Asked by: Karen Buck (Labour - Westminster North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the total number of people claiming Universal Credit whose Transitional Protection was stopped entirely in 2021-22 was; and what the total value of Transitional Protection payments that were paid in that year was.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
All claimants will be assessed for transitional protection at the point the Department moves them over to Universal Credit from legacy benefits and paid this where appropriate. The vast majority will either be better off, or no worse off.
Transitional protection will be paid to eligible claimants who would see a lower entitlement on Universal Credit. The aim of this temporary payment is to maintain the same level of entitlement at the point of transition so that claimants will have time to adjust to the new benefit system. To align with the entitlement of Universal Credit claimants in similar circumstances who were not managed migrated, Transitional Protection will be reduced by the award of any new Universal Credit element or an increase in an existing Universal Credit element, other than the childcare costs element. It will end if the Universal Credit award is terminated, there is a change in a claimant’s single or couple status or if the claimant has a sustained drop in earnings. If a claimant’s Universal Credit ends due to earnings, transitional protection can be reapplied to their Universal Credit award if they return to Universal Credit within 4 months of their previous Universal Credit claim ending.
Asked by: Karen Buck (Labour - Westminster North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to her evidence to the Work and Pensions Select Committee on 29 June 2022, what safeguards she has put in place to ensure that people are not left without money if they do not make a claim for Universal Credit by the deadline provided in their migration notice.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
During the initial phase of discovery, the Department will not terminate any benefits if the claimant fails to claim within the three-month period. If these claimants have not been able to engage with the department, DWP will give a 1-month extension to the deadline outlined in their notice. In this time, we will undertake proactive engagement with the claimant to understand why they have not claimed and provide additional support where required.
Asked by: Karen Buck (Labour - Westminster North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many requests for (a) split payment, (b) more frequent payment and (c) managed payment of housing element for Universal Credit were (i) made and (ii) granted in each month from April 2019 to July 2022.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Karen Buck (Labour - Westminster North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Universal Credit (Transitional Provisions) Regulations 2022, whether an eligible claimant will retain their Transitional Protection if they make a claim for Universal Credit later than the deadline provided in their migration notice.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
As set out in Regulation 46 of the Universal Credit (UC) (Transitional Provisions) Regulations 2014, claimants in receipt of a migration notice who make a claim to Universal Credit up to one month after their deadline date, will have their UC award backdated to that date and will remain eligible for Transitional Protection.
Asked by: Karen Buck (Labour - Westminster North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether claimants in the support group of Employment Support Allowance will be required to undergo a new Work Capability Assessment in the event that they make a claim for Universal Credit later than the deadline provided in their migration notice.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
For claimants in the support group receiving Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), at the point they make a claim to UC, there is no requirement for a Work Capability Assessment (WCA) reassessment. The claimant will not be required to have another assessment in order to be awarded the health-related addition in UC.
Where an individual’s entitlement to ESA has stopped as a result of not making a claim to UC by the deadline date, any future claim to UC, after the last date legacy benefits were paid to the claimant, would be treated as a new claim. The claimant in these circumstances, as with any new claim to UC, would need a referral for a WCA to assess whether they have limited capability for work or limited capability for work- and work-related activity.
Asked by: Karen Buck (Labour - Westminster North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 5 July 2022 to Question 28376, which relevant cabinet sub-committees approved the revisions to the Universal Credit (Transitional Provisions) (Managed Migration) Regulations 2018; and on what date did each of those sub-committees make their decision.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Parliamentary Business and Legislation (PBL) Committee approved the revisions to the Universal Credit (Transitional Provisions) (Managed Migration) Regulations 2018. Approval was given in the three-month period prior to the regulations being laid in January 2019.
Asked by: Karen Buck (Labour - Westminster North)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will publish the full list of rents for England used to calculate the Local Housing Allowance rates for 2022-3.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
The Local Housing Allowance (LHA) list of rents are published here: www.gov.uk/government/collections/local-housing-allowance-list-of-rents.
As the LHA rate has been frozen, the most recent list of rents published is for 2020-21. Therefore, the data used to calculate the LHA for 2022-23 remains the same as that used for 2020-21.
Asked by: Karen Buck (Labour - Westminster North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 26 May 2022 to Question 6683 and of 13 June 2022 to Question 16823 on Local Housing Allowance, if she will place a copy of the data tracking average shortfalls between Local Housing Allowance rates and tenant’s actual rents by (a) Government Office Region, (b) Broad Rental Market Area and (c) number of bedrooms in the Library.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
A copy of the data requested has been placed in the House of Commons’ Library. This data includes average monthly shortfalls for households in receipt of Housing Benefit or the Universal Credit Housing Element for the latest month where data is available, which for both is February 2022.
Asked by: Karen Buck (Labour - Westminster North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the discussion at the Universal Credit Programme Board on 22 October 2019 and agreement that a report would be brought back in February 2020 to update on the progress of implementing the recommendations of the Prime Minister’s Implementation Unit’s report on the experiences of vulnerable claimants on Universal Credit, which (a) official and (b) team held responsibility for that work following the decision to close the Complex Needs Steering Group.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Universal Credit Complex Needs Steering group was stood down in 2019 and replaced by a new governance structure which was led by the newly formed Customer Experience Directorate to ensure greater coherence, support and more efficient decision making within the Programme and the Department.
Asked by: Karen Buck (Labour - Westminster North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 16 June 2022 to Question 16820 on Universal Credit, if she will place a copy of the Social Security Advisory Committee’s formal reference report on a framework of oversight, reporting and scrutiny for implementation of the draft Universal Credit (Transitional Provisions) Amendment Regulations 2022 in the Library.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Social Security Advisory Committee’s report dated 26 May 2022 on the Draft Universal Credit (Transitional Provisions) Amendment Regulations 2022, is available in the House of Commons Library and was published online on Welcome to GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) alongside the Secretary of State’s response.