Asked by: Melanie Onn (Labour - Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes)
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 ensure that claimants of universal credit in North East Lincolnshire remain in sustainable employment when they find work.
Answered by Lord Sharma
The Universal Credit Full Service Claimant Survey, published in June 2018, shows that 9 months into a Universal Credit claim, 40% of claimants are working for an employer in a paid role, as opposed to only 23% at the start of their claim. Universal Credit provides more help with childcare costs, a dedicated Work Coach and scraps the 16-hour ‘cliff edge’, removing barriers to work and progressing in work. The support provided by Work Coaches need not stop when the claimant finds a job, unlike the legacy benefit system. Claimants can access support from a Work Coach to help them progress their earnings and to ensure they remain in sustainable employment.
In her speech on 9 May 2019, the Secretary of State announced work which will develop support for Jobcentre Plus staff to enable them to have conversations with employers about the range of things that employers can consider to support employees to progress.
Asked by: Melanie Onn (Labour - Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many kinship carers were affected by the benefit cap of (a) £20,000 and (b) £23,000 in 2017-18.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson
The Department does not hold data which would allow us to identify capped households under Housing Benefit or Universal Credit, who are kinship carers.
Asked by: Melanie Onn (Labour - Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many kinship carers that applied for universal credit were exempt from the two child limit in 2017-18; and what proportion of those carers were affected by the benefit cap.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson
The number of exemptions to the policy to provide support for a maximum of two children for kinship carers up to 2 April 2018 can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/child-tax-credit-and-universal-credit-claimants-statistics-related-to-the-policy-to-provide-support-for-a-maximum-of-2-children-april-2018
The Government does not hold information about how many kinship carers were affected by the Benefit Cap.
Asked by: Melanie Onn (Labour - Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what (a) training and (b)guidance has been provided to staff in her Department on the variation in the two child limit exemption for kinship carers and adopters applying for (i) child tax credit and (ii) universal credit.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson
We have provided comprehensive training for all of our Work Coaches to ensure that they can effectively apply the variation in two child limit exemptions. The guidance which supplements this training was updated on 28/11/18 and is published in the House of Commons Library is called “UC Full Service Guidance ‘Additional Amounts for Children’”.