Asked by: Richard Fuller (Conservative - North Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans she has to (a) publish and (b) implement the recommendations from the Department’s review of the benefits system for terminally ill people and the Special Rules for Terminal Illness scheme announced in July 2019.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson
The Department is committed to delivering an improved benefit system for claimants that are nearing the end of their lives and is working across Government to bring forward proposals following the evaluation. I remain committed to implementing the key areas identified in the evaluation; a consensus to change the six-month rule; improving consistency with other services used by people nearing the end of their lives; and raising awareness of the support that is available.
Asked by: Richard Fuller (Conservative - North Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to prevent silo working and improve information sharing within the Child Maintenance Service.
Answered by Mims Davies - Shadow Minister (Women)
The Child Maintenance Service is committed to keeping an open dialogue and providing a cohesive service with other departments and stakeholders. We also continue to take opportunities to improve sharing of information where legislation allows.
Some examples of this are obtaining Real Time Income information from HMRC to inform Maintenance Calculations and ongoing negotiations to share information relating to self-employed parents who have been furloughed as a result of COVID-19
In addition, we have worked closely with HM Passport Office and Border Agency to taken forward the removal of passports to enhance our enforcement powers. The Service is also creating closer working with HMCTS, as Courts Services are being digitised, to deliver a more efficient and cost effective service for our customers.
Asked by: Richard Fuller (Conservative - North Bedfordshire)
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 effectiveness of the Child Maintenance Service's Financial Investigations Unit.
Answered by Mims Davies - Shadow Minister (Women)
The Financial Investigations Unit (FIU) is equipped with powers to conduct full and in depth investigations in to allegations made against a paying parent’s financial circumstances. They will then determine the most appropriate action to get Child Maintenance Payments flowing to the receiving parent.
Please find attached statistics of actions taken by FIU. These can be found on Table 12 of the National Tables available on Gov.uk
Asked by: Richard Fuller (Conservative - North Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she will take to improve the ability of the Child Maintenance Service to scrutinise effectively new claims of hardship from a paying parent who has previously been proven by the First-tier Tribunal (Social Security and Child Support) to falsify their financial records.
Answered by Mims Davies - Shadow Minister (Women)
Maintenance liabilities broadly continue to be based on the NRP’s historic income; this is largely gross annual income information provided by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) for the latest available tax year. This will enable calculations to be made more quickly minimising opportunity for inaccuracies.
The scheme is designed so that liabilities remain consistent over the year, with limited changes. The calculation is reviewed annually, and generally only changes during the year if a parents’ income increases or decreases by at least 25%. This threshold ensures calculations are relative stable for both the paying parent and receiving parent, so both parents know what to expect in terms of payments.
The Department recognises that some parents have more control over providing false income records which we use to calculate maintenance. In the first instance, we are working more closely with HMRC and making changes to prevent fraudulent behaviour. The CMS recently introduced changes to improve channels of communication between the Financial Investigation Unit (FIU) who investigate cases with complex earnings queries and HMRC’s Fraud Investigation Service (FIS).
Where an NRP’s gross income has been disputed, the Child Maintenance Group (CMG) can request a breakdown of the income figure provided by HMRC.
Those found to be abusing the system at this difficult time are subject to the full extent of our enforcement powers and the Child Maintenance Service will pursue these, where appropriate. The department remains committed to an effective child maintenance scheme that ensures all parents contribute financially for their children.
Asked by: Richard Fuller (Conservative - North Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether people who are (a) deemed to be employed but who are unable to work as a result of the effect of covid-19 on their employment or self-employment, (b) ineligible for universal credit as a result of means testing and (c) ineligible for Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme or Self Employment Income Support Scheme, are eligible for Jobseekers Allowance.
Answered by Mims Davies - Shadow Minister (Women)
a) Those deemed to be in employment as a result of receiving support through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and Self Employed Income Support Scheme will not be entitled to Jobseeker’s Allowance if they usually work 16 hours or more per week. In order to be entitled to Jobseeker’s Allowance, claimants must satisfy a number of entitlement conditions, one of which is not being engaged in full time work. Those who usually work less than 16 hours per week are part-time workers and can apply.
b) Jobseeker’s Allowance is a personal contribution-based benefit. Eligibility depends on someone having worked as an employee and having paid enough national insurance contributions, usually in the two full tax years before the calendar year in which they make their claim. They must also meet the following entitlement conditions:
c) Those ineligible for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme or Self Employment Income Support Scheme may be eligible if they meet the conditions as set out in b) above.