Asked by: Philippa Whitford (Scottish National Party - Central Ayrshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what information the Government considered when setting the value of Contributions Based Job Seekers Allowance entitlement at £73.10 for people over 25.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
The rates for Jobseeker’s Allowance were originally based on the equivalent provisions for Income Support, which were in force in October 1996, when Jobseeker’s Allowance replaced the element of that benefit for those who are unemployed, on low or no income or other financial means and are available and looking for work. The rate has been reviewed since then in line with the relevant legislation for the uprating of benefits.
Asked by: Philippa Whitford (Scottish National Party - Central Ayrshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department has provided any guidance to employers who have employees in receipt of universal credit on how to accurately report earnings to such reports are correct for any given assessment period.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
The Government is working with employers to ensure that they use the most appropriate payment practices and comply with Real Time Information guidelines in order to minimise the incidence of erroneous or late reporting by employers, and HMRC have recently updated guidance to reiterate to employers the importance of reporting accurate dates and the impact on payment cycles.
We have produced guidance to help ensure claimants, staff and representatives are aware of how different earnings patterns can affect their Universal Credit award. This can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/universal-credit-different-earning-patterns-and-your-payments/universal-credit-different-earning-patterns-and-your-payments-payment-cycles
Additionally, claimants can always discuss the implications of this with their case managers and work coaches and can be referred to Personal Budgeting Support to help them manage their budgeting.