Asked by: Kate Osamor (Independent - Edmonton)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many claimants have had their benefits suspended by the Risk Review Team in (a) Enfield (b) Edmonton (c) Greater London in each year since the establishment of that team in May 2020.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
This data is not available as we do not capture the number of customers by geographical location.
Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what research her Department (a) has conducted and (b) plans to conduct to understand the reasons for the increase from February to May 2020 in the number of households in London affected by the benefit cap.
Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
i) Due to the early election taking place the levels of the cap were not reviewed in the last Parliament.
ii) DWP routinely collects data on capped households and publishes that information each quarter. The latest statistical release, published on 26 November 2020, shows the picture in August 2020 and includes household characteristics together with regional breakdowns supported by a narrative that provides insight into the data drivers. The latest statistical release can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/benefit-cap-number-of-households-capped-to-august-2020
iii) Information relating to households who will be newly affected by the Benefit Cap in November and December at the end of their grace period is not readily available, and to provide it would incur disproportionate costs.
Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)
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 implications for her policies of the finding in the report by Policy in Practice, entitled The interaction of covid-19 measures and the benefit cap on low-income Londoners, that 22,000 existing benefit claimants in London became capped following the increases in benefits awards introduced by the Government in April 2020 as a result of the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
We have noted the findings in this report.
The benefit cap provides fairness for hard-working taxpaying households, whilst providing a reasonable safety net of support for the most vulnerable claimants who are entitled to disability benefits and carer benefits. The London cap of £23,000 is equivalent to gross family earnings of around £28,000.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what data her Department holds on the reasons given for non-attendance by sanctioned claimants of (a) jobseekers allowance and (b) employment support allowance in (i) Lewisham Deptford constituency, (ii) the London Borough of Lewisham and (iii) London in each of the last five years.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
The Department does not centrally collate this information on the reasons given for non-attendance by sanctioned claimants within its statistical datasets.
Sanctions are only used in a small percentage of cases, and that is when people fail to meet their agreed commitments without good reason.
We take a number of steps to make sure our decisions are fair. When considering whether a sanction is appropriate, a Decision Maker will take all the claimant’s individual circumstances, including any health conditions or disabilities and any evidence of good cause, into account before deciding whether a sanction is warranted.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of successful appeals to the tribunals service there were for (a) personal independence payment, (b) employment and support allowance, (c) income support, (d) jobseeker's allowance, (e) tax credits and (f) universal credit in (i) Lewisham Deptford constituency, (ii) Lewisham borough and (iii) London in the most recent period for which figures are available.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
Information about the volumes and outcomes of appeals - including (a) Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and (b) Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) - to the First-tier Tribunal (Social Security and Child Support) (SSCS) is published at:
www.gov.uk/government/collections/tribunals-statistics.
Latest figures (to September 2018) indicate that since PIP was introduced, 3.7 million decisions have been made, and of these 10% have been appealed and 5% have been overturned at tribunals. For ESA, 3.7m ESA (post Work Capability Assessment) decisions have been made between April 2014 and June 2018 and of these 8% have been appealed and 4% have been overturned at tribunals.
HM Courts & Tribunals Service does not record data based on constituencies. SSCS appeals are listed into the hearing venue nearest to the appellant’s home address. The published data (which can be viewed at the link above) provide information about the outcomes of PIP and ESA appeals for hearing venues covering (i) Lewisham, Deptford, (ii) Lewisham Borough and (iii) London for the period July – September 2018, the latest period for which data are available.
