Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make it her policy to remove the qualifying date for the Winter Fuel Payment to ensure that all those in receipt of the State Pension will be eligible to receive this payment by the end of the calendar year.
Answered by Guy Opperman
The policy since the introduction of the Social Fund Winter Fuel Payment Amendment Regulations 1999 has been the same under all Governments: Labour; the Coalition; and Conservative.
It has always been the aim to make Winter Fuel Payments before Christmas. Therefore, having a September qualifying week allows the Department the time to make the required checks on entitlement, calculate the payment an individual is entitled to, issue the notifications and start to make the payments; a process which begins in November.
The DWP makes over 11 million Winter Fuel Payments every year. The majority - over 99% - are paid automatically without the need to claim before Christmas. A small number of pensioners need to claim the Winter Fuel Payment and have until 31 March 2023 to do so.
There are no plans to change the qualifying criteria for Winter Fuel Payments. For winter 2022/23 a person has to have reached State Pension age on or before the end of the September qualifying week which is set out in legislation and is 19-25 September 2022.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will change Universal Credit policy so that claimants whose assessment period misses the uprating date of the first Monday of the tax year do not have to wait two months before receiving an uplift.
Answered by David Rutley
Increases in Universal Credit come into force from the start of the first assessment period beginning on or after the first Monday of the tax year (or from the start of the first assessment period beginning on or after any earlier date in April). As Universal Credit is a calendar monthly assessed benefit that is paid in arrears, a claimant will receive their newly-uprated benefit award at their first full Assessment Period that follows the change. There are no current plans to alter how the uprating of benefits interacts with claimants’ assessment periods.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Health is everyone's business consultation, whether the commitments made in that consultation will be fully funded; when progress towards those commitments will be made public; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Chloe Smith
The UK Government committed to provide £1.3bn over the SR21 period for employment support for disabled people and people with health conditions in the Levelling-Up White Paper. This includes commitments set out in Health is Everyone’s Business. In addition, the White Paper committed to extend or expand other programmes which will help disabled people and people with health conditions get into or remain in work. These include the Work and Health Programme, Intensive Personalised Employment Support and employment support in NHS Improving Access to Psychological Therapy services across England.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 11 February 2022 to Question 119710 on Children: Maintenance, what steps her Department is taking to revise the step by step procedural instructions and training given to Child Maintenance Service caseworkers, in the context of the number of Deduction from Earnings Orders, instead of Deduction from Earnings Requests, to the Ministry of Defence’s Defence Business Services having increased between 2018-19 and 2020-21.
Answered by Guy Opperman
The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) has introduced Modular learning products to re-enforce the correct process to follow in applying a Deduction from Earnings Request (DER). In April 2021, as part of a broader System automation improvement, there were additional education and supporting products implemented to support correct decision making, including the correct use of DERs.
CMS uses Customer Insight to ensure it learns from customer experience and has used this in developing these products and building colleague conversations around adherence to procedures and the impact of not doing so.
In the context of DERs, collaborative working with Ministry of Defence (MOD) through a dedicated Forces Focal point secures regular feedback to direct specific colleague upskilling and manage customer service. CMS Forces Focal Point work closely with MOD’s Joint Personnel Administration Centre (JPAC) and has responsibility for assuring correct implementation of DERs. This includes confirming if the Paying Parent is in receipt of full pay or if they deployed on Operations. This is designed to support the successful implementation of a DER.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to tackle the number of deductions of earnings orders, rather than deductions of earnings requests, being issued by the Child Maintenance Service to the Ministry of Defence's Defence Business Services.
Answered by Guy Opperman
Deduction from Earnings Orders (DEO) are applied as a method of payment where the Child Maintenance Service deducts maintenance directly from the Paying Parent’s wages. The DEO is primarily used to enforce payments but can be set up voluntarily. Deduction from Earnings Requests are similar to a Deduction from Earnings Order but used for Paying Parents who are serving members of the Armed Forces. The Child Maintenance Service can only request a deduction to the Ministry of Defence (MOD), unlike civilian employers they cannot order or enforce payment. MOD policy aims to comply with requests however if the Paying Parent is committed to operational duties MOD may suspend the collection of debt.
Child Maintenance Service takes action to ensure the correct method of payment is applied through identifying whether a Paying Parent is in the Armed Forces through its use of Real Team Information (RTI) Data taken from HMRC. This provides up to date information about Pay As You Earn income as the information submitted by employers online is displayed in RTI immediately. To ensure that the correct method of payment is used for a Paying Parent who is serving in the Armed Forces caseworkers are provided with step by step procedural instructions and training.
As at September 2021 Child Maintenance Service had 45,054 Deduction from Earnings Orders and 479 Deduction from Earnings Requests in operation. (source - Published stats – stat-xplore – CMS Paying Parents = method of payments).
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many deductions of earnings orders were issued by the Child Maintenance Service to employers other than the Ministry of Defence for the purpose of collecting child maintenance in each of the last three years.
Answered by Guy Opperman
This information is not collated as part of normal business and is only available at disproportionate cost to the Department.
The Department publishes quarterly Child Maintenance Service (CMS) statistics, with the latest statistics available to the end of September 2021, here:
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many deductions of earnings requests were issued by the Child Maintenance Service to the Ministry of Defence's Defence Business Services for the purpose of collecting child maintenance in each of the last three years.
Answered by Guy Opperman
This information is not collated as part of normal business and is only available at disproportionate cost to the Department.
The Department publishes quarterly Child Maintenance Service (CMS) statistics, with the latest statistics available to the end of September 2021, here:
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 10 November 2021 to Question 69664 on State Retirement Pensions: Females, what specific actions have been taken in the last 12 months to support those affected by (a) changes to state pension age for 1950s-born women and (b) the communication of those changes.
Answered by Guy Opperman
The Government put in place a broad range of measures to help everyone financially during the Pandemic. For those who cannot work, the benefit system continues to provide a strong safety net. Support is available to those who are unable to work or are on a low income but are not eligible to pensioner benefits because of their age.
For those who have reached their State Pension age, Pension Credit also provides invaluable financial support for the most vulnerable. We continue to use every opportunity to encourage pensioners to check their eligibility and make a claim. Earlier this year, over 11 million pensioners in Great Britain received information about Pension Credit in the leaflet accompanying their annual State Pension up-rating letter. And on 16 June as part of a media day of action on Pension Credit, DWP joined forces with Age UK as well as the BBC to help reach, via national and local media, older people who may be reticent about claiming it.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department has taken in the last 12 months to support those affected by (a) changes to state pension age for 1950s-born women and (b) the communication of those changes.
Answered by Guy Opperman
This Government is committed to providing a financial safety net for those who need it, including when they near or reach retirement. Support is available to those who are unable to work or are on a low income but are not eligible to pensioner benefits because of their age.