Stephen Timms Portrait

Stephen Timms

Labour - East Ham

First elected: 9th June 1994


Offenders (Day of Release from Detention) Bill
1st Feb 2023 - 8th Feb 2023
Motor Vehicles (Compulsory Insurance) Bill
15th Dec 2021 - 5th Jan 2022
Committee on the Future Relationship with the European Union
11th Sep 2017 - 6th Nov 2019
Committee on Exiting the European Union
11th Sep 2017 - 6th Nov 2019
Committee on the Future Relationship with the European Union
31st Oct 2016 - 3rd May 2017
Committee on Exiting the European Union
31st Oct 2016 - 3rd May 2017
Education, Skills and the Economy Sub-Committee
1st Feb 2016 - 31st Oct 2016
Education Committee
1st Feb 2016 - 31st Oct 2016
Shadow Minister (Work and Pensions)
8th Oct 2010 - 18th Sep 2015
Shadow Minister (Digital Britain)
12th May 2010 - 8th Oct 2010
Shadow Financial Secretary
12th May 2010 - 8th Oct 2010
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Business, Innovation and Skills) (Digital Britain) (also HM Treasury)
6th Aug 2009 - 6th May 2010
Financial Secretary (HM Treasury) (also in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills)
5th Oct 2008 - 6th May 2010
Tax Law Rewrite Bills (Joint Committee)
12th Jan 2009 - 6th May 2010
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions) (Employment and Welfare Reform)
25th Jan 2008 - 5th Oct 2008
Minister of State (Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform) (Competitiveness)
2nd Jul 2007 - 25th Jan 2008
Chief Secretary to the Treasury
5th May 2006 - 28th Jun 2007
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
10th May 2005 - 5th May 2006
Public Accounts Committee
18th Oct 2004 - 12th Jul 2005
Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
30th Sep 2004 - 10th May 2005
Minister of State (e-Commerce & Competitiveness)
29th May 2002 - 9th Sep 2004
Minister of State (Education and Skills) (Schools)
11th Jun 2001 - 28th May 2002
Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
29th Jul 1999 - 7th Jun 2001
Public Accounts Committee
3rd Nov 1999 - 11th May 2001
Minister of State (Department of Social Security)
1st Jan 1999 - 29th Jul 1999
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Social Security)
28th Jul 1998 - 30th Dec 1998
Treasury Committee
15th Jan 1996 - 21st Mar 1997
Consolidation etc. Bills (Joint Committee)
27th Jun 1994 - 21st Mar 1997


Department Event
Monday 18th December 2023
14:30
Department for Work and Pensions
Oral questions - Main Chamber
18 Dec 2023, 2:30 p.m.
Work and Pensions (including Topical Questions)
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Note: This event involves a Department with which this person is linked, and does not guarantee their actual attendance.
Division Votes
Monday 4th December 2023
Victims and Prisoners Bill
voted Aye - in line with the party majority
One of 162 Labour Aye votes vs 0 Labour No votes
Tally: Ayes - 246 Noes - 242
Speeches
Monday 4th December 2023
Draft Data Protection (Fundamental Rights and Freedoms) (Amendment) Regulations 2023
My hon. Friend referred a moment ago to the enormous new power that the Government put into their legislation last …
Written Answers
Wednesday 6th December 2023
Asylum: Temporary Accommodation
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of complaints concerning asylum accommodation …
Early Day Motions
Monday 20th November 2023
125th anniversary of the University of East London
That this House congratulates the University of East London on its 125th anniversary; recognises its invaluable contribution to social justice …
Bills
None available
MP Financial Interests
Monday 7th August 2023
3. Gifts, benefits and hospitality from UK sources
Name of donor: Julius Baer International Ltd
Address of donor: 2-23 Greville Street, London EC1N 8SS
Amount of donation or …
EDM signed
Monday 27th November 2023
Cost of applying for indefinite leave under the bereaved partner concession
That this House supports the Refugee and Migrant Forum of Essex and London’s call for a fee waiver to be …
Supported Legislation
Tuesday 29th November 2022
National Eye Health Strategy Bill 2022-23
A Bill to require the Secretary of State to publish a national eye health strategy for England; and to require …

Division Voting information

During the current Parliamentary Session, Stephen Timms has voted in 723 divisions, and never against the majority of their Party.
View All Stephen Timms Division Votes

Debates during the 2019 Parliament

Speeches made during Parliamentary debates are recorded in Hansard. For ease of browsing we have grouped debates into individual, departmental and legislative categories.

Sparring Partners
Guy Opperman (Conservative)
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
(38 debate interactions)
Thérèse Coffey (Conservative)
(29 debate interactions)
Rishi Sunak (Conservative)
Prime Minister, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service, and Minister for the Union
(24 debate interactions)
View All Sparring Partners
Department Debates
Department for Work and Pensions
(188 debate contributions)
HM Treasury
(57 debate contributions)
Home Office
(46 debate contributions)
View All Department Debates
Legislation Debates
Pension Schemes Act 2021
(9,744 words contributed)
Domestic Abuse Bill 2019-21
(1,451 words contributed)
View All Legislation Debates
View all Stephen Timms's debates

East Ham Petitions

e-Petitions are administered by Parliament and allow members of the public to express support for a particular issue.

If an e-petition reaches 10,000 signatures the Government will issue a written response.

If an e-petition reaches 100,000 signatures the petition becomes eligible for a Parliamentary debate (usually Monday 4.30pm in Westminster Hall).

Petitions with highest East Ham signature proportion
Petition Debates Contributed

People with a lifelong illness should not be subject to regular reviews for eligibility for the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) or Employment and Support Allowance (ESA). People suffering lifelong conditions should not have to prove they are still ill every couple of years.

The Government should remove the requirement for people claiming disability benefits, such as the Personal Independence Payment (PIP), to have to go through an assessment process. Claims should be based solely on evidence from medical professionals, such as a letter from a GP or consultant.

We want the Government to conduct a full review of the PIP process. This should look at DWP policy and the performance of ATOS and Capita, which conduct the health assessments for applicants. We believe the current process is inherently unethical and biased, and needs a complete overhaul.

The Government should bring forward legislation to allow assisted dying for adults who are terminally ill and have mental capacity. It should be permitted subject to strict upfront safeguards, assessed by two doctors independently, and self-administered by the dying person.

Government should support vulnerable children & #endchildfoodpoverty by implementing 3 recommendations from the National Food Strategy to expand access to Free School Meals, provide meals & activities during holidays to stop holiday hunger & increase the value of and expand the Healthy Start scheme


Latest EDMs signed by Stephen Timms

22nd November 2023
Stephen Timms signed this EDM as a sponsor on Monday 27th November 2023

Cost of applying for indefinite leave under the bereaved partner concession

Tabled by: Stuart C McDonald (Scottish National Party - Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East)
That this House supports the Refugee and Migrant Forum of Essex and London’s call for a fee waiver to be introduced for grieving widows applying for indefinite leave to remain under the bereaved partner concession; notes that the death of a loved one brings multiple emotional, practical and financial costs; …
17 signatures
(Most recent: 6 Dec 2023)
Signatures by party:
Scottish National Party: 8
Labour: 5
Plaid Cymru: 3
Social Democratic & Labour Party: 1
Democratic Unionist Party: 1
7th November 2023
Stephen Timms signed this EDM on Monday 20th November 2023

51st anniversary of the expulsion of Asians from Uganda

Tabled by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
That this House notes that it has been 51 years since the expiry of the deadline set by President Idi Amin ordering the expulsion of more than 70,000 Asians from Uganda against a backdrop of rising anti-Indian sentiment, violence and killings in the country; further notes that 28,606 came to …
9 signatures
(Most recent: 20 Nov 2023)
Signatures by party:
Plaid Cymru: 3
Conservative: 2
Labour: 2
Democratic Unionist Party: 1
Independent: 1
View All Stephen Timms's signed Early Day Motions

Commons initiatives

These initiatives were driven by Stephen Timms, and are more likely to reflect personal policy preferences.

