Asked by: Owen Smith (Labour - Pontypridd)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 15 March 2016 to Question 30624 and with reference to the First-Tier Tribunal General Regulatory Chamber Information Rights decision of 11 March 2016, if his Department will publish the Risk Register prior to the universal credit re-set in 2013.
Answered by Priti Patel - Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs
Following the first tier tribunal decision that the Universal Credit risk register for April 2012 should be released, the document was shared with the requestor.
The government’s view remains that is not in the public interest to publish risk registers because it will compromise the ability to conduct a full and frank assessment of risks and therefore increase the risk to successful delivery of major programmes.
Asked by: Owen Smith (Labour - Pontypridd)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 11 March 2016 to Question 30180 on universal credit: correspondence, whether claimants have been informed of the availability of the Flexible Support Fund in that correspondence.
Answered by Priti Patel - Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs
Copies of the communications claimants received have been placed in the House of Commons library (reference DEP2016-0302) and are available at the following link:
The correspondence does not inform claimants of the availability of the Flexible Support Fund, however guidance for Work Coaches has been updated to remind them of the availability of the fund for those claimants affected by the changes to the Work Allowances.
The approximate cost to DWP of communicating the planned changes to the work allowances to Universal Credit claimants was £590,000.
Asked by: Owen Smith (Labour - Pontypridd)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 11 March 2016 to Question 30180, when he expects copies of the correspondence sent to claimants on universal credit to be placed in the Library.
Answered by Priti Patel - Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs
Copies of the communications claimants received have been placed in the House of Commons library (reference DEP2016-0302) and are available at the following link:
The correspondence does not inform claimants of the availability of the Flexible Support Fund, however guidance for Work Coaches has been updated to remind them of the availability of the fund for those claimants affected by the changes to the Work Allowances.
The approximate cost to DWP of communicating the planned changes to the work allowances to Universal Credit claimants was £590,000.
Asked by: Owen Smith (Labour - Pontypridd)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 18 April 2016 to Question 33701, how much his Department has spent on contacting people likely to be affected by planned changes to the work allowance element of universal credit.
Answered by Priti Patel - Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs
Copies of the communications claimants received have been placed in the House of Commons library (reference DEP2016-0302) and are available at the following link:
The correspondence does not inform claimants of the availability of the Flexible Support Fund, however guidance for Work Coaches has been updated to remind them of the availability of the fund for those claimants affected by the changes to the Work Allowances.
The approximate cost to DWP of communicating the planned changes to the work allowances to Universal Credit claimants was £590,000.
Asked by: Owen Smith (Labour - Pontypridd)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 4 February 2016 to Question 25156, if he will publish the list of circumstances that would trigger natural migration from tax credits to universal credit.
Answered by Priti Patel - Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs
The events that can trigger a change of circumstances depend on many factors. They are similar to the circumstances that would trigger a new claim to existing benefits or tax credits.
Asked by: Owen Smith (Labour - Pontypridd)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate his Department has made of the number of people who will be affected by proposed changes to debt repayment arrangements under universal credit.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson
Analysis undertaken by DWP has identified a large number of variables that will affect debt repayments from individuals claiming Universal Credit.
This includes, but is not limited to; the number of people claiming Universal Credit, the level of Universal Credit award they receive, the amount of debt they have (across DWP, HMRC and Local Authorities), the approach for recovering debt from Universal Credit and the approach for recovering debt by deduction from earnings.
Considering this, it is likely that most Universal Credit claimants with existing debts or debt repayment arrangements will be affected to some degree. At present there is insufficient data to predict the effects of these variables accurately.
Given the scale of the change, the likely confidence interval for forecasts for any time after 2016-17 is too large to give a meaningful or indicative answer at this time.
However, as Universal Credit rolls out, DWP will continue to analyse all available data to give a wider view on any changes to debt repayment agreements that are being seen under Universal Credit.
In addition, DWP will continue to work with HMRC and Local Authorities in developing forecasting models to show the changes that people with debt will see as their benefit payments move to Universal Credit.
Asked by: Owen Smith (Labour - Pontypridd)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 18 April 2016 to Question 33700, what steps his Department is taking to monitor levels of funeral poverty.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson
The Government recognises that some families on low incomes can struggle to meet the costs of a funeral, this is why the Social Fund Funeral Expenses Payments covers specified necessary costs and provides a significant contribution of up to £700 towards the fee levied by funeral directors for all other funeral expenses.
My Department continues to look at the effectiveness of the scheme so that it provides effective support and will keep on monitoring its effectiveness and liaising with stakeholders and interested groups so that it maintains its aim of providing a contribution towards the cost of a funeral.
Asked by: Owen Smith (Labour - Pontypridd)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 18 April 2016 to Question 33196, whether his Department plans to place work coaches in other food banks.
Answered by Priti Patel - Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs
Jobcentre Plus Work Coaches undertake outreach work every day in local communities on a number of activities which includes supporting the Troubled Families Programme, homeless hostels, drug and alcohol dependency and ex-offenders. They have recently been helping people with back-to-work support and advice in Manchester at the Lalley Community Centre, where a food bank sits alongside other support services.
The decision on engagement with food banks and other local community initiatives will continue to remain at local discretion; where Jobcentre Plus is invited to work with a food bank provider and where there is local need.
Asked by: Owen Smith (Labour - Pontypridd)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the personal details of universal credit claimants are stored safely.
Answered by Priti Patel - Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs
The security of claimant information is a crucial part of the way that data is managed in the department. The personal details of Universal Credit claimants are securely stored and access to this data is strictly controlled. A range of controls are present within the Universal Credit service to protect the confidentiality and integrity of claimant personal data and there are regular tests against these controls to ensure that they meet Government and international security standards.
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Asked by: Owen Smith (Labour - Pontypridd)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 8 February 2016 to Question 26246, what funding his Department has allocated to the Flexible Support Fund in 2016-17.
Answered by Priti Patel - Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs
The Flexible Support Fund allocation for 2016-17 is £64m. This figure is subject to change throughout the year.