The table below contains the requested information for (c) Income Support (IS), (d) Job Seekers Allowance (JSA), (e) Tax Credits (TC) and (f) Universal Credit (UC):
Number of appeals cleared at hearing and proportion1 decided in favour of the appellant for the period July to September 2018p (the latest period for which data are available) | ||||||||
| IS | JSA | TC2 | UC | ||||
| Number cleared at hearing3 | % in favour of the appellant | Number cleared at hearing | % in favour of the appellant | Number cleared at hearing | % in favour of the appellant | Number cleared at hearing | % in favour of the appellant |
Lewisham Deptford/ Lewisham Borough4 | 17 | ~ | 29 | 41% | 55 | 42% | 247 | 63% |
London5 | 33 | 21% | 49 | 37% | 90 | 34% | 286 | 63% |
P Data are provisional, in line with the published statistics. | |||||
1 Proportion based on the number of cases found in favour of the appellant at a tribunal hearing, as a percentage of the cases heard at a tribunal hearing. 2 Includes Working Family Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit, Working Tax Credit. 3 Number of appeals cleared at a tribunal hearing. 4 Appeals for those living in the Lewisham, Deptford constituency and Lewisham Borough are heard in the same venues: Bexleyheath, Fox Court and Sutton venues. 5 London includes the venues: Bexleyheath, Fox Court, Sutton, Enfield, East London, Romford and Hatton Cross. ~ Equates to a value fewer than 5. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the data, the details are subject to inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale case management system and are the best data that are available. These data may differ slightly from those in the published statistics as these data were run on a different date. |
Asked by: David Evennett (Conservative - Bexleyheath and Crayford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of working people in receipt of top-up benefits are resident in (a) Bexleyheath and Crayford constituency, (b) Bexley Borough, and (c) London.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
The numbers of in work families receiving tax credits are in table 1.1 of the Child and Working Tax Credits statistics: finalised annual awards - 2016 to 2017 published by HMRC which can be accessed at:
Geographical breakdowns including constituency level figures are available at:
Universal Credit and Housing Benefit statistics for Great Britain are regularly published and the latest statistics for October 2018 and August 2018 respectively can be accessed at:
https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk
Guidance for users is available at:
https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started.html
The information available for the number of employed individuals that are in receipt of Income Support, Jobseeker’s Allowance and Employment and Support Allowance across geographical areas can be found in the table in the document attached.
Asked by: Emma Dent Coad (Labour - Kensington)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of claimants affected by the Benefit Cap in each London borough are in receipt of (a) Job Seekers Allowance, (b) Employment Support Allowance, (c) Income Support, and (d) Universal Credit and (e) another benefit.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson
The number of households in each London borough that had their Housing Benefit capped in May 2018 in receipt of (a) Job Seekers Allowance, (b) Employment Support Allowance, (c) Income Support
London Borough | Total number of households that had their Housing Benefit capped | Number of households in receipt of: | ||
a) Jobseeker's Allowance | b) Employment and Support Allowance (Work-Related Activity Group and awaiting assessment) | c) Income Support | ||
Barking and Dagenham | 323 | 62 | 32 | 167 |
Barnet | 764 | 200 | 140 | 234 |
Bexley | 221 | 26 | 24 | 129 |
Brent | 1,200 | 420 | 205 | 309 |
Bromley | 206 | 25 | 15 | 133 |
Camden | 449 | 146 | 101 | 121 |
City of London | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Croydon | 300 | 36 | 26 | 180 |
Ealing | 1,100 | 330 | 122 | 408 |
Enfield | 968 | 133 | 139 | 500 |
Greenwich | 287 | 43 | 22 | 180 |
Hackney | 966 | 300 | 166 | 305 |
Hammersmith and Fulham | 235 | 56 | 34 | 108 |
Haringey | 631 | 111 | 108 | 276 |
Harrow | 286 | 54 | 22 | 125 |
Havering | 217 | 31 | 17 | 117 |
Hillingdon | 365 | 66 | 34 | 195 |
Hounslow | 183 | 22 | 8 | 97 |
Islington | 355 | 109 | 50 | 148 |
Kensington and Chelsea | 328 | 66 | 78 | 106 |
Kingston upon Thames | 165 | 46 | 31 | 64 |
Lambeth | 457 | 67 | 58 | 250 |
Lewisham | 476 | 74 | 72 | 282 |
Merton | 140 | 34 | 11 | 63 |
Newham | 711 | 165 | 87 | 290 |
Redbridge | 259 | 47 | 34 | 117 |
Richmond upon Thames | 141 | 21 | 25 | 69 |
Southwark | 301 | 22 | 36 | 189 |
Sutton | 62 | 8 | 6 | 34 |
Tower Hamlets | 608 | 145 | 68 | 283 |
Waltham Forest | 415 | 90 | 38 | 203 |
Wandsworth | 507 | 138 | 79 | 191 |
Westminster | 477 | 129 | 109 | 125 |
The total number of households that have their Housing Benefit capped have been randomly adjusted to avoid the release of confidential data. This is consistent with published statistics. More information on this can be found in Stat-Xplore, DWP’s online interactive tabulation tool. Stat-Xplore can be accessed here: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/
In the breakdowns by benefit figures less than 5 have been removed to avoid the release of confidential data.