MPs who are act as Ministers or Shadow Ministers are generally restricted from performing Commons initiatives other than Urgent Questions.


1 Urgent Question tabled by Stephen Timms

3 Adjournment Debates led by Stephen Timms

Thursday 15th July 2021
Thursday 11th February 2021

Stephen Timms has not introduced any legislation before Parliament


914 Written Questions in the current parliament

(View all written questions)
Written Questions can be tabled by MPs and Lords to request specific information information on the work, policy and activities of a Government Department
4 Other Department Questions
12th Jul 2022
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what assessment she has made of the extent to which large employers refer to socioeconomic background data of applicants to inform their recruitment and progression policies.

This Government believes the circumstances of one's birth should not determine life outcomes. The Social Mobility Commission (SMC), an independent body sponsored by the Equality Hub in the Cabinet Office, works to achieve this aim.

The SMC published research in June 2020 that examined how people from disadvantaged backgrounds have fared within the apprenticeship system. In keeping with the findings from this research, the SMC's employer engagement team produced a practical toolkit for employers, training providers and apprenticeship practitioners to increase the socio-economic diversity of apprenticeship starts.

This includes guidance on how employers can collect the socio-economic background data of their applicants in order to understand where barriers may exist, which interventions can support socio-economic inclusion and how to monitor progress.

The SMC's employer engagement team works with employers of varying size across multiple sectors to create more inclusive and diverse socio-economic workforces, drawing on research and engagement with employers and industry trade bodies to develop practical guidance for employers.

Amanda Solloway
Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
12th Jul 2022
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, whether her Department has commissioned research on the socioeconomic background data for (a) work experience schemes, (b) apprenticeships and (c) entry-level applicants held by large employers.

This Government believes the circumstances of one's birth should not determine life outcomes. The Social Mobility Commission (SMC), an independent body sponsored by the Equality Hub in the Cabinet Office, works to achieve this aim.

The SMC published research in June 2020 that examined how people from disadvantaged backgrounds have fared within the apprenticeship system. In keeping with the findings from this research, the SMC's employer engagement team produced a practical toolkit for employers, training providers and apprenticeship practitioners to increase the socio-economic diversity of apprenticeship starts.

This includes guidance on how employers can collect the socio-economic background data of their applicants in order to understand where barriers may exist, which interventions can support socio-economic inclusion and how to monitor progress.

The SMC's employer engagement team works with employers of varying size across multiple sectors to create more inclusive and diverse socio-economic workforces, drawing on research and engagement with employers and industry trade bodies to develop practical guidance for employers.

Amanda Solloway
Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
14th Mar 2022
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what progress she has made in identifying funding to extend the time limits for Equality Act claims from three to six months; and if he will make a statement.

The Government continues to look closely at extending the time limit for bringing Equality Act 2010 based cases to employment tribunal.

This decision, however, must take account of wider impacts across the justice system. We recognise that the pandemic has put additional pressure on the entire courts and tribunal service, particularly the employment tribunal, and that restoring its existing levels of service needs to be the priority before additional loading is added.

While the time limit for bringing an Equality Act based claim to employment tribunal remains at three months, tribunals have the discretion to provide extensions where they consider it ‘just and equitable’ to do so.

Kemi Badenoch
President of the Board of Trade
14th Jul 2021
What plans he has to identify potential sources of finance to tackle climate-related loss and damage ahead of COP26.

I am taking a pragmatic approach to ensure that we increase overall finance moving to climate action, from both the public and private sector. Obviously, the 100 billion dollars a year promised by developed countries to support developing nations must be delivered and we also need to scale up finance for adaptation.

Alok Sharma
COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
11th Nov 2022
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he plans to convene a Government taskforce to increase the number of ethnic minority-led businesses in public procurement.

UK public procurement policy is to award contracts on the basis of value for money, which means the optimum combination of cost and quality over the lifetime of the project. Public sector procurers are required to assess value for money from the perspective of the contracting authority, using criteria linked to the subject matter of the contract, including compliance with the published specification.

A Social Value model launched on 1 January 2021 (PPN 06/20), which is applicable to central Government departments, requires contracts to be assessed on a range of priority outcomes, where it is relevant and proportionate to do so, including improving accessibility to government contracts by a range of types of organisations, including minority ethnic owned businesses. This new approach will mean more opportunities for SMEs and social enterprises to win Government contracts by demonstrating the full extent of the value they would generate

As we look towards the future, we now have an opportunity to develop and implement a new procurement regime. The Procurement Bill contains proposals to further simplify the procurement process and make it easier for all companies to bid. The changes that are proposed are designed to benefit businesses of all sizes throughout the whole economy, including ethnic minority businesses; this includes measures that will reduce barriers to entry including establishing a single transparency platform so that bidders only have to submit their core credentials once, and making reforms to procurement frameworks so that suppliers are not locked out.

11th Nov 2022
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he has made an assessment of the potential barriers to minority ethnic owned businesses accessing Government contracts.

UK public procurement policy is to award contracts on the basis of value for money, which means the optimum combination of cost and quality over the lifetime of the project. Public sector procurers are required to assess value for money from the perspective of the contracting authority, using criteria linked to the subject matter of the contract, including compliance with the published specification.

A Social Value model launched on 1 January 2021 (PPN 06/20), which is applicable to central Government departments, requires contracts to be assessed on a range of priority outcomes, where it is relevant and proportionate to do so, including improving accessibility to government contracts by a range of types of organisations, including minority ethnic owned businesses. This new approach will mean more opportunities for SMEs and social enterprises to win Government contracts by demonstrating the full extent of the value they would generate

As we look towards the future, we now have an opportunity to develop and implement a new procurement regime. The Procurement Bill contains proposals to further simplify the procurement process and make it easier for all companies to bid. The changes that are proposed are designed to benefit businesses of all sizes throughout the whole economy, including ethnic minority businesses; this includes measures that will reduce barriers to entry including establishing a single transparency platform so that bidders only have to submit their core credentials once, and making reforms to procurement frameworks so that suppliers are not locked out.

10th Oct 2022
To ask the Prime Minister, with reference to the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament Annual Report 2019–2021, published on 10 December 2021, HC 877, whether she plans to update the Memorandum of Understanding between the Prime Minister and the Intelligence and Security Committee.

I refer the Rt Hon. Member to the written statement issued on 10 December 2021 by the previous Prime Minister (UIN HCWS464). The Government remains confident that the current Memorandum of Understanding with the Committee is sufficient to allow for robust oversight of the Agencies and wider Intelligence Community.

