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Written Question
Universal Credit: Learning Disability
Thursday 10th December 2020

Asked by: Tom Tugendhat (Conservative - Tonbridge and Malling)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what guidance her Department provides to college staff on supporting universal credit applications for 18 to 25 year olds with learning difficulties.

Answered by Will Quince

The Advice for decision makers guide (ADM) supports the decision making for various social security benefits, including Universal Credit (UC). This guide is published online, is freely available to the public and the specific guidance which would support a decision as to whether a person as described would have entitlement to UC is referred to below.

A condition of entitlement for UC is that the claimant must not be receiving education. This excludes most students, including those with learning difficulties. In chapter H6 of the ADM, paragraphs H6026 to H6028 set out the meaning of “receiving education” for the purposes of determining entitlement to UC. If a person is treated as receiving education they will not be entitled to UC unless they meet one of the exceptions which are listed at paragraph H6041.


Paragraphs H6026 to H6028 advise that a person is treated as receiving education if;

  • they are a “Qualifying Young Person” (QYP), i.e. has reached age 16 but not the 1st September following their 19th birthday and are undertaking an average of over 12 hours per week approved non-advanced education at a school or college, or

  • is in full-time advanced education (defined at paragraph H6031), or

  • where not a QYP, is undertaking any other full-time course of study or training at an educational establishment for which a maintenance loan or grant is provided and that course is determined not to be compatible with any work related requirements imposed upon them. Conversely, if the course does not provide a maintenance loan or grant and is determined to be compatible a person’s work related requirements, the person is not treated as receiving education and satisfies this condition of entitlement to UC.

A student with learning difficulties will likely fall to be considered under the guidance set out at the last bullet point, unless they are of a QYP age. If the student is a QYP, they continue to be treated as receiving education and will only have entitlement to UC if they first meet one of the exceptions listed at paragraph H6041 and, if under age 18, one of the minimum age exceptions listed at chapter E of the ADM, paragraph E1024. A QYP remains to be supported by their parents, who receive benefits for them.


Written Question
Disability Living Allowance: Older People
Tuesday 1st September 2020

Asked by: Tom Tugendhat (Conservative - Tonbridge and Malling)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if the Government will allow people over 65 years of age to be reassessed for a higher rate of Disability Living Allowance if their needs have changed since they were assessed before the age of 65.

Answered by Justin Tomlinson

Prior to the introduction of Personal Independence Payment for people of working age, the age limit for new claims to Disability Living Allowance (DLA) was age 65. A claimant, born on or before 8 April 1948, in receipt of DLA can continue to get the benefit beyond age 65 if they continue to satisfy the relevant disability tests. They can also apply for a higher rate of the care component if their care needs increase. People with mobility problems that arise only after they have reached age 65 cannot claim the mobility component for the first time nor can a claimant who was receiving a lower rate mobility component whose mobility needs increase move to the higher rate.


Written Question
New Enterprise Allowance: Coronavirus
Tuesday 12th May 2020

Asked by: Tom Tugendhat (Conservative - Tonbridge and Malling)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what guidance her Department has issued to people in receipt of the New Enterprise Allowance on business support schemes available during the covid-19 oubreak.

Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The New Enterprise Allowance (NEA) programme provides mentoring support for eligible claimants to help them enter into self-employment, or increase their earnings from an existing business. Each NEA participant works with a business mentor as they develop a business idea, and for up to 52 weeks when they are trading.

Although Covid-19 has presented us with many challenges, the NEA programme remains in place and our providers and mentors continue to deliver information and guidance to support participants in their self-employment journey.


Written Question
Children: Day Care
Wednesday 11th July 2018

Asked by: Tom Tugendhat (Conservative - Tonbridge and Malling)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of households in each English region that were eligible for universal credit childcare at 5 April 2017.

Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)

The Department has not made an estimate of the number of households who are eligible for the childcare element of Universal Credit.


Written Question
Children: Day Care
Wednesday 11th July 2018

Asked by: Tom Tugendhat (Conservative - Tonbridge and Malling)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of households in each English region that have taken up universal credit childcare since that policy's inception.

Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)

The information requested is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

The available information on the number of households in receipt of Universal Credit and are claiming childcare can be accessed at:

https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/.

