Stephen Timms

The Government recognises the significant challenge the current pandemic poses to the arts and creative sectors and to the many businesses, individuals and freelancers working across these industries. We are working very hard to help freelancers in those sectors access support, including through the Self Employment Income Support Scheme and funding from Arts Council England.

Live Event Supply chain organisations have benefitted from economy-wide support that the Government has provided, such as the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS).

The Government has announced that the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) will continue until September, with a fourth and fifth grant. Individuals will be able to qualify for the new grants based on their 2019-20 tax returns. This means that over 600,000 self-employed individuals may be newly eligible for the SEISS, including many new to self-employment in 2019-20.

The Government has introduced an unprecedented package of support for businesses that are required to close, or which are severely affected by the restrictions put in place to tackle Covid-19 and save lives. Supply chain organisations are recognised as a critical part of our sectors and were eligible to apply for the Culture Recovery Fund.

The discretionary Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG) forms part of a wider package of support for businesses that have been mandated to close and also had their trade adversely affected by the Covid-19 Restrictions. The guidance for ARG funding encourages Local Authorities to develop discretionary grant schemes to help those businesses which - while not legally forced to close - are nonetheless severely impacted by the restrictions put in place to control the spread of Covid-19.

This could include - for example - businesses which supply the retail, hospitality, and leisure sectors, or businesses in the events sector. The guidance specifically refers to the live events sector.

It is up to each local authority to determine eligibility for the ARG based on their assessment of local economic need; however, we encourage local authorities to support businesses which have been impacted by COVID-19 restrictions, but which are ineligible for the other grant schemes.

The Dormant Assets Scheme has allocated £96m to tackling financial exclusion and improving financial capability. Fair4All Finance has used this money to increase access to affordable financial products and services for people in vulnerable circumstances.

Following a 2020 public consultation, the government is developing new legislation to expand the Scheme, which could unlock £880m for social and environmental initiatives.

We are considering whether the ways that dormant assets funding can be spent should be reviewed, and will update on this.

We intend to launch a public consultation during 2021 on measures to enhance the regulation of online advertising in the UK. The proposals in that consultation will build on the call for evidence we held in 2020, and we will consider options to enhance the regulation of advertising content and placement online.

Fraudulent online financial advertising is illegal. Action Fraud, the national police centre for fraud and the Financial Conduct Authority as the financial regulator regularly investigate potential frauds.

Through DCMS's Online Advertising Programme (OAP) we are developing solutions that address harms in relation to general online advertising content and standards.

The EU’s adequacy assessments, underway since March 2020, ascertain whether UK data protection standards are ‘essentially equivalent’ to the EU’s. Given we have an existing data protection framework that is equivalent to the EU’s, we see no reason why the UK should not be awarded adequacy and we expect the process to be concluded promptly.

The EU left insufficient time to adopt data adequacy decisions before the end of the transition period. We have therefore agreed with the EU a time-limited ‘bridging mechanism’ which will allow personal data to continue to flow as it did previously whilst EU adequacy decisions for the UK are adopted. In practice, we do not expect the bridging mechanism to be in place for more than 4 months, which is when the bridge is envisioned to expire, but there is scope to extend it to 6 months if required. As stated above, given the UK has an existing data protection framework that is equivalent to the EU’s, we see no reason why the UK should not be awarded adequacy in this timeframe.

The Government remains committed to delivering nationwide gigabit connectivity as soon as possible. Our programme for gigabit-capable broadband has made dramatic progress. More than a third of UK premises now have access to gigabit-capable connections, up from nine per cent when the government took office in July 2019. By next year, more than half of all premises will have access. We are working with industry to target a minimum of 85% gigabit-capable coverage by 2025 but will seek to accelerate rollout further to get as close to 100% as possible.

We remain committed to investing £5bn in bringing gigabit coverage to the hardest to reach areas and will continue to work with suppliers to accelerate this investment.

The Government remains committed to delivering nationwide gigabit connectivity as soon as possible. Our programme for gigabit-capable broadband has made dramatic progress. More than a third of UK premises now have access to gigabit-capable connections, up from nine per cent when the government took office in July 2019. By next year, more than half of all premises will have access. We are working with industry to target a minimum of 85% gigabit-capable coverage by 2025 but will seek to accelerate rollout further to get as close to 100% as possible.

We remain committed to investing £5bn in bringing gigabit coverage to the hardest to reach areas and will continue to work with suppliers to accelerate this investment.

The government is deeply concerned about the scale and growth of financial crime online, including online fraud.

We have consulted widely on the proposals set out in the Online Harms White Paper. We are clear that regulation must be proportionate and targeted. The new regulatory framework will not duplicate existing government activity or impose undue burdens on companies in scope. We will be setting out further details on the scope of regulation in the full government response to the Online Harms White Paper consultation, which will be published this year.

We recognise the events industry’s disappointment at the delayed reopening of large business conferences and exhibitions.

We also recognise that the new national restrictions will have a significant impact on jobs and the economy, as well as on mental health and wellbeing. We’ve confirmed that there will be a package of financial support in place, with the furlough scheme extended for this period of lockdown.

We continue to engage with stakeholders, including through the Tourism Industry Council and the Events Industry Senior Leaders Advisory Panel, to assess how we can best support the sector’s safe reopening. The business events pilots we carried out in September will ensure that the correct advice and guidance is put in place to help larger events reopen when it is safe to do so.

The government recognises the important work the UK Safer Internet Centre delivers on online safety. The Centre currently receives funding from the European Commission’s Connecting Europe Facility programme. Officials regularly engage with the Centre, including on its funding position following the UK’s exit from the EU.

The Government is committed to delivering on the people’s priorities by tackling violent crime, including through the Offensive Weapons Act which received Royal Assent on 16 May 2019.

In addition, the Government published the initial response to the Online Harms White Paper consultation on 12 February 2020. This is a joint Home Office and DCMS publication that summarises themes from the 2019 consultation.

The interim response confirmed that the Government is developing legislation on online harms to establish a new duty of care on online companies towards their users, overseen by an independent regulator. This will ensure companies take action to address harmful behaviour online, including the sale of weapons and other illegal goods and services. The regulator will issue codes of practice on what companies need to do to fulfil their duty of care. The regulator will work with law enforcement regarding expectations relating to illegal content and behaviour to ensure they adequately keep pace with the threat.

We will set out our final policy position on this issue in a full Government response later this year, before moving to legislation.

Our British orchestras are renowned across the globe for their world-leading performances; collectively touring to an average of 35 countries per year.
We understand the importance of being able to tour, and recognise that it depends on performers and crew being able to move quickly and easily between countries, taking necessary equipment with them.

As we increase and develop our links with countries across the globe, we will continue our close dialogue with the sector, maintaining our deep understanding of sectoral need and ambition. We will ensure that the interests of our great cultural institutions are considered at every opportunity, including during the development of future trade agreements.

In the past five years, Arts Council England (ACE) has invested over £107 million in orchestras and related classical music organisations in its National Portfolio. This figure does not include ACE investment in Opera companies, each of whom also support their own orchestra. As culture is a devolved matter, this figure excludes funding decisions taken by the devolved administrations in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales.

Orchestras have also benefited from the Government’s introduction of the Orchestras Tax Relief (OTR), which is helping to support the increase of productions, especially via touring. Since the introduction of the OTR in 2016, £23 million has been paid out relating to 170 claims and 770 productions.

We are continuing to work with departments across government to evaluate access to free school meals for families with no recourse to public funds. In the meantime, the temporary extension of eligibility will continue until a decision on long-term eligibility is made.

Once the review is complete, we will update our guidance accordingly. Our current guidance regarding the extension can be viewed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-free-school-meals-guidance/guidance-for-the-temporary-extension-of-free-school-meals-eligibility-to-nrpf-groups.

At present, data is not available regarding the take-up of free school meals from children from families with no recourse to public funds during the temporary extension.

We are continuing to work with departments across government to evaluate access to free school meals for families with no recourse to public funds. In the meantime, the temporary extension of eligibility will continue until a decision on long-term eligibility is made.

Once the review is complete, we will update our guidance accordingly. Our current guidance regarding the extension can be viewed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-free-school-meals-guidance/guidance-for-the-temporary-extension-of-free-school-meals-eligibility-to-nrpf-groups.

At present, data is not available regarding the take-up of free school meals from children from families with no recourse to public funds during the temporary extension.

On 8 February 2021, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, wrote to the Office for Students (OfS) to set out his priorities for the forthcoming year. This letter can be accessed here: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/media/48277145-4cf3-497f-b9b7-b13fdf16f46b/ofs-strategic-guidance-20210208.pdf.

One of these priorities is to change the name of the Teaching Grant to the Strategic Priorities Grant. This is to ensure the name of this funding reflects its important role in supporting providers and students to develop the skills and knowledge needed locally, regionally and nationally, to support the economy.

The Strategic Priorities grant will be reformed for the 2021/22 financial year to ensure that more of taxpayers’ money is spent on supporting higher education (HE) provision which aligns with national priorities, such as healthcare, STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) and subjects meeting specific labour market needs.

London weighting funding is a small proportion of the overall income of providers and it is right for the government to re-allocate public money where it is most needed. Universities should not receive additional investment for teaching simply because of where they are located. Excellent provision can be delivered across the country.

London already has, on average, the highest percentage of good or outstanding schools, the highest progression to HE, and more HE providers than any other region in England. This reform will invest more money directly into high quality institutions in the Midlands and the North.

