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 assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of easements in benefit conditionality for claimants of universal credit experiencing domestic abuse.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
No assessment has been made by the Department.
Universal Credit allows Work Coaches to tailor conditionality, setting requirements based on what is reasonable in the individual’s circumstances. Where a claimant is experiencing domestic abuse, in discussion with the Work Coach, requirements can be tailored and in some circumstances switched off for an agreed period of time.
There are circumstances when a claimant’s work search and availability requirements must be switched off for an agreed period of time, and other work-related requirements can be lifted too where appropriate. This includes where the claimant has suffered domestic violence and abuse, or periods where a child in their care is suffering distress due to experiencing or witnessing violence or abuse.
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 her Department is taking to ensure that the payments of rent to Housing Associations in cases where alternative payment arrangements are in place are regular and without delay.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Requests for Managed Payments to Landlords (MPTLs) are dealt with as a priority, and the majority of MPTL cases are processed within the assessment period in which they are received. The processing time of these requests is also regularly monitored.
We are currently rolling out the Landlord Portal and Trusted Partner status. Trusted Partner status allows social landlords to apply for a MPTL via the portal with the application accepted without challenge. Social landlords not on the portal can request MPTL from the start of the claim when completing the housing verification form.
We have listened to concerns from Social landlords about the payment process for Alternative Payment Arrangements (APAs) which are currently paid on a four weekly basis using the Third Party Payment system. We are working to address the issues this causes and developing a strategic solution. This is a priority for us and we understand the importance of a new payment system for the landlords who rely on it.
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 comparative assessment his Department has made of the effect of (a) the introduction of universal credit and (b) previous benefit systems on (a) full-time and (b) part-time disabled university students.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
Most full time students in higher education do not qualify for benefits or tax credits. Universal Credit is no different, as students, including disabled students and those with health conditions, access fees and living costs to support their higher education courses through various loans and grants funded by the Department for Education.
However, if a person is in receipt of Universal Credit or legacy benefits because of disability or ill health, they are not discouraged from taking up higher education that may help them in the future. If they take up a course and receive a student loan, tuition fees and cost of books are disregarded but maintenance costs are taken into account as student income.
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 assessment his Department has made of the effect of the introduction of universal credit on (a) full-time and (b) part-time university students who have a child or children as a (i) lone parent and (ii) couple.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
Most full time students in higher education do not qualify for benefits or tax credits. Universal Credit is no different, as students, including disabled students and those with health conditions, access fees and living costs to support their higher education courses through various loans and grants funded by the Department for Education.
However, if a person is in receipt of Universal Credit or legacy benefits because of disability or ill health, they are not discouraged from taking up higher education that may help them in the future. If they take up a course and receive a student loan, tuition fees and cost of books are disregarded but maintenance costs are taken into account as student income.
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 he has made of the level of compliance by businesses with the maximum and minimum temperature guidelines for temperature in the workplace set out in the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992: Approved Code of Practice and guidelines, published in 2013.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
No recent assessment has been made. However Health and Safety Executive and Local Authority inspectors ensure businesses comply with health and safety law, including guidelines for temperatures in the Approved Code of Practice, and will take action where they find evidence of risks not being properly controlled.
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, pursuant to the Answer of 19 October 2016 to Question 48694, what steps his Department is taking to increase the range of statistics available for assessing the cost-effectiveness and efficiency of the Child Maintenance Service.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) publication strategy, which details the approach being taken by DWP statisticians to improve CMS statistics, can be found at:
We intend to update this publication strategy shortly with details on new measures and proposed timescales for publishing them.
We will continue to review and update this strategy document and when data becomes available and fully quality assured. They will be released as part of a managed process, which will be pre-announced in line with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics.
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, pursuant to the Answer of 19 October 2016 to Question 48695, what recent assessment he has made of the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of the Child Maintenance Service for families that use that service.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
The most recent published assessment of the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of the Child Maintenance Service was contained in the National Audit Office’s value for money study in 2014 - Child maintenance 2012 scheme: Early Progress. This concluded that progress at the time of the study had been positive. Progress has been sustained.
The National Audit Office’s report is available online at:
https://www.nao.org.uk/report/child-maintenance-2012-scheme-early-progress-2/
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, pursuant to the Answer of 19 October 2016 to Question 48696, what the timescale is for (a) implementing the published evaluation strategy for the child maintenance reforms and (b) considering the effect of the programme.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
As stated in the published evaluation strategy, consideration and analysis of the child maintenance reforms is currently underway and will continue up to December 2018. The effect of the programme will be assessed as part of this and will be key to understanding the effectiveness of the reforms as a whole.
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 many families in the North East received child maintenance through the (a) Child Support Agency and (b) Child Maintenance Service in 2015-16; and how many of those families were (i) single-parent families, (ii) low-income families, (iii) survivors of domestic violence and (iv) workless households.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
a) Child Support Agency
We are unable to give a figure on how many total cases have received a payment in 2015-16 via the Child Support Agency as this is not routinely recorded for management information purposes and could only be provided at disproportionate cost. However we can provide a position at the beginning and end of the year 2015-16.
As at March 2015 there were 75,500 live cases being managed by the Child Support Agency in the North East.
As at March 2016 there were 69,100 live cases being managed by the Child Support Agency in the North East.
Further breakdowns for single parent families, low income families, survivors of domestic families and workless families are not routinely recorded for management information purposes and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
b) Child Maintenance Service
We are not yet in a position to release geographical breakdowns on the 2012 Scheme, administered by the Child Maintenance Service, but when data become available and fully quality assured they will be released as part of a managed process, which will be pre-announced and in line with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics.
Notes:
1- Figures rounded to nearest 100.
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 his Department plans to review the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of the Child Maintenance Service for families which use that service.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
The efficiency and cost-effectiveness of the Child Maintenance Service, like other operational services within the Department, are reviewed regularly by senior management.