Asked by: David Hanson (Labour - Delyn)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether any research has been conducted on the number of home visits being proactively offered to vulnerable claimants of universal credit.
Answered by Will Quince
The Department are continuously reviewing and improving the services for vulnerable people who need to claim Universal Credit to ensure that it is supportive and responsive to their needs. Where claimants are unable to make or manage their claim on-line, telephone and face to face support is available. Where appropriate, home visits can be arranged for claimants when it is the most appropriate method of providing relevant support.
Asked by: David Hanson (Labour - Delyn)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people leaving prison in England and Wales were released in the last 12 months with (a) a valid photo ID, (b) a bank account and (c) a JobCentre appointment for universal credit.
Answered by Will Quince
The Department has dedicated Prison Work Coaches, who will support prisoners to complete their benefit claims and proceed to payment as quickly as possible. Our aim is to ensure claimants can access Universal Credit on the day of release in a bid to cut re-offending.
Asked by: David Hanson (Labour - Delyn)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of people applying for an advance claim for universal credit receive the payment (a) on the same day as their application, (b) on the following day, (c) within two days, (d) within three days, (e) within four days and (f) after four days.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
The data requested is not held. We aim to pay advances on Universal Credit within 72 hours. However, an advance can be paid on the same day to the claimant, where necessary.
Applications for a Universal Credit advance can be made in a number of ways: in person, by telephone and also online. To identify and collate the total number of applications made would incur disproportionate cost. Consequently, we do not hold the information requested.
Asked by: David Hanson (Labour - Delyn)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many claims for universal credit have been closed due to the claimant not responding to an email or online request broken down by length of time in each year since its introduction.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
The information requested is not held by the Department.
The following table shows the number of claims closed and reason for closure for both new claims prior to payment and claims that were in payment:
Asked by: David Hanson (Labour - Delyn)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many claims for universal credit from prison leavers have been (a) turned down and (b) delayed due to lack of ID in each year since its introduction.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson
Currently, we cannot identify and collate data on prison leavers on the Universal Credit platform in a systematic way. Due to this, we do not hold the information requested.
We are committed to gathering better data to support claimants with complex needs and have prioritised this as part of the wider work programme for Universal Credit, anything we do will be introduced incrementally and would be broad across complex needs rather than focusing on one particular group.
DWP and MoJ are working closely to deliver an improved Universal Credit claim process for prison leavers. We continue to work collaboratively with MoJ to explore options to overcome a number of issues, including the use of prison documentation as proof of identity for Universal Credit claims. We also continue to explore options for claims to be made via telephony channels.
At present, there are various ways in which a claimant can verify their identity for Universal Credit purposes: online using the gov.uk verify service; in person using primary and secondary ID verification or; by using biographical questions, for those who do not have identity documents.
Asked by: David Hanson (Labour - Delyn)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people leaving prison had ID verification interviews in JobCentre Plus centres for universal credit applications in 2018.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson
Currently, we cannot identify and collate data on prison leavers on the Universal Credit platform in a systematic way. Due to this, we do not hold the information requested.
We are committed to gathering better data to support claimants with complex needs and have prioritised this as part of the wider work programme for Universal Credit, anything we do will be introduced incrementally and would be broad across complex needs rather than focusing on one particular group.
DWP and MoJ are working closely to deliver an improved Universal Credit claim process for prison leavers. We continue to work collaboratively with MoJ to explore options to overcome a number of issues, including the use of prison documentation as proof of identity for Universal Credit claims. We also continue to explore options for claims to be made via telephony channels.
At present, there are various ways in which a claimant can verify their identity for Universal Credit purposes: online using the gov.uk verify service; in person using primary and secondary ID verification or; by using biographical questions, for those who do not have identity documents.
Asked by: David Hanson (Labour - Delyn)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of prison leavers who applied for universal credit through a work coach have received an advance payment on the day of release in each year since its introduction.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson
Currently, we cannot identify and collate data on prison leavers on the Universal Credit platform in a systematic way. Due to this, we do not hold the information requested.
We are committed to gathering better data to support claimants with complex needs and have prioritised this as part of the wider work programme for Universal Credit, anything we do will be introduced incrementally and would be broad across complex needs rather than focusing on one particular group.
DWP and MoJ are working closely to deliver an improved Universal Credit claim process for prison leavers. We continue to work collaboratively with MoJ to explore options to overcome a number of issues, including the use of prison documentation as proof of identity for Universal Credit claims. We also continue to explore options for claims to be made via telephony channels.
At present, there are various ways in which a claimant can verify their identity for Universal Credit purposes: online using the gov.uk verify service; in person using primary and secondary ID verification or; by using biographical questions, for those who do not have identity documents.
Asked by: David Hanson (Labour - Delyn)
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 reasons for unsuccessful applications for universal credit.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
Where claim closure is considered, a number of checks are conducted before claim closure is undertaken.
The assessment we have made of the Universal Credit Full Service claims that were declared in January 2019 is as follows: Applications were unsuccessful and closed prior to the first payment for a variety of reasons. These include ineligibility, nil entitlement, insufficient evidence, claim withdrawal and non-compliance with the Universal Credit process.
For claimants that need support with their Universal Credit application, the Citizen’s Advice Help to Claim service is available, offering tailored, practical support online, over the phone, and face-to-face.
Asked by: David Hanson (Labour - Delyn)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when the pilot scheme to help homeless ex-offenders conducted by the Norfolk Community Foundation and Norfolk’s former High Sheriff in Norwich will be (a) launched and (b) concluded; and what criteria will be used to assess the scheme's effectiveness.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson
This provision is expected to start in early June 2019, subject to standard DWP partnership checks and procedures being completed. It is planned to run for one year and will support approximately 24 ex-offenders recently released from prison. Evaluation will be conducted by the Norfolk Foundation in the form of an impact study.
DWP is committed to providing the best possible support for all our claimants, including the most vulnerable in society. We are continuously reviewing and improving the service for vulnerable people to ensure that it is accessible and responsive to their needs.
We encourage all our Jobcentre teams to consider opportunities for partnership-working, where local circumstances allow. Local areas have the flexibility to work alongside local and national organisations to help meet the needs of their communities, assisting our most vulnerable claimants, including those effected by homelessness.
In addition, all Jobcentres in England refer claimants considered to be homeless or at risk of homelessness, to the local authority to receive further housing support.
Asked by: David Hanson (Labour - Delyn)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when he plans to reply to the letter of 4 October 2018 from the hon. Member for Delyn on statutory maternity pay and maternity allowance.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson
The Department takes the issue seriously and we are in the process of responding.