Asked by: Kirsten Oswald (Scottish National Party - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to the Park Homes Warm Home Discount scheme, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of extending the warm home discount to people living in supported accommodation.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Park Homes Warm Home Discount scheme is run by Charis Grants and is funded voluntarily by energy suppliers under the Industry Initiatives element of the Warm Home Discount scheme. The Park Homes scheme is intended to support fuel-poor households living in park homes who pay for their electricity to their site owner.
Energy suppliers can also provide additional support to households through Industry Initiatives, through measures such as financial assistance, debt write-off, and energy efficiency. This support can be provided to households, irrespective of whether a person is eligible for a rebate under the scheme.
Asked by: Kirsten Oswald (Scottish National Party - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps she is taking to help support people living in supported accommodation who do not have their own energy account with the cost of living.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Government is continuing to support those most in need, including individuals in supported accommodation. Millions of vulnerable households will receive up to £900 in further Cost of Living Payments, with £300 to pensioner households, and £150 to those on eligible disability benefits. Low income and vulnerable households are also being supported this winter through the Winter Fuel Payment worth between £250 - £600 and the Cold Weather Payment providing £25 during very cold weather. Individuals in supported accommodation should visit the ‘Help for Households’ webpage on GOV.UK to see what support they are eligible for.
Asked by: Kirsten Oswald (Scottish National Party - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average wait time is to receive a response to a Child Maintenance application.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Between 75 and 80% of child maintenance applications are cleared within 6 weeks and a written response is issued by letter to both customers with details of the application. This is based on the last 4 quarters performance with the average at 77%.
An application for child maintenance will be recorded as having been made on the day it is received by the Child Maintenance Service:
1. for written applications this will mean the date shown on the office date stamp
2. for telephone applications this will mean the date that the telephone conversation takes place
3. for online applications this will mean the date the client pressed the “send application” button
Applications are considered 'cleared' when one of the following occurs:
a) the amount of child maintenance to be paid has been calculated and an arrangement to pay maintenance between the two parents has been agreed.
b) the amount of child maintenance to be paid has been calculated as zero; or
c) the child maintenance application has been closed.
The length of time to complete an application is most impacted by the service’s ability to trace and confirm the identity of the non-resident parent from the information provided within the application.
Asked by: Kirsten Oswald (Scottish National Party - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of cases were categorised as in debt (a) in 2018, (b) in 2022 and (c) now.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
We do not have the number of case groups with child maintenance debt as of 2018 and the latest data we can supply is for September 2023 which will match the most recently published Child Maintenance Service Statistics.
It should be noted that that we have interpreted your question as asking how many paying parents had child maintenance debt. We do not have data on if the parents have other types of debt.
|
|
|
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| Mar-18 | Mar-22 | Sep-23 |
Paying Parents* | 390,435 | 544,591 | 633,768 |
Case groups with child maintenance debt **(rounded to the nearest 10) | Not available | 204,190 | 233,270 |
Percentage |
| 37% | 37% |
* Please note this will include paying parents with collect & pay cases, direct pay cases and collect & pay cases who have no ongoing child maintenance liability.
** The case groups with child maintenance debt are sourced from administrative data and therefore has not undergone the same rigorous quality assurance as officially published statistics.
Asked by: Kirsten Oswald (Scottish National Party - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will publish a breakdown of resident and non-resident parents using the Child Maintenance Service by gender.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) official statistics are published every three months. Statistics on the gender of paying parents using the CMS, from quarter ending March 2016 to quarter ending September 2023, can be found in the CMS Paying Parent dataset available on Stat-Xplore. Users can log in or access Stat-Xplore as a guest and, if needed, can access guidance on how to extract the information required. The Department is considering expanding these statistics to cover more information on receiving parents.
Asked by: Kirsten Oswald (Scottish National Party - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an estimate of the number and proportion of parents using the Child Maintenance Service who are in debt as of 12 November 2023.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
We have answered based on our assumption that the question asked is in connection with the number of people with child maintenance debt and not broader family financial challenges and debt (credit cards etc)
In line with our published Child Maintenance Service (CMS) statistics the latest information only covers up to September 2023. The total amount of CMS parents with CMS debt is 233.3k. Please note that the debt considered in this calculation will include instances where the liability has been charged to a Paying Parent's account, but the scheduled collection date relating to that liability has not yet been reached. For a small number of Paying Parents, this will be the only 'debt' that they owe.
Asked by: Kirsten Oswald (Scottish National Party - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether Child Maintenance Service caseworkers receive training to identify parents with poor mental health.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Within Child Maintenance Service learning there are several points where the material places emphasis on the importance of recognising potential mental health issues our customers may have and to signpost the customer to available support.
Telephony modules focus on ensuring our processes are explained well and that customers have the time to provide information regarding their circumstances. The customer charter emphasises the need to try to understand the customers circumstances and to treat fairly and with respect. Empathy is defined and expectations for its use, are made clear.
Our Domestic Abuse module focuses on recognising domestic abuse and signposting the customer when we are ready to take action. The module emphasises that our processes may cause distress and that learners must be sensitive to this.
There is an emphasis on vulnerable customer support and the Tools to Support Complex Needs together with our Six Point Plan is available to remind learners of the support they have available to signpost customers. This module also references making referrals to our Advanced Customer Support.
In addition, all CMS case workers colleagues receive Mental Health for Non-Coaching role. The overall objectives of this are to increase knowledge of mental health and behaviour, in order to work positively with customers considering their individual needs. The main subjects within this learning are:
There are also additional supporting products available for follow up learning on mental health. Our classroom learning is supported by a full programme of workplace support with the emphasis on customer impact.
Asked by: Kirsten Oswald (Scottish National Party - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much and what proportion of his Department's contact with people applying for child maintenance is by (a) telephone, (b) letter and (c) email.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
In the quarter ending September 2023, 97% of child maintenance applications applied online and 3% applied over the telephone. During the course of an application the Child Maintenance Service will need to contact both parents, and this may take the form of inbound and outbound telephone calls, emails, letters, messages on their Child Maintenance Account or through live chat. We do not routinely track or measure the total number of contacts and contact type throughout the application process.
Asked by: Kirsten Oswald (Scottish National Party - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average wait time is for people in receipt of child maintenance to obtain a detailed schedule of (a) payments made and (b) payments owed.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Data is not kept or reported on the average time taken to provide detailed account statements that have to be produced individually.
All Child Maintenance new applications receive a written response, issued by letter to both customers, which details a payment schedule and any arrears owed. A renewed payment schedule and balance is issued if the liability changes due to changes in circumstance or in any event at the annual review.
My Child Maintenance Case, Child Maintenance online portal, allows customers to view their statement back to their annual review which includes payments made and payments owed.
Asked by: Kirsten Oswald (Scottish National Party - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps he is taking to help ensure British citizens recover their investment in the Paradise Golf and Beach Resort development in Tangiers.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK remains committed to doing what we can to help British investors who lost their investments in the Paradise Golf & Beach Resort (PGBR) project. The UK continues to raise the issue of PGBR with the Moroccan authorities, both by British Embassy officials and His Majesty's Ambassador to Rabat with the relevant interlocutors in Morocco, and by FCDO officials in the UK with the Moroccan Embassy to the United Kingdom in London, where we encourage the Embassy to engage with British investors to the greatest extent possible.