Guidance on how to extract the information required can be found at:

https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started.html


Written Question
Children: Day Care
Wednesday 11th July 2018

Asked by: Tom Tugendhat (Conservative - Tonbridge and Malling)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what information her Department collects on the income profile of recipients of universal credit childcare.

Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)

The latest available data indicates that the household income of Universal Credit claimants that receive the childcare component can be described by the following distribution:

Income Per Month

Percentage of Households

Under £1000

5%

£1000 to £1250

7%

£1250 to £1500

14%

£1500 to £1750

19%

£1750 to £2000

17%

£2000 to £2250

12%

£2250 to £2500

9%

£2500 to £2750

6%

£2750 to £3000

4%

Over £3000

6%

The number of people claiming Universal Credit is increasing and we do not necessarily expect this figure to be reflective of household incomes in the future.

Notes:

The data supplied is derived from unpublished management information which was collected for internal Departmental use only, and has not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standard. They should therefore be treated with caution.

The figures relate to both Universal Credit Live and Full Service claims as of April 2018.

There may be additional income or support that we do not know of and have not included in the calculation, such as child benefit or passported benefits.

Figures may not add up to 100% due to rounding.


Written Question
Children: Day Care
Wednesday 11th July 2018

Asked by: Tom Tugendhat (Conservative - Tonbridge and Malling)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what information his Department holds on the age profile of claimants of universal credit childcare.

Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)

The latest available data indicates that the ages of the individuals claiming Universal Credit and that receive the childcare component can be described by the following distribution:

Age Range

Percentage of Individuals

Under 30

11%

Aged 30-34

29%

Aged 35-39

28%

Aged 40-44

19%

Aged 45-49

9%

Aged 50 or over

4%

The figures are based on April 2018 data, which may not be reflective of future claimants because the number of people claiming Universal Credit is increasing.

Notes:

The data supplied is derived from unpublished management information which was collected for internal Departmental use only, and has not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standard. They should therefore be treated with caution.

The figures related to both Universal Credit Live and Full Service claims as of April 2018.

Where there are two adults in the household receiving the childcare component we count both of them individually.

Figures may not add up to 100% due to rounding.


Written Question
Children: Day Care
Wednesday 11th July 2018

Asked by: Tom Tugendhat (Conservative - Tonbridge and Malling)

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 of universal credit childcare has been since the introduction of that policy.

Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)

The information requested is not held.


Written Question
Children: Day Care
Wednesday 11th July 2018

Asked by: Tom Tugendhat (Conservative - Tonbridge and Malling)

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 annual cost to the public purse of universal credit childcare in the current spending review period.

Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I provided to Question 125593 on 6 February 2018.


Written Question
Pensions: Fees and Charges
Thursday 4th February 2016

Asked by: Tom Tugendhat (Conservative - Tonbridge and Malling)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what information his Department holds on charges other than commission payments levied on private pension funds by individuals.

Answered by Justin Tomlinson

The Department has regularly commissioned surveys on the types and levels of charges faced by savers in defined contribution workplace pension schemes. The latest pension charges survey was published on 17 December 2015 and can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pension-charges-survey-2015-charges-in-defined-contribution-pension-schemes

It is important that savers know what costs and charges they are paying. As a first step towards achieving this, most occupational pension schemes offering money purchase benefits are now required to report the charges levied on members and, as far as they are able, transaction costs, via an annual Chair’s Statement. The Chair’s Statement, which must be given to beneficiaries and recognised trade unions on request, must also report the trustees’ view on the extent to which these costs present value for members.

Similarly, the Financial Conduct Authority have made rules requiring Independent Governance Committees to report annually on the value for money offered by workplace personal pension schemes, taking into account scheme charges and transaction costs.

The Government is also actively considering how to make the costs of pension schemes more visible to savers, and is committed, in line with the duties of the Pensions Act 2014, to make regulations which require information on transaction costs to be given to members and both costs and charges to be published. To help achieve this, the Department for Work and Pensions and the Financial Conduct Authority published a joint call for evidence last year on disclosure of transaction costs.

In addition, the Chancellor recently announced that the Government will take action to limit early exit fees by introducing a new duty on the Financial Conduct Authority to cap early exit charges in relation to contract-based schemes, and will mirror these requirements in relation to trust-based schemes. This will ensure that individuals do not face financial barriers where they wish to access their pension benefits flexibly.