Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
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 on the backlog of universal credit mandatory reconsideration of staff redeployment to work on new applications for that benefit; and what estimate she has made of the number of universal credit mandatory reconsideration's that have been delayed during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Will Quince
DWP is continuing to process Mandatory Reconsiderations during the current Covid-19 pandemic and is aiming to avoid delay where possible.
In relation to the number of Universal Credit Mandatory Reconsiderations that have been delayed during the covid-19 pandemic, the information requested is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what support her Department is providing to non-EEA nationals who (a) are working reduced hours and (b) have lost their jobs due to the covid-19 outbreak and are unable to claim universal credit.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson
Those unable to access DWP income-related benefits, such as Universal Credit, may be eligible to access DWP contributions-based benefits such as New style Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), providing they meet eligibility criteria.
The Chancellor has announced the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme to help firms continue to keep people in employment. Employers can put workers on temporary leave and the government will pay them cash grants of 80% of their wages up to a cap of £2,500, providing they keep the worker employed.
The Chancellor has also confirmed that, depending on their status, workers on zero hour contracts may be eligible for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and we would urge people to explore this avenue too.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will bring forward proposals to amend Regulation B13 of the Housing Benefit Regulations 2006 to create an exemption for people who live in Sanctuary Schemes after the decision of the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights in A v the United Kingdom.
Answered by Will Quince
We are carefully considering next steps in response to the European Court of Human Rights decision.
In the meantime, for people in particular circumstances who may require more support, Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) are available.
Since 2011 we have provided over £1billion in DHP funding, enabling local authorities to protect the most vulnerable claimants and supporting households to adapt to housing support reforms, including the Removal of the Spare Room Subsidy policy. In addition, we recently announced an extra £40 million in DHPs for 2020/21.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 17 February 2020 to Question 14677, on Local Housing Allowance, whether he plans to allocate additional funding to support claimants that are at risk of becoming homeless as a result of being unable to afford the difference between the amount they receive in local housing allowance and their rent in (a) Walthamstow constituency, (b) other London boroughs and (c) England.
Answered by Will Quince
We recently announced an extra £40 million in Discretionary Housing Payments for 2020/21, helping to tackle the most acute affordability pressures in the private rented sector.
Since 2011 we have provided over £1billion in Discretionary Housing Payment funding, enabling local authorities to protect the most vulnerable claimants.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent steps she has taken to implement the ruling of the Supreme Court of 30 August 2018, [2018] UKSC 48, on extending bereavement support payments to unmarried couples.
Answered by Mims Davies - Shadow Minister (Women)
We recognise that we currently have incompatible legislation on the statute books relating to Widowed Parent's Allowance. My department is currently working on possible options to remedy this. As previously stated there are complex issues we have needed to actively consider which takes time. We will report back to Parliament as soon as we have agreed approach.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what support is available during the three month wait for eligibility for limited capability for work and work-related activity for a person who was eligible for employment and support allowance but who was in a couple and not the main claimant, in the event of their separation.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson
Where a person makes a new claim for New Style Employment and Support Allowance (NS ESA) and satisfies the contribution conditions, they receive a basic rate of benefit at £73.10 a week (for a single person over 25) during the 13-week assessment phase while capability for work is established.
Where Universal Credit (UC) is claimed on health grounds, there is a 3-month relevant period which mirrors the 13-week assessment phase in ESA. Entitlement to UC is calculated on various factors including housing, childcare and the child element; however, the standard allowance per assessment period is £317.82 (for a single person over 25).
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people received support for upfront childcare costs under the Flexible Support Fund; and what proportion of the Flexible Support Fund is used to pay for childcare.
Answered by Will Quince
The information requested is not collated centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what support is in place for parents (a) who are in work to cover the cost of childcare costs during school holidays and (b) who have accessed the Flexible Support Fund in the month following that claim and who are not able to recoup the costs of childcare for that period via universal credit.
Answered by Will Quince
The Universal Credit childcare policy aligns with the wider government childcare offer, which includes free childcare hours and tax free childcare. Claimants can utilise both the free childcare entitlement and Universal Credit childcare costs in conjunction with each other. This offer means that reasonable childcare costs should not form a barrier to work, even during school holidays. The Government is committed to supporting working parents and, as part of this, Universal Credit pays up to 85% of childcare costs, compared to 70% in legacy benefits.
Universal Credit claimants are able to upload digital copies of their childcare cost receipts or invoices through their online Universal Credit account. In October 2019, the Department introduced changes to give parents longer to report their childcare costs. Childcare costs can be claimed in the same assessment period they were paid, or by the end of the following assessment period.
Beyond the Universal Credit childcare element, claimants can be considered for two additional methods of funding childcare costs: the Flexible Support Fund (FSF) and Budgeting Advances.
The FSF can pay up to 100% of the upfront childcare costs (subject to payment limits) that the claimant incurs before starting work and receiving their first wage. Through FSF, Work Coaches can support claimants with barriers that may prevent them from moving into employment, such as childcare or travel costs. Each case is considered carefully on its own merits with financial help available in advance to eligible claimants.
A budgeting advance is available for one-off urgent financial events for eligible UC claimants, such as upfront childcare, and is repayable over a period of up to 12 monthly instalments.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate her Department has made of the number of universal credit credit claimants whose childcare costs exceed the upper threshold for (a) one child and (b) two or more children.
Answered by Will Quince
Childcare costs should not be a barrier to getting into work; this Government is committed to helping parents into work. Universal Credit pays up to 85% of childcare costs, compared to 70% in legacy benefits and can be claimed up to a month before starting a job. In cases where people need to pay for childcare upfront, prior to starting work, Work Coaches can use the Flexible Support Fund to meet these costs until their first wage is received.
For all Universal Credit monthly payments made in 2019, around 520,000 included a childcare element:
a. For childcare costs claimed for one child in childcare, 5% of the time, childcare claims exceeded the maximum award of £646.35 (28,000 times).
b. For childcare costs claimed for two or more children in childcare, 1% of the time, childcare claims exceeded the maximum award of £1108.04 (6,000 times).
Notes:
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she has made an assessment of the effect of the limits on childcare costs claimable through universal credit on (a) women and (b) maternal employment rates.
Answered by Will Quince
The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost to the Department.