The proportion of households in each London borough that had their Housing Benefit capped in May 2018 in receipt of (a) Job Seekers Allowance, (b) Employment Support Allowance, (c) Income Support
London Borough | Proportion of households in receipt of Housing Benefit that were in receipt of: | ||
a) Jobseeker's Allowance | b) Employment and Support Allowance (Work-Related Activity Group and awaiting assessment) | c) Income Support | |
Barking and Dagenham | 19% | 10% | 52% |
Barnet | 26% | 18% | 31% |
Bexley | 12% | 11% | 58% |
Brent | 35% | 17% | 26% |
Bromley | 12% | 7% | 65% |
Camden | 33% | 22% | 27% |
City of London | 0% | 0% | 0% |
Croydon | 12% | 9% | 60% |
Ealing | 30% | 11% | 37% |
Enfield | 14% | 14% | 52% |
Greenwich | 15% | 8% | 63% |
Hackney | 31% | 17% | 32% |
Hammersmith and Fulham | 24% | 14% | 46% |
Haringey | 18% | 17% | 44% |
Harrow | 19% | 8% | 44% |
Havering | 14% | 8% | 54% |
Hillingdon | 18% | 9% | 53% |
Hounslow | 12% | 4% | 53% |
Islington | 31% | 14% | 42% |
Kensington and Chelsea | 20% | 24% | 32% |
Kingston upon Thames | 28% | 19% | 39% |
Lambeth | 15% | 13% | 55% |
Lewisham | 16% | 15% | 59% |
Merton | 24% | 8% | 45% |
Newham | 23% | 12% | 41% |
Redbridge | 18% | 13% | 45% |
Richmond upon Thames | 15% | 18% | 49% |
Southwark | 7% | 12% | 63% |
Sutton | 13% | 10% | 55% |
Tower Hamlets | 24% | 11% | 47% |
Waltham Forest | 22% | 9% | 49% |
Wandsworth | 27% | 16% | 38% |
Westminster | 27% | 23% | 26% |
The number of households in each London borough that had their Universal Credit capped in May 2018 in receipt of (d) Universal Credit
London Borough | d) Universal Credit |
Barking and Dagenham | 10 |
Barnet | 20 |
Bexley | 0 |
Brent | 30 |
Bromley | 0 |
Camden | 10 |
City of London | 0 |
Croydon | 530 |
Ealing | 110 |
Enfield | 130 |
Greenwich | 0 |
Hackney | 10 |
Hammersmith and Fulham | 310 |
Haringey | 0 |
Harrow | 0 |
Havering | 0 |
Hillingdon | 20 |
Hounslow | 410 |
Islington | 0 |
Kensington and Chelsea | 160 |
Kingston upon Thames | 10 |
Lambeth | 70 |
Lewisham | 50 |
Merton | 70 |
Newham | 0 |
Redbridge | 0 |
Richmond upon Thames | 30 |
Southwark | 250 |
Sutton | 130 |
Tower Hamlets | 320 |
Waltham Forest | 0 |
Wandsworth | 70 |
Westminster | 20 |
Figures for the number of households that had their Universal Credit capped have been rounded to the nearest 10 and figures less than 5 have been removed to avoid the release of confidential data. This is consistent with published statistics.
