Asked by: Angela Crawley (Scottish National Party - Lanark and Hamilton East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that Child Maintenance payments for people in contract work are calculated fairly.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The child maintenance calculation is initially based on paying parent’s historic income information received directly from HM Revenue & Customs for the latest complete tax year.
If historic income is not available, or a paying parent’s actual income is at least 25% different from the historic income figure then current income can be used. This is based on evidence from a wide range of credible sources which ensures liabilities remain fair and based on accurate income information. The liability is reviewed annually or at either parents’ request if the income changes by at least 25%.
Asked by: Angela Crawley (Scottish National Party - Lanark and Hamilton East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to improve the sharing of information across Government departments to aid the Child Maintenance Service.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) constantly strives to both maintain and improve contacts and appropriate data sharing agreements with all relevant government departments.
The CMS does this through engaging in a collaborative and positive manner to reinforce existing agreements and establish new channels of communication and contacts within relevant departments and areas.
Asked by: Angela Crawley (Scottish National Party - Lanark and Hamilton East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to improve Child Maintenance Service's enforcement action towards self-employed parents.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) has made improvements to enforcement processes to increase effective use of powers. This includes simplifying deductions from earnings, increasing efficiency by reducing the manual intervention required, making better use of deductions from bank accounts therefore increasing the volume of deductions leading to more money being collected quicker for children and working in partnership with HMCT to reduce Court processing times by introducing Virtual Court presenting and electronic exchange of documentation. There is also a Private Members bill sponsored by the Honourable Member for Stroud that removes the requirement to make court applications for liability orders which enable CMS to progress with enforcement action faster and improve efficiency, whilst protecting appeal rights.
The CMS FIU considers all allegations relating to income, either that received from HMRC or from declarations from paying parents, where the information and intelligence indicates that the income used in a CMS assessment has been underdeclared, the FIU carry out a full and thorough investigation and where additional income is found cases are re-assessed and any fraudulent activity considered for referral to the Crown Prosecution Service.
Asked by: Angela Crawley (Scottish National Party - Lanark and Hamilton East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people are employed in the Child Maintenance Service; and whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of increasing staffing capacity on timescales for enforcement action.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Child Maintenance Service, at the end of December 2022 employed 4,747 people, equivalent to 4,046 FTE. This includes colleagues in GB and Department for Communities in Northern Ireland.
Our resourcing levels are regularly reviewed against forecast intake and performance v actuals to ensure a timely and consistent service. Following our most recent Winter forecasting review our request to increase resources directly into our Enforcement segment was approved. An exercise to recruit around 70 staff is currently underway.
Asked by: Angela Crawley (Scottish National Party - Lanark and Hamilton East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department has made a recent assessment of the adequacy of Universal Credit provisions for mixed-age couples who were previously (a) eligible for Housing Benefit and (b) found to have limited capability for work.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
Universal Credit (UC) supports people who are on a low income or out of work and helps to ensure that they are better off in work than on benefits. It provides claimants with the support they need to prepare for work, move into work, or to earn more if already in work. In return claimants need to accept a Claimant Commitment following a conversation with their work coach. The claimant commitment sets out what the claimant has agreed to do to prepare for and look for work, or to increase their earnings if already employed. It’s based on the claimant’s personal circumstances, and this is reviewed and updated on a regular basis.
It replaces:
It improves work incentives by introducing a smoother, more transparent reduction of benefits at a consistent and predictable rate when people move into work and increase their earnings. A single taper is applied as earnings rise and some claimants will also receive a work allowance depending on their circumstances.
It also reduces the complexity of the working age benefits system and removes the distinction between in work and out-of-work support, thus making clear the potential gains of work and reducing the risks associated with moves into employment.
No recent assessment has been made of the adequacy of Universal Credit provisions for mixed-age couples who were previously (a) eligible for Housing Benefit and (b) found to have limited capability for work.