The analysis we offer at this stage, as presented in the annex to the letter to the Office for Students (OfS), gives a broad indication of the impact of the changes to aid understanding. This letter can be accessed here: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/media/a3814453-4c28-404a-bf76-490183867d9a/rt-hon-gavin-williamson-cbe-mp-t-grant-ofs-chair-smb.pdf.

The OfS will consult on these changes shortly, before final allocations for the 2021/22 financial year are confirmed and will carefully consider the impact of any changes on providers.

We are also making available an additional £50 million of hardship funding this financial year. In total we have made £70 million of funding available for student hardship given the £20 million made available to higher education providers in December. Providers will have flexibility in how they distribute the funding to students, in a way that will best prioritise those in greatest need.

This money is in addition to the £256 million of Student Premium funding higher education providers are able draw on this academic year towards student hardship funds, including the purchase of IT equipment, and mental health support, as well as to support providers’ access and participation plans.

Furthermore, we have asked the OfS to allocate £15 million towards student mental health in 2021/2022 through the proposed reforms to Strategic Priorities grant funding, to help address the challenges to student mental health posed by the transition to university, given the increasing demand for mental health services. This will target those students in greatest need of such services, including vulnerable groups and hard-to-reach students.

The OfS has also been asked to allocate £5 million to providers in order to provide additional support for student hardship. This is to mitigate the rise in student hardship due to COVID-19 impacts on the labour market which particularly affect, for example, students relying on work to fund their studies, students whose parents have lost income and students who are parents and whose partner's income has been affected.

We have also asked the OfS for a £10 million increase to the specialist provider allocation, to support these institutions which are particularly reliant on Strategic Priorities Grant funding, many of whom are London-based. We want to ensure that our small and specialist providers, including some of our top music and arts providers, receive additional support, and that grant funding is used to effectively support students.

Local authorities are responsible for convening an Agreed Syllabus Conference every five years, and for providing an agreed syllabus which specified maintained schools must comply with. This must reflect the fact that the religious traditions in Great Britain are Christian, in the main, whilst taking account of the teaching and practices of the other principal religions represented in Great Britain. The Department does not hold a copy of each local authority area’s agreed syllabus for religious education (RE) when it came into effect or was last reviewed. There is also no requirement for local authority areas to provide my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education with this information.

The Department would encourage any local authority to publish their locally agreed syllabus or a summary of its main provisions, although they are not required by legislation to do so. Both maintained schools and academies should, however, publish on their websites the curriculum of every subject taught in each academic year, including RE. Local residents can find details of the RE curriculum provided by state-funded schools in their area, whether in accordance with the locally agreed syllabus or otherwise. The Government guidance for the provision of RE in local authority maintained schools is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/religious-education-guidance-in-english-schools-non-statutory-guidance-2010.

Academies and free schools are not required to comply with a locally agreed syllabus, though they may choose to adopt it. The funding agreement for each academy and free school does, however, require these schools to teach RE. The Department does not hold information on the number of academies and free schools that have adopted a locally agreed syllabus, or the specific details of their RE curriculum. Similarly, the Department does not quality assure a school’s individual RE curriculum to assess their adequacy, or the extent to which they take account of the teaching and practices of the principal religions represented in Great Britain.

If the Department is informed that an agreed syllabus or an academy’s RE syllabus may be in breach of statutory requirements or their funding agreement, this will be investigated. Where needed, the Department will remind schools of their duty on this matter and advise on how this can be met.

Local authorities are responsible for convening an Agreed Syllabus Conference every five years, and for providing an agreed syllabus which specified maintained schools must comply with. This must reflect the fact that the religious traditions in Great Britain are Christian, in the main, whilst taking account of the teaching and practices of the other principal religions represented in Great Britain. The Department does not hold a copy of each local authority area’s agreed syllabus for religious education (RE) when it came into effect or was last reviewed. There is also no requirement for local authority areas to provide my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education with this information.

The Department would encourage any local authority to publish their locally agreed syllabus or a summary of its main provisions, although they are not required by legislation to do so. Both maintained schools and academies should, however, publish on their websites the curriculum of every subject taught in each academic year, including RE. Local residents can find details of the RE curriculum provided by state-funded schools in their area, whether in accordance with the locally agreed syllabus or otherwise. The Government guidance for the provision of RE in local authority maintained schools is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/religious-education-guidance-in-english-schools-non-statutory-guidance-2010.

Academies and free schools are not required to comply with a locally agreed syllabus, though they may choose to adopt it. The funding agreement for each academy and free school does, however, require these schools to teach RE. The Department does not hold information on the number of academies and free schools that have adopted a locally agreed syllabus, or the specific details of their RE curriculum. Similarly, the Department does not quality assure a school’s individual RE curriculum to assess their adequacy, or the extent to which they take account of the teaching and practices of the principal religions represented in Great Britain.

If the Department is informed that an agreed syllabus or an academy’s RE syllabus may be in breach of statutory requirements or their funding agreement, this will be investigated. Where needed, the Department will remind schools of their duty on this matter and advise on how this can be met.

Local authorities are responsible for convening an Agreed Syllabus Conference every five years, and for providing an agreed syllabus which specified maintained schools must comply with. This must reflect the fact that the religious traditions in Great Britain are Christian, in the main, whilst taking account of the teaching and practices of the other principal religions represented in Great Britain. The Department does not hold a copy of each local authority area’s agreed syllabus for religious education (RE) when it came into effect or was last reviewed. There is also no requirement for local authority areas to provide my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education with this information.

The Department would encourage any local authority to publish their locally agreed syllabus or a summary of its main provisions, although they are not required by legislation to do so. Both maintained schools and academies should, however, publish on their websites the curriculum of every subject taught in each academic year, including RE. Local residents can find details of the RE curriculum provided by state-funded schools in their area, whether in accordance with the locally agreed syllabus or otherwise. The Government guidance for the provision of RE in local authority maintained schools is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/religious-education-guidance-in-english-schools-non-statutory-guidance-2010.

Academies and free schools are not required to comply with a locally agreed syllabus, though they may choose to adopt it. The funding agreement for each academy and free school does, however, require these schools to teach RE. The Department does not hold information on the number of academies and free schools that have adopted a locally agreed syllabus, or the specific details of their RE curriculum. Similarly, the Department does not quality assure a school’s individual RE curriculum to assess their adequacy, or the extent to which they take account of the teaching and practices of the principal religions represented in Great Britain.

If the Department is informed that an agreed syllabus or an academy’s RE syllabus may be in breach of statutory requirements or their funding agreement, this will be investigated. Where needed, the Department will remind schools of their duty on this matter and advise on how this can be met.

Local authorities are responsible for convening an Agreed Syllabus Conference every five years, and for providing an agreed syllabus which specified maintained schools must comply with. This must reflect the fact that the religious traditions in Great Britain are Christian, in the main, whilst taking account of the teaching and practices of the other principal religions represented in Great Britain. The Department does not hold a copy of each local authority area’s agreed syllabus for religious education (RE) when it came into effect or was last reviewed. There is also no requirement for local authority areas to provide my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education with this information.

The Department would encourage any local authority to publish their locally agreed syllabus or a summary of its main provisions, although they are not required by legislation to do so. Both maintained schools and academies should, however, publish on their websites the curriculum of every subject taught in each academic year, including RE. Local residents can find details of the RE curriculum provided by state-funded schools in their area, whether in accordance with the locally agreed syllabus or otherwise. The Government guidance for the provision of RE in local authority maintained schools is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/religious-education-guidance-in-english-schools-non-statutory-guidance-2010.

Academies and free schools are not required to comply with a locally agreed syllabus, though they may choose to adopt it. The funding agreement for each academy and free school does, however, require these schools to teach RE. The Department does not hold information on the number of academies and free schools that have adopted a locally agreed syllabus, or the specific details of their RE curriculum. Similarly, the Department does not quality assure a school’s individual RE curriculum to assess their adequacy, or the extent to which they take account of the teaching and practices of the principal religions represented in Great Britain.

If the Department is informed that an agreed syllabus or an academy’s RE syllabus may be in breach of statutory requirements or their funding agreement, this will be investigated. Where needed, the Department will remind schools of their duty on this matter and advise on how this can be met.

Local authorities are responsible for convening an Agreed Syllabus Conference every five years, and for providing an agreed syllabus which specified maintained schools must comply with. This must reflect the fact that the religious traditions in Great Britain are Christian, in the main, whilst taking account of the teaching and practices of the other principal religions represented in Great Britain. The Department does not hold a copy of each local authority area’s agreed syllabus for religious education (RE) when it came into effect or was last reviewed. There is also no requirement for local authority areas to provide my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education with this information.

The Department would encourage any local authority to publish their locally agreed syllabus or a summary of its main provisions, although they are not required by legislation to do so. Both maintained schools and academies should, however, publish on their websites the curriculum of every subject taught in each academic year, including RE. Local residents can find details of the RE curriculum provided by state-funded schools in their area, whether in accordance with the locally agreed syllabus or otherwise. The Government guidance for the provision of RE in local authority maintained schools is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/religious-education-guidance-in-english-schools-non-statutory-guidance-2010.

Academies and free schools are not required to comply with a locally agreed syllabus, though they may choose to adopt it. The funding agreement for each academy and free school does, however, require these schools to teach RE. The Department does not hold information on the number of academies and free schools that have adopted a locally agreed syllabus, or the specific details of their RE curriculum. Similarly, the Department does not quality assure a school’s individual RE curriculum to assess their adequacy, or the extent to which they take account of the teaching and practices of the principal religions represented in Great Britain.

If the Department is informed that an agreed syllabus or an academy’s RE syllabus may be in breach of statutory requirements or their funding agreement, this will be investigated. Where needed, the Department will remind schools of their duty on this matter and advise on how this can be met.