21st Jul 2022
To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to the Answer of 20 July 2022 to Question 37423 on Employment and with reference to the Answer to the Question from the Rt hon. Member for Holborn and St Pancras at Prime Minister's Questions on 20 July 2022, Official Report, column 951, whether he plans to correct the record in respect of his statement that there are more people in paid employment than at any time in the history of this country; and if he will make a statement.

I am proud of this Government’s record in protecting jobs and supporting employment across the country. As I leave Office, latest labour market statistics speak to the resilience of the UK economy: I am happy to clarify that we have a record number of employees on payrolls, unemployment close to its lowest point since 1974, and youth unemployment at a record low.

This resilience is, in no small part, thanks to the extraordinary interventions we made during the pandemic to protect over 14.6 million jobs through furlough and our self-employment income support scheme. It is because of these interventions, and the delivery of the fastest vaccine rollout in Europe, that we oversaw the fastest economic growth in the G7 last year.

15th Jul 2022
To ask the Prime Minister, what assessment he has made of the circumstances in which making a Ministerial Correction in Hansard is appropriate.

As I have previously noted, my answer of 23 June 2022 to PQ 18053, and my letter of 26 April 2022 to the Liaison Committee (a copy of which was placed in the Library of the House), clarified my previous answers. Corrections and clarifications can be made in a number of ways.

I note the Procedure Committee is looking into these processes in more depth, and the Government looks forward to engaging with its inquiry.

15th Jul 2022
To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his Answer of 14 July 2022 to Question 33662 on Employment, for what reason he has not corrected the record with a Ministerial Correction in the Official Report in respect of oral contributions on the level of employment in the UK.

As I have previously noted, my answer of 23 June 2022 to PQ 18053, and my letter of 26 April 2022 to the Liaison Committee (a copy of which was placed in the Library of the House), clarified my previous answers. Corrections and clarifications can be made in a number of ways.

I note the Procedure Committee is looking into these processes in more depth, and the Government looks forward to engaging with its inquiry.

11th Jul 2022
To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to the Answer of 23 June 2022 to Question 18053 on total UK employment levels, what plans he has to correct the record, with a Ministerial Correction in the Official Report, in respect of oral contributions of (a) 24 November 2021, Official Report, column 344, (b) 5 January 2022, Official Report, column 11, (c) 5 January 2022, Official Report, column 14, (d) 5 January 2022, Official Report, column 15, (e) 12 January 2022, Official Report, columns 567-8, (f) 19 January 2022, Official Report, column 323, (g) 2 February 2022, Official Report, columns 268-9, (h) 23 February 2022, Official Report, column 314 and (i) 20 April 2022, Official Report, column 155.

My answer of 23 June 2022 to PQ 18053, and my letter of 26 April 2022 to the Liaison Committee (a copy of which was placed in the Library of the House), clarified my previous answers about employment levels in the UK.

5th Jul 2022
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the Procurement Bill on procurement opportunities for ethnic minority business owners.

The Procurement Bill contains proposals to simplify the procurement process and make it easier for all companies to bid rather than specific groups. The changes that are proposed are designed in particular to benefit businesses of all sizes throughout the whole economy, including ethnic minority businesses; this includes measures that will reduce barriers to entry including establishing a single transparency platform so that bidders only have to submit their core credentials once, and making reforms to procurement frameworks so that suppliers are not locked out.

19th Apr 2022
To ask the Prime Minister, with reference to his oral evidence to the Liaison Committee of 30 March 2022 and his acknowledgment that previous assertions that employment is higher than before the covid-19 outbreak had been incorrect, what plans he has to correct the record in relation to assertions in the House of Commons on (a) 24 November 2021, Official Report, column 344, (b) 5 January 2022, Official Report, columns 11, 14 and 15, (c) 12 January 2022, Official Report, column 568, (d) 19 January 2022, Official Report, column 323, (e) 2 February 2022, Official Report, columns 268 to 269 and (f) 23 February 2022, Official Report, column 314.

During my appearance before the Liaison Committee I committed to respond in writing on a number of issues that were raised with me. I will arrange for a copy of the letter to be placed in the House of Commons Library.

24th Jan 2022
To ask the Prime Minister, when he plans to respond to Question 83228, tabled on 29 November 2021 by the right Hon. Member for East Ham, regarding Inequalities in Health Alliance: Correspondence.

I answered the Hon. Member’s question on 2 December. My office has since been informed that a system error with Parliamentary systems meant that it was not published in the Official Record. My reply was as follows: ‘My Office has no record of receiving this letter.’ I have asked my Office to contact the organisation to see if they can re-send the correspondence, and ensure they have the correct address for any future correspondence.

6th Jan 2022
To ask the Prime Minister, with reference to his oral contribution of 5 January 2022, Official Report, column 11, if he will set out the evidential basis for his statement that there are now record numbers of people in work, 420,000 more than there were before the pandemic began.

Looking at the payroll employment measure of people in work, the most recent statistical release shows there were 29.4 million people in work in November 2021 – 424,000 more than in February 2020 and a new record high, compared with the previous high of 29.175 million in October 2021.

(Source: Office for National Statistics, Earnings and employment from Pay As You Earn Real Time Information, UK: December 2021, December 2021).

https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/bulletins/earningsandemploymentfrompayasyouearnrealtimeinformationuk/latest

29th Nov 2021
To ask the Prime Minister, what plans he has to respond to the letter dated 15 September 2021 from the Inequalities in Health Alliance on a cross-Government strategy to tackle health inequality.

I answered the Hon. Member’s question on 2 December. My office has since been informed that a system error with Parliamentary systems meant that it was not published in the Official Record. My reply was as follows: ‘My Office has no record of receiving this letter.’ I have asked my Office to contact the organisation to see if they can re-send the correspondence, and ensure they have the correct address for any future correspondence.

11th May 2021
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the change in the population of London since the beginning of the covid-19 pandemic; and if he will make a statement.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have, therefore, asked the Authority to respond.

Julia Lopez
Minister on Leave (Minister of State)
19th Jun 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether she has plans to ensure that outsourced staff in the public sector receive (a) at least the Living Wage and (b) certainty over hours of work.

All employers, including the public sector, are responsible for paying the correct minimum wage to their staff. The vast majority of responsible employers make sure they get it right.

The Government takes enforcing the minimum wage seriously. We are clear that anyone entitled to be paid the minimum wage should receive it and take robust enforcement action against employers who do not pay their staff correctly. 

The Government is also supporting the Workers (Predictable Terms and Conditions) Bill, which will give qualifying workers the right to request a more predictable working pattern.

Kevin Hollinrake
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
19th Jun 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether she has plans to ensure every public sector employee receives at least the Living Wage.

All employers, including the public sector, are responsible for paying the correct minimum wage to their staff. The vast majority of responsible employers make sure they get it right.

The Government takes enforcing the minimum wage seriously. We are clear that anyone entitled to be paid the minimum wage should receive it and take robust enforcement action against employers who do not pay their staff correctly.

Kevin Hollinrake
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
9th Nov 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of offering repayment matching to households that are unable to afford their energy bills.