All households that had their Universal Credit capped in May 2018 were in receipt of Universal Credit.
(e) All households that had their Housing Benefit capped in May 2018 were in receipt of Housing Benefit.
Figures for households that had Housing Benefit capped are presented separately to those that had their Universal Credit capped in line with the Benefit Cap official statistics.
Figures for the total number of households that had their Housing Benefit capped are consistent with published figures on Stat Xplore.
Asked by: Karen Buck (Labour - Westminster North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many claimants in each London borough were affected by the lower benefit cap on 31 January 2017.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
Estimated breakdown of households affected by the lower cap levels by benefit receipt, 2016/17, can be found in the table below;
| Number of capped households 16/17 | Employment and Support Allowance | Income Support | Jobseeker's Allowance | Other | Total (Housing Benefit) |
Barking and Dagenham | 500 | 14% | 48% | 23% | 15% | 100% |
Barnet | 800 | 28% | 32% | 25% | 15% | 100% |
Bexley | 300 | 13% | 57% | 14% | 15% | 100% |
Brent | 1,500 | 20% | 27% | 39% | 14% | 100% |
Bromley | 200 | 15% | 56% | 20% | 8% | 100% |
Camden | 600 | 36% | 26% | 30% | 9% | 100% |
City of London | - | 27% | 47% | 13% | 13% | 100% |
Croydon | 700 | 18% | 43% | 21% | 17% | 100% |
Ealing | 1,300 | 21% | 36% | 28% | 15% | 100% |
Enfield | 1,200 | 19% | 52% | 14% | 15% | 100% |
Greenwich | 400 | 12% | 56% | 19% | 13% | 100% |
Hackney | 1,200 | 30% | 29% | 30% | 11% | 100% |
Hammersmith and Fulham | 500 | 29% | 34% | 27% | 10% | 100% |
Haringey | 800 | 23% | 45% | 21% | 11% | 100% |
Harrow | 300 | 14% | 40% | 19% | 27% | 100% |
Havering | 300 | 14% | 60% | 13% | 13% | 100% |
Hillingdon | 500 | 15% | 50% | 20% | 16% | 100% |
Hounslow | 500 | 18% | 46% | 20% | 16% | 100% |
Islington | 600 | 31% | 34% | 29% | 7% | 100% |
Kensington and Chelsea | 500 | 31% | 27% | 27% | 15% | 100% |
Kingston upon Thames | 200 | 28% | 35% | 23% | 13% | 100% |
Lambeth | 600 | 17% | 51% | 20% | 12% | 100% |
Lewisham | 600 | 16% | 53% | 17% | 14% | 100% |
Merton | 200 | 20% | 34% | 28% | 18% | 100% |
Newham | 800 | 21% | 39% | 23% | 17% | 100% |
Redbridge | 400 | 16% | 39% | 20% | 25% | 100% |
Richmond upon Thames | 200 | 30% | 34% | 25% | 11% | 100% |
Southwark | 500 | 25% | 52% | 15% | 8% | 100% |
Sutton | 100 | 22% | 50% | 16% | 13% | 100% |
Tower Hamlets | 900 | 25% | 36% | 27% | 12% | 100% |
Waltham Forest | 600 | 16% | 40% | 31% | 13% | 100% |
Wandsworth | 600 | 22% | 34% | 30% | 15% | 100% |
Westminster | 800 | 34% | 25% | 28% | 13% | 100% |
These estimates focus on the benefit cap continuing to be applied under Housing Benefit and therefore all households affected will be in receipt of Housing Benefit. The benefit cap will increasingly be applied under Universal Credit as it gradually rolls out. Universal Credit will replace Income Support, income-based Jobseeker's Allowance, income-based Employment and Support Allowance and Housing Benefit, along with Child Tax Credit and Working Tax Credit.
