prisoner 2-3 weeks prior to release and will identify any accommodation issues at this point.
All discharged prisoners (sentence to 2 days or more) are supported on release by a MoJ contracted provider – a Community Rehabilitation Company (CRC), the CRC should consider any accommodation issues and support in signposting/engaging with the any appropriate support.
If a Prison Work Coach has identified any accommodation issues during their intervention with the prisoner they would use the District Provision Tool (DPT) to identify any suitable support that might be available locally and refer or signpost the prisoner to that provision.
For those engaging with the Prison Work Coach an advanced appointment will be made for as soon as possible following release. Once the claim to UC is made by the prisoner, they would be able to apply for an advance of their first payment straightaway, meaning that money could be made available on the same day as the claim is made.
Managed Payments to Landlords are also available to support claimants, including prison leavers, who may struggle to manage their monthly payments.
The information requested on the number of prisoners in (a) Wales and (b) England that have lost rental accommodation is not available.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when the UK will submit its next report on the International Labour Organization Convention 182; and whether that report will be published.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
The UK last submitted a report on ILO Convention 182 in 2016. As the reporting for the ILO’s fundamental Conventions is on a three-year cycle, we expect to submit our next report next year (2019). The UK’s reports to the ILO are not published. However, they are reflected in the response of the ILO’s Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations, as part of its annual report.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many veterans that joined the armed forces aged (a) 18 or under and (b) 19 or older have registered at Jobcentres in each region in each of the last 10 years.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
The information requested is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
We have a network of Armed Forces Champions in each Jobcentre Plus district who support work coaches in understanding the range of support available to service leavers and ensure they are actively signposted to appropriate organisations.
Our National Employer and Partnership Team also work with national employer and partner organisations to help ex-HM armed forces service leavers into employment. In addition, HM armed forces personnel are also one of the specified priority groups for the Work and Health Programme. This allows for early voluntary entry to the programme at the most appropriate time in their claim for those who would benefit from specialist employment support to find work.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many veterans that joined the armed forces aged (a) 18 or under and (b) 19 or older have applied for Jobseeker’s Allowance in each of the last 10 years.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
The information requested is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
We have a network of Armed Forces Champions in each Jobcentre Plus district who support work coaches in understanding the range of support available to service leavers and ensure they are actively signposted to appropriate organisations.
Our National Employer and Partnership Team also work with national employer and partner organisations to help ex-HM armed forces service leavers into employment. In addition, HM armed forces personnel are also one of the specified priority groups for the Work and Health Programme. This allows for early voluntary entry to the programme at the most appropriate time in their claim for those who would benefit from specialist employment support to find work.