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, with reference to the authorisation of regulations defining safe accommodation under Part 4 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021, what her planned timeframe is for delivering an exemption from the spare room subsidy to victims of domestic abuse with sanctuary scheme properties.
Answered by Will Quince
The Domestic Abuse Support (Relevant Accommodation and Housing Benefit and Universal Credit Sanctuary Schemes) (Amendment) Regulations 2021 were laid on 9 September 2021 and the sanctuary scheme exemption from the removal of the spare room subsidy will come in to force on 1 October 2021.
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 - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We intend to take forward a Remedial Order to extend eligibility for Widowed Parent’s Allowance and Bereavement Support Payment to cohabitees with children. We are working on the detail of, and implementation plans for, these changes. We intend to lay the Order before the House in due course.
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 that are not eligible for bereavement support payment as a result of not being married contacted Tell Us Once service during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Tell Us Once (TUO) does not collect this information. TUO is purely a notification service and asks a citizen if they wish to notify a range of partner organisations including the Department for Work and Pensions. There is no distinct correlation between the notification issued and Bereavement Support Payment. In addition, Tell Us Once does not form any part of any claim to benefits.
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 publish data on new claims for universal credit since the covid-19 social distancing guidelines were introduced, at a constituency level.
Answered by Will Quince
The Department publishes Management Information each week on the numbers of declarations to Universal Credit since the 1 March. This information is available here https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/universal-credit-declarations-claims-and-advances-management-information.
Data at Constituency Level is not available.
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 families have been newly affected by the two-child limit on universal credit as a result of making a new claim for that benefit since the beginning of the covid-19 lockdown.
Answered by Will Quince
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 assessment she has made of the potential merits of temporarily suspending the two-child limit on the child element of universal credit and tax credit in recognition of the economic effect of the covid-19 outbreak on families with children.
Answered by Will Quince
There are no plans to suspend the policy to provide support for a maximum of two children.
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 individual pieces of correspondence her Department has (a) received from hon. Members on behalf of constituents on matters relating to covid-19 on each date since the outbreak began and (b) provided in response to that correspondence in each category of response.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate costs.
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 - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
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.