Asked by: Nicholas Brown (Independent - Newcastle upon Tyne East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the total amount of money being recovered by her Department through universal credit claims is as at 15 September 2021; and what the comparable figures are for the last three years.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Deductions from Universal Credit awards are requested by creditors who ensure they have followed regulations. Universal Credit informs the claimant of all deduction requests.
Universal Credit deduction regulations protect claimants from excessive deductions, which could lead to financial difficulty. There is a 25% cap on deductions to ensure that priority debts and other debts are repaid, whilst supporting claimants with significant debts to retain more of their monthly award for their day-to-day needs. The cap was reduced in April 2021 from 30% to 25% to help support claimants to manage financial difficulties.
Advances are designed to ensure that the most vulnerable claimants receive the money they need to live on during their transition to Universal Credit. Claimants now have the option to spread twenty-five Universal Credit payments over twenty-four months, giving them more flexibility over the payments of their Universal Credit award. This will also allow claimants to retain more of their award, giving additional financial security
Customers can contact the Department if they are experiencing financial hardship to discuss a reduction in their rate of repayment, depending on their financial circumstances, whilst work coaches can also signpost claimants to other financial support.
The information requested is provided in the attached spreadsheet.
Asked by: Nicholas Brown (Independent - Newcastle upon Tyne East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Post Office Card Accounts are active in (a) Newcastle upon Tyne East constituency, (b) Newcastle upon Tyne and (c) the UK.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
As of August 2021 there were less than 350k active Post Office Card Accounts. This is down from 1 million in 2019.
We do not hold information on Post Office card account customers in specific geographical areas as sought.
Asked by: Nicholas Brown (Independent - Newcastle upon Tyne East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans her Department has to reduce the time it takes to process personal independence payment applications.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
We are committed to ensuring that people can access financial support through Personal Independence Payment in a timely manner. We always aim to make an award decision as quickly as possible, taking into account the need to review all available evidence.
We are currently operating within expected levels. Average clearance times from initial claim to a decision being made for new claims at the end of April 2021 is 19 weeks, which is the same as average clearance times achieved in March 2020, prior to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Asked by: Nicholas Brown (Independent - Newcastle upon Tyne East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to assist Post Office Card Account users transition from their cards in preparation for the end of universal credit, tax credit and State Pension payments into those accounts from November 2021.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department has a dedicated team, the Financial Inclusion Customer Contact Centre, to support all Post Office Card Account customers to transition to standard accounts. a new Payment Exception Service exists for customers who are unable to access a standard account to receive their payments.
The Department is actively contacting Post Office Card Account customers to support and advice on the future payment methods available.
Asked by: Nicholas Brown (Independent - Newcastle upon Tyne East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent estimate her Department has made of the average waiting time to process personal independence payment applications in (a) England, (b) the North East of England and (c) Newcastle upon Tyne East constituency.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Average waiting times for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) new claims made under normal rules (i.e. excluding those processed under special rules) are calculated as the median number of weeks from registration to DWP decision, and published as the “Average Actual Clearance Time”. For claims cleared in April 2021, the latest published data shows:
(a) The Average Actual Clearance Time for new claims in England was 19 weeks.
(b) The Average Actual Clearance Time for new claims in the North East of England was 19 weeks.
(c) The Average Actual Clearance Time for new claims in Newcastle upon Tyne East was 22 weeks.
We are currently operating within expected levels. Average clearance times from initial claim to a decision being made for new claims at the end of April 2021 is 19 weeks, which is the same as average clearance times achieved in March 2020, prior to the Covid-19 pandemic. We are committed to ensuring that people can access financial support through PIP in a timely manner. We always aim to make an award decision as quickly as possible, taking into account the need to review all available evidence.
Data on clearance times for PIP claims is published in the PIP Official Statistics tables, which can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/personal-independence-payment-statistics-to-april-2021
(Clearance times for (b) the North East of England are published in Table 2A (v)).
Data to 31st July 2021 will be published on 14th September 2021, as part of the next scheduled release of PIP Official Statistics.
Notes:Data Source: PIP Atomic Data Store (ADS)
Asked by: Nicholas Brown (Independent - Newcastle upon Tyne East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average length of time is between a job being approved through the government’s Kickstart scheme and the placement beginning in (a) England, (b) the North East and (c) Newcastle East constituency in the latest period for which that data is available.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
When applying for funding from the Department for Work and Pensions’ Kickstart Scheme, employers are able to choose when the funded jobs start in the life of the scheme. This means that the time between approval and start can vary greatly and will greatly affect any averages. A number of processes must be completed before a job can be started including the signing of a grant funding agreement and the referring of an eligible young person.
The average time between a job being made available for a young person to apply for and a young person starting in that position is less than 28 days. This is based on all jobs made available for young people to apply to since the Kickstart Scheme launched until the 20th May. This figure is the national average; we are currently unable to break this information down to the regional level or below.
Although care is taken when processing and analysing Kickstart applications, referrals and starts, the data collected might be subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale recording system which has been developed quickly. The management information presented here has not been subjected to the usual standard of quality assurance associated with official statistics, but is provided in the interests of transparency. Work is ongoing to improve the quality of information available for the programme.
Asked by: Nicholas Brown (Independent - Newcastle upon Tyne East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many jobs have been (a) approved and (b) commenced under the Kickstart scheme in (a) England, (b) the North East and (c) Newcastle East constituency.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We are unable at present to provide data on the number of approved jobs by region, as at that stage in the process we do not hold information about the exact location of a job, only the head office of the employer.
For the most recently released information about the number of Kickstart jobs commenced by region I refer the honourable member to the answer given for PQ 546.
Delivering the Kickstart Scheme at pace has led to a limited data set which makes it harder to accurately present a snapshot of a smaller geographical area. We are continuing to develop our data, which may help in sharing constituency level information in due course
Asked by: Nicholas Brown (Independent - Newcastle upon Tyne East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if her Department will provide an estimate of the number of placements on the Kickstart scheme that will result in permanent employment in (a) England, (b) the North East and (c) Newcastle East constituency.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The aim of the Kickstart Scheme is to fund the direct creation of additional jobs for young people at risk of long-term unemployment. Kickstart provides young people with an opportunity to build their skills and confidence in the work place and gain experience that will improve their chances of finding long-term, sustainable work. No estimates have been made.
Asked by: Nicholas Brown (Independent - Newcastle upon Tyne East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will publish the level of child poverty in Newcastle East constituency in each of the last five years.
Answered by Will Quince
The Department publishes official statistics on the number of children in low income families at constituency level, including Newcastle East. Children in Low Income Families data is published annually.https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/children-in-low-income-families-local-area-statistics-2014-to-2020
Asked by: Nicholas Brown (Independent - Newcastle upon Tyne East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential effect of the planned reduction in universal credit from October 2021 on child poverty in (a) Newcastle East constituency and (b) the UK.
Answered by Will Quince
No such assessment has been made.
This Government has long championed the principle of work as the best route out of poverty and towards financial independence. This approach is based on clear evidence about the importance of employment, particularly where it is full-time, in substantially reducing the risks of poverty and in improving long-term outcomes for families and children.
Getting people back to work and supporting them to progress is therefore at the heart of our approach to tackling poverty and building back better. Our Plan for Jobs is already delivering for people of all ages right across the country and includes investing over £7 billion on new schemes such as the £2 billion Kickstart Scheme, the Restart Scheme and our Job Entry Targeted Support Scheme.