The Department has engaged with the Local Authority and will submit a planning application shortly. Once planning permission has been obtained, we will be able to deliver the expansion of Newham Collegiate Sixth Form.

We are working with departments across government to evaluate access to free school meals for families with no recourse to public funds. In the meantime, the extension of eligibility will continue with the current income threshold until a decision on long-term eligibility is made.

Once the review is complete, we will update our guidance accordingly. Our current guidance regarding the extension can be viewed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-free-school-meals-guidance/guidance-for-the-temporary-extension-of-free-school-meals-eligibility-to-nrpf-groups.

We are working with departments across government to evaluate access to free school meals and other educational entitlements for families with no recourse to public funds. In the meantime, the extension of eligibility for free school meals will continue until a decision on long-term eligibility is made. At present there are no plans for a statement to be made.

My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, has regular discussions with Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Amanda Spielman, about a range of matters, including Ofsted’s inspection approaches and programmes. The Department is committed to keeping under review the current suspension of Ofsted’s routine inspections, which has now been in place since March 2020. That process continues. It will be important for school inspections to start up again in the new year, but at the right time and in the right way. The Department is carefully considering with Ofsted and the sector how this can be achieved safely and sensitively, with a clear focus on provision for pupils whether in the classroom or remotely.

The guidance for full school opening enables schools to resume educational day visits but continues to advise against UK overnight educational residential visits. This guidance is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak/guidance-for-full-opening-schools.

The Department’s educational visits advice is in line with guidance from Public Health England, the Cabinet Office and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and will be reviewed again in November 2020. Information on support for businesses impacted by COVID-19 is available at: https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus/business-support.

Ofqual and the exam boards explored the options for those students who did not have an existing relationship with an exam centre and who needed results this summer for progression purposes. The Joint Council for Qualifications published guidance which set out the options that would be available. The guidance can be found here: https://www.jcq.org.uk/jcq-publishes-supplementary-information-on-validation-of-evidence-by-centres-for-private-candidates/.

Ofqual and the Government asked organisations that represent higher and further education to consider the steps that they could take when making admissions decisions this summer for any external candidates who do not receive a grade. The Department have asked institutions to consider a range of other evidence and information for these students to allow them to progress wherever possible.

Where schools and colleges had accepted entries from external candidates, those students should have been taken into account in the process of producing centre assessment grades, where the head teacher or principal was confident that they and their staff had seen sufficient evidence of the student’s achievement to make an objective judgement. In addition, the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) predicted grades can be provided by schools, colleges and other further education providers, including for external candidates. Other external candidates, such as those who work with private tutors or self study, may not be able to receive a UCAS predicted grade.

To support students who are unhappy with their summer grade or for whom there was not enough evidence for a grade to be awarded, the Department is running an additional series of exams in the autumn. AS and A level exams will take place in October and GCSE exams in November, and will be available in all GCSE, AS and A level subjects.

During the COVID-19 outbreak, we are temporarily extending free school meal eligibility to include some children of groups who have no recourse to public funds. The extension of free school meal eligibility to these groups will continue while the COVID-19 outbreak impacts upon schools, and it includes access to the COVID Summer Food Fund.

During the COVID-19 outbreak, we are temporarily extending free school meal eligibility to include some children of groups who have no recourse to public funds. We will update the guidance as soon as possible.

The Department is committed to supporting all children to grow up happy, healthy and safe, and to provide them with the knowledge they need to manage the opportunities and challenges of modern Britain. That is why all primary age children will be taught Relationships Education, all secondary age children will be taught Relationships and Sex Education, and all children in state-funded schools will be taught Health Education.

The Department remains committed to supporting all schools in their preparations to deliver these subjects. In light of the circumstances caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, and following engagement with the sector, the Department is reassuring schools that although the subjects will still be compulsory from 1 September 2020, schools have flexibility over how they discharge their duty within the first year of compulsory teaching.

Schools that are ready to teach these subjects and have met the requirements set out in the statutory guidance, including those relating to engagement with parents and carers, are encouraged to begin delivering teaching from 1 September 2020, or whenever is practicable to do so within the first few weeks of the new school year.

Schools that are not ready to teach these subjects or unable to adequately meet the requirements because of the challenging circumstances presented by COVID-19 should aim to start preparations to deliver the new curriculum and commence teaching the new content by at least the start of the summer term 2021.

To ensure teaching begins as soon as possible, schools are encouraged to take a phased approach, if needed, when introducing these subjects. Schools should consider prioritising curriculum content on mental health and wellbeing, as knowledge on supporting your own and others’ wellbeing will be important as pupils return to schools.

We want to support all young people to be happy, healthy and safe. We also want to equip them for adult life and to make a positive contribution to society. That is why we are making Relationships Education compulsory for primary school-age pupils, Relationships and Sex Education compulsory for secondary school-age pupils and Health Education compulsory in all state-funded schools from September 2020.

The Department remains committed to supporting all schools in their preparations to deliver these subjects and has been working to assess the impact of COVID-19 on a school’s ability to discharge their duty relating to the implementation of these subjects. The Department will provide an update in due course.

These are rapidly developing circumstances; we continue to keep the situation under review and will keep Parliament updated accordingly.

The information requested is not held by the Department for Education. The Department for Education does not undertake internal analysis of serious case reviews but commissions an expert analysis of the main themes from serious case reviews on a biennial or triennial basis. The most recently published document is ‘Complexity and challenge: a triennial analysis of serious case reviews 2014 to 2017’, which can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/analysis-of-serious-case-reviews-2014-to-2017.

In October 2019, the government published the first ‘State of the Nation’ report on children and young people’s mental wellbeing, to improve understanding of the trends and issues that influence young people’s wellbeing. This report drew on a number of existing, large-scale, sample surveys.

The government plans to provide advice for schools later this year to help them to access evidence-based tools to measure and support their pupils’ mental wellbeing. This advice is intended to be used voluntarily by schools and will not include a requirement to report back to the government.

The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and the Self-employed Income Support Scheme have been extended to the end of September 2021 to recognise some industries will return no earlier than 21 June.

Immigration status holders who do not return to work because they have lost their employment will need to check the conditions attached to their leave. Where their immigration status is linked to a particular job, they may need to find alternative employment or another basis of stay, and make a further application if they wish to remain in the UK.

Non-UK nationals and family members who are issued with a residence permit with a NRPF condition are not eligible to access taxpayer-funded benefits such as Universal Credit, Child Benefit or housing assistance for the duration of their leave. DWP has no powers to award taxpayer-funded benefits to an individual whose Home Office immigration status specifies no recourse to public funds.

People with leave under the Family and Human Rights routes can apply to have their NRPF condition lifted by making a ‘change of conditions’ application if they are destitute or at risk of destitution, or if the welfare of their child is at risk due to their low income. NRPF ‘change of conditions’ applications are prioritised and dealt with compassionately.

Other support is available to people with an NRPF condition once the Coronavirus Job Retention scheme comes to an end. Contribution-based benefits, such as New Style JSA, will continue to be available for those who meet the eligibility criteria.

We have interpreted your question to mean how many claimants have been identified as not suitable for a telephone Work Capability Assessment (WCA) in each month since the 16 March 2020; and how many of those claimants have now been assessed.

The information requested is not available.

Initial guidance for those identified as not suitable for telephone assessments has evolved since WCA telephone assessments were introduced in May 2020. In addition, further case reviews, changes of circumstance or further medical information for example, may lead to a change in advice over whether a telephone assessment is appropriate.

DWP continues to work with Centre for Health and Disability Assessments (CHDA), to minimise the number of people identified as not suitable for a telephone assessment and we are currently exploring alternative ways of conducting health assessments. For example, we continue to complete paper based assessments and make recommendations based on the written evidence available where possible and have introduced some video assessments where appropriate. We are planning to resume face to face WCAs next month for those who we are unable to fully assess by other channels.

The Government is committed to levelling up and uniting the country, including by improving the employment outcomes of people from ethnic minority backgrounds.

The Department has implemented the DWP Youth Offer for all 18 to 24 year olds making a claim for Universal Credit and who are in the intensive work search group. The Youth Offer includes Youth Hubs which are co-located and co-delivered with our network of external partners and Youth Employability Coaches who are flexibly supporting young people with significant complex needs and barriers to help them move into employment, including those from ethnic minority backgrounds as needed. We also have a range of support through our Plan for Jobs Programme, which includes the Kickstart Scheme that is providing funding to create new jobs for 16 to 24 year olds on Universal Credit who are at risk of long term unemployment.

We have a national programme of mentoring circles, involving employers offering specialised support to unemployed, young ethnic minority jobseekers.

The Government is also considering the recommendations on how to increase opportunity and ensure fairness for all made in the recent independent Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities report.

This estimate was derived from the Spring 2020 forecasts, which are based on the Department’s inflow forecasts, with an assumed take-up rate of 100%. There are no plans to introduce a non-repayable grant.

New Claims Advances are the claimant’s benefit paid early, allowing claimants to access 100% of their estimated Universal Credit (UC) payment upfront. With a UC Advance, claimants receive an additional UC payment, resulting in 13 payments in a year rather than 12. From 12 April 2021, claimants have the option to spread twenty-five UC payments over twenty-four months, giving them more flexibility over the payments of their UC award. This will also allow claimants to retain more of their award, giving additional financial security.