The Government understands the challenges that are posed by cost of living pressures that includes energy bills and the impact of debt. However, energy prices have fallen significantly with the price cap more than halving from £4,279 at the start of this year to £1,834 since the start of October.

This coincides with the £900 cost of living payment being provided by the Government across 2023/24, which has increased from the £650 provided the previous year. The Government continues to closely monitor energy prices and will keep support schemes under review.

Amanda Solloway
Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
15th Jun 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what his planned timetable is for consulting on options for a new approach to consumer protection in energy markets after April 2024.

As set out in the Autumn statement, the Government is working with consumer groups and industry to explore the best approach to consumer protection from April 2024, as part of wider retail market reforms.

Amanda Solloway
Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
20th Mar 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will make an estimate of the number of disabled people who were no longer eligible for the Warm Home Discount scheme following changes to eligibility criteria in winter 2022-23.

As households previously applied through their suppliers, who set their own application processes and eligibility criteria and selected successful applicants each year, the Government has not been able to assess how many households are no longer eligible.

Amanda Solloway
Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
13th Mar 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of reversing the changes to Warm Home Discount scheme eligibility that exclude disabled people.

The Warm Home Discount was reformed in England and Wales to maximise the proportion of households in fuel poverty receiving rebates. The Government estimated that 54% of those receiving rebates will be those with a long-term illness or disability, compared to 35% of the general population and 47% of those in fuel poverty having a long-term illness or disability.

Amanda Solloway
Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
9th Nov 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether the Government had discussions on the threats posed by AI-generated child sexual abuse material at the AI Safety Summit of 1 and 2 November 2023.

The UK believes that the global risks posed by frontier AI are increasingly urgent, including risks to online safety. That is why the summit programme included a roundtable discussion on risks from the integration of frontier AI into society.

The Government has already passed legislation to protect children online. The world-leading Online Safety Act contains robust duties for companies to address AI-generated CSEA material. All services will be required to proactively tackle that content, preventing users from encountering it, and removing it immediately if it does appear.

Additionally, existing criminal law, such as the Protection of Children’s Act 1978 captures and criminalises a wide range of behaviours which extend to AI-generated CSEA material.

Saqib Bhatti
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
1st Sep 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the 2014 Digital Inclusion Strategy; and whether she plans to update that strategy.

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology is committed to closing the digital divide and meeting the government’s commitment that nobody should be left behind in the digital age.The 2014 Digital Inclusion Strategy, and the four pillars it sets out, remains as relevant today as it was when published. These principles were further echoed in the Government’s UK Digital Strategy published in 2022, and our vision to enable everyone from across the UK to benefit from all that digital innovation can offer.

The Department has further considered the 2014 Digital Inclusion Strategy following the House of Lords Communications and Digital Committee’s report on digital exclusion and cost of living and will formally respond to that Committee’s recommendations for the publication of a new digital inclusion strategy this month.

18th Apr 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether the term crime in the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill includes fraud and scams.

Tackling fraud requires a unified and co-ordinated response from government, law enforcement and the private sector to better protect the public and businesses from fraud, reduce the impact of fraud on victims, and increase the disruption and prosecution of fraudsters. This is why we will shortly publish a new strategy to address the threat of fraud.

The Data Protection and Digital Information Bill, which is currently before Parliament will make it easier for businesses to process personal data in order to tackle all types of crime, including fraud and other types of economic crime. When the Bill is commenced, they will be able to rely on a new lawful ground of ‘recognised legitimate interests’ under the UK GDPR to process personal data for these purposes. Unlike the current legislation, this will not require businesses to do a detailed assessment of the potential impact of the processing on the rights of individuals, which may affect the speed at which intelligence information relating to suspected fraud is shared.

Reforms in the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill will also enable businesses, in certain situations, to share information more easily for the purposes of preventing, investigating or detecting economic crime by disapplying civil liability for breaches of confidentiality for firms who share information to combat economic crime.

Julia Lopez
Minister on Leave (Minister of State)
17th Apr 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made with Cabinet colleagues of the potential impact of the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill on the scope for businesses to share data in order to reduce fraud; and if she will make a statement.

Tackling fraud requires a unified and co-ordinated response from government, law enforcement and the private sector to better protect the public and businesses from fraud, reduce the impact of fraud on victims, and increase the disruption and prosecution of fraudsters. This is why we will shortly publish a new strategy to address the threat of fraud.

The Data Protection and Digital Information Bill, which is currently before Parliament will make it easier for businesses to process personal data in order to tackle all types of crime, including fraud and other types of economic crime. When the Bill is commenced, they will be able to rely on a new lawful ground of ‘recognised legitimate interests’ under the UK GDPR to process personal data for these purposes. Unlike the current legislation, this will not require businesses to do a detailed assessment of the potential impact of the processing on the rights of individuals, which may affect the speed at which intelligence information relating to suspected fraud is shared.

Reforms in the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill will also enable businesses, in certain situations, to share information more easily for the purposes of preventing, investigating or detecting economic crime by disapplying civil liability for breaches of confidentiality for firms who share information to combat economic crime.

Julia Lopez
Minister on Leave (Minister of State)
2nd Feb 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether she has had recent discussions with the Competition and Markets Authority on mid-contract price increases on (a) mobile and (b) broadband contracts.

This is clearly a very difficult time for families up and down the country who are struggling to pay their bills as a result of the global rise in the cost of living.

On 23 January, the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport met with Chief Executives from major broadband and mobile providers at which she asked them to consider carefully the need, at this time, for above inflation price increases and highlighted the impact they may have on those already struggling to pay their bills.

In addition, Ofcom, the telecoms regulator, has rules in its General Conditions which ensure that any price increases which may occur during the length of the contract are clear, transparent and prominent at the point of sale.

Both the Competition and Markets Authority and Ofcom are independent. The government engages regularly with Ofcom on matters relating to affordability of communication services, and we continue to carefully monitor retail pricing in the sector.

16th Jan 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department plans to commence a withdrawal from the Energy Charter Treaty in the event that the modernisation package negotiated in 2022 is not approved; and if he will make a statement.

The UK has been a strong advocate for ECT modernisation. At the Energy Charter Conference on 22 November, the decision to adopt the modernised Treaty was postponed. The UK has been closely monitoring the situation surrounding the Energy Charter Treaty’s modernisation process, including the positions taken by other Contracting Parties, and will continue to do so.

Graham Stuart
Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
12th Dec 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will take steps to provide additional funding to (a) children's hospices and (b) palliative care charities when the non-domestic Energy Bill Relief Scheme ends in March 2023.

HM Treasury is currently conducting a review of the Energy Bill Relief Scheme and evidence from care providers is included in that review. The Government cannot confirm which sectors will receive further support after 31st March 2023 until the end of the review, which will report by the end of this year.

Graham Stuart
Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
29th Nov 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department plans to establish a garment supply chain adjudicator.

Last year the Government reaffirmed its commitment to continue engaging with the enforcement bodies and industry partners to strengthen our understanding of the garment trade. We will continue to review this issue and consider options to drive up standards.

Kevin Hollinrake
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
15th Nov 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s report entitled Ethnic Diversity in Business: Removing barriers impeding business success, published on 12 May 2022, what assessment he has made of the report’s finding that entrepreneurs from ethnic minority backgrounds are held back by stereotyping and outdated perceptions; and if he will make a statement.

