Asked by: Stephen Doughty (Labour (Co-op) - Cardiff South and Penarth)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent estimate she has made of the number of universal credit claimants in (a) Cardiff South and Penarth, (b) the Vale of Glamorgan and (c) Wales who have (ii) had their housing benefit stopped without notice and (ii) are in rent arrears.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Local Authorities have a duty to notify changes to a Housing Benefit award. Therefore, if a Housing Benefit claim ends because of a move to Universal Credit, the claimant is notified that the Housing Benefit claim has ended.
However, we know that many tenants are arriving on Universal Credit with pre-existing rent arrears, that their arrears tended to increase prior to making a claim for Universal Credit, and that Universal Credit actually appears to be helping to clear arrears over time. According to latest figures (November 2018) only about 8% of social rented households were on Universal Credit.
Asked by: Stephen Doughty (Labour (Co-op) - Cardiff South and Penarth)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent estimate she has made of the number of people in (a) Cardiff South and Penarth, (b) the Vale of Glamorgan and (c) Wales that have waited more than 6 weeks to receive benefit payments in the latest period for which figures are available.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
For Universal Credit New Claims no claimant has to go five weeks without receiving support, as advances, worth up to 100 per cent of a claimant’s indicative award, are available, if required and a two week ‘transitional housing payment’ is available to those claimants who were receiving Housing Benefit before they moved onto Universal Credit.
In many cases where full payment is not made on time, it is due to unresolved issues such as: claimants not accepting their Claimant Commitment or passing identity checks, or having outstanding verification issues, such as housing costs and self-employed earnings. In order to support claimants to claim, we have taken steps to improve verification processes. For example, we have listened to feedback and built processes into the system to make it easier and quicker for people to verify their housing costs, for example through the landlord portal.
The table below shows the number and proportion of UC New Claims where full payment/part payment was made within 6 weeks of the claim being submitted.
These figures relate to New Claims where the first payment was due in November 2018.
| Waited more than 6 weeks from declaration for any UC payment | As a proportion of all payments due this month |
Cardiff South and Penarth | 20 | 8% |
Vale of Glamorgan | 10 | 4% |
Wales | 310 | 5% |
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Asked by: Stephen Doughty (Labour (Co-op) - Cardiff South and Penarth)
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 average annual loss in pension credit and pension age housing benefit per couple who are in a mixed-aged relationship after 15 May 2019.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Mixed-age couples will see no reduction in the amount of benefit they receive as a result of this change, unless they are already in receipt of Pension Credit and/or pension-age Housing Benefit but then lose entitlement to both of those benefits.
Asked by: Stephen Doughty (Labour (Co-op) - Cardiff South and Penarth)
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 pension credit claimants in (a) Cardiff South and Penarth, (b) the Vale of Glamorgan and (c) Wales who have a partner of working age and will be affected by forthcoming changes to the rules on pension credit.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The changes the government announced on January 14 will ensure that same work incentives will apply to the younger partner as apply to other people of the same age and that taxpayer support is directed to where it is needed most.
The change will not affect mixed age couples who are entitled to Pension Credit and/or pension age Housing Benefit immediately before May 15, unless their entitlement to both those benefits subsequently ends.
The number of future mixed age couples that are estimated to be affected by the forthcoming changes is not available.
Asked by: Stephen Doughty (Labour (Co-op) - Cardiff South and Penarth)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent estimate her Department has made of the number of mixed-age couples who have been negatively affected by changes to universal credit.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Additional support to all claimants whatever their age, has been provided by the Autumn Budget 2017 and 2018 and will therefore not have any negative impact on mixed-aged couples claiming Universal Credit.
Following Autumn Budget 2017, the Department has introduced a range of measures to support claimants and ensure no one has to experience hardship within the initial assessment period, these include: making advances more generous, removing the 7 waiting days; providing an additional transitional payment of 2 weeks of Housing Benefit; and changing how claimants in temporary accommodation receive support for their housing costs.
Measures introduced at Autumn Budget 2018 will provide further assistance for claimants over the next few years. These include reducing, from October 2019, the maximum rate at which deductions can be made from a Universal Credit award from 40% to 30% of the standard allowance, with the period over which these recoveries are made extended from 12 to 16 months in October 2021. Payment of Income Support and the income related elements of Employment and Support Allowance and Jobseeker’s Allowance will continue for two weeks after a claim for Universal Credit has been made, effective from July 2020, benefitting 1.1 million households. Additionally, from April 2019, there will be a £1000 increase in work allowances from April 2019, which will provide a £630 boost for households with children, and for people with disabilities.
Asked by: Stephen Doughty (Labour (Co-op) - Cardiff South and Penarth)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in (a) Cardiff and (b) Vale of Glamorgan have made successful claims for underpayments of universal credit since the beginning of the roll-out; and what the average value is of each such claim.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
DWP only holds this data at a national level for estimated underpayments, which can be accessed at:
Asked by: Stephen Doughty (Labour (Co-op) - Cardiff South and Penarth)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to her Department's response to the consultation entitled, Market review of British Sign Language and communications provision for people who are deaf or have hearing loss, published in July 2017, what steps her Department has taken to increase the number of fully qualified and registered British Sign Language interpreters.
Answered by Sarah Newton
The ‘Market review of British Sign Language and communications provision for people who are deaf or have hearing loss’ was a review of the present state of the market for support that facilitates communication for people who are deaf, deaf-blind or have hearing loss and those that need to engage with them.
DWP worked with a wide range of stakeholders to develop the review’s parameters and criteria. These partners included other government departments; organisations that work for and with people who are deaf, Deafblind or have a hearing loss; and individuals from the communication and language professions. However, as was stated in the Report, it was not within the scope of the review to make policy recommendations based on the evidence received.