The Department’s deductions policy strikes a fair balance between a claimant’s need to meet their financial obligations and their ability to ensure they can meet their day-to-day needs. Since October 2019, UC deductions are a maximum of 30% of a claimant’s standard allowance down from 40% previously. We also recognise the importance of safeguarding the welfare of claimants who have incurred debt, so last resort deductions over the 30% cap can be applied to protect vulnerable claimants from eviction and/or having their fuel supply disconnected, by providing a repayment method for arrears of these essential services.

The main aim of the deductions policy in Universal Credit is to safeguard the welfare of claimants who have incurred debt in a cost effective and efficient way. It provides protection for claimants from the consequences of homelessness, imprisonment or having vital utilities disconnected. Regulations protect claimants from excessive deductions and there are no plans to suspend them.

This estimate was derived from the Spring 2020 forecasts, which are based on the Department’s inflow forecasts, with an assumed take-up rate of 100%. There are no plans to introduce a non-repayable grant.

New Claims Advances are the claimant’s benefit paid early, allowing claimants to access 100% of their estimated Universal Credit (UC) payment upfront. With a UC Advance, claimants receive an additional UC payment, resulting in 13 payments in a year rather than 12. From 12 April 2021, claimants have the option to spread twenty-five UC payments over twenty-four months, giving them more flexibility over the payments of their UC award. This will also allow claimants to retain more of their award, giving additional financial security.

The Department’s deductions policy strikes a fair balance between a claimant’s need to meet their financial obligations and their ability to ensure they can meet their day-to-day needs. Since October 2019, UC deductions are a maximum of 30% of a claimant’s standard allowance down from 40% previously. We also recognise the importance of safeguarding the welfare of claimants who have incurred debt, so last resort deductions over the 30% cap can be applied to protect vulnerable claimants from eviction and/or having their fuel supply disconnected, by providing a repayment method for arrears of these essential services.

The main aim of the deductions policy in Universal Credit is to safeguard the welfare of claimants who have incurred debt in a cost effective and efficient way. It provides protection for claimants from the consequences of homelessness, imprisonment or having vital utilities disconnected. Regulations protect claimants from excessive deductions and there are no plans to suspend them.

HSE’s evidence is that more than 90% of the businesses checked have the right precautions in place or are willing to make necessary changes promptly and without the need for formal enforcement action. HSE inspectors do not conclude an intervention until they are confident a business has the right controls in place. HSE will continue to take enforcement action where appropriate, but the best use of its time and resource to ensure employers take the right action promptly is often to educate, persuade or require matters to be put right immediately.

In response to PQ 21/165426, the information is provided in the table below:

Notes:

i. Data was extracted from HSE’s live operational database on 10^th March 2021 and is subject to change, eg.as there can be a delay of up to ten working days before information is uploaded to the system.

ii. HSE systems do not distinguish (in a readily accessible format) between interventions by Regulatory Contact Officers and Visiting Officers, who carry out a similar role but in different operational divisions.

In response to PQ 165427, the information is provided in the table below:

Note: Data was extracted from HSE’s live operational database on 10^th March 2021 and is subject to change, eg.as there can be a delay of up to ten working days before information is uploaded to the system.

In response to PQ 165428, the information is provided in the table below:

*In addition, there are over 14,500 ‘green’ concerns assessed as ‘low risk’ which have been dealt with by HSE’s Concerns and Advisory Team.

Note: Data was extracted from HSE’s live operational database on 10^th March 2021 and is subject to change, eg.as there can be a delay of up to ten working days before information is uploaded to the system.

In response to PQ 165429, the information is provided in the table below:

*This total includes those concerns listed in the table above in response to PQ 21/165426, with the remainder being those concerns categorised as ‘green’ (assessed as ‘low risk’) which have been dealt with by HSE’s Concerns and Advisory Team.

Notes:

i. For RIDDOR investigations the number relates to specific matters; typically, there will be more than one visit when dealing with the matter.

ii. Data was extracted from HSE’s live operational database on 10^th March 2021 and is subject to change, eg.as there can be a delay of up to ten working days before information is uploaded to the system.

HSE’s evidence is that more than 90% of the businesses checked have the right precautions in place or are willing to make necessary changes promptly and without the need for formal enforcement action. HSE inspectors do not conclude an intervention until they are confident a business has the right controls in place. HSE will continue to take enforcement action where appropriate, but the best use of its time and resource to ensure employers take the right action promptly is often to educate, persuade or require matters to be put right immediately.

In response to PQ 21/165426, the information is provided in the table below:

Notes:

i. Data was extracted from HSE’s live operational database on 10^th March 2021 and is subject to change, eg.as there can be a delay of up to ten working days before information is uploaded to the system.

ii. HSE systems do not distinguish (in a readily accessible format) between interventions by Regulatory Contact Officers and Visiting Officers, who carry out a similar role but in different operational divisions.

In response to PQ 165427, the information is provided in the table below:

Note: Data was extracted from HSE’s live operational database on 10^th March 2021 and is subject to change, eg.as there can be a delay of up to ten working days before information is uploaded to the system.

In response to PQ 165428, the information is provided in the table below:

*In addition, there are over 14,500 ‘green’ concerns assessed as ‘low risk’ which have been dealt with by HSE’s Concerns and Advisory Team.

Note: Data was extracted from HSE’s live operational database on 10^th March 2021 and is subject to change, eg.as there can be a delay of up to ten working days before information is uploaded to the system.

In response to PQ 165429, the information is provided in the table below:

*This total includes those concerns listed in the table above in response to PQ 21/165426, with the remainder being those concerns categorised as ‘green’ (assessed as ‘low risk’) which have been dealt with by HSE’s Concerns and Advisory Team.

Notes:

i. For RIDDOR investigations the number relates to specific matters; typically, there will be more than one visit when dealing with the matter.

ii. Data was extracted from HSE’s live operational database on 10^th March 2021 and is subject to change, eg.as there can be a delay of up to ten working days before information is uploaded to the system.

HSE’s evidence is that more than 90% of the businesses checked have the right precautions in place or are willing to make necessary changes promptly and without the need for formal enforcement action. HSE inspectors do not conclude an intervention until they are confident a business has the right controls in place. HSE will continue to take enforcement action where appropriate, but the best use of its time and resource to ensure employers take the right action promptly is often to educate, persuade or require matters to be put right immediately.

In response to PQ 21/165426, the information is provided in the table below:

Notes:

i. Data was extracted from HSE’s live operational database on 10^th March 2021 and is subject to change, eg.as there can be a delay of up to ten working days before information is uploaded to the system.

ii. HSE systems do not distinguish (in a readily accessible format) between interventions by Regulatory Contact Officers and Visiting Officers, who carry out a similar role but in different operational divisions.

In response to PQ 165427, the information is provided in the table below:

Note: Data was extracted from HSE’s live operational database on 10^th March 2021 and is subject to change, eg.as there can be a delay of up to ten working days before information is uploaded to the system.

In response to PQ 165428, the information is provided in the table below:

*In addition, there are over 14,500 ‘green’ concerns assessed as ‘low risk’ which have been dealt with by HSE’s Concerns and Advisory Team.

Note: Data was extracted from HSE’s live operational database on 10^th March 2021 and is subject to change, eg.as there can be a delay of up to ten working days before information is uploaded to the system.

In response to PQ 165429, the information is provided in the table below:

*This total includes those concerns listed in the table above in response to PQ 21/165426, with the remainder being those concerns categorised as ‘green’ (assessed as ‘low risk’) which have been dealt with by HSE’s Concerns and Advisory Team.

Notes:

i. For RIDDOR investigations the number relates to specific matters; typically, there will be more than one visit when dealing with the matter.

ii. Data was extracted from HSE’s live operational database on 10^th March 2021 and is subject to change, eg.as there can be a delay of up to ten working days before information is uploaded to the system.

HSE’s evidence is that more than 90% of the businesses checked have the right precautions in place or are willing to make necessary changes promptly and without the need for formal enforcement action. HSE inspectors do not conclude an intervention until they are confident a business has the right controls in place. HSE will continue to take enforcement action where appropriate, but the best use of its time and resource to ensure employers take the right action promptly is often to educate, persuade or require matters to be put right immediately.

In response to PQ 21/165426, the information is provided in the table below:

Notes:

i. Data was extracted from HSE’s live operational database on 10^th March 2021 and is subject to change, eg.as there can be a delay of up to ten working days before information is uploaded to the system.

ii. HSE systems do not distinguish (in a readily accessible format) between interventions by Regulatory Contact Officers and Visiting Officers, who carry out a similar role but in different operational divisions.

In response to PQ 165427, the information is provided in the table below:

Note: Data was extracted from HSE’s live operational database on 10^th March 2021 and is subject to change, eg.as there can be a delay of up to ten working days before information is uploaded to the system.

In response to PQ 165428, the information is provided in the table below:

*In addition, there are over 14,500 ‘green’ concerns assessed as ‘low risk’ which have been dealt with by HSE’s Concerns and Advisory Team.

Note: Data was extracted from HSE’s live operational database on 10^th March 2021 and is subject to change, eg.as there can be a delay of up to ten working days before information is uploaded to the system.

In response to PQ 165429, the information is provided in the table below:

*This total includes those concerns listed in the table above in response to PQ 21/165426, with the remainder being those concerns categorised as ‘green’ (assessed as ‘low risk’) which have been dealt with by HSE’s Concerns and Advisory Team.

Notes:

i. For RIDDOR investigations the number relates to specific matters; typically, there will be more than one visit when dealing with the matter.

ii. Data was extracted from HSE’s live operational database on 10^th March 2021 and is subject to change, eg.as there can be a delay of up to ten working days before information is uploaded to the system.