The Government is aware of the challenges faced by ethnic minority businesses and is taking action to support them. The British Business Bank’s Alone Together report (2020) found access to finance is a major barrier for ethnic minority entrepreneurs. We are working with stakeholders to agree interventions to improve access to finance. Since its launch (2012) the Start Up Loans programme has issued around 20% of its loans to Black, Asian, and Ethnic-minority business.

The Government are also delivering actions set out in the Inclusive Britain report (2022), which aim to support ethnic minority entrepreneurs. Ministers regularly engage with ethnic minority business leaders and networks to better understand the issues facing them.

Kevin Hollinrake
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
14th Nov 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions he has had with venture capital industry representatives on tackling funding gaps for minority ethnic-owned businesses; and if he will make a statement.

The Government recognises the challenges in accessing finance faced by minority-ethnic owned businesses and has reflected that in the British Business Bank’s objective to identify and help to reduce imbalances in access to finance. The Bank’s latest Annual Report highlights that in 2020/21, 21% of Start Up Loans were provided to founders from Black, Asian and other minority ethnic backgrounds.

Ministers regularly engage with ethnic minority business leaders and representative organisations including through the Ethnic Minority Business Group. Access to finance has been regularly raised and we will continue to discuss this with VC industry representatives and ethnic minority businesses.

Kevin Hollinrake
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
31st Oct 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans he has to introduce obligatory pay gap reporting with respect to ethnic minority employees.

The Government responded to the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities’ report and recommendations with the “Inclusive Britain” report which was published in March 2022. In this report, Government set out that ethnicity pay reporting will be voluntary and we will not be legislating for mandatory ethnicity pay reporting at this stage.

Kevin Hollinrake
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
31st Oct 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans he has to increase the rate of income replacement for maternity, paternity, and parental leave.

My Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions is currently conducting his statutory annual review of state pensions and benefits rates, this includes statutory parental payments such as maternity and paternity pay. The outcome of that review will be announced in due course.

Kevin Hollinrake
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
20th Jun 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the Written Statement of 11 May 2022, HCWS1, on Low-income Workers: Exclusivity Clauses, whether he plans to undertake a consultation in advance of publishing the employment status guidance; and when he plans to publish that guidance.

The Government is committed to publishing employment status guidance in due course. It will make it easier for individuals and businesses to understand which employment rights apply to them, enhancing worker protections whilst maintaining flexibility and ensuring a level playing field within the labour market. The Government will continue to work closely with stakeholders to ensure the employment status framework is fit for purpose.

20th Jun 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to his letter of 25 March 2021 to the Chair of the Environmental Audit Select Committee, whether he has reached a conclusion in considering the idea of establishing a Garment Trade Adjudicator; and if he will make a statement.

In the response to the single enforcement body consultation published last year, the Government reaffirmed its commitment to continue to engage with the enforcement bodies and industry partners to strengthen our understanding of levels of non-compliance across the garment trade. We will continue to review this issue and consider options to drive up standards across the sector.

31st Jan 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of making Scope 3 emissions reporting mandatory, rather than voluntary, in the TCFD regulation for UK businesses; and if he will make a statement.

In January 2022, the Companies (Strategic Report) (Climate-related Financial Disclosure) Regulations 2022 were made in Parliament. These Regulations require climate-related financial disclosures from certain UK-registered companies.

Greg Hands
Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
3rd Sep 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of a long-term target for floating wind platforms in securing economic benefits and UK supply chain growth.

The Government set an ambitious target of 1GW of floating offshore wind by 2030 last year as part of the wider 40GW by 2030 offshore wind target, and is committed to ensuring the UK captures the economic benefits of deploying such technology.

We are committed to developing a strong supply chain for floating offshore wind in parallel with growing deployment and are working with industry and other stakeholders on this.

Floating offshore wind projects will be eligible to bid in the next Contract for Difference (CfD) allocation round, which will open in December 2021. Our approach to the next CfD allocation round will provide the foundation for investment in a sustainable, competitive UK based supply chain from which we will learn to help plan our future approach and the feasible scale of ramp up of deployment, building on the success of fixed bottom wind, which has this year delivered supply chain investments in blades, monopiles and transition pieces, creating and safeguarding over 1,800 direct jobs by 2030.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan
Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
3rd Sep 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to help secure the potential benefits of the supply chain position of the UK’s lead in floating wind technology.

The Government set an ambitious target of 1GW of floating offshore wind by 2030, last year as part of the wider 40GW by 2030 offshore wind target. This will stimulate development in projects and investment in the supply chain.

As part of the Government’s £1 billion Net Zero Innovation Portfolio fund, announced in my Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister’s Ten Point Plan, we are supporting innovation through the Floating Offshore Wind Demonstration Programme. This aims to support development and demonstration of state of the art technologies and products in the future offshore wind industry.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan
Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
20th Apr 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many people started receiving (a) statutory paternity pay and (b) shared parental pay in each quarter since April 2015.

The Government is committed to supporting working parents. In 2015, we introduced Shared Parental Leave and Pay which gives eligible parents much more flexibility and choice in how they share care for their new child between them in the first year. The scheme is in addition to the Government’s 2-week Paternity Leave and Pay policy and gives fathers and partners access to up to 50 weeks of leave and 37 weeks of pay.

Take-up of Shared Parental Leave and Pay has been broadly in line with our initial estimates, which anticipated that a cultural change like this would take time to bed-in.

Table 1 below shows the number of individuals in receipt of Statutory Paternity Pay and Statutory Shared Parental Pay based on the month that the claim was first made.

Table 1: Individuals in receipt of Statutory Paternity Pay and Statutory Shared Parental Pay based on the month that the claim was first made by quarter, 2015/16 to 2019/20

Statutory Paternity Pay (month first claimed)

Statutory Shared Parental Pay (month first claimed)

Q1 15/16

51,900

1,200

Q2 15/16

55,000

1,400

Q3 15/16

52,200

1,500

Q4 15/16

54,200

1,900

Q1 16/17

55,100

2,000

Q2 16/17

56,200

2,000

Q3 16/17

52,900

1,700

Q4 16/17

54,000

2,000

Q1 17/18

51,400

2,100

Q2 17/18

55,500

2,200

Q3 17/18

52,600

1,900

Q4 17/18

51,200

1,900

Q1 18/19

48,300

2,300

Q2 18/19

50,300

2,600

Q3 18/19

47,600

2,200

Q4 18/19

54,000

2,400

Q1 19/20

50,800

2,900

Q2 19/20

53,100

3,500

Q3 19/20

50,400

2,400

  1. Data collected uses HMRC Real Time Information (RTI) and was extracted in March 2020. RTI is subject to revision or updates.
  2. Figures have been rounded to the nearest hundred.
  3. For the 2015-16 tax year, those receiving Additional Statutory Paternity Pay (ASPP) for children born before 6 April 2015 cannot be distinguished from those claiming ShPP within RTI data.

Data based on the month first claimed means that an individual who first claims statutory payment in a given month (i.e. had not claimed it in the previous month) and continues receiving statutory pay for multiple months would only be counted in the first month.

6th Jan 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when she plans to reduce the age of entitlement to the National Living Wage to 21; and if she will make a statement.

