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Written Question
Universal Credit: Part-time Employment
Monday 25th March 2019

Asked by: Paul Sweeney (Labour (Co-op) - Glasgow North East)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reasons the universal credit hotline advises claimants who work part-time that taking their entitlement to paid leave will affect their right to universal credit.

Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)

Universal Credit is calculated using earnings, either full or part time. It does not matter how many hours a claimant works, it is the actual earnings they receive and are reported in an assessment period that count. This would include earnings from paid leave such as holidays.


Written Question
Universal Credit: Disability
Friday 15th March 2019

Asked by: Paul Sweeney (Labour (Co-op) - Glasgow North East)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment she has made of the effect of natural migration to universal credit on severely disabled people.

Answered by Justin Tomlinson

Our Regulations will ensure that eligible claimants in receipt of Severe Disability Premium are only moved to Universal Credit as part of a managed migration process, and through that process will see their payments protected. We are spending over £3 billion on Transitional Protections for 1.1 million households, to ensure that no one loses out at the point of transition. We have also made provision for those eligible claimants who have already naturally migrated to Universal Credit to be considered for Severe Disability Premium transitional payments. These will be made as on-going monthly payments and an additional lump-sum to cover the period since they moved to Universal Credit.

Over £2.4 billion in benefits are currently unclaimed and Universal Credit ensures that vulnerable claimants receive the money they are entitled to. More severely disabled people will receive higher payments under Universal Credit, with around 1 million disabled households gaining on average around £100 more per month.


Written Question
Social Security Benefits: Disability
Friday 15th March 2019

Asked by: Paul Sweeney (Labour (Co-op) - Glasgow North East)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment she has made of the effect of benefit (a) sanctions and (b) conditionality on disabled people.

Answered by Justin Tomlinson

The department has not made an assessment of the effect of imposing sanctions and conditionality on disabled claimants.


Written Question
Universal Credit: Disability
Friday 15th March 2019

Asked by: Paul Sweeney (Labour (Co-op) - Glasgow North East)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment her Department has made of the effect of the introduction of universal credit on disabled people.

Answered by Justin Tomlinson

Most disabled people are better off under Universal Credit than the legacy system.

More severely disabled people will receive higher payments under Universal Credit, with around 1 million disabled households gaining on average around £100 more per month.

Disabled claimants have the biggest work allowance of any group, and benefit from the unified taper and removal of rules such as ‘permitted work’ that put a cap on how much money disabled people can earn. Universal Credit also, for the first time, helps people with a disability or health condition who are already in work to remain there and progress.


Written Question
Universal Credit
Monday 3rd December 2018

Asked by: Paul Sweeney (Labour (Co-op) - Glasgow North East)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will extend universal credit transitional protection to people (a) whose eligibility for support has recently changed, (b) living in temporary and supported accommodation and (c) affected by the benefit cap.

Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)

Natural migration to Universal Credit occurs when a claimant experiences a change in their circumstances and they are required to make a new claim to Universal Credit. This new award is calculated based on claimants’ new circumstances, which ensures they are paid the correct amount. As such, they are not eligible for transitional protection which is designed to ensure that those moved without a change in circumstances do not lose out financially.

The Universal Credit (Managed Migration) 2018 regulations which have been laid before Parliament ensure that those living in temporary and supported accommodation will have access to transitional protection if they are managed migrated. These claimants will remain in receipt of their existing Housing Benefit while they continue to live in this form of accommodation and, therefore, no support paid for housing will be taken into account when considering if transitional protection should be awarded. This transitional protection is dependent on the Managed Migration regulations receiving Parliamentary approval.

When claimants are migrated to Universal Credit the comparison of total legacy benefit and Universal Credit will be calculated once the benefit cap has been applied to both amounts. The benefit cap rules continue to apply so Universal Credit claimants will not receive above the level of the benefit cap unless they meet one of the exemption criteria. Households who are exempt from the Benefit Cap, including those who earn at least £542 a month, will be unaffected.


Written Question
Personal Independence Payment: Glasgow North East
Monday 29th October 2018

Asked by: Paul Sweeney (Labour (Co-op) - Glasgow North East)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people receiving personal independence payment in Glasgow North East have joined the Motability scheme since 2013.