Parliament was updated on this issue through a written statement laid on 4 March and a topical statement by the Secretary of State during DWP oral questions on 8 March.

I have committed to updating Parliament as the correction exercise progresses.

Parliament was updated on this issue through a written statement laid on 4 March and a topical statement by the Secretary of State during DWP oral questions on 8 March.

I have committed to updating Parliament as the correction exercise progresses.

Spot checks are one part of HSE’s blended approach in tackling Covid-19 risk in the workplace. With additional Government funding to support Covid-19 work, HSE engaged third party suppliers to deliver spot check calls and visits by spot check support officers to a protocol and script set out by HSE. Where these checks reveal cause for concern the case is passed to an inspector for a visit and enforcement action taken if necessary, to ensure the workplace is Covid-19 secure. The additional capacity provided by the spot check support officers has broadened HSE’s reach to many more workplaces than would have been possible and supported inspectors focus on planned key work.

In addition to spot checks, HSE inspectors have visited workplaces to support public health bodies in responding to outbreaks and to investigate Covid-19 concerns raised by workers and others. Also, in any site intervention with dutyholders, for example investigating a serious incident, carrying out targeted proactive inspection work where the focus is non Covid-19 activity or similar regulatory activity, HSE inspectors check compliance with Covid-19 standards.

Since March 2020, HSE has carried out 149,248 spot checks, 65,152 of these were physical site visits to check controls were in place which met the Government’s workplace Covid-19 secure guidelines.

The breakdown of visits is provided in the table below:

Note: Figures were obtained from HSE’s live operational database on 9^th March 2020 and may be subject to change, e.g. as there can be a delay of up to ten working days before data is uploaded onto the system.

The Government recognises and appreciates the vital role unpaid carers play in supporting loved ones who are ill, frail or disabled.

The Carer’s Allowance debts referred to Debt Management in each of the last 3 years, reflect individual overpayments; the starting dates and durations will therefore vary accordingly.

However, the average lengths of the recoverable Carer’s Allowance overpayments referred to Debt Management in each of the requested years was as follows:

I can also confirm that the median start dates for those overpayments were:

These overpayments have arisen in the main because changes have not been reported on time. DWP takes every care to explain a claimant’s responsibilities when they apply for Carer’s Allowance; this includes the need to report changes on time. The Department has improved Carer’s Allowance communications to make this even clearer.

New technology and additional staffing have now made it easier to identify and prevent overpayments.

Notes:

• The Department has a duty to recover overpaid benefits as quickly and efficiently as possible.

• Overpayment recovery is subject to various legislative limitations and safeguards so customers do not experience financial hardship.

• There are rules covering the amount of money we can take from a person’s benefit and customers are informed in advance before benefit deductions start.

• Where a person claims they cannot afford the proposed rate of recovery, they are asked to provide details of their income and expenditure. When this information is provided, their financial circumstances can be taken into account and a reduction in their rate of repayment may be agreed. In these circumstances, the situation would be reviewed at regular periods. In exceptional circumstances, a temporary suspension of recovery may be agreed.

Early in the pandemic, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) produced guidance for drivers which can be found at https://www.hse.gov.uk/coronavirus/drivers-transport-delivery.htm. In addition, HSE published a joint letter with the Department for Transport on gov.uk in May 2020, reminding businesses of their legal obligation to provide toilet and handwashing facilities to drivers visiting their premises to deliver or collect goods as part of their work. The joint letter is available to download and print, via the following link:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/887867/dft-hse-letter-drivers-facilities.pdf.

This guidance continues to be reinforced with messages (for example that HSE is checking businesses in the transport sector are COVID-secure – https://press.hse.gov.uk/2020/11/23/hse-is-checking-businesses-in-the-transport-sector-are-covid-secure/ to explain expectations on businesses).

In mid-July 2020 HSE clarified that visiting workers must be allowed access to toilets in both their cleaning and hygiene guidance (https://www.hse.gov.uk/coronavirus/cleaning/bathrooms-toilets-washbasins.htm) and social distancing guidance (https://www.hse.gov.uk/coronavirus/social-distancing/common-areas.htm)

HSE has engaged extensively with industry associations and trade unions to set out the legal requirements. They used their communications channels including social media and newsletters to engage with stakeholders directly, and last year worked with other agencies such as Highways England and police forces to amplify our messaging on access to welfare facilities via their social media channels.

The number of people asked to repay new overpayments of Carer’s Allowance, as referred to Debt Management between April 2016 and January 2021, is set out in the table below:

Since March 2020, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has dealt with 18337 COVID-19 workplace concerns and has carried out a total of 103011 COVID-19 spot checks.

Table 1 below shows the numbers of COVID-19 workplace concerns and spot checks resulting in written correspondence and enforcement notices.

HSE’s systems do not record the level of detail which would be required to establish how many concerns related to inadequate ventilation, therefore it is not possible to determine what proportion of the cases identified related specifically to ventilation concerns.

Table 1

Note: This data was extracted from HSE’s live operational database on 3^rd February 2021 and is subject to change e.g. as there can be a delay of up to 10 working days before actions are updated on the database.

No such estimate has been made.

We expect to automate identification of affected claimants early in 2021. This will allow us to proactively correct awards before they are paid, without the need for the claimant to raise the issue.

No such estimate has been made.

We expect to automate identification of affected claimants early in 2021. This will allow us to proactively correct awards before they are paid, without the need for the claimant to raise the issue.

The stage 1, 2 & 3 approach you refer to relates specifically to proactive spot check calls and visits to business premises and not to those triggered by workplace concerns.

So far, HSE has proactively carried out a total of 92,566 spot checks, since March 2020, which includes both those passing through the staged process and those carried out separately from this process i.e. as a result of visits carried out by our inspectors. 83,718 went through the staged-process, of which 17,895 were referred to stage 2 and 3,311 of which were then referred to stage 3 for a visit.

With regard specifically to employee safety concerns arising from Covid-19, HSE categorises workplace COVID concerns into green, amber or red. Green concerns are those that can easily be resolved or where HSE is not the enforcing body. Amber and red COVID concerns have, to date, been dealt with by HSE regulatory operational staff.

Of these, HSE’s systems do not record the level of detail which would be required to establish how many concerns related to inadequate ventilation.

The table below provides by month the number of completed COVID concerns dealt with, the number of these that were investigated and completed by operational staff and the number that required a site visit. These numbers are additional to those listed in paragraph 2.

NB the data was extracted from HSE’s live operational database on 27^th January 2021. The number for completed COVID concerns is reported on a weekly basis and this is as of 24^th January 2021.

An acceptable level of service for all of the department’s telephony lines is defined as 80% of calls answered (a common industry standard). This service level indicates that customers are being quickly connected to team members and getting their problems resolved in a timely manner.

A reduced service may be necessary for a period where the balancing of resource (as experienced during this Pandemic) are of high priority within a particular business area.

Table below shows performance for Attendance Allowance (AA), Child Maintenance Service (CMS), Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and State Pension (SP) telephony lines for the period August 2020 to December 2020.

In normal circumstances, PIP awards are time-limited with regular review dates to ensure the benefit best meets
claimants’ needs and there are no automatic extensions to PIP awards. However, on the limited occasions when it is not possible to review claimants in a timely manner, we may extend a claimant’s award until the point that we can
complete the review.

As part of its response to the Covid-19 situation, in Spring 2020 the Department extended award dates for existing
PIP claims. We restarted the PIP award review process in July. New decisions made since then will not have had their awards extended – reflecting these claims will on average not be subject to review until 2022 and beyond.

The table below illustrates the extent of the telephony traffic in Debt Management since August 2020.

*Figures are rounded to the nearest 100

In November 2020, there was a temporary spike in the number of calls received due to the recommencement of debt recovery, following a pause due to the outbreak of Covid-19. It should be noted that the number of blocked calls does not represent individual customers and that the volume will be substantially distorted by repeat attempts.

We have since updated our telephone messaging and guidance for call handlers as well as redeploying trained staff from clearing work to answering calls.

In addition, DWP expects to deploy approximately 450 new staff to the network in the next three months.

The Government is committed to transforming the lives of disabled people, and will publish the National Strategy for Disabled People this year.

It will be informed by insights from the lived experience of disabled people, and will focus on the issues that disabled people say are most important across all aspects of life, from transport to education, and housing to employment. On Friday 15th January, we launched the online UK Disability Survey, which complements a range of engagement already undertaken and ongoing, including lived experience research with disabled people, discussions with the Disabled Charities Consortium, the Regional Stakeholder Networks and others. Contributions to the survey will feed not only into the development of the Strategy but also its delivery.

Recognising the challenges Covid-19 has for employers and disabled people, Access to Work introduced a new more flexible offer to support disabled people to move into and retain employment. The new flexible offer complements support provided by employers and contains a combination of support that can be tailored to meet the needs of new Covid-19 working arrangements. The offer includes:

• support to work from more than one location,
• a package of home working support which can be blended with workplace support,
• mental health wellbeing support for people returning to work after a period of furlough or shielding,
• travel-to-work support for those who may no longer be able to safely travel by public transport due to the nature of their disability, and
• prioritising Access to Work applications from disabled people in the Clinically Extremely Vulnerable Group.

Recognising the benefits equipment/support within the workplace provides, Access to Work can contribute towards the costs of transferring that equipment or where working from both the office and home occurs Access to Work can consider providing funding for additional equipment/support to enable the disabled person to retain their job.

