Asked by: Bridget Phillipson (Labour - Houghton and Sunderland South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will publish any modelling his Department has undertaken on the potential effect of the Kickstart scheme on unemployment rates among people aged (a) 25 to 29; (b) 30 to 39; (c) 40 to 49; (d) 50 to 59 and (e) 60 or over.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Jobs available to young people, aged 16-24, will be new jobs - with the funding conditional on the employer demonstrating that these jobs are additional.
Initially we shall target young people at risk of long-term unemployment, with scope to extend the scheme dependent on the number of additional jobs of the right quality that are created.
Many factors influence unemployment rates. We anticipate that Kickstart will have a positive effect on employment prospects of individuals participating in the scheme [but this has not been modelled].
Asked by: Bridget Phillipson (Labour - Houghton and Sunderland South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how her Department plans to promote the take-up of the Kickstart Scheme in the private sector.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We will engage with a wide range of private sector employers, as well as those in the public and third sector, both to promote interest in the scheme and to explore how we enable employers from all sectors to take part. DWP and HM Treasury Ministers and officials have plans to meet a wide range of businesses and employer organisations.
Asked by: Bridget Phillipson (Labour - Houghton and Sunderland South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the Kickstart Scheme will be targeted at regions with higher levels of youth unemployment.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Kickstart is a national scheme which will support young people across Britain. We want to support as many people as possible through this scheme, starting with young people at risk of long-term unemployment. We will call on public, private and voluntary sector organisations across the country to create placements, we will cover the cost, and ensure that those who will benefit most are first in line.
More details about the scheme will be published in due course.
Asked by: Bridget Phillipson (Labour - Houghton and Sunderland South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will commit to a peer-reviewed evaluation of the Kickstart Scheme after its implementation.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The government will be monitoring and evaluating the Kickstart scheme throughout its implementation.
Asked by: Bridget Phillipson (Labour - Houghton and Sunderland South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to work with (a) other Departments and (b) local authorities to deliver the Kickstart scheme; and how bids from employers wishing to take part in the scheme will be assessed.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
DWP will continue to work closely with a range of other government departments including DCMS, BEIS and MHCLG to develop and deliver the Kickstart Scheme.
We know that mayoralties and all local authorities have an important role in the economic recovery. DWP will continue to work with them, and skills advisory panels, to make best use of their expertise and ensure the Kickstart Scheme meets their areas’ economic needs.
Details on how bids will be assessed are yet to be finalised. We aim to make the process as straightforward as possible to allow the widest range of organisations to take part, whilst ensuring value for money. More information will be available in due course.
Asked by: Bridget Phillipson (Labour - Houghton and Sunderland South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what conditions will be placed on employers seeking to hire people under the Kickstart scheme.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
It is an employer's duty to protect the health, safety and welfare of their employees including young people who will be employed through the Kickstart scheme.
Further details about the Kickstart Scheme will be set out in due course.
Asked by: Bridget Phillipson (Labour - Houghton and Sunderland South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions he has had on the delivery of the Kickstart scheme with (a) the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government; (b) Jobcentre Plus Regional Offices and (c) local authorities.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
DWP is implementing the Kickstart Scheme. We will continue to work closely with a wide range of government departments including MHCLG, to develop and deliver the Scheme as part of the wider package announced in the Chancellor’s Summer Statement.
With MHCLG we are setting up joint design groups to optimise the effectiveness of the scheme at a local and regional level. I have already discussed the Kickstart Scheme with the M9 Mayors and we have engaged extensively with the Jobcentre network.
We are keen to develop an effective and comprehensive economic response that works nationally and locally. Our Job Centre Plus partnership managers and employer advisors already work closely with key local partners, such as Mayoral Combined Authorities and Local Enterprise Partnerships.
Asked by: Bridget Phillipson (Labour - Houghton and Sunderland South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he will take to monitor the Kickstart scheme to ensure people employed under that scheme start new rather than previously existing jobs.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Kickstart jobs will be new jobs - with the funding conditional on the employer demonstrating that these jobs are additional. Further details about the Kickstart Scheme monitoring and evaluation processes will be set out in due course.
Asked by: Bridget Phillipson (Labour - Houghton and Sunderland South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment she has made of the effect of the roll-out of universal credit on the level of income of disabled people.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
I refer the Rt.Hon Member to the answer I gave on 3rd March 2020 to Question UIN 20604
Asked by: Bridget Phillipson (Labour - Houghton and Sunderland South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much pension credit was unclaimed in (a) Houghton and Sunderland South constituency, (b) the North East of England and (c) the UK in each of the last three years.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
It is important to highlight that in 2017/18 there were around 1.7 million Pension Credit claimants, amounting to around £5.1 billion of Pension Credit payments. The Government is committed to making sure that all pensioners eligible can claim the Pension Credit to which they are rightly entitled.
The information requested on the amount of Pension Credit which remains unclaimed in (a) Houghton and Sunderland South, (b) the North East of England and (c) the UK, is only available at the Great Britain level. Below are the figures on the amount of unclaimed Pension Credit within Great Britain over the past 3 years of data available.
Year | Estimated Amount Unclaimed (Millions of Pounds) | Range (Millions of Pounds) |
2017/18 | 2,160 | 1,840 - 2,500 |
2016/17 | 2,850 | 2,440 - 3,300 |
2015/16 | 2,720 | 2,330 - 3,140 |
*Methodological refinements have been applied to the data for 2016/17 and 2017/18. Therefore, comparisons to previous years should be treated with caution.
Official statistics on the take-up of income-related benefits at Great Britain level, including Pension Credit, can be found in the ‘Income-related benefits: estimates of take-up in 2017 to 2018’ publication. Which was published on 27th February 2020.