Answered by Sarah Newton

This information is not readily available at constituency level and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

The Department for Work and Pensions is responsible for the disability benefits that provide a passport to the Motability scheme. While the Department works closely with Motability, it is an independent charitable organisation that is wholly responsible for the terms and the administration of the scheme.


Written Question
Universal Credit: Glasgow North East
Thursday 25th October 2018

Asked by: Paul Sweeney (Labour (Co-op) - Glasgow North East)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many constituents in Glasgow North East constituency in receipt of legacy benefits will be financially worse off as a result of the universal credit full service migration at Springburn Job Centre from 31 October 2018.

Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)

The Department does not hold data at constituency level on the number of claimants who will naturally migrate to Universal Credit.

Universal Credit Full Service will be rolled out at Springburn Jobcentre on 31 October 2018. This will not affect existing benefit entitlements for claimants whose circumstances remain the same.

Claimants will move from existing benefits to Universal Credit through natural migration or managed migration. Natural migration occurs when they experience a change in their circumstances that would trigger the need for a new claim to benefit. Rather than continuing to claim a legacy benefit, the claimant will claim Universal Credit and their Universal Credit award will be based on their new circumstances. No one will have a reduced benefit entitlement at the point that they move over to Universal Credit as a result of managed migration, and one million more disabled people will get, on average, £110 more a week through Universal Credit.


Written Question
Universal Credit
Thursday 25th October 2018

Asked by: Paul Sweeney (Labour (Co-op) - Glasgow North East)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to Written Statement of 7 June 2018 on Universal Credit, HCWS745, if she will ensure that transitional protection for people entitled to Severe Disability Premium will not fall below £183 per month; if she will make this a permanent top-up to universal credit; and if she will extend these arrangements to (a) disabled children, (b) disabled adults (c) under 25s and (d) parents under 25.

Answered by Sarah Newton

Our draft regulations setting out our proposals for managed migration and the consideration of Transitional Protection were sent to the Social Security Advisory Committee in June 2018. These include provisions to help provide financial support for existing and former Severe Disability Premium recipients.

The details set out in the UC draft managed migration regulations confirm that we are spending £3.1 billion on Transitional Protections for 1.3 million claimants, to ensure that no one loses out at the point of transition.

We are also spending an additional £1.4 billion on protection for 500,000 claimants receiving Severe Disability Premium; these regulations will prevent these claimants from moving over before the managed migration process, and provide financial protection for those who have already moved over.

The Committee referred these for a formal public consultation. We are currently considering the Committee’s report on the result of this consultation together with their recommendations with regard to our proposals. We will be issuing that report and our response to it when we bring the draft regulations before Parliament in the autumn.


Written Question
Severe Disability Premium
Thursday 25th October 2018

Asked by: Paul Sweeney (Labour (Co-op) - Glasgow North East)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if she will permanently increase transitional payments for the severe disability premium to £183 per month and provide similar protections to disabled children, disabled adults under 25 and parents under 25.

Answered by Sarah Newton

Our draft regulations setting out our proposals for managed migration and the consideration of Transitional Protection were sent to the Social Security Advisory Committee in June 2018. These include provisions to help provide financial support for existing and former Severe Disability Premium recipients.

The details set out in the UC draft managed migration regulations confirm that we are spending £3.1 billion on Transitional Protections for 1.3 million claimants, to ensure that no one loses out at the point of transition.

We are also spending an additional £1.4 billion on protection for 500,000 claimants receiving Severe Disability Premium; these regulations will prevent these claimants from moving over before the managed migration process, and provide financial protection for those who have already moved over.

The Committee referred these for a formal public consultation. We are currently considering the Committee’s report on the result of this consultation together with their recommendations with regard to our proposals. We will be issuing that report and our response to it when we bring the draft regulations before Parliament in the autumn.


Written Question
Universal Credit
Thursday 25th October 2018

Asked by: Paul Sweeney (Labour (Co-op) - Glasgow North East)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will ensure that those whose earnings temporarily increase above the threshold for receipt of universal credit will continue to qualify for transitional protection if they become eligible for universal credit again within nine months.

Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)

Our draft regulations setting out our proposals for managed migration and the consideration of transitional protection were sent to the Social Security Advisory Committee in June 2018 and the Committee referred these for a formal public consultation. We are currently considering the Committee’s report on the result of this consultation together with their recommendations with regard to our proposals. We will be issuing that report and our response to it when we bring the draft regulations before Parliament in the autumn.