Asked by: Ann Davies (Plaid Cymru - Caerfyrddin)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of households in receipt of Universal Credit that are affected by the Benefit Cap have (a) no debt deductions from their Universal Credit award, (b) a deduction of more than 0% of their standard allowance and less than or equal to 5%, (c) a deduction of more than 5% and less than or equal to 10%, (d) a deduction of more than 10% and less than or equal to 15% and (e) a deduction of more than 15% in (i) Wales, (ii) Scotland and (iii) England.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department for Work and Pensions has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
Asked by: Steve Darling (Liberal Democrat - Torbay)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the April 2025 deadline for backdated voluntary National Insurance Contributions, how many requests for callbacks were logged by his Department before 6 April 2025; how many callbacks have so far been made and completed through all stages; how many people have made National Insurance top-ups under this concessionary arrangement; and when he expects the callback process to be complete.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Department for Work and Pensions has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
Asked by: Steve Darling (Liberal Democrat - Torbay)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the April 2025 deadline for backdated voluntary National Insurance Contributions how many requests for callbacks were logged by HMRC before 6 April 2025; how many callbacks have so far been made and completed through all stages; how many people have made National Insurance top-ups under this concessionary arrangement; and when she expects the callback process to be completed.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Department for Work and Pensions has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
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 ensure that (a) disabled people and (b) carers are directly involved in the review of the Personal Independence Payment.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Timms review will be co-produced with disabled people, the organisations that represent them, clinicians, experts, MPs and other stakeholders, so a wide range of views and voices are heard. This will include carers' organisations so that the voices of unpaid carers are heard.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if his Department will take steps to ensure that retail workers required to work alone are adequately protected from (a) violence, (b) abuse and (c) theft.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
I refer the Honourable Member to the previous answer 71094.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what guidance his Department issues to employers on managing risks associated with lone working in retail.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
I refer the Honourable Member to the previous answer 71094.
Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee Central)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, on what date his Department instructed assessment providers to prioritise Work Capability Assessments for new claims over reassessments of existing claimants.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
It is well-established government policy to prioritise Work Capability Assessments for new benefit claims to determine their capability for work at the earliest possible opportunity.
Reassessments occur when there is capacity in the system which has been limited due to an increase in demand for WCAs for new benefit claims. As a result, over recent months, reassessments have not been done in large numbers.
We are aware of delays in reassessing cases where the claimant has advised us that their health condition has worsened. We understand that this is a very important issue. This is why we are putting in place a process to expedite the reassessment of these cases.
The government has made it clear in the Pathways to Work Green Paper that we will turn on WCA reassessments at scale as we build capacity to do so. We continue to work on options to make the WCA process more efficient and responsive, which includes accelerating healthcare professional recruitment to increase capacity for reassessments
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent estimate he has made of the levels of (a) fraud and (b) error in the welfare system in Lincolnshire.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Estimates of the levels of fraud and error in the benefit system for the financial year 2024-25 can be found at: Fraud and error in the benefit system: financial year 2024 to 2025 estimates - GOV.UK
We do not provide sub-national estimates of fraud and error as we are unable to break the statistics down to this level.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reason her Department is advertising a role in Manchester Community Centre for a Sharia Law Administrator.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
This was a position advertised on the Find A Job portal by an independent charity, registered with the Charity Commission, and was not a role within DWP. Find A Job is a free platform to help jobseekers find vacancies with employers from various sectors. The employer had been verified as legitimate and the advertisement did not breach Find a Job website terms and conditions.
Asked by: Blair McDougall (Labour - East Renfrewshire)
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 availability of residential training places for disabled young people in Scotland on proposed changes to eligibility for Universal Credit for people under 23.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
No assessment has been made.
We welcomed views on raising the age someone can access the Universal Credit Health Element to 22, as part of our Green Paper consultation, which closed on 30 June. We are considering the responses to this consultation, and we will set out the policy direction in due course.