Asked by: Rachel Hopkins (Labour - Luton South and South Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Government efficiency savings: technical note, 2021, published on 28 March 2022, what the variety of counter fraud techniques used to prevent or detect fraud were including (a) the programme and project the savings apply to, (b) the amount of savings that relate to each programme and project and (c) the period during which the savings were made for each programme and project.
Answered by David Rutley
DWP takes all types of benefit fraud extremely seriously and is committed to the detection and prevention of both fraud and claimant error, along with the use of appropriate penalties where fraud is identified.
I am unable to share details of the variety of counter fraud techniques used by DWP to prevent or detect fraud, as to do so would be prejudicial to our work in this area. The DWP savings cited in the technical note published by Cabinet Office on 28 March 2022, cover the 2020/21 financial year. The savings of £1.1bn relate to the work of DWP’s Enhanced Checking Service (ECS) part of our Counter Fraud, Compliance and Debt Directorate.
Asked by: Rachel Hopkins (Labour - Luton South and South Bedfordshire)
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 measure its carbon footprint.
Answered by Guy Opperman
Greenhouse gas emissions are published annually in the Greening Government Commitments Annual Reports.
Asked by: Rachel Hopkins (Labour - Luton South and South Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the impact of increased homeworking during the covid-19 outbreak on her Department’s carbon footprint.
Answered by Guy Opperman
The Department monitors and reports on its greenhouse gas emissions - information on this is published in the Greening Government Commitments Annual Report.
Asked by: Rachel Hopkins (Labour - Luton South and South Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department has published a plan setting out the steps it plans to take to transition to net zero emissions.
Answered by Guy Opperman
The Department is committed to reducing emissions and energy consumption wherever possible, as part of the UK’s transition to net zero. The Department’s current targets to make progress on reducing emissions have been published, as part of the Greening Government Commitments.
The Government published the Net Zero Strategy in October 2021, which sets out policies and proposals for decarbonising all sectors of the UK economy to meet our net zero target by 2050.
Asked by: Rachel Hopkins (Labour - Luton South and South Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department has implemented a training programme to provide civil servants with skills to support its transition to net zero.
Answered by Guy Opperman
Yes. The new Government Curriculum will include modules on the implications of Net Zero, climate change and wider environmental issues for government. In the first phase, the Government Skills & Curriculum Unit (GSCU) is working with other Departments (including BEIS, DEFRA and FCDO) to create an awareness level training resource for all civil servants. This will be piloted from April 2022. In the next phases, GSCU will look at tailored provision for specific Functions and Professions, and will signpost the training and other resources on Net Zero which are already being provided internally at practitioner and expert levels by government Departments.
Asked by: Rachel Hopkins (Labour - Luton South and South Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether a senior manager in her Department has been given the portfolio for leading on departmental sustainability.
Answered by Guy Opperman
Responsibility for sustainability sits with the Director General, People, Capability and Place.
Asked by: Rachel Hopkins (Labour - Luton South and South Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the number of people who have been affected by the underpayment of benefits after transitioning from incapacity benefit to employment and support allowance in Luton South constituency.
Answered by Chloe Smith
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 19th January to question number 104377.
Asked by: Rachel Hopkins (Labour - Luton South and South Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the total floor area of her departmental estate was in each year from 2010-11 to 2020-21.
Answered by Guy Opperman
Total DWP Floorspace (NIA m2) Managed Estate including Arm’s Length Bodies’.
Source: Cabinet Office: State of the Estate report (parliamentary report) published on Gov.uk.
Year Area m2
2010 1,856,832
2011 1,788,883
2012 1,799,716
2013 1,720,464
2014 1,646,766
2015 1,592,693
2016 1,563,185
2017 1,561,604
2018 1,577,606
2019 1,399,875
2020 1,380,476
2021 1,379,939
Asked by: Rachel Hopkins (Labour - Luton South and South Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what records relating to staff working times are kept by her Department under Regulation 9 of the Working Time Regulations 1998; and how long those records are kept for.
Answered by Guy Opperman
Each employee’s record of daily working times and aggregated hours over four-weekly periods is retained for three years.
A record of any employee’s exceptional decision under the Working Time Regulations 1998 voluntarily to disapply the 48-hour maximum working time is retained as part of their employment record for 85 years.
Asked by: Rachel Hopkins (Labour - Luton South and South Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the compliance of her Department's staff working from home with the Working Time Regulations 1998.
Answered by Guy Opperman
DWP agreed a Flexible Working Hours Scheme with its trade unions to manage employees’ daily working hours and breaks. This conforms to the Working Time Regulations 1998.
Under the Scheme, all employees are required to keep a daily record of the times they work. This is monitored and checked by their line manager to ensure that on a four-weekly basis the aggregated hours worked are within the limits of the Scheme.
The size and national spread of the DWP’s workforce and current recording method require compliance to be assessed by line managers as a core part of their job.