The Government has announced that in April 2020 the National Living Wage (NLW) will increase by 6.2 per cent to £8.72 for those aged 25 and over. The Government has also announced inflation-beating increases in the National Minimum Wage (NMW) rates for younger workers and apprentices of between 4.6 per cent and 6.5 per cent.

My rt. hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer has pledged that the National Living Wage will increase further, reaching two-thirds of median earnings by 2024, providing economic conditions allow. The Government also plans to expand the reach of the National Living Wage, bringing down the eligibility threshold first to age 23 in 2021 and then to 21 by 2024.

13th Oct 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what percentage of the National Heritage Lottery Fund’s grants were awarded to local churches, chapels and meeting houses open for worship, excluding cathedrals, in financial years (a) 2017-18, (b) 2018-19, (c) 2019-20, (d) 2020-21, (e) 2021-22 and (f) 2022-23.

The UK’s places of worship are a major recipient of funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund. Churches of various sizes and denominations have benefited from National Lottery investment, ensuring that those who care for them can continue to share the significant and cherished heritage they represent with local residents and visitors alike.

In 2017–18, 13% of National Lottery Heritage Funding was awarded to local churches, chapels, and meeting-houses excluding cathedrals. In 2018–19, 15% of funding was awarded in this way. In 2019–20, 9% of funding was awarded in this way. In 2020–21, 5% of funding was awarded in this way. In 2021–22, 8% of funding was awarded in this way. In 2022–23, 8% of funding was awarded in this way.

John Whittingdale
Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
5th May 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much funding has been provided by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and its predecessor bodies to Christian places of worship excluding cathedrals in (a) England, (b) Scotland, (c) Wales and (d) Northern Ireland in each of the last five financial years.

Since the financial year 2018-19, a total of £99,701,003 has been awarded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund to Christian places of worship across the UK which are not cathedrals. The annual breakdown is as follows, with a more detailed breakdown included in the table below.

  • In 2018-19, £42 million was provided to England, £1.4 million to Scotland, £1.7 million to Wales and £900,000 to Northern Ireland.

  • In 2019-20, £20 million was provided to England, £360,000 to Scotland, £1.2 million to Wales and £1.7 million Northern Ireland.

  • In 2020-21, £7 million was provided to England, £240,000 to Scotland, £380,000 to Wales and £109,000 to Northern Ireland.

  • In 2021-22, £11.3 million was provided to England, £140,000 to Wales and £200,000 to Northern Ireland.

  • In 2022-23, £9.3 million was provided to England, £20,000 to Scotland, £1.4 million to Wales and £611,000 to Northern Ireland.

2018-2019

2019-2020

2020-2021

2021-2022

2022-2023

Grand Total

England

£41,968,119

£20,307,609

£6,870,591

£11,266,819

£9,337,623

£89,750,761

Wales

£1,725,000

£1,151,900

£370,700

£137,701

£1,133,727

£4,519,028

Scotland

£1,360,000

£350,900

£243,700

£0

£20,318

£1,974,918

Northern Ireland

£866,800

£1,650,900

£109,300

£218,568

£610,728

£3,456,296

Grand Total

£45,919,919

£23,461,309

£7,594,291

£11,623,088

£11,102,396

£99,701,003

This information can be found on the National Lottery database, a publicly available source of National Lottery data.

John Whittingdale
Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
3rd May 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much funding has been provided by the Listed Places of Worship Grants Scheme to Christian places of worship other than cathedrals in (a) the United Kingdom, (b) England, (c) Scotland, (d) Wales and (e) Northern Ireland in each of the last five financial years.

Since the financial year 2018-19, a total of £145,008,534 has been provided through the Listed Places of Worship Grants Scheme to Christian places of worship across the UK which are not cathedrals. The annual breakdown is as follows:

  • In 2018-19, £27,492,816 was provided to England, £2,376,216 to Scotland, £1,045,648 to Wales and £1,524,146 to Northern Ireland.

  • In 2019-20, £28,418,267 was provided to England, £2,828,133 to Scotland, £1,041,038 to Wales and £1,928,120 to Northern Ireland.

  • In 2020-21, £21,874,083 was provided to England, £1,563,280 to Scotland, £1,154,037 to Wales and £1,309,810 to Northern Ireland.

  • In 2021-22, £22,422,595 was provided to England, £1,617,947 to Scotland, £726,675 to Wales and £787,620 to Northern Ireland.

  • In 2022-23, £23,698,179 was provided to England, £1,235,955 to Scotland, £978,360 to Wales and £985,601 to Northern Ireland.

John Whittingdale
Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
3rd May 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much funding has been provided by Historic England to Christian places of worship other than cathedrals in each of the last five financial years.

Historic England has provided funding to Christian places of worship, other than cathedrals, through a number of different programmes over the last five financial years.

These include the following:

  • The COVID-19 Emergency Heritage At Risk Fund granted £5,754,330 in 2020 to Christian places of worship not classified as cathedrals.

  • The COVID-19 Grants for Programmes of Major Works gave £8,088,287 for Round 1 in 2020-21 and £9,740,031 for Round 2 in 2021-22 to Christian places of worship.

Historic England has also provided public funding over the last five years to Christian places of worship for Support Officer posts. These grants are given to dioceses and denominational bodies to provide local support, training and encouragement to congregations with responsibility for historic places of worship. In 2017-18 Historic England granted £692,000, in 2018-19 £564,000, in 2019-20 £484,800, in 2020-21 £236,800 and in 2021-22 £375,150. These figures represent Historic England’s commitment to building capacity and resilience for places of worship.

John Whittingdale
Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
2nd May 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the £100 million funding for local charities and community organisations announced in the Spring Budget 2023, when her Department plans to publish proposals for the use of that funding; and if she will make a statement.

As announced in the recent Spring Budget, the government will provide over £100 million of support for charities and community organisations in England. This will be targeted towards those organisations most at risk, due to increased demand from vulnerable groups and higher delivery costs, as well as providing investment in energy efficiency.

Work is underway to finalise the delivery time frame and eligibility criteria. Further details will be announced as soon as possible - these will be published on gov.uk and a statement made to the House as appropriate.

Stuart Andrew
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
23rd Jan 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether she plans to maintain funding for financial inclusion through the Dormant Assets Scheme; and if she will make a statement.

At present, the government is considering over 3,300 responses to the public consultation on what the broad social and/or environmental purposes of the English portion of dormant assets should be going forwards.

The government plans to publish a response in early 2023 setting out these future purposes of the English portion.

Until this response has been published, I am afraid that I cannot commit to a government position on financial inclusion.

Stuart Andrew
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
24th Mar 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, for what reason the fraudulent advertising duty in the Online Safety Bill is not being applied to Category 2(b) firms; and if she will make a statement.

We introduced the Online Safety Bill to Parliament on 17 March. We have designed the Online Safety Bill to be proportionate and risk-based.

The Bill will ensure that people using the largest platforms and where there is greatest risk of harm are protected from scams, and ensure these services do not profit from illegal activity.

The Online Advertising Programme will build on this duty and examine the whole ecosystem to provide a holistic review of the regulatory framework.

Chris Philp
Minister of State (Home Office)
24th Mar 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, for what reason the fraudulent advertising duty imposed on search engine firms in the Online Safety Bill is less stringent than that imposed on Category 1 firms; and if she will make a statement.