Background

Access to Work (ATW) is a demand-led, discretionary grant to de-risk the recruitment and retention of disabled people for employers. The grant contributes to the disability related extra costs of working faced by disabled people and those with a health condition that are beyond reasonable adjustment, but it does not replace an employer’s duty under the Equality Act to make reasonable adjustments. The grant provides personalised support and can provide workplace assessments, travel to/in work, support workers, specialist aids and equipment to enable disabled people and those with a health condition to move into or retain employment. And can fund up to £60,700 worth of flexible, personalised support per person per year.

We have not carried out a formal assessment of the new offer, but following its immediate introduction telephone call to Access to Work increased by approximately 40%.

In the context of the current lockdown restrictions we are currently reviewing our messaging on Access to Work and the most appropriate time to launch paid advertising to ensure optimum value for money. We will continue the already extensive no cost and stakeholder promotion of Access to Work and look to supplement with paid advertising at the most appropriate point. Within this context, we are unable to provide a final spend estimate for the 20/21 financial year.

It is important to note, since March the caseload on UC has increased from around 3 million people on UC to 5.8 million.

The proportion of calls presented to agents answered by Debt Management for the months requested are shown in the table below:

The Debt Management queueing system allows only so many calls into the telephony system, matching volumes to the number of telephony agents available. The Percentage of Calls Answered therefore underestimates the number of attempted calls.

There were, however, large numbers of callers who could not make it into the system and are therefore not included in the proportion of calls answered.

November saw a large increase in the volume of notifications issued, largely due to the automated nature of the system used by Debt Management to manage customer accounts. This caused a significant increase in the number of customers attempting to contact the service as a result, starting on 20^th November.

Debt Management have put steps in place to address this issue. A limit to the number of notifications issued has been set to ensure the resulting contact is manageable. Improvements have been made to the messages customers hear when they call; this will ensure they are made aware of any high call volumes and are also directed to the right place, to help reduce the time spent waiting. This includes directing customers to GOV.UK if they want to make a payment by bank transfer. Debt Management are also recruiting more telephony agents - 90 additional agents have now joined Debt Management and are being trained, and a further 100 will join early in the New Year.

Debt Management continues to monitor the number of notifications issued and their call handling data. At the height of this issue, an average of over 51,000 calls were blocked each day. For the last 5 days for which we have data, from 7^th–11^th December, this had fallen to less than 6,000 each day.

The proportion of written complaints answered by Debt Management within 15 working days for the months requested are set out in the table below:

It is important to note the caseload of people on UC has increased since March from around 3 million to 5.8 million. Deductions were paused at the height of the pandemic and staff from the Debt Management team were redeployed to process claims. Staff have now returned to their roles, and deductions restarted in a phased way from July 2020.

Therefore the number of complaints received by Debt Management increased during this period. This was due to the increased caseload leading to some customers experiencing difficulties when trying to contact Debt Management by telephone.

Debt Management have put steps in place to address this issue. Firstly, a limit to the number of notifications issued has been set to ensure any resulting contact is manageable. Improvements have been made to the messages customers hear when they call; this will ensure they are made aware of any high call volumes and are also directed to the right place, to help reduce the time spent waiting. This includes directing customers to GOV.UK if they want to make a payment by bank transfer. Debt Management are also recruiting more telephony agents. 90 additional agents have now joined Debt Management and are being trained, and a further 100 will join early in the New Year.

In terms of UC Advances cases where an individual’s identity has been hijacked, we have investigated a significant number of potential or alleged UC Advances frauds and to date have found 36 cases where the person had been a genuine victim of hijacked id. Other cases are still in the process of being investigated. We cannot provide details of any potential identity frauds as the outcomes (of each case) cannot be pre-determined.

In addition, during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Cyber Resilience Centre within the Department for Work and Pensions thwarted attempts made to defraud the Government of an estimated £1.7bn through organised criminal attacks on the Universal Credit system.

The Department was able to intervene on around 133,000 linked fraudulent claims and prevent the vast majority from being paid. Some claims received an advance or progressed to payment, but were subsequently detected and payments stopped immediately, with less than £50 million paid out in total.

These claims used hijacked identities, but the identities were not stolen from the Department. Of the attempted fraudulent claims only a very small minority used the identities of existing benefit claimants. Where existing claims have been affected, the Department has reinstated the original claim.

All figures used in this response are correct as of 20 November 2020.

As at 8 December 2020, the total number of suspected cases of Universal Credit identity hijack referred to the Stolen Identity Team since 24 June 2020 was 5,894.

The vast majority of benefit expenditure is paid correctly, with front line staff working hard to prevent incorrect and fraudulent payments. We are constantly improving our processes and continue to use data to identify fraud and better target our investigations.

The Department continues to take fraud seriously, and will continue to challenge people who seek to abuse the system, employing the full range of penalties at its disposal.

The Department delivers regular communications about Access to Work support using a variety of high reach channels including social media, proactive press releases explaining the support available and how to apply via Gov.uk. Activity also includes working with a variety of organisations to increase awareness of Access to Work support among disabled employees, including the Disability Confident network of more than 19.000 employers, and regular stakeholder communications to encourage them to promote Access to Work to their clients. Remploy and Ingeus deliver Access to Work Mental Health Support Service (MHSS) on the Department’s behalf. The Department works with those providers to support activity to promote their Access to Work Mental Health Support Services externally using their communications channels to reach customers experiencing mental health issues or conditions within the workplace. All promotional activity delivered by Access to Work MHSS providers has to be approved by the Department.

The Department also targets information about Access to Work at the point of need where it can have maximum impact, for example when someone is offered a job, or develops a health condition that impacts their work. This means using key touch points with disabled people, including employers, Jobcentre work coaches, Disability Employment Advisers and partners who engage directly with disabled people.

This approach has been highly effective as Access to Work is supporting thousands more people with disabilities and health conditions than ever before. In the most recent official statistics published in September 2020, Access to Work funded tailored and flexible support for 43,000 people in 2019/20, a 20% increase on the previous year, demonstrating the Department’s approach to promoting Access to Work continues to be highly effective. Access to Work support has also led to increased take up among underrepresented groups including those with Mental Health conditions, with 8,710 successful applications in 2019/20, almost double the number compared to the previous year and the highest ever.

The increased consumption and reach of digital channels, in particular social media, and the Department’s extensive reach with employers and stakeholder organisations means that key audiences can be reached in a much more cost-effective way than previously. However, to ensure that Access to Work information reaches as many people as possible, the Department is planning to supplement this already extensive promotion with paid advertising from January 2021. Final proposals are currently being worked on for the paid advertising campaign and detailed media planning will determine final spend, therefore at this stage we are unable to confirm the final spend estimate.

The Department delivers regular communications about Access to Work support using a variety of high reach channels including social media, proactive press releases explaining the support available and how to apply via Gov.uk. Activity also includes working with a variety of organisations to increase awareness of Access to Work support among disabled employees, including the Disability Confident network of more than 19.000 employers, and regular stakeholder communications to encourage them to promote Access to Work to their clients. Remploy and Ingeus deliver Access to Work Mental Health Support Service (MHSS) on the Department’s behalf. The Department works with those providers to support activity to promote their Access to Work Mental Health Support Services externally using their communications channels to reach customers experiencing mental health issues or conditions within the workplace. All promotional activity delivered by Access to Work MHSS providers has to be approved by the Department.

The Department also targets information about Access to Work at the point of need where it can have maximum impact, for example when someone is offered a job, or develops a health condition that impacts their work. This means using key touch points with disabled people, including employers, Jobcentre work coaches, Disability Employment Advisers and partners who engage directly with disabled people.

This approach has been highly effective as Access to Work is supporting thousands more people with disabilities and health conditions than ever before. In the most recent official statistics published in September 2020, Access to Work funded tailored and flexible support for 43,000 people in 2019/20, a 20% increase on the previous year, demonstrating the Department’s approach to promoting Access to Work continues to be highly effective. Access to Work support has also led to increased take up among underrepresented groups including those with Mental Health conditions, with 8,710 successful applications in 2019/20, almost double the number compared to the previous year and the highest ever.

The increased consumption and reach of digital channels, in particular social media, and the Department’s extensive reach with employers and stakeholder organisations means that key audiences can be reached in a much more cost-effective way than previously. However, to ensure that Access to Work information reaches as many people as possible, the Department is planning to supplement this already extensive promotion with paid advertising from January 2021. Final proposals are currently being worked on for the paid advertising campaign and detailed media planning will determine final spend, therefore at this stage we are unable to confirm the final spend estimate.

The Department delivers regular communications about Access to Work support using a variety of high reach channels including social media, proactive press releases explaining the support available and how to apply via Gov.uk. Activity also includes working with a variety of organisations to increase awareness of Access to Work support among disabled employees, including the Disability Confident network of more than 19.000 employers, and regular stakeholder communications to encourage them to promote Access to Work to their clients. Remploy and Ingeus deliver Access to Work Mental Health Support Service (MHSS) on the Department’s behalf. The Department works with those providers to support activity to promote their Access to Work Mental Health Support Services externally using their communications channels to reach customers experiencing mental health issues or conditions within the workplace. All promotional activity delivered by Access to Work MHSS providers has to be approved by the Department.

The Department also targets information about Access to Work at the point of need where it can have maximum impact, for example when someone is offered a job, or develops a health condition that impacts their work. This means using key touch points with disabled people, including employers, Jobcentre work coaches, Disability Employment Advisers and partners who engage directly with disabled people.

This approach has been highly effective as Access to Work is supporting thousands more people with disabilities and health conditions than ever before. In the most recent official statistics published in September 2020, Access to Work funded tailored and flexible support for 43,000 people in 2019/20, a 20% increase on the previous year, demonstrating the Department’s approach to promoting Access to Work continues to be highly effective. Access to Work support has also led to increased take up among underrepresented groups including those with Mental Health conditions, with 8,710 successful applications in 2019/20, almost double the number compared to the previous year and the highest ever.

