Asked by: Baroness Stedman-Scott (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the review of devolution and local government will impact any plans to (1) publish the job entry and sustainability rates for Jobcentre Plus and its contractors, and (2) merge JobCentre Plus and the National Careers Service.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
DWP is always exploring ways to publish more information to enrich the public discourse.
DWP published new analysis of Universal Credit (UC) into-work rates and flows between conditionality groups - including what proportion did not flow out of the UC “Searching for work” labour market regime, over a six month period, as part of the recent Get Britain Working White Paper here.
Plans are being developed for regular and proportional update to this analysis.
Additionally, statistics and management information on contracted employment provisions such as Restart and the Sector-based Work Academy Programmes (SWAPs) interventions are published on Gov.UK (Restart Scheme statistics to October 2024 - GOV.UK, Sector-based Work Academy Programmes (SWAPs) Management Information, April 2021 to March 2024 - GOV.UK).
Asked by: Baroness Stedman-Scott (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will publish the job entry and sustainability rates for Jobcentre Plus and its contractors.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
DWP is always exploring ways to publish more information to enrich the public discourse.
DWP published new analysis of Universal Credit (UC) into-work rates and flows between conditionality groups - including what proportion did not flow out of the UC “Searching for work” labour market regime, over a six month period, as part of the recent Get Britain Working White Paper here.
Plans are being developed for regular and proportional update to this analysis.
Additionally, statistics and management information on contracted employment provisions such as Restart and the Sector-based Work Academy Programmes (SWAPs) interventions are published on Gov.UK (Restart Scheme statistics to October 2024 - GOV.UK, Sector-based Work Academy Programmes (SWAPs) Management Information, April 2021 to March 2024 - GOV.UK).
Asked by: Baroness Stedman-Scott (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what progress has been made in the merger of Jobcentre Plus and the National Careers Service.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We are reforming Jobcentre Plus and creating a new service across Great Britain that will enable everyone to access support to find good, meaningful work, and support to help them to progress in work, including through an enhanced focus on skills and careers. We will design, develop, and test options for the new service in partnership with key stakeholders as we move into policy design and delivery.
As a first step to better integrate employment support and careers advice in England, we will launch a pathfinder in early 2025 to test more enhanced collaboration between Jobcentre Plus and the National Careers Service. The department has also worked with the Department for Education to put in place a new agreement on data sharing between the National Careers Service and Jobcentre Plus in England. This will be used to encourage closer co-operation in the collective delivery of jobs and careers guidance for adults and promote a simpler and more streamlined process for our customers. Joining up the support a customer receives from both a work coach and national careers advisor can remove unnecessary repetition, link up advice and ensure holistic support for the customer to help improve outcomes.
We currently have two large scale trials in progress contributing towards our vision for the new jobs and careers service. The first, to test providing support for people by telephone and video as well as face to face appointments. The second, to test whether meeting unemployed people less frequently in a Jobcentre would have an impact on their work outcomes and whether this approach is more beneficial for particular groups.
Asked by: Baroness Stedman-Scott (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many Pension Credit applicants are currently waiting for a decision on their eligibility for Pension Credit from the Department for Work and Pensions.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The total outstanding Pension Credit claims as at the end of week commencing 18th November 2024 was 91,075. This includes 9,343 advanced claims where the application can be started up to 4 months before reaching State Pension age.
These figures are taken from data held on DWP’s Pension Credit system. This is collected for internal departmental operations use only and whilst it is the best source of information available, it is not intended for publication or quality assured to National Statistics standards.
The Department is significantly increasing the resource on Pension Credit to ensure it processes claims as quickly as possible, with around 500 additional staff to support the increase in applications generated from the successful Pension Credit take-up campaign.
If a claim is made by 21 December, Pension Credit can be backdated for three months if the entitlement conditions have been met throughout that period, and if the claimant was eligible, they would also receive a Winter Fuel Payment.
Asked by: Baroness Stedman-Scott (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many people have applied for Pension Credit since 29 July.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Statistics published on 28 November, show that 150,000 Pension Credit claims were received between 29 July and 11 November Pension Credit applications and awards: November 2024 - GOV.UK
Asked by: Baroness Stedman-Scott (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of Pension Credit applicants were deemed eligible for Pension Credit in the 2023 calendar year.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We are unable to provide information on how many claims made for Pension Credit in the calendar year of 2023 were subsequently awarded. This is because the Department currently reports awards numbers by the week the claim was cleared, rather than the week the claim was made.
The total number of Pension Credit awards made in the 2023 calendar year was 145,200.
Please note, the data shown is unpublished management information, collected and intended for internal departmental use and has not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standard.
Asked by: Baroness Stedman-Scott (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many people who have applied for Pension Credit since 29 July have started receiving Pension Credit payments.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We are unable to advise how many claims for Pension Credit have been made and then awarded since 29 July 2024. This is because the Department currently reports clearance times by the week the claim was cleared, rather than the week the claim was made. As such this information is not currently available.
However, statistics published on 28 November, show that 42,500 Pension Credit Claims were awarded between 29 July and 11 November Pension Credit applications and awards: November 2024 - GOV.UK.
Asked by: Baroness Stedman-Scott (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of Pension Credit applicants were deemed eligible for Pension Credit in the 2023–24 financial year.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We are unable to provide information on how many claims made for Pension Credit in the financial year of 2023 were subsequently awarded. This is because the Department currently reports awards numbers by the week the claim was cleared, rather than the week the claim was made.
The total number of Pension Credit awards made in the 2023–24 financial year was 133,500.
Please note, the data shown is unpublished management information, collected and intended for internal departmental use and has not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standard.
Asked by: Baroness Stedman-Scott (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will place in the Library of the House copies of any (1) Family Test, (2) environmental principles, and (3) equality analysis, documents that they have produced in respect of the Social Fund Winter Fuel Payment Regulations 2024.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
A Family Test and an Equality Analysis were produced as part of the Ministerial decision-making process in line with the requirements of the Public Sector Equality Duties. The environmental impact was given due consideration, which concluded that there was no direct environmental impact.
The equality analysis was published on 13 September and is available on Gov.UK ( DWP Freedom of Information response - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)). I will deposit a copy of the equality analysis and Family Test Assessment in the House Libraries.
By convention, such analyses are not published alongside secondary legislation. However, in view of the close public interest in this issue I have decided, exceptionally, to publish in this case.
Asked by: Baroness Stedman-Scott (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have any plans to review the four per cent fees charged to receiving parents in the Child Maintenance Service.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Shadow Minister (Work and Pensions)
There are no plans to abolish the four per cent collection charge for receiving parents. This charge only applies to the collect and pay service and is intended to provide a parent with an incentive to use the direct pay service which has no ongoing fees.
The collection charge for the receiving parent is deducted only when maintenance is paid, with no money owed to the Child Maintenance Service if maintenance is not paid. These charges contribute to the cost of running an expensive service, which remains subsidised by the taxpayer.