We introduced the Online Safety Bill to Parliament on 17 March.

The duties on search engines reflect that they facilitate harm in a different way to user to user services. The duties on search engines are therefore designed to be proportionate and risk-based.

We have also launched a consultation on proposals for wider reform of online advertising regulations, including in relation to fraud.

Chris Philp
Minister of State (Home Office)
28th Feb 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 23 February 2022 to Question 124952 on Gambling: Fines, in which of the 46 cases was the level of the financial penalty reduced following representations and evidence received from the company concerned.

The Commission’s statement of principles for determining financial penalties and indicative sanctions guidance sets out the process governing imposition of a penalty, including the circumstances in which the Commission may consider it appropriate to reduce the size of a financial penalty. This can be for various reasons, including mitigating factors and affordability concerns.

Except in exceptional circumstances, the Commission publishes the outcome of its considerations and not the prior steps, which could involve release of commercially sensitive information and/ or provide a formula for pricing in non-compliance. It is not therefore appropriate to share further detail on specific cases by name. However, since April 2018, the Gambling Commission has identified five financial penalties which were reduced as a result of representations made to the Commission prior to the point of issue.

Chris Philp
Minister of State (Home Office)
18th Feb 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, which companies have been served by the Gambling Commission with fines in excess of £100,000 since April 2018.

The Gambling Commission can fine a gambling operator if a licence condition has been breached. In some circumstances, the Commission may decide to agree a regulatory settlement instead of issuing a fine. While fines are paid to the exchequer, regulatory settlements are divested by the company to third parties.

Since April 2018, the Gambling Commission has imposed financial penalties in excess of £100,000 on 46 operators. These include both fines and regulatory settlements where an operator has admitted fault and made a payment in lieu of a fine, at a level agreed with the Commission. Regulatory action is published on the Commission’s website here.

Fines

Date

Name

Fine (£)

17/12/2021

Genesis Global Limited

£3,769,920

19/11/2021

Buzz Group Limited

£780,000

02/09/21

EU Lotto Limited

£760,000

02/07/21

Daub Alderney Limited

£5,850,000

08/03/21

In Touch Games Limited

£3,400,000

03/03/21

Casumo Services Limited

£6,005,000

01/02/21

A & S Leisure Group Limited

£377,340

27/10/20

Aspers (Stratford City) Limited

£652,500

26/10/20

BoyleSports

£2,800,000

17/02/20

Triplebet Limited

£739,099

03/04/19

Bestbet Limited

£230,972

17/01/19

Silverbond Enterprises Limited

£1,800,000

06/11/18

Casumo Services Limited

£5,850,000

06/11/18

Daub Alderney Limited

£7,100,000

Regulatory settlements

Date

Name

Payment in lieu (£)

Divestment (£)

20/01/2022

Annexio (Jersey) Limited

£612,000

N/A

20/01/2022

Rank Digital Gaming (Alderney) Limited

£700,557

N/A

2/12/2021

Greentube Alderney Limited

£685,000

N/A

13/10/21

VGC Leeds Limited

£209,000

£241,000

30/03/21

Double Diamond Gaming Limited

£247,000

N/A

30/03/21

Les Croupiers Casino Limited

£202,500

N/A

30/03/21

Shaftesbury Casino Limited

£260,000

N/A

30/03/21

Clockfair Limited

£260,000

N/A

28/01/21

White Hat Gaming Limited

£1,344,053.18

N/A

28/10/20

Netbet Enterprises Limited

£748,000

N/A

28/10/20

GAN (UK) Limited

£100,000

£46,754

28/10/20

BGO Entertainment Limited

£2,000,000

N/A

06/05/20

FSB Technology (UK) Limited

£600,000

N/A

02/04/20

Caesars Entertainment Limited Group

£13,000,000

N/A

12/03/20

Betway Limited

£5,800,000

£5,800,000

27/02/20

Mr Green Limited

£3,000,000

N/A

10/10/19

Petfre (Gibraltar) Limited

£182,000

£140,000

31/07/19

Ladbrokes Betting & Gaming Limited

£4,800,000

£1,100,000

11/07/19

Casino 36 Limited

£152,259

£147,741

13/06/19

Platinum Gaming Limited

£990,200

£629,420

12/06/19

Gamesys Operations Limited

£690,000

£460,472

15/05/19

In Touch Games Limited

£2,200,000

N/A

15/05/19

Betit Operations Limited

£1,400,000

N/A

15/05/19

MT SecureTrade Limited

£592,333

£107,667

29/11/18

Videoslots Limited

£1,000,000

N/A

16/10/18

TSE Malta LP

£910,993

£95,444

16/10/18

Power Leisure Bookmakers Limited

£190,760

£95,380

16/10/18

PPB Entertainment Limited

£349,762

£174,881

16/10/18

Paddy Power Holdings Limited

£265,606

£132,803

10/10/18

Rank Digital Gaming (Alderney) Limited

£500,000

N/A

10/10/18

Grosvenor Casinos (GC) Limited

£500,000

N/A

Chris Philp
Minister of State (Home Office)
19th Jul 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the oral contribution of the Prime Minister to the Liaison Committee on 7 July 2021, Q79, that one of the key objectives of the Online Safety Bill is to tackle online fraud, if he will list the key objectives of the Online Safety Bill.

The Online Safety Bill will deliver the government’s manifesto commitment to make the UK the safest place in the world to be online while defending freedom of expression. The Bill’s key objectives are to protect users online and uphold users’ rights online.

With regard to protecting users, the Bill will focus on:

  • tackling criminal content online, including fraud where this is facilitated through user-generated content;

  • protecting children from harmful and inappropriate content; and

  • building trust between users and their online platforms.

To uphold users’ rights online, the legislation will defend freedom of expression and the invaluable role of a free press.

19th Jul 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the statement of the Prime Minister to the Liaison Committee on 7 July 2021, Q79, that one of the key objectives of the Online Safety Bill is to tackle online fraud, what plans he has for the Bill to tackle online fraud other than user-generated content.

Online fraud is in scope of the Online Safety Bill. This means that companies in scope of regulation will need to take action to tackle fraud, where it is facilitated through user-generated content or via search results.

Government is currently working with industry to remove the vulnerabilities that fraudsters exploit, with intelligence agencies to shut down known fraudulent infrastructure, and with law enforcement to identify and bring the most harmful offenders to justice. We are also working to ensure that the public have the advice and support they need.

We are continuing to explore additional legislative and non-legislative solutions to tackle fraud in the round. The Home Office is developing an ambitious Fraud Action Plan, which will be published after the 2021 Spending Review. The Online Advertising Programme, led by DCMS, will also consider further regulation of online advertising to reduce online fraud and we will be consulting on it later this year.

17th Mar 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions he has had with his EU counterparts on UK productions touring in the EU; and if he will make a statement.

The UK’s creative industries are the finest in the world and this government is determined to support them. Touring is a vital part of musicians and performers’ careers, providing not only a vital income stream, but also enriching opportunities for cultural exchange across the world.

Being outside the European Union does not change this. It does, however, mean practical changes on both sides of the Channel that will require understanding and adaptation.

