Asked by: George Galloway (Workers Party of Britain - Rochdale)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of removing the two-child limit for benefits.
Answered by Jo Churchill
There are no plans to make such an assessment.
Asked by: George Galloway (Workers Party of Britain - Rochdale)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will meet representatives of Women Against State Pension Inequality to discuss the Parliamentary and Health Services Ombudsman's findings and recommendations in its report entitled Women’s State Pension Age: our findings on injustice and associated issues, published on 21 March 2024.
Answered by Paul Maynard
In laying the report before Parliament at the end of March, the Ombudsman has brought matters to the attention of this House, and a further update to the House will be provided once the report's findings have been fully considered.
Asked by: George Galloway (Workers Party of Britain - Rochdale)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in (a) the UK and (b) Bradford West constituency have had jobseeker's allowance removed since June 2011.
Answered by Esther McVey
The information requested in respect of JSA sanctions data is published at:
https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/
Guidance for users is available at:
https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Stat-Xplore_User_Guide.htm
Information for Northern Ireland is the responsibility of the Department for Social
Development. Northern Ireland statistics can be found at:
http://www.dsdni.gov.uk/index/stats_and_research/benefit_publications.htm
Asked by: George Galloway (Workers Party of Britain - Rochdale)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will commission research on the effects of removing benefits from people and undertake to report the outcome of such work to the House.
Answered by Esther McVey
The Department does not remove benefits. A claimant may incur a sanction or become disentitled to their benefit if they do not meet their conditionality requirements.
As with all our policies, we will continue to keep the operation of the sanctions system under review to ensure that it continues to operate effectively and as fairly as possible. We also continue to make improvements as committed to in the Oakley Review, which goes further than the scope of the Review, to include all jobseekers allowance and all employment and support allowance.
We will continue to publish sanctions statistics on a quarterly basis.
Asked by: George Galloway (Workers Party of Britain - Rochdale)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people who have claimed jobseeker's allowance since June 2011 in (a) the UK and (b) Bradford West constituency have not found work and are no longer claiming benefits.
Answered by Esther McVey
The information requested is not readily available, and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: George Galloway (Workers Party of Britain - Rochdale)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what charities, community projects and businesses benefit from community work placements.
Answered by Esther McVey
Community Work Placements are part of Help to Work. They help long-term unemployed people gain work experience which increases their confidence, helps them to gain vital skills and crucially, improves their chances of getting a job.
DWP contracts with prime providers. The prime providers source the community work placements. All placements must be of benefit to the community and must not be used to replace existing roles or fill vacancies for paid employment.
Asked by: George Galloway (Workers Party of Britain - Rochdale)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, which charities, communities projects or businesses have withdrawn from the Community Work Placement scheme.
Answered by Esther McVey
Community Work Placements are part of Help to Work. They help long-term unemployed people gain work experience which increases their confidence, helps them to gain vital skills and crucially, improves their chances of getting a job.
DWP contracts with prime providers. The prime providers source the community work placements. All placements must be of benefit to the community and must not be used to replace existing roles or fill vacancies for paid employment.
Asked by: George Galloway (Workers Party of Britain - Rochdale)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people are on community work placements.
Answered by Esther McVey
The information is not readily available. The Department works to guidelines set by the UK Statistics Authority to ensure we publish statistics that meet high quality standards at the earliest opportunity.
Asked by: George Galloway (Workers Party of Britain - Rochdale)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in Bradford West constituency are on community work placements.
Answered by Esther McVey
The information is not readily available. The Department works to guidelines set by the UK Statistics Authority to ensure we publish statistics that meet high quality standards at the earliest opportunity.
Asked by: George Galloway (Workers Party of Britain - Rochdale)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people have refused to take community work placements and have had benefits withdrawn as a result to date.
Answered by Esther McVey
The information is not readily available. The Department works to guidelines set by the UK Statistics Authority to ensure we publish statistics that meet high quality standards at the earliest opportunity.