Notes:
Actual data for number of capped households in each London borough at January 2017 is not yet available: The information will be published on 4th May 2017, as part of the next scheduled Benefit Cap Official Statistics release.
Benefit Cap Official Statistics can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/benefit-cap-statistics.
Note: Each Local Authority has a schedule to extract and return their data to DWP over a four week rolling period, which does not necessarily correspond to a calendar month. This means that the statistics do not show the number of capped cases on a particular date but over a monthly cycle, so published statistics will show data for January 2017.
Asked by: Karen Buck (Labour - Westminster North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of claimants affected by the lower benefit cap in each London borough are in receipt of (a) jobseeker's allowance, (b) employment and support allowance, (c) income support and (d) another benefit.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
Estimated breakdown of households affected by the lower cap levels by benefit receipt, 2016/17, can be found in the table below;
| Number of capped households 16/17 | Employment and Support Allowance | Income Support | Jobseeker's Allowance | Other | Total (Housing Benefit) |
Barking and Dagenham | 500 | 14% | 48% | 23% | 15% | 100% |
Barnet | 800 | 28% | 32% | 25% | 15% | 100% |
Bexley | 300 | 13% | 57% | 14% | 15% | 100% |
Brent | 1,500 | 20% | 27% | 39% | 14% | 100% |
Bromley | 200 | 15% | 56% | 20% | 8% | 100% |
Camden | 600 | 36% | 26% | 30% | 9% | 100% |
City of London | - | 27% | 47% | 13% | 13% | 100% |
Croydon | 700 | 18% | 43% | 21% | 17% | 100% |
Ealing | 1,300 | 21% | 36% | 28% | 15% | 100% |
Enfield | 1,200 | 19% | 52% | 14% | 15% | 100% |
Greenwich | 400 | 12% | 56% | 19% | 13% | 100% |
Hackney | 1,200 | 30% | 29% | 30% | 11% | 100% |
Hammersmith and Fulham | 500 | 29% | 34% | 27% | 10% | 100% |
Haringey | 800 | 23% | 45% | 21% | 11% | 100% |
Harrow | 300 | 14% | 40% | 19% | 27% | 100% |
Havering | 300 | 14% | 60% | 13% | 13% | 100% |
Hillingdon | 500 | 15% | 50% | 20% | 16% | 100% |
Hounslow | 500 | 18% | 46% | 20% | 16% | 100% |
Islington | 600 | 31% | 34% | 29% | 7% | 100% |
Kensington and Chelsea | 500 | 31% | 27% | 27% | 15% | 100% |
Kingston upon Thames | 200 | 28% | 35% | 23% | 13% | 100% |
Lambeth | 600 | 17% | 51% | 20% | 12% | 100% |
Lewisham | 600 | 16% | 53% | 17% | 14% | 100% |
Merton | 200 | 20% | 34% | 28% | 18% | 100% |
Newham | 800 | 21% | 39% | 23% | 17% | 100% |
Redbridge | 400 | 16% | 39% | 20% | 25% | 100% |
Richmond upon Thames | 200 | 30% | 34% | 25% | 11% | 100% |
Southwark | 500 | 25% | 52% | 15% | 8% | 100% |
Sutton | 100 | 22% | 50% | 16% | 13% | 100% |
Tower Hamlets | 900 | 25% | 36% | 27% | 12% | 100% |
Waltham Forest | 600 | 16% | 40% | 31% | 13% | 100% |
Wandsworth | 600 | 22% | 34% | 30% | 15% | 100% |
Westminster | 800 | 34% | 25% | 28% | 13% | 100% |
These estimates focus on the benefit cap continuing to be applied under Housing Benefit and therefore all households affected will be in receipt of Housing Benefit. The benefit cap will increasingly be applied under Universal Credit as it gradually rolls out. Universal Credit will replace Income Support, income-based Jobseeker's Allowance, income-based Employment and Support Allowance and Housing Benefit, along with Child Tax Credit and Working Tax Credit.