The review aimed to look at provision in the UK as a whole, covering all forms of language and communication support. Interested organisations and individuals were publically invited to make a submission to the review. As was explained in the report, DWP did not undertake field research during the course of this work and the accuracy of information submitted during the review has therefore not been further assured by the department.
This report published in July 2017 was a summary of the responses received. The report highlights current available evidence relating to the areas under review, including relevant published statistical data, and summarises common themes that were evident in the wide range of submissions that were received.
The review was designed to be a useful information resource, which would allow commissioners across both the public and private sector to make more informed decisions. The review is also a resource for policymakers. We have not assessed its impact across the public sector, but we can say that findings from the review informed DWP’s decision to increase the Access to Work Cap from £43,100 p.a. to £57,200 p.a. with effect from April 2018. Access to Work is also increasingly supporting the use of video relay services to complement support from face-to-face BSL Interpreters and allow for greater flexibility.
Recruitment levels among British Sign Language interpreters are influenced by a range of market factors, including demand for their services in social and personal situations, which DWP does not directly influence. However, DWP works closely and on an ongoing basis with people who are deaf of or have hearing loss, as well as relevant stakeholder groups, to ensure their needs are understood and that initiatives like Access to Work help to meet those needs.
Asked by: Stephen Doughty (Labour (Co-op) - Cardiff South and Penarth)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to her Department's response to the consultation entitled, Market review of British Sign Language and communications provision for people who are deaf or have hearing loss, published in July 2017, what steps her Department has taken to improve the commissioning of British Sign Language interpretation by the public sector.
Answered by Sarah Newton
The ‘Market review of British Sign Language and communications provision for people who are deaf or have hearing loss’ was a review of the present state of the market for support that facilitates communication for people who are deaf, deaf-blind or have hearing loss and those that need to engage with them.
DWP worked with a wide range of stakeholders to develop the review’s parameters and criteria. These partners included other government departments; organisations that work for and with people who are deaf, Deafblind or have a hearing loss; and individuals from the communication and language professions. However, as was stated in the Report, it was not within the scope of the review to make policy recommendations based on the evidence received.
The review aimed to look at provision in the UK as a whole, covering all forms of language and communication support. Interested organisations and individuals were publically invited to make a submission to the review. As was explained in the report, DWP did not undertake field research during the course of this work and the accuracy of information submitted during the review has therefore not been further assured by the department.
This report published in July 2017 was a summary of the responses received. The report highlights current available evidence relating to the areas under review, including relevant published statistical data, and summarises common themes that were evident in the wide range of submissions that were received.
The review was designed to be a useful information resource, which would allow commissioners across both the public and private sector to make more informed decisions. The review is also a resource for policymakers. We have not assessed its impact across the public sector, but we can say that findings from the review informed DWP’s decision to increase the Access to Work Cap from £43,100 p.a. to £57,200 p.a. with effect from April 2018. Access to Work is also increasingly supporting the use of video relay services to complement support from face-to-face BSL Interpreters and allow for greater flexibility.
Recruitment levels among British Sign Language interpreters are influenced by a range of market factors, including demand for their services in social and personal situations, which DWP does not directly influence. However, DWP works closely and on an ongoing basis with people who are deaf of or have hearing loss, as well as relevant stakeholder groups, to ensure their needs are understood and that initiatives like Access to Work help to meet those needs.
Asked by: Stephen Doughty (Labour (Co-op) - Cardiff South and Penarth)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to her Department's response to the consultation entitled, Market review of British Sign Language and communications provision for people who are deaf or have hearing loss, published in July 2017, what steps her Department has taken to fill the evidence gaps identified by respondents.
Answered by Sarah Newton
The ‘Market review of British Sign Language and communications provision for people who are deaf or have hearing loss’ was a review of the present state of the market for support that facilitates communication for people who are deaf, deaf-blind or have hearing loss and those that need to engage with them.
DWP worked with a wide range of stakeholders to develop the review’s parameters and criteria. These partners included other government departments; organisations that work for and with people who are deaf, Deafblind or have a hearing loss; and individuals from the communication and language professions. However, as was stated in the Report, it was not within the scope of the review to make policy recommendations based on the evidence received.
The review aimed to look at provision in the UK as a whole, covering all forms of language and communication support. Interested organisations and individuals were publically invited to make a submission to the review. As was explained in the report, DWP did not undertake field research during the course of this work and the accuracy of information submitted during the review has therefore not been further assured by the department.
This report published in July 2017 was a summary of the responses received. The report highlights current available evidence relating to the areas under review, including relevant published statistical data, and summarises common themes that were evident in the wide range of submissions that were received.
The review was designed to be a useful information resource, which would allow commissioners across both the public and private sector to make more informed decisions. The review is also a resource for policymakers. We have not assessed its impact across the public sector, but we can say that findings from the review informed DWP’s decision to increase the Access to Work Cap from £43,100 p.a. to £57,200 p.a. with effect from April 2018. Access to Work is also increasingly supporting the use of video relay services to complement support from face-to-face BSL Interpreters and allow for greater flexibility.
Recruitment levels among British Sign Language interpreters are influenced by a range of market factors, including demand for their services in social and personal situations, which DWP does not directly influence. However, DWP works closely and on an ongoing basis with people who are deaf of or have hearing loss, as well as relevant stakeholder groups, to ensure their needs are understood and that initiatives like Access to Work help to meet those needs.
Asked by: Stephen Doughty (Labour (Co-op) - Cardiff South and Penarth)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the cost to the public purse has been of correcting underpayments for universal credit to date; and what proportion of the Government’s total expenditure on universal credit has been spent on meeting that cost since the roll out of universal credit.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
The information requested is not held by the Department.
The staff cost of correcting can not be disaggregated from other activity.