Asked by: Royston Smith (Conservative - Southampton, Itchen)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many new universal credit claimants with limited capability for work and work-related activities were previously included in their parents’ claim for child tax credit with disabled child element in 2021.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The information requested is not available.
Asked by: Royston Smith (Conservative - Southampton, Itchen)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of allocating funding for driving lessons for jobseekers to help enable them to find work.
Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
No assessment has been made of the potential merits of allocating specific funding for driving lessons.
Service Leaders in Jobcentres can allocate funding for driving lessons through the Flexible Support Fund, where they feel this is an appropriate use of funds. Each request is considered on a case by case basis.
Asked by: Royston Smith (Conservative - Southampton, Itchen)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what financial support is available for people who are self-employed in the event that they are required to self-quarantine due to covid-19 concerns.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson
Self-employed people who are unable to work due to coronavirus concerns may be able to claim Universal Credit and/or new-style Employment and Support Allowance depending on their circumstances.
Asked by: Royston Smith (Conservative - Southampton, Itchen)
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 increase the number of disabled people in work.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson
The Government is committed to improving employment outcomes for disabled people. Improving Lives: The Future of Work, Health and Disability is our strategy for helping people with disabilities or health conditions enter and remain in employment. It includes details of a wide range of programmes and initiatives that will help support disabled people, in making a successful transition to employment. For example:
Over the last 5 years the number of disabled people in employment has increased by around 1.06 million since Q2 2013, and currently stands at 7.7 million.
Asked by: Royston Smith (Conservative - Southampton, Itchen)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to encourage older people to participate in the workforce.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
The number of older workers in employment is at a record high. There are now 10.3 million people aged 50 and over in the workforce.
To support Fuller Working Lives, the Government has removed the Default Retirement Age meaning most people can choose when to retire, and extended the right to request flexible working to all employees with 26 weeks’ continuous service with their employer.
In February 2017, the UK Government published “Fuller Working Lives: a partnership approach” to set out the role employers, individuals and Government can play in supporting fuller working lives. This is available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/587654/fuller-working-lives-a-partnership-approach.pdf
Asked by: Royston Smith (Conservative - Southampton, Itchen)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average call waiting time is for a universal credit telephone enquiry.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
This summer we introduced a new routed telephony service for Universal Credit Full Service claims where claimants with an existing claim are connected directly to the person or team who are dealing with their case. Of the calls offered via the 0800 328 5644 (Universal Credit Full Service) number during September 2018, the average call duration was 6 minutes and 54 seconds and the average call waiting time was 1 minute and 6 seconds.
We also provide a free national enquiry service for calls from people who do not yet have a processed claim. For the month of September the average call duration of a telephone enquiry to the Universal Credit Full Service enquiry line was 6 minutes and 15 seconds and the average call waiting time was 6 minutes and 10 seconds.
Asked by: Royston Smith (Conservative - Southampton, Itchen)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average call duration is of a universal credit telephone enquiry.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
This summer we introduced a new routed telephony service for Universal Credit Full Service claims where claimants with an existing claim are connected directly to the person or team who are dealing with their case. Of the calls offered via the 0800 328 5644 (Universal Credit Full Service) number during September 2018, the average call duration was 6 minutes and 54 seconds and the average call waiting time was 1 minute and 6 seconds.
We also provide a free national enquiry service for calls from people who do not yet have a processed claim. For the month of September the average call duration of a telephone enquiry to the Universal Credit Full Service enquiry line was 6 minutes and 15 seconds and the average call waiting time was 6 minutes and 10 seconds.
Asked by: Royston Smith (Conservative - Southampton, Itchen)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many British Sign Language interpreters are available to support hearing impaired people in using public services.
Answered by Sarah Newton
The Government does not collect information on numbers of British Sign Language interpreters.
The National Registers of Communication Professionals working with Deaf and Deafblind People (NRCDP), the Association of Sign Language interpreters (ASLI) and the Scottish Association of Sign Language Interpreters (SASLI) are the registration bodies for interpreters in England Wales and Scotland.
The British Deaf Association published numbers of British Sign Language Interpreters in October 2015 available at https://bda.org.uk/help-resources/
Asked by: Royston Smith (Conservative - Southampton, Itchen)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many British Sign Language interpreters are available to support hearing impaired people in using public services.
Answered by Sarah Newton
The Government does not collect information on numbers of British Sign Language interpreters.
The National Registers of Communication Professionals working with Deaf and Deafblind People (NRCDP), the Association of Sign Language interpreters (ASLI) and the Scottish Association of Sign Language Interpreters (SASLI) are the registration bodies for interpreters in England Wales and Scotland.
The British Deaf Association published numbers of British Sign Language Interpreters in October 2015 available at https://bda.org.uk/help-resources/
Asked by: Royston Smith (Conservative - Southampton, Itchen)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of a system of automatic transfers for individuals who have multiple jobs during their working life.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government’s priority for private pension savers in 2018 remains the successful roll-out of automatic enrolment. Automatic enrolment has led to more than 9.4 million employees being automatically enrolled in a workplace pension, with more than 1.1 million employers meeting their duties, as of the end of February 2018.
Industry shares this priority. With 94% of eligible jobholders automatically enrolled in an occupational defined contribution scheme enrolled in a Master Trust, scheme managers and trustees are focused on preparing for compliance with the authorisation and supervision regime introduced by the Pension Schemes Act 2017.
These reforms increase the number of people saving into workplace pensions and ensure confidence in the system. Government, providers, employers and members should focus on these changes. It is therefore not the right time to implement automatic transfers.
All those with a defined contribution pension pot have a statutory right to transfer to another pension scheme of their choice and can use the Pension Tracing Service to identify pension pots they have accumulated with former employers. Members could also benefit from the introduction of the pensions dashboard, which should make it easier to see all their pots in one place when they choose to do so. This would enable them to feel in control and take ownership of their pensions. We are currently conducting a feasibility study and aim to publish our findings later in spring 2018.