Asked by: Tom Hayes (Labour - Bournemouth East)
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 impact of the (a) affordability and (b) availability of childcare on the ability of single parents to look for (i) work and (ii) increased hours.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I am pleased to announce on 7 October we published Universal Credit childcare costs - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) and Childcare choices for parents working atypical hours - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) , which provides some insight into the question.
Parents claiming Universal Credit can be reimbursed up to 85% of their eligible childcare costs each month and we provide financial support with upfront childcare costs when parents move into paid work or increase their working hours. They are also able to access the early education entitlements, as long as they meet the eligibility criteria for each offer.
Asked by: Tom Hayes (Labour - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to reform the Work Capability Assessment.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The government is committed to reforming or replacing the Work Capability Assessment, alongside putting in place a proper plan to support disabled people into work. We will say more about this in due course.
We will continue to engage with stakeholders to keep the views of disabled people and people with health conditions at the heart of what we do, as we consider our next steps.
Asked by: Tom Hayes (Labour - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to (a) tackle discrimination against visually impaired people with guide dogs and (b) educate (i) businesses and (ii) public services on the (A) role and (B) importance of guide dogs.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Equality Act 2010 places a general duty on businesses and service providers to make reasonable adjustments to allow disabled people, including people with assistance dogs, access to goods and services so they are not placed at a substantial disadvantage compared to non-disabled people.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is responsible for enforcing the Equality Act. It has published guidance - ‘Assistance Dogs: a guide for businesses and service providers’ - to help businesses understand what they can do to meet their legal duties to assistance dog owners.
Duties and protections under the Equality Act are ultimately enforceable through the courts, and anybody who thinks that they have been discriminated against - including where access to an assistance dog has been refused - can take legal action to seek to resolve the issue. The EHRC will support people who have experienced discrimination through that process.
Over the years, Ministers have held discussions with Guide Dogs UK about their ‘Open Doors’ campaign which aims to achieve the fullest possible access for owners of guide dogs and assistance dogs. I fully support that campaign and the principle that Guide Dogs and assistance dogs should always be allowed access, except in the most exceptional circumstances.
Asked by: Tom Hayes (Labour - Bournemouth East)
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 effectiveness of Universal Credit in supporting people with disability costs.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We are committed to reviewing Universal Credit, to make sure it is doing the job we want it to. We will set out the details of this in due course.
Asked by: Tom Hayes (Labour - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of exempting survivors of domestic abuse from repaying advances of Universal Credit payments.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
No assessment has been made of exempting survivors of domestic abuse from repaying advances of Universal Credit payments. However, the Government is committed to reviewing Universal Credit so that it makes work pay and tackles poverty.
Asked by: Tom Hayes (Labour - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will introduce separate Universal Credit payments by default to help ensure domestic abuse perpetrators cannot gain control over joint household income.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department have no plans to introduce separate Universal Credit payments by default. Where domestic violence has been reported split payments can be made.
Asked by: Tom Hayes (Labour - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what training work coaches receive on domestic abuse; and how often.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
All Work Coaches new to DWP receive mandatory learning to support vulnerable customers and complex needs as part of their induction and onboarding. This includes completion of 30-minutes of self-paced learning on domestic abuse.
The Work Coach learning journey includes an additional 90-minutes of facilitated learning on domestic abuse. The aim of this learning is to explain what support we can offer to a victim, or survivor, of domestic abuse. After completing their facilitated learning Work Coaches have access to self-paced learning to enable them to continue to build their knowledge and understanding in their day-to-day role.
Asked by: Tom Hayes (Labour - Bournemouth East)
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 reduce barriers facing single parents looking for (a) work and (b) increased hours.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Department is committed to helping everyone find a job, progress in work and thrive in the labour market. We know that single parents face unique barriers to work including access to affordable childcare and flexible working arrangements.
Our Plan to Get Britain Working will create more good jobs, make work pay, transform skills, and overhaul jobcentres, alongside action to tackle the root causes of worklessness including poor physical and mental health. In addition, our work coaches are committed to delivering a quality service to ensure all claimants, including single parents, receive the best possible support that takes account of their individual circumstances, helping to identify and address the barriers they may have in looking for or increasing their hours of work. This would include childcare.
Eligible Universal Credit customers can be reimbursed up to 85% of their registered childcare costs each month up to the maximum amounts, regardless of the number of hours they work.
Asked by: Tom Hayes (Labour - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will take steps to reform child maintenance services by (a) abolishing fees for survivors of violence against women and girls and (b) implementing robust enforcement measures for non-paying parents.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
A consultation on proposed reforms to the CMS was published by the previous Government on 8 May 2024. This included removing Direct Pay and changing the charging structure, with all CMS cases managed in one service to allow the CMS to tackle non-compliance faster. The consultation also explores how victims and survivors of domestic abuse can be better supported.
This Government has extended the consultation to the 30 September 2024 to ensure full stakeholder engagement can take place. We will then consider the next steps for CMS.
Asked by: Tom Hayes (Labour - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will extend the Domestic Violence Easement available to survivors claiming (a) Job Seekers’ Allowance and (b) Universal Credit to disabled survivors who (i) claim Employment Support Allowance and (ii) are in the Support Group for Universal Credit.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Claimants in the Support Group for legacy Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) and for those with Limited Capability for Work and Work-related Activity (LCWRA) in New Style Employment Support Allowance (NS ESA) or Universal Credit have no work-related requirements imposed on them.
Where a legacy ESA or NS ESA claimant in the work-related activity group (WRAG) has recently been a victim of domestic abuse, any work-related requirements are paused for a period of 13 consecutive weeks from when the claimant notifies the department. This is the same as the compulsory easements prescribed in Universal Credit legislation where work coaches must switch off work availability and work search requirements for the prescribed length of time. The work coach will decide if the break can be extended beyond 13 weeks in extreme circumstances.
The arrangements are described here Help available from the Department for Work and Pensions for people who are victims of domestic violence and abuse - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
To keep our easement policies clear, fair, and effective in supporting vulnerable claimants, we keep the conditionality and sanctions policies and processes under continuous review.