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Written Question
Universal Credit
Wednesday 5th January 2022

Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether it is her policy to use digital by default when contacting universal credit recipients; and if she will make a statement.

Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

It is not the Department’s policy to use digital methods by default when contacting all Universal Credit recipients.

We have a number of methods to support us in communicating with claimants. When making an initial application for Universal Credit, individuals are able to opt for their preferred contact method.

Work coaches and claimants can also use Universal Credit online journals to communicate, unless it has been previously identified that this is not an option for the claimant. In these cases, the journal will be updated, however the claimant will also be contacted in a way that suits their individual needs, for example by a phone call.


Written Question
Job Centres: Liverpool
Wednesday 5th January 2022

Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how often a jobseeker on universal credit in Liverpool is required to attend a face to face interview in the job centre; and if she will make a statement.

Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

Throughout the pandemic, Jobcentres remained open for claimants who required face-to-face support. From April, Jobcentres in England, Scotland, and Wales returned to their pre-lockdown opening hours and restarted face-to-face appointments, in accordance with government guidelines.

In line with current public health guidance, and with safety measures in place, Jobcentre Work Coaches are continuing to book face-to-face appointments for those claimants who are required to attend mandatory appointments as part of their conditions for receiving Universal Credit.

The frequency of interventions Work Coaches undertake with claimants is determined by the individual circumstances of the claimant, the duration of their claim, and the level of support required at that particular time. There is no target of face-to-face appointments a full-time Work Coach is expected to deliver in one day. Appointments are determined by the circumstances of each claimant and the type of meeting being conducted. Maintaining an effective Work Coach diary is a joint responsibility between a team leader and the Work Coach, and is managed collaboratively through regular discussion and agreement.

Our Jobcentre teams are committed to ensuring all claimants receive the best possible support to meet their individual circumstance. Jobcentre team leaders are responsible for assuring the quality services provided to individual claimants through a combination of observation of Work Coach interviews, feedback, coaching and appraisal.


Written Question
Job Centres: Coronavirus
Wednesday 5th January 2022

Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department has plans to issue guidance to job centres on conducting interviews online or by telephone as part of the introduction of Plan B covid-19 restrictions.

Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

Throughout the pandemic, Jobcentres remained open for claimants who required face-to-face support. From April, Jobcentres in England, Scotland, and Wales returned to their pre-lockdown opening hours and restarted face-to-face appointments, in accordance with government guidelines.

In line with current public health guidance, and with safety measures in place, Jobcentre Work Coaches are continuing to book face-to-face appointments for those claimants who are required to attend mandatory appointments as part of their conditions for receiving Universal Credit.

The frequency of interventions Work Coaches undertake with claimants is determined by the individual circumstances of the claimant, the duration of their claim, and the level of support required at that particular time. There is no target of face-to-face appointments a full-time Work Coach is expected to deliver in one day. Appointments are determined by the circumstances of each claimant and the type of meeting being conducted. Maintaining an effective Work Coach diary is a joint responsibility between a team leader and the Work Coach, and is managed collaboratively through regular discussion and agreement.

Our Jobcentre teams are committed to ensuring all claimants receive the best possible support to meet their individual circumstance. Jobcentre team leaders are responsible for assuring the quality services provided to individual claimants through a combination of observation of Work Coach interviews, feedback, coaching and appraisal.


Written Question
Job Centres: Standards
Wednesday 5th January 2022

Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what key performance indicators operate in job centres in respect of interviewing recipients of universal credit and other working age benefits; and if she will publish those key performance indicators.

Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

Throughout the pandemic, Jobcentres remained open for claimants who required face-to-face support. From April, Jobcentres in England, Scotland, and Wales returned to their pre-lockdown opening hours and restarted face-to-face appointments, in accordance with government guidelines.

In line with current public health guidance, and with safety measures in place, Jobcentre Work Coaches are continuing to book face-to-face appointments for those claimants who are required to attend mandatory appointments as part of their conditions for receiving Universal Credit.