Notes:
Actual data for number of capped households in each London borough at January 2017 is not yet available: The information will be published on 4th May 2017, as part of the next scheduled Benefit Cap Official Statistics release.
Benefit Cap Official Statistics can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/benefit-cap-statistics.
Note: Each Local Authority has a schedule to extract and return their data to DWP over a four week rolling period, which does not necessarily correspond to a calendar month. This means that the statistics do not show the number of capped cases on a particular date but over a monthly cycle, so published statistics will show data for January 2017.
Asked by: David Lammy (Labour - Tottenham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate his Department has made of the number of households in each local authority area in London whose weekly income will be reduced by (a) under £20, (b) between £21 and £39.99, (c) between £40 and £59.99, (d) between £60 and £79.99, (e) between £80 and £99.99 and (d) over £100 as a result of the introduction of the lower benefit cap.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
The information requested is in table 1 below.
Table 1: Average weekly reduction in Housing Benefit due to introduction of the lower benefit cap, 2016/17
| Under £20 | between £20 and £39.99 | between £40 and £59.99 | Over £60 | Total |
Barking and Dagenham | 100 | 100 | 300 | - | 500 |
Barnet | 200 | 300 | 300 | - | 800 |
Bexley | - | 100 | 200 | - | 300 |
Brent | 300 | 500 | 700 | - | 1500 |
Bromley | - | - | 200 | - | 200 |
Camden | 100 | 200 | 200 | - | 600 |
City of London | - | - | - | - | - |
Croydon | 100 | 100 | 500 | - | 700 |
Ealing | 400 | 300 | 700 | - | 1300 |
Enfield | 200 | 400 | 600 | - | 1200 |
Greenwich | 100 | 100 | 200 | - | 400 |
Hackney | 300 | 500 | 400 | - | 1200 |
Hammersmith and Fulham | 200 | 100 | 200 | - | 500 |
Haringey | 200 | 300 | 400 | - | 800 |
Harrow | 100 | 100 | 200 | - | 300 |
Havering | 100 | 100 | 200 | - | 300 |
Hillingdon | 200 | 100 | 200 | - | 500 |
Hounslow | 100 | 100 | 300 | - | 500 |
Islington | 100 | 200 | 200 | - | 600 |
Kensington and Chelsea | 100 | 200 | 200 | - | 500 |
Kingston upon Thames | - | 100 | 100 | - | 200 |
Lambeth | 200 | 100 | 300 | - | 600 |
Lewisham | 100 | 100 | 400 | - | 600 |
Merton | - | 100 | 100 | - | 200 |
Newham | 200 | 100 | 500 | - | 800 |
Redbridge | 100 | 100 | 200 | - | 400 |
Richmond upon Thames | - | - | 100 | - | 200 |
Southwark | 100 | 100 | 200 | - | 500 |
Sutton | - | - | 100 | - | 100 |
Tower Hamlets | 200 | 200 | 500 | - | 900 |
Waltham Forest | 200 | 100 | 300 | - | 600 |
Wandsworth | 200 | 100 | 300 | - | 600 |
Westminster | 200 | 200 | 400 | - | 800 |
Notes:
The benefit cap will be lowered from 7th November from £26,000 to £20,000, except in London where it will be lowered to £23,000 (a lower cap applies to single adult households). To help ensure Local Authorities are able to protect the most vulnerable Housing Benefit claimants and to support households adjusting to our welfare reforms, the Government will provide £870m funding for Discretionary Housing Payments over the next 5 years from 2016/17. Information about this and other measures to ease the transition for families affected by this policy change is included in the latest impact assessment at the link above.