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Written Question
Universal Credit: Applications
Tuesday 14th January 2025

Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will take steps to make the application process for Universal Credit more accessible for people (a) who are not able to go online and (b) with learning difficulties.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

DWP provides alternative channels to make a claim to UC for those who are unable to use the digital channel, this includes telephone or Jobcentre attendance. A home visit may also be considered if additional support is required.

A range of support is available to support customers asked to move to UC. This includes information on gov.uk and support from the Help to Claim service provided by Citizens Advice and Citizens Advice Scotland. Help to Claim offers independent support to customers making a claim to UC, right up until their first full correct payment. Those individuals who are unable to access support via these channels, can go to their local jobcentre where staff will identify the right support to meet their needs to make and/or manage their Universal Credit claim.


Written Question
Universal Credit: Farmers
Tuesday 14th January 2025

Asked by: David Smith (Labour - North Northumberland)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will review the Minimum Income Floor for self-employed farmers on Universal Credit.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Universal Credit treats all forms and sectors of self-employment in the same way, focusing on the level of a customer’s earnings rather than the sector in which they work. The Minimum Income Floor (MIF) encourages self-employed customers to progress in work and grow their earnings to a sustainable level.

The Government is committed to reviewing Universal Credit. Further details will be provided in due course.


Written Question
Mobility Foundation: Finance
Tuesday 14th January 2025

Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much funding her Department has provided the Mobility Foundation in each of the last five years; and for what purpose.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Motability Foundation charity, which is independent of government, oversees Motability Operations in its delivery of the Motability Scheme. The Motability Scheme does not receive any direct funding from the Department for Work and Pensions.

The Department for Work and Pensions facilitates a direct transfer to Motability of a claimant’s Disability Living Allowance, Personal Independence Payment or Armed Forces Independence Payment mobility allowance if they elect to join the Scheme.

The Motability Scheme allows eligible claimants to exchange a qualifying mobility benefit for a lease on a Motability car, powered wheelchair, scooter or Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle.


Written Question
Social Security Benefits: Chronic Illnesses and Disability
Tuesday 14th January 2025

Asked by: Matt Bishop (Labour - Forest of Dean)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to ensure that planned reforms to the disability benefit system ensure security and support for seriously ill and disabled people.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

This government believes there is a strong case to change the system of health and disability benefits across Great Britain so that it better enables people to enter and remain in work, and to respond to the complex and fluctuating nature of the health conditions many people live with today. The system must also work to reduce poverty for disabled people and those with health conditions and support disabled people to live independently.

We want to engage with disabled people, and others with expertise and experience on these issues, to consider how to address these challenges and build a better system. We are working to develop proposals for reform and will set them out for consultation and engagement in a Green Paper in spring 2025. This government is committed to putting the views and voices of disabled people at the heart of all that we do, so we will consult on these proposals with disabled people and representative organisations.


Written Question
Departmental Coordination: Disability
Tuesday 14th January 2025

Asked by: Mims Davies (Conservative - East Grinstead and Uckfield)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when she next plans to review the departmental ministerial disability champions programme.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Ministerial Disability Champions were an initiative of the previous administration.

On 3 December 2024, International Day of Persons with Disabilities, I was pleased to announce new Lead Ministers for Disability in every Government department. https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/lead-ministers-for-disability

The Lead Ministers for Disability will help to break down barriers to opportunity right across our long-term missions, and to fulfil the manifesto commitment to ensure the views and voices of disabled people are properly heard.

I chaired our first meeting on 17 December and we will meet regularly to make sure that this Government is delivering on that manifesto commitment and our missions, right across every department.


Written Question
Child Maintenance Service
Tuesday 14th January 2025

Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what her planned timetable is for responding to the Gingerbread report entitled Fix the Child Maintenance Service, published on 25 November 2024.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) continues to engage regularly with stakeholders as we consider CMS reform. We are currently considering the recommendations from the Gingerbread report ‘Fix the CMS’ alongside other potential changes we have been discussing with stakeholders.


Written Question
Social Security Benefits: Convictions
Tuesday 14th January 2025

Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Reform UK - Great Yarmouth)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of people convicted for their involvement in Pakistani heritage grooming gangs were in receipt of (a) Universal Credit and (b) another benefit when they committed their crimes.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The requested information is not held.


Written Question
Employment: Offenders
Tuesday 14th January 2025

Asked by: Allison Gardner (Labour - Stoke-on-Trent South)

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 support people with a criminal record to find employment.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

This Government understands the challenges a criminal record can bring to finding a job and also recognises that employment significantly reduces the risk of reoffending.

The recently published Get Britain Working White Paper sets out Government’s proposals to reform employment, health and skills support to tackle economic inactivity. This includes support for people with a criminal conviction.

DWP provides a range of support to help ex-offenders find employment. This includes around 200 prison work coaches based in prisons across Great Britain who provide employment, training, and benefit support before release. Upon release, our jobcentre work coaches can offer individually tailored employment and training support, including access to DWP employment programmes such as Restart and Sector-based Work Academies.

DWP’s Strategic Relationship Team works with around 300 national employers and partners, and 80 trade associations across a wide range of labour market sectors to generate employment opportunities for claimants including ex-offenders. The Civil Service wide Social Mobility Recruitment Schemes such as Going Forward into Employment provide fixed-term appointment opportunities within the Civil Service for people who face barriers to work, including ex-offenders.

The National Partnership Agreement between MoJ, DWP and the HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) sets out how we are jointly driving rehabilitation and reducing reoffending. This includes DWP working alongside HMPPS’s New Futures Network, which brokers partnerships between prisons and employers in developing local agreements to enhance joined-up working for continuity of support on release. I refer the Hon. Member to the previous parliamentary question response 18064 on 9 December from Sir Nicholas Dakin.

A criminal record should not be a barrier to finding stable employment and having a positive future. Employers are encouraged to delay disclosure of convictions during job applications through the ‘Ban the Box’ scheme to give people with a criminal record a better chance to show their suitability and commitment to a job role. DWP is a proud member of the scheme.


Written Question
Universal Credit: Self-employed
Tuesday 14th January 2025

Asked by: Claire Young (Liberal Democrat - Thornbury and Yate)

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 minimum income floor on self-employed workers that are unable to work for brief periods due to (a) health issues and (b) care responsibilities.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

No assessment has been made.

The level of the MIF is equivalent to what a person in employed work in similar circumstances to the customer could expect to earn at living or minimum wage for their age. The MIF is therefore tailored to a customer’s individual circumstances; where a person has limitations on the hours they can reasonably be expected to work, for example because they have a health condition or caring responsibilities, the level of their MIF can be reduced.

Short-term health conditions experienced by a customer, such as colds, flu, strains, and sprains, are regarded as part of the normal pattern of self-employment. Therefore, customers must plan for these periods as part of their ordinary business cycle.


Written Question
Extended Services: Universal Credit
Tuesday 14th January 2025

Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether costs for (a) before-school breakfast and (b) after-school clubs and programmes for children of (I) primary (II) secondary school age are eligible for reimbursement through universal credit as childcare costs for working parents.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Universal Credit childcare support is paid to eligible Universal Credit customers in work for childcare for children up to the age of 16 and can be considered for the costs of wraparound childcare, including breakfast and afterschool clubs. Childcare providers must be registered with OFSTED or their equivalent in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales or childminders registered with a child-minding agency that is registered.

Providers of wraparound childcare provided within school settings do not need to be registered but must be providing their childcare services under the authorisation and direction of the governing body of a school registered with OFSTED or their equivalent in the devolved nations.