The frequency of interventions Work Coaches undertake with claimants is determined by the individual circumstances of the claimant, the duration of their claim, and the level of support required at that particular time. There is no target of face-to-face appointments a full-time Work Coach is expected to deliver in one day. Appointments are determined by the circumstances of each claimant and the type of meeting being conducted. Maintaining an effective Work Coach diary is a joint responsibility between a team leader and the Work Coach, and is managed collaboratively through regular discussion and agreement.

Our Jobcentre teams are committed to ensuring all claimants receive the best possible support to meet their individual circumstance. Jobcentre team leaders are responsible for assuring the quality services provided to individual claimants through a combination of observation of Work Coach interviews, feedback, coaching and appraisal.


Written Question
Job Centres
Wednesday 5th January 2022

Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether job centres (a) have targets for conducting face-to-face interviews or (b) plan to implement targets for conducting those interviews for recipients of universal credit and other working age benefits; and if she will make a statement.

Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

Throughout the pandemic, Jobcentres remained open for claimants who required face-to-face support. From April, Jobcentres in England, Scotland, and Wales returned to their pre-lockdown opening hours and restarted face-to-face appointments, in accordance with government guidelines.

In line with current public health guidance, and with safety measures in place, Jobcentre Work Coaches are continuing to book face-to-face appointments for those claimants who are required to attend mandatory appointments as part of their conditions for receiving Universal Credit.

The frequency of interventions Work Coaches undertake with claimants is determined by the individual circumstances of the claimant, the duration of their claim, and the level of support required at that particular time. There is no target of face-to-face appointments a full-time Work Coach is expected to deliver in one day. Appointments are determined by the circumstances of each claimant and the type of meeting being conducted. Maintaining an effective Work Coach diary is a joint responsibility between a team leader and the Work Coach, and is managed collaboratively through regular discussion and agreement.

Our Jobcentre teams are committed to ensuring all claimants receive the best possible support to meet their individual circumstance. Jobcentre team leaders are responsible for assuring the quality services provided to individual claimants through a combination of observation of Work Coach interviews, feedback, coaching and appraisal.


Written Question
State Retirement Pensions
Wednesday 10th November 2021

Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the delays in receipt of the first payment of state pension experienced by some people retiring this year have now been ended, and if she will make a statement.

Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Yes. This matter was addressed during a Work and Pension Select Committee evidence session on 8 November.


Written Question
State Retirement Pensions: North West
Thursday 28th October 2021

Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people have experienced a delay in receipt of their State Pension payment beyond what should have been their first payment date in (a) Garston and Halewood constituency, (b) Liverpool city region and (c) the North West of England.

Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

This information is not collated as a matter of normal business and is only available at disproportionate cost to the Department.


Written Question
State Retirement Pensions
Thursday 28th October 2021

Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people have experienced a delay in receipt of their first payment of State Pension in each of the last three years.

Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

This information is not collated as a matter of normal business and is only available at disproportionate cost to the Department.


Written Question
State Retirement Pensions
Thursday 28th October 2021

Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what was the average length of time after retirement and entitlement to state pension by which the first payment was made to recipients in (a) 2018-19, (b) 2019-20 and (c) 2020-21.

Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

This information is not collated as a matter of normal business and is only available at disproportionate cost to the Department.


Written Question
Universal Credit: Overpayments
Monday 1st June 2020

Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many universal credit deductions for the over-payment of universal credit were made in (a) March and (b) and April 2020.

Answered by Will Quince

The data for deductions in March and April 2020 is not yet available.

From 3rd April 2020, deductions from Universal Credit for some government debt, such as Tax Credits, benefit overpayments and Social Fund Loans were suspended initially for 3 months with a review. This was done to ease the financial pressure of debt recovery on benefit claimants and to also allow Debt Management staff to be re-deployed to focus on the unprecedented volume of new claims received during the covid-19 outbreak.