The increased consumption and reach of digital channels, in particular social media, and the Department’s extensive reach with employers and stakeholder organisations means that key audiences can be reached in a much more cost-effective way than previously. However, to ensure that Access to Work information reaches as many people as possible, the Department is planning to supplement this already extensive promotion with paid advertising from January 2021. Final proposals are currently being worked on for the paid advertising campaign and detailed media planning will determine final spend, therefore at this stage we are unable to confirm the final spend estimate.

The department has met with representatives for the self-employed, such as the Federation of Small businesses (FSB) and Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) to discuss the impact of covid-19 on independent businesses and self-employed people and the support available. We have also met with representatives from organisations including Pinewood Studios and ScreenSkills to discuss employment opportunities in the arts sector.

For those who can’t work or suffer a loss of earnings due to the pandemic the government announced an unprecedented package of measures to protect millions of people’s jobs and incomes, including the temporary relaxation of the Minimum Income Floor (MIF) for all self-employed UC claimants affected by covid-19, for the duration of the outbreak.

This means a drop in earnings due to sickness or self-isolation or as a result of the economic impact of the outbreak is reflected in claimants’ awards. It ensures that the self-employed are supported by the benefit system so that they can follow Public Health England guidance on social distancing and self-isolation.

The frequency of interventions that Universal Credit 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. Work Coaches are not routinely undertaking Work Search Reviews with claimants who have declared themselves as Self-Employed; but are instead available to support them in seeking alternative work/careers if they require it.

Our £170 million Covid Winter Grant Scheme will enable local authorities to support children and vulnerable households this winter with food and key utilities.

We are in regular discussion with Local Authorities about how the Covid Winter Support Grant should be delivered. Detailed guidance, including on support for those with No Recourse to Public Funds, was published on gov.uk on 24 November:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-winter-grant-scheme

The department has met with representatives for the self-employed, such as the Federation of Small businesses (FSB) and Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) to discuss the impact of covid-19 on independent businesses and self-employed people and the support available. We have also met with representatives from organisations including Pinewood Studios and ScreenSkills to discuss employment opportunities in the arts sector.

For those who can’t work or suffer a loss of earnings due to the pandemic the government announced an unprecedented package of measures to protect millions of people’s jobs and incomes, including the temporary relaxation of the Minimum Income Floor (MIF) for all self-employed UC claimants affected by covid-19, for the duration of the outbreak.

This means a drop in earnings due to sickness or self-isolation or as a result of the economic impact of the outbreak is reflected in claimants’ awards. It ensures that the self-employed are supported by the benefit system so that they can follow Public Health England guidance on social distancing and self-isolation.

The eligibility rules relating to immigration status have not changed. Local authorities can and do use their judgement in assessing what support they may lawfully give those who are ineligible for public funds or housing support, on an individual basis taking into account their specific needs and circumstances. This includes providing basic safety net support if it is established that there is a genuine care need that does not arise solely from destitution; for example, where there are community care needs, migrants with serious health problems, or family cases where the wellbeing of a child is in question.

The Government introduced a package of temporary welfare measures worth around £9.3 billion this year to help with the financial consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. This included the £20 weekly increase to the Universal Credit Standard Allowance rates as a temporary measure for the 20/21 tax year. There are no plans to extend this to legacy benefits.

The Government will update Parliament accordingly on any future decisions on benefit spending.

As previously advised to the Rt Hon Stephen Timms on the 10 September 2020, during the Covid-19 period, all assessments are currently being progressed on the basis of the paper based evidence alone or that evidence together with a telephone assessment to ensure decisions on Personal Independence Payment can be made without delay.

The health and safety of our claimants and our staff are our key priority. Face to face assessments for health and disability benefits remain suspended at present; this is being kept under review in line with the latest public health guidance.

17,215 claimants are currently having deductions made from their State Pension in respect of benefit overpayments or repayment of outstanding Social Fund loans. The figure excludes accounts managed by the Department for Communities.

Regulations allow a number of deductions and adjustments to be made from State Pension. There are also limits on the amount that can be taken. Deductions taken to repay claimant debts owed to Government include those in respect of benefit overpayments and civil and administrative penalties.

All such debts are first notified to the customer in writing; notifications also include information on what action can be taken by the customer if they wish to dispute the amount stated as owing. A further notification is issued before any deductions from State Pension commence.

Anyone unable to afford the rate of recovery proposed is encouraged to contact DWP so an affordable rate of repayment can be negotiated.

As a result of action by this Government, the UK is the first major economy to put TCFD into statute for pension schemes - leading the way on this issue, having already legislated for net zero by 2050 and introduced ESG legislation through 2018 amendments to the Occupational Pension Schemes (Investment) Regulations.

As part of the Green Finance Strategy, the Government has established a working group of Government Departments and regulators that meets monthly to take forward implementation of the recommendations of the Task Force on TCFD. This board is important in fostering co-ordination and consultation given the overlaps and interdependencies within the UK financial services sector.

For DWP, the Financial Conduct Authority is particularly relevant to DWP’s recent proposals on TCFD for occupational pension schemes, given the relationship between trustees and their asset managers.

On 2 October, we published a letter exchange with the FCA’s Interim Chief Executive Chris Woolard on this topic in which he committed to work closely with the Department when developing proposals.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/financial-conduct-authoritys-plans-for-climate-related-financial-disclosures

This demonstrates the importance of ongoing bilateral engagement in supporting the co-ordination of any proposals for TCFD requirements.

The Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) publishes Pension Wise usage data as part of their annual evaluation report which details not only volumes but satisfaction with the service.

Figures can fluctuate monthly, for example due to seasonality and the numbers of people reaching aged 50, who are eligible for the Pension Wise service. The annual reporting allows for wider analysis and commentary against the figures rather than that previously published month by month.

MaPS continually reviews its reporting processes across its customer facing brands and we work very closely with MaPS to analyse their services, along with seeking any opportunities to improve.

In 2018, Government made amendments to the Occupational Pension Schemes (Investment) Regulations 2005 which required trustees to state their policy on environmental, social and governance considerations in their investment strategy, typically including consideration of the diversity of the firms in which they invest. It also supports greater diversity in trustee board representation.

The primary focus on pensions schemes is ensuring that trustees in all occupational pension schemes meet standards of honesty, integrity and knowledge appropriate to their role.

The Pensions Regulator is already looking at the issue of trustee board diversity across all schemes and began work on this in Spring 2020. The proposed industry working group will bring together the wealth of material and experience that is available to help pension schemes improve the diversity of their boards.

Regulations allow a number of deductions and adjustments to be made from State Pension. There are also limits on the amount that can be taken. Deductions taken to repay claimant debts owed to Government include those in respect of benefit overpayments and civil and administrative penalties.

All such debts are first notified to the customer in writing; notifications also include information on what action can be taken by the customer if they wish to dispute the amount stated as owing. A further notification is issued before any deductions from State Pension commence.

Anyone unable to afford the rate of recovery proposed is encouraged to contact DWP so an affordable rate of repayment can be negotiated.

Regulations allow a number of deductions and adjustments to be made from State Pension. There are also limits on the amount that can be taken. Deductions taken to repay claimant debts owed to Government include those in respect of benefit overpayments and civil and administrative penalties.

All such debts are first notified to the customer in writing; notifications also include information on what action can be taken by the customer if they wish to dispute the amount stated as owing. A further notification is issued before any deductions from State Pension commence.

Anyone unable to afford the rate of recovery proposed is encouraged to contact DWP so an affordable rate of repayment can be negotiated.

The Information requested on the minimum income floor is not available.

In August 2020, the number of self-employed people claiming Universal Credit and required to report self-employed income, stood at 746,000.

This represented 13.4% of all people claiming Universal Credit.

Notes:

Volumes are rounded to the nearest thousand

The Pensions Dashboards Programme consulted on what additional information dashboards could initially show in its summer Call for Input on data. This included the potential to signpost users to schemes’ Statement of Investment Principles and Implementation documents, which include information on schemes’ environmental, social and governance (ESG) policies and work.

A summary of the responses to the Call for Input will shortly be published alongside the Programme’s next Progress Update Report, on its website – www.pensionsdashboardsprogramme.org.uk.

The Government will work with the Pensions Dashboard Programme to assess and review their recommendations as to the extent of content on the dashboard. The initial dashboard will be simple in design bit it is intended that it will have much more information as it develops.

The available information on the number of households on Universal Credit with Housing Entitlement, by Tenure and Family Type is published and the latest statistics to May 2020 can be found at:

https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/.

Guidance on how to extract the information required can be found at:

https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started.html

The available information on the number of households of state pension age receiving Housing Benefit is published and the latest statistics to May 2020 can be found at:

https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/.

Guidance on how to extract the information required can be found at:

https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started.html

I can confirm the Department’s timetable for laying legislation in response to the Court of Appeal judgment made on 22 June in the case of Johnson, Woods, Barrett and Stewart, which concerned claimants who receive two calendar monthly payments of earnings in one Universal Credit assessment period.

I am intending to make today and lay tomorrow, secondary legislation that will allow us to reallocate a payment of earnings reported via the Real Time Information service to a different Universal Credit assessment period, either because it was reported in the wrong assessment period or (in the case of calendar monthly paid employees) it is necessary to maintain a regular payment cycle. This will mean that claimants who are paid calendar monthly will therefore have one salary payment taken into account in each assessment period. It also means that certain claimants will also benefit from any applicable work allowance.

The Court of Appeal ruled that the way the Department calculated Universal Credit awards involving earnings in an assessment period was a correct application of the regulations, but that not considering the impact on the specific cases of those paid calendar monthly who are affected a ‘a non-banking day salary shift’ was irrational. The legislation we are making today and laying tomorrow, revises those arrangements and provides a remedy that satisfies the Court of Appeal Judgment in the case of Johnson and Others. It will mean that in future for cases affected by this issue, monthly earnings will be reallocated to another assessment period, which means that only one set of earnings will be taken into account rather than two, and certain claimants will be able to benefit from any applicable work allowance.

In its deliberations, the Court of Appeal recognised the complexity of the issue which the Department is working to resolve for claimants as soon as possible.

We intend to bring forward legislation to address the issues raised by the Court of Appeal, so that in future for cases affected by this issue monthly earnings can be reallocated to another assessment period, which means that only one set of earnings should be taken into account rather than two.

The Department publishes Universal Credit statistics on the total number of households in receipt of limited capability work entitlement – either the limited capability for work element, or the limited capability for work and work related activity element. This information is available via Stat-Xplore and can be found at: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/

Guidance on for users can be found at:

https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started.html

Statistics on outcomes of Work Capability Assessments for Universal Credit are intended for publication in the near future as Official Statistics.

In relation to Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) and Personal Independence Payment (PIP), the information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

In relation to PIP, it is important that all of our claimants are able to access our services and that they do not face obstacles in applying and communicating with the Department and its providers. We have a variety of reasonable adjustments to make the claims process and communications easier for some of our most vulnerable customers and we offer a range of services to help claimants who have accessibility needs.

In relation to ESA, we offer a number of different ways for customers to make the claims that would negate the need of a customer needing a reasonable adjustment. They can make a claim online, by telephone or on a paper based form. The Alternative Format team can arrange for reasonable adjustments to be applied such as correspondence in braille.

Universal Credit (UC) claimants who are unable to participate in a work capability assessment (WCA) by telephone will continue to receive their appropriate UC Standard Allowance, plus any additions, for example, housing costs and children, during the period they are waiting for the outcome decision of a face-to-face WCA.

Statistics on Employment and Support Allowance Work Capability Assessment (WCA) outcomes are published quarterly. The latest figures covering the outcome of completed initial and repeat WCAs including appeals decisions and mandatory reconsiderations, can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/employment-and-support-allowance-outcomes-of-work-capability-assessment

Additional breakdowns of the ESA WCA figures can be found at:

https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/

Guidance for users is available at:

https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started.html

The information requested for Universal Credit is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

The information requested is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Paper based assessments of entitlement to Disability Living Allowance have always been offered in preference to other forms of assessment and will continue as normal.

Paper based assessments have also always been a feature of Personal Independence Payment (PIP). Face-to-face assessment are currently suspended and are being kept under review. We will be considering the next steps for PIP assessments and how we could re-introduce face-to-face assessments when it is safe and operationally feasible to do so, our key priority being the health and safety of our claimants and our staff.

Paper based reviews have always been a feature of Work Capability Assessments. Wherever possible, if there is sufficient evidence available, our Assessment Provider will make a recommendation based on a paper-based review. If this is not possible, our provider will currently look to offer a telephone assessment, where appropriate.

We remain fully committed to making continuous improvements to the support we provide to people with health conditions and disabilities, and are evaluating the changes temporarily introduced to inform the approach taken to conducting assessments in the future.

We are considering the next steps for assessments when public health advice allows face to face assessments to be re-introduced. We are using a range of information to inform these decisions, including research with PIP and ESA/UC claimants about their experiences of telephone assessments, which will take place over the Summer. Further discussions with stakeholders will also be welcomed to ensure we take a range of views into consideration.

The information requested can only be provided at a disproportionate cost.

The information requested can only be provided at a disproportionate cost.

The government has made available up to an extra £14.2 million for the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to support the provision of advice and regulatory activities. HSE has, to date, applied for and received £4m of this to establish an inbound COVID-19 enquiry service and to undertake proactive compliance spot checks in relation to business compliance with COVID-19 requirements.

The Department for Work and Pensions makes regular assessments on the readiness of projects under its EU Transition Programme. Regardless of the circumstances, the Health and Safety Executive will be ready with an independent regulatory regime for the approval and use of chemicals for the end of the transition period on 31 December 2020.

Health and Safety Executive did not make any redundancies to personal protective equipment specialists within their Science Division in 2019.

The table below shows the number of full-time equivalent Band 3 regulatory inspectors employed by the Health and Safety Executive by region as at 30^th June 2020:

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) uses a range of strategies, including regulatory activities, policy and research; which contribute to and maintain Great Britain’s world class safety record. This blend of approaches has been used in dealing with Covid-19 risks (including social distancing) in the workplace through, for example; inspections, investigations of workplace concerns, provision of advice (with over 3 million Covid-19 webpage views), influencing duty holders through third parties such as the Construction Leadership Council and trade bodies and supply chain work. In addition, HSE has utilised its research work and proactive communications. A measure of the success that HSE’s contribution has made can be seen in the very high levels of compliance with Covid-19 guidance that HSE is seeing in the workplace. HSE has continually reviewed its approach, during the Covid-19 outbreak, to ensure it can respond quickly and efficiently as needed.

DWP has performed well in reducing its carbon emissions to date. DWP recently submitted its annual Greening Government Commitments (GGC) return for 2019/20. Whilst we await final confirmation from DEFRA, our analysis shows that we have exceeded our carbon targets for 2019/20.

COVID-19 has delayed confirmation by DEFRA of the 2025 GGC targets. When these targets are received our view forward will be clearer, however in the meantime we are developing the Estates Carbon Management Plan, which makes reference to the Government’s Clean Growth Strategy, as well as the UK’s commitment to Net Zero Carbon by 2050 and the UKGBC’s Net Zero Carbon Framework. The plan includes recommendations to:

- Improve the operational performance of our estate;

- Invest in our estate to improve energy efficiency;

- Ensure we lease highly energy efficient buildings;

- Ensure that energy efficiency standards are adhered to when we refurbish or fit out buildings.

The Department is committed to supporting the Ultra-Low Emission Vehicle (ULEV) targets of 25% of its fleet to be electric vehicles (EV) by 2022 and 100% by 2030. Prior to COVID-19, plans were in place to start implementation this year. We are now reviewing the impact of COVID-19 on our plans.

We have made changes so that Statutory Sick Pay and Employment and Support Allowance are payable to people who are self-isolating, including those who are shielding, and who satisfy the conditions of entitlement. We have removed the waiting days so these are paid from day one. Households may also be eligible for Universal Credit.

We have made changes so that Statutory Sick Pay and Employment and Support Allowance are payable to people who are self-isolating, including those who are shielding, and who satisfy the conditions of entitlement. We have removed the waiting days so these are paid from day one. Households may also be eligible for Universal Credit.

Those who are not already in receipt of benefits may be able to claim Universal Credit and/or new style Employment and Support Allowance, depending on their personal circumstances, to support them when they are unable to work.

Where only one member of a couple is eligible for UC (for example the other adult in the couple is subject to immigration control) then that ineligible person’s circumstances will not be brought to bear in calculating how much the maximum amount of UC payable is. Their capital, income and earnings will, however, be taken into account in adjusting the actual UC award. The term ‘assessment unit’ is used to capture both members of a couple where one adult is not eligible for UC.

Non-UK nationals and family members who are issued with a residence permit with a NRPF condition are not eligible to access taxpayer-funded benefits such as Universal Credit, Child Benefit or housing assistance for the duration of their leave. Contributions-based benefits and the State Pension are not classed as public funds. DWP has no powers to award taxpayer-funded benefits to an individual whose Home Office immigration status specifies no recourse to public funds.

DWP decision makers undertake rigorous training and are expected to offer a high standard of support to help people identify the evidence they need to provide as part of their application for income-based benefits.

The Secretary of State has complied with her duties under the Equality Act 2010 in respect of the recent policy changes and the potential impacts of the interaction with other policies. There is no requirement to record this in the form of an equality impact assessment and therefore, we do not intend to publish the analysis.

We made the decision to temporarily suspend the requirement for face-to-face Jobcentre Plus appointments for all claimants in Universal Credit, New Style Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) and Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), old-style JSA and ESA, and Income Support.

Arrangements after the 30th June will be communicated in due course.

The Secretary of State has complied with her duties under the Equality Act 2010 in respect of the recent policy changes.

Easements are in place for claimants who are unable to return to Great Britain as a result of travel restrictions. Guidance has been issued to Local Authority staff advising them to keep Housing Benefit claims open where the claimant has informed them that they were temporarily unable to return home due to Covid-19 travel related restrictions.

The requested information is not readily available and the cost of undertaking such analysis would exceed the disproportionate cost threshold of a parliamentary question.

A key principle is that Universal Credit (UC) should only go to people who do not have assets available to meet their basic needs. While it is important to protect the incentive to save for claimants on low earnings, people with substantial capital must take responsibility for their own support. This is to ensure that we can maintain our focus on getting money to citizens who need it and safeguarding the most vulnerable.

If capital exceeds £16,000 there will be no entitlement to UC, unless the capital can be disregarded, for example personal injury compensation payments. Capital above £6,000 will reduce the amount of UC paid by £4.35 per month for every £250 of capital or part thereof.

If someone has money in their account that is to be used for business purposes, for example for paying tax, it will not be counted towards their capital, but they may be asked to prove that the money is for business purposes. People should make clear in their application the savings that are business assets, and note it in their online journal.