Asked by: Angela Crawley (Scottish National Party - Lanark and Hamilton East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of removing age related benefit rates in response to the cost of living crisis.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
No assessment has been made of the potential merits of removing age related benefits in response to the cost of living.
Universal Credit provides those who are under age 25 with lower rates than those age 25 or over. This is to reflect the fact that these claimants are more likely to live in someone else’s household and have lower living costs. It also reflects the lower wages that younger workers typically receive. However, it is acknowledged that some claimants under 25 do live independently, which is why Universal Credit includes separate elements to provide support to claimants with these additional costs, such as housing costs.
These additional amounts are provided to claimants at the same level irrespective of age.
The government understands the pressures people are facing with the cost of living. These are global challenges, that is why the government is providing over £15bn in further support, targeted particularly on those with the greatest need. This package is in addition to the over £22bn announced previously, with government support for the cost of living now totalling over £37 billion this year.
The £37 billion includes:
A £650 payment, made in two instalments, to more than 8 million low-income households on means tested benefits and tax credits. Separate one-off payments of £300 to pensioner households (through and as an addition to the Winter Fuel Payment) and £150 to individuals receiving disability benefits.
Asked by: Angela Crawley (Scottish National Party - Lanark and Hamilton East)
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 on employment levels of having targets for work coaches.
Answered by Julie Marson
Our Jobcentre teams are committed to delivering a quality service to ensure all claimants receive the best possible support to meet their individual circumstances, and there is no target for Work Coaches on the number of people who move into work. Line managers coach their teams to ensure Work Coaches are skilled and empowered to manage their caseloads and are focussed on helping claimants move into or closer to work.
Asked by: Angela Crawley (Scottish National Party - Lanark and Hamilton East)
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 the end of the £20 universal credit uplift on young people living independently.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The £20 uplift to Universal Credit was temporary. There was no need to make an assessment when it was withdrawn.
The government understands the current cost of living pressures many are facing, particularly young people, and has taken action to support and help families with a total package worth £37 billion in 2022-23.
This includes helping all domestic electricity customers in Great Britain to cope with the impact of higher energy bills, with £400 off their bills from October through the expansion of the Energy Bills Support Scheme (EBSS). This is a doubling of the £200 of support announced in February, and there will no longer be any repayments. In addition, as part of the governments targeted response to rising energy bills, the government also introduced the £150 council tax rebate.
Over 8 million households across the UK in receipt of eligible means tested benefits will receive a one-off Cost of Living Payment of £650, paid in two instalments from 14th of July.
The Government is also providing an additional £500 million to help households bringing total funding for this support to £1.5 billion. In England, this will take the form of an extension to the Household Support Fund backed by £421m and is administered by Local Authorities. Devolved administrations will receive £79 million through the Barnett formula.
Asked by: Angela Crawley (Scottish National Party - Lanark and Hamilton East)
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 the cost of living crisis on unemployed young people in the UK.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The £20 uplift to Universal Credit was temporary. There was no need to make an assessment when it was withdrawn.
The government understands the current cost of living pressures many are facing, particularly young people, and has taken action to support and help families with a total package worth £37 billion in 2022-23.
This includes helping all domestic electricity customers in Great Britain to cope with the impact of higher energy bills, with £400 off their bills from October through the expansion of the Energy Bills Support Scheme (EBSS). This is a doubling of the £200 of support announced in February, and there will no longer be any repayments. In addition, as part of the governments targeted response to rising energy bills, the government also introduced the £150 council tax rebate.
Over 8 million households across the UK in receipt of eligible means tested benefits will receive a one-off Cost of Living Payment of £650, paid in two instalments from 14th of July.
The Government is also providing an additional £500 million to help households bringing total funding for this support to £1.5 billion. In England, this will take the form of an extension to the Household Support Fund backed by £421m and is administered by Local Authorities. Devolved administrations will receive £79 million through the Barnett formula.