Asked by: Baroness Thomas of Winchester (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that consent procedures enable charities and support organisations to give practical support to Universal Credit claimants.
Answered by Baroness Buscombe
Given Universal Credit is delivered on a different platform to legacy benefits, and it replaces six major benefits, the approach taken to consent needs to be different. The amount of personal data available on Universal Credit is far greater than the individual legacy systems, meaning that any data breach has far reaching consequences for claimants. We therefore need to balance consent against this risk.
We have agreed to explore options for improving the process of consent in collaboration with the Committee in order to consider how current practices could be enhanced, and we will publish a report on our joint conclusions.
Asked by: Baroness Thomas of Winchester (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how the additional funding announced in the Budget will be used to support disabled claimants in their transition to Universal Credit.
Answered by Baroness Buscombe
At Autumn Budget 2018 we announced that payment of income related legacy benefits (Income Support, income related Employment and Support Allowance and income based Jobseeker’s Allowance) will continue for two weeks after a claim for Universal Credit has been made. This change will support vulnerable claimants financially when moving to Universal Credit. From April 2019, the amount people with disabilities (and also households with children) can earn before their Universal Credit award begins to be withdrawn – the Work Allowance – will be increased by £1000, meaning they can keep an extra £630 per year.
Earlier this year we announced transitional payments for former recipients of Severe Disability Premium (SDP), and protections for those who are receiving SDP as part of their existing benefit entitlement. Claimants will now only move to Universal Credit under managed migration with transitional protection. Those who have already moved to Universal Credit will receive transitional protection back-dated to the start of their Universal Credit claim and will also receive on-going monthly payments. The regulations that include these provisions are currently before Parliament for scrutiny and approval. Universal Credit provides a higher level of support for the most severely disabled people than the benefit it replaces, worth up to £328.32 per month.
Asked by: Baroness Thomas of Winchester (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether legacy benefits provided to claimants transitioning to Universal Credit will come to an end within a fixed time period.
Answered by Baroness Buscombe
We are working collaboratively to ensure that managed migration works for everyone, building in safeguards so that all claimants are fully supported and that we cater for the diverse needs of the different claimant groups, including the most vulnerable, moving to Universal Credit.
Using feedback on the draft regulations we have made a change to the regulations, laid in Parliament on 5 November, which propose to give claimants a minimum of three months to make a claim for Universal Credit and set no maximum period in which a claim must be made. With unlimited flexibility to extend claim periods we will work with representative groups to produce guidance that will ensure adequate support for each individual claimant’s needs.
In the Autumn Budget 2018 we also announced a further £4.5bn package of support across the next five years. This includes a £1bn package of changes, providing 2 additional weeks of DWP legacy benefits for those moved onto Universal Credit – a one-off non-repayable sum that will provide claimants with extra money during the period before they receive their first Universal Credit payment.
Asked by: Baroness Thomas of Winchester (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what process they plan to use to identify vulnerable claimants who will require additional support to transition to Universal Credit.
Answered by Baroness Buscombe
We are committed to delivering managed migration in a way which supports claimants. In 2019, we will have a preparation period before testing and refining our approach with no more than 10,000 claimants from July 2019, to ensure it supports claimants onto Universal Credit, before we take on larger volumes in 2020.
As part of this, we are engaging with claimants, charities, experts and other stakeholders, on the design, making sure that it works for everyone and building in safeguards to ensure that vulnerable claimants are fully supported. To complete managed migration successfully, we will continue to engage with key stakeholders, experts and claimants throughout the process.
As announced at the Autumn Budget 2018 we will put an extra £1.7bn a year into work allowances, increasing them by £1,000 a year, resulting in 2.4m families keeping substantially more of their earnings before the earnings taper applies. Furthermore, it was announced that payment of Income Support and the income related elements of Employment and Support Allowance and Jobseeker’s Allowance will continue for two weeks after a claim for Universal Credit has been made, effective from July 2020, benefitting 1.1 million households. Claimants will therefore receive one two week run-on payment when being migrated to Universal Credit. This builds upon the similar two week run-on of Housing Benefit that was announced at Autumn Budget 2017, and which was introduced in April this year.
We have also improved how our work coaches and case workers view the claimant’s Universal Credit account so they clearly know when a claimant is vulnerable and what support they may need.
Asked by: Baroness Thomas of Winchester (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that an adequate number of work coaches are in post to manage any increase in caseloads as a consequence of the managed migration to Universal Credit.
Answered by Baroness Buscombe
Our plans for managed migration include a range of measures to ensure work coaches are fully prepared to deal with volumes of migrating cases. Resource levels will also be reviewed as part of the planning process to ensure there are sufficient work coaches in place to handle the anticipated volumes.
During 2019 we will test and refine our approach to ensure it is working well. This will include testing work coach preparation and resourcing before we take on larger volumes from 2020 onwards, and complete the process in 2023.
Asked by: Baroness Thomas of Winchester (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that work coaches are prepared for any increase in caseloads as a consequence of managed migration to Universal Credit.
Answered by Baroness Buscombe
Our plans for managed migration include a range of measures to ensure work coaches are fully prepared to deal with volumes of migrating cases. Resource levels will also be reviewed as part of the planning process to ensure there are sufficient work coaches in place to handle the anticipated volumes.
During 2019 we will test and refine our approach to ensure it is working well. This will include testing work coach preparation and resourcing before we take on larger volumes from 2020 onwards, and complete the process in 2023.
Asked by: Baroness Thomas of Winchester (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to assess whether the first phase of the managed migration to Universal Credit is being managed effectively for disabled claimants.
Answered by Baroness Buscombe
We are working closely with stakeholders and other parties to design the best possible process for the migration of our customers to Universal Credit. The draft Regulations have been out for consultation with the Social Security Advisory Committee and we look forward to their detailed advice which we will consider alongside the other stakeholder contributions we receive. The regulations will come before Parliament in the autumn, and during 2019 we will test and refine our processes to ensure they are working well before we take on larger volumes from 2020 onwards, and complete the process in 2023. The regulations also include additional transitional protection arrangements for all approximately 500,000 claimants eligible for a Severe Disability Premium.
Our focus will be on safeguarding claimants and ensuring a smooth transition with uninterrupted support. We will have a comprehensive and well-supported preparation period for claimants. This will include a variety of communication formats, including face-to-face, internet and postal notification, to ensure claimants are aware of the managed migration process. There is flexibility to extend that period if necessary for claimants; and a process to ensure that, before the existing benefits are stopped, our staff will check for evidence of complex needs or vulnerability or disability and act accordingly to support the claimant. Additionally, if a claimant misses their deadline to claim there are provisions in the draft Regulations that will allow DWP to back-date their claim.