DCMS has established a working group with other key government departments, the devolved administrations, and over fifteen representatives from across the creative and cultural industries. The working group is seeking to build evidence on the impact leaving the EU has had on touring, to clarify the steps creative and cultural practitioners will need to take to tour in the EU, and identify ways to support those practitioners in touring confidently. We will set out next steps in due course.

We are now working urgently across government and in collaboration with the music and wider creative industries, including through a new working group, to help address these issues so that touring in Europe can resume with ease as soon as it is safe to do so.

17th Mar 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what progress his Department's working group has made on EU touring productions.

The UK’s creative industries are the finest in the world and this government is determined to support them. Touring is a vital part of musicians and performers’ careers, providing not only a vital income stream, but also enriching opportunities for cultural exchange across the world.

Being outside the European Union does not change this. It does, however, mean practical changes on both sides of the Channel that will require understanding and adaptation.

DCMS has established a working group with other key government departments, the devolved administrations, and over fifteen representatives from across the creative and cultural industries. The working group is seeking to build evidence on the impact leaving the EU has had on touring, to clarify the steps creative and cultural practitioners will need to take to tour in the EU, and identify ways to support those practitioners in touring confidently. We will set out next steps in due course.

We are now working urgently across government and in collaboration with the music and wider creative industries, including through a new working group, to help address these issues so that touring in Europe can resume with ease as soon as it is safe to do so.

16th Mar 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of his Department's engagement with the live events supply chain businesses during the covid-19 outbreak; and if he will make a statement.

The government recognises the challenges faced by the arts and creative sector during the pandemic and 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.

We continue to engage with stakeholders, including through the Tourism Industry Council, and industry representatives, including the Chair of the Events Industry Board and the Events and Entertainment working group, to monitor the situation facing the sector.

15th Mar 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussion he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on support for people working in the live event supply chain with previous operating profits of over £50,000 per year who are excluded from the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme.

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.

15th Mar 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if he will take steps with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government to encourage local authorities to provide financial support to live event supply chain businesses affected by the covid-19 outbreak.

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.

15th Mar 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether he has plans to support live event supply chain businesses from the unallocated balance of the Culture Recovery Fund; and if he will make a statement.

Of the £1.57bn Culture recovery Fund announced in July, £400m was held back as a contingency which forms the basis of the second round of grant (£300m) and repayable finance (£100m) funding. Applications are currently being assessed and allocations will be made by the end of the Financial Year.

The Government recognises the severe impact the pandemic has had on supply chain businesses for the events sector and their critical role in the cultural ecosystem. Supply chain organisations were eligible for the first and second rounds of Culture Recovery Funding, and many organisations were successful in the first round. Production Park in Wakefield, for instance, is receiving a £12m loan, whilst Adlib Audio in Knowsley is receiving a grant of £1,650,356. The government’s commitment to the sector has been further evidenced by the announcement at Budget of an additional £300m for the Culture Recovery Fund. Details will be announced in due course.

We will continue to engage with the sector through the ministerially chaired Events and Entertainment Working Group which include the Production Services Association, to better understand the issues facing the sector ensure live event supply chain businesses are supported.

11th Mar 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of using dormant assets to fund the delivery of national primary financial education; and if he will make a statement.

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.

John Whittingdale
Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
6th Jan 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, when he will launch the consultation on Online Advertising.

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.

6th Jan 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what plans he has to tackle the proliferation of online financial scam adverts; and if he will make a statement.

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.

30th Dec 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the prospects of securing a data adequacy agreement with the EU within the next six months.

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.

John Whittingdale
Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
30th Nov 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether the £5 billion announced in the 2020 Spring Budget to ensure all homes and businesses can access gigabit broadband by 2025 remains available for that purpose; and if he will make a statement.

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.

30th Nov 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what his target is for gigabit broadband coverage by 2025.

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.

19th Nov 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what plans he has to tackle financial crime in his forthcoming legislation on online harms; and if he will make a statement.

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.

30th Oct 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the Prime Minister's announcement of 22 September 2020 that conferences and exhibitions will not be permitted for at least another six months, what plans he has to provide support to the exhibitions industry during the covid-19 outbreak; and if he will make a statement.

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.

Nigel Huddleston
Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
22nd Oct 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what plans he has to provide funding to the UK Safer Internet Centre when its funding from the EU ends.

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.

21st Feb 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the oral contribution by the Minister for Safeguarding and Vulnerability to the Offensive Weapons Bill Committee on 11 September 2018, Column 280, what policy proposals he is discussing with the Home Secretary on preventing the sale of illegal knives on online platforms.

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.

13th Jan 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to support orchestras in the UK.

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.

Helen Whately
Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
13th Jan 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to support UK orchestras to tour throughout the world.

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.

Helen Whately
Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
16th Oct 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 2 September 2022 to Question 45406 on Newham Collegiate Sixth Form Centre: Buildings, what recent progress his Department has made on preparing the former East Ham Police Station building for use by Newham Collegiate School.

The Department has entered a building contract and work began on site in March 2023. These works are scheduled to complete by September 2024, which is when the former East Ham Police Station will be handed over to the school. This will allow the school to increase its capacity to 800 students overall, from September 2024.

18th Sep 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to her Department's press release entitled Transformation to children's social care to put families first, published 26 July 2023, what estimate she has made of the potential cost to the public purse of piloting the recommendations of the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care.

The Stable Homes, Built on Love Strategy for Children’s Social Care, which was the Government’s response to the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care, announced an additional £200 million for system transformation until 2024/25.

The initial £200 million investment supported the urgent first phase of reform, testing and learning which interventions work, and this included a number of pathfinders covering the Families First for Children pathfinder, fostering and regional care co-operatives.

Longer term funding decisions to scale up these reforms will be made in subsequent Spending Review periods.

David Johnston
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
11th Sep 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans she has to engage with schools during the tender process for the national school breakfast club programme.

The Department has confirmed that the National School Breakfast Programme (NSBP) has been extended for an additional year, from July 2023 until July 2024. The Department is currently undertaking market engagement on future arrangements for school breakfast provision for delivery after July 2024.

Any future funding invested by the Department in National Breakfast Clubs is subject to future funding approvals and the outcome of the next Spending Review.

The contract will be awarded to a provider that is able to demonstrate that they can meet the needs of a school taking part in the NSBP. To achieve this, the Department will engage with schools to ensure that the tender process meets the needs of schools that are currently on the NSBP and those looking to join the programme.

Engaging with schools will ensure their views are listened to and influence the evaluation process. This will help retain what is currently working well and improve any areas that may not be meeting the expectations of schools.

13th Jul 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans her Department has to engage with parents in its relationships, sex and health education public consultation review; and if she will make a statement.

The first phase of the review of the RSHE statutory guidance started in March 2023. All parents will have an opportunity to present their views as part of the public consultation on revised guidance due to be launched in autumn 2023.

In developing revised guidance for consultation, the Department have asked a range of stakeholders including a number of groups representing parents, to share evidence about areas of the guidance they would like to see strengthened.

Parents have also been invited to contribute their views directly in roundtables with ministers focusing on key topics such as suicide prevention and RSHE teaching materials.

10th Jul 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to increase the weighting for disadvantage in the National Funding Formula for schools; and if she will make a statement