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 steps she is taking to ensure that working claimants who are paid by their employers (a) weekly, (b) fortnightly and (c) every four weeks do not see their universal credit entitlement disrupted if they are paid twice during a given assessment period.
Answered by David Rutley
Universal Credit is designed to top-up earnings from employment, adapting to changes in the amount of earnings received each month. The amount of Universal Credit paid each month will reflect, as closely as possible, the actual circumstances of a household in that assessment period, including any earnings reported by the employer. As Universal Credit is paid monthly, those who are also paid their earnings on a monthly basis will normally get one payment in each assessment period. For those who are paid differently, such as four weekly, the frequency of their pay will impact on the amount of Universal Credit they will receive.
The Department has no plans to change either Universal Credit assessment periods or payment structures. They are fundamental parts of the design, reflecting payment patterns in the world of work where the majority of people are paid monthly. Ensuring similarities between paid employment and receiving benefits eliminates an important barrier which could prevent claimants from adjusting to paid employment.
Those who are paid four-weekly will normally get one payment in each assessment period and their Universal Credit will reflect the four weekly amount they are paid. For one assessment period a year, they will receive two four-weekly payments. This is because there are 12 assessment periods a year and those who are paid four-weekly will receive 13 payments a year. As their income rises in that assessment period, Universal Credit is reduced and this is in line with the long standing general principle of means-tested benefits. However, where the Universal Credit amount reduces in the assessment period where the household has received two payments of four-weekly earnings, they will still have the benefit of the higher income from their earnings.
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 assessment she has made of the impact of reductions in universal credit entitlement for working claimants who are paid by their employers on a (a) weekly, (b) fortnightly and (c) four-weekly basis.
Answered by David Rutley
Universal Credit is designed to top-up earnings from employment, adapting to changes in the amount of earnings received each month. The amount of Universal Credit paid each month will reflect, as closely as possible, the actual circumstances of a household in that assessment period, including any earnings reported by the employer. As Universal Credit is paid monthly, those who are also paid their earnings on a monthly basis will normally get one payment in each assessment period. For those who are paid differently, such as four weekly, the frequency of their pay will impact on the amount of Universal Credit they will receive.
The Department has no plans to change either Universal Credit assessment periods or payment structures. They are fundamental parts of the design, reflecting payment patterns in the world of work where the majority of people are paid monthly. Ensuring similarities between paid employment and receiving benefits eliminates an important barrier which could prevent claimants from adjusting to paid employment.
Those who are paid four-weekly will normally get one payment in each assessment period and their Universal Credit will reflect the four weekly amount they are paid. For one assessment period a year, they will receive two four-weekly payments. This is because there are 12 assessment periods a year and those who are paid four-weekly will receive 13 payments a year. As their income rises in that assessment period, Universal Credit is reduced and this is in line with the long standing general principle of means-tested benefits. However, where the Universal Credit amount reduces in the assessment period where the household has received two payments of four-weekly earnings, they will still have the benefit of the higher income from their earnings.
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, with reference to her oral contribution of 8 November 2021, Official Report, column 8, how the Harrogate pilot informed the Government's plan on resuming the managed migration to universal credit.
Answered by David Rutley
I refer the Hon Member to the answer I gave on 1st November to question number 64687.
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, with reference to her oral contribution of 8 November 2021, Official Report, column 8, if she will publish the learnings from the pilot work on the managed migration from legacy benefits to universal credit that took place in Harrogate.
Answered by David Rutley
I refer the Hon Member to the answer I gave on 1st November to question number 64687.
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 assessment has she made of the (a) accessibility of the personal independence payment for people with Parkinson's disease and (b) potential impact of personal independence payment assessments on people living with that disease.
Answered by Chloe Smith
People with Parkinson’s disease are able to access PIP in the same way as other people with long-term health conditions or disabilities. A variety of reasonable adjustments can be made to the claims process and associated communications for customers who require them. Claimants are encouraged to attend assessments with a companion should additional support be required.
Entitlement to Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is assessed on the daily living and mobility needs arising from a health condition or disability, rather than the health condition or disability itself. The assessment is carried out by qualified healthcare professionals and looks at an individual’s ability to carry out everyday activities which are fundamental to living an independent life, including their ability to prepare, cook and eat food, dress and undress, make budgeting decisions, manage and monitor their health condition, and plan and follow journeys. The assessment ensures that the greatest level of support goes to those least able to carry out the activities.
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, pursuant to her oral evidence before the Work and Pensions Select Committee on 7 July 2021, whether the universal credit managed migration pilot in Harrogate will resume in April 2022; and when that pilot will end.
Answered by David Rutley
As indicated to the Select Committee, the Department will make an announcement in due course on the plan for Move to Universal Credit.
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, pursuant to her oral evidence before the Work and Pensions Select Committee on 7 July 2021, whether it remains her policy for all legacy benefit claimants to be transferred onto universal credit by the end of 2024.
Answered by David Rutley
Yes.
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 steps is she taking to improve the collection of benefit and employment data about people with a learning disability within her Department.
Answered by Chloe Smith
The Department collects data in relation to people with a learning disability where it is relevant to their claim to certain health and disability benefits, as well as making use of the Office for National Statistics Labour Force Survey.
The Department regularly publishes these statistics for those claiming Personal Independence Payment, Disability Living Allowance and Attendance Allowance, and these can be found at:
https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/.
Guidance on how to extract the information required can be found at:
https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started.html
Detailed information about the primary disability of those on Universal Credit receiving the Limited Capability for Work or Limited Capability for Work Related Activity element, and those receiving Employment and Support Allowance is not readily available and has not previously been published.
The Department already publishes annual Official Statistics on the employment of disabled people. These include employment levels and rates for disabled people with severe or specific learning difficulties.
The data can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/the-employment-of-disabled-people
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, in the context of the potential increase in energy bills in the coming months, what assessment she has made of the planned end of the £20 uplift in universal credit on claimants' ability to heat their homes.
Answered by David Rutley
No assessment has been made. The Cold Weather Payment (CWP) scheme helps vulnerable people in receipt of certain income-related benefits to meet the additional costs of heating during periods of severe cold weather. Cold Weather Payments are targeted at those in receipt of eligible benefits with a pension element or disability component or where there is a child under five in the household.
The Chancellor announced a temporary six-month extension to the £20 per week uplift at the Budget on 3 March to support households affected by the economic shock of Covid-19. Universal Credit has provided a vital safety net for six million people during the pandemic, and the temporary uplift was part of a COVID support package worth a total of £407 billion in 2020-21 and 2021-22.
There have been significant positive developments in the public health situation since the uplift was first introduced. With the success of the vaccine rollout and record job vacancies, it is right that our focus is on helping people back into work.
Through our Plan for Jobs, we are targeting tailored support schemes of people of all ages to help them prepare for, get into and progress in work. These include: Kickstart, delivering tens of thousands of six-month work placements for Universal Credit claimants aged 16-24 at risk of unemployment; we have also recruited an additional 13,500 work coaches to provide more intensive support to find a job; and introduced Restart which provides 12 months’ intensive employment support to Universal Credit claimants who are unemployed for a year. Our Plan for Jobs interventions will support more than two million people.
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 steps she is taking to ensure that people with a learning disability moving from legacy benefits to universal credit do not receive a reduction in their benefits.
Answered by David Rutley
Many individuals moving to Universal Credit will find themselves better off. Universal Credit will provide an extra £2.1bn a year once fully rolled out, compared to the system it replaces. Universal Credit is fundamentally different to existing benefits and tax credits and claims cannot be compared like for like.
For claimants previously entitled to Severe Disability Premium, we have introduced the Universal Credit Transitional Provisions Amendment Regulations 2021 and these came into force on 27 January 2021. The Regulations ensure that a transitional Severe Disability Element remains available for new claims to Universal Credit following a change of circumstances made on or after 27 January 2021.
In addition, all eligible legacy claimants who will be required to claim Universal Credit as part of the managed migration process will be awarded, where necessary, Transitional Protection to ensure that their initial entitlement to Universal Credit is not less than their final entitlement to legacy benefits. The Government encourages anybody to go on GOV.UK and use one of the independent benefit calculators to check carefully their eligibility, because on applying for UC their entitlement to legacy benefits will cease and they will not be able to return to them in the future. Neither DWP nor HMRC can advise individual claimants whether they would be better off moving to UC or remaining on legacy benefits. They can get help through the government funded Help to Claim scheme as well as the Citizens Advice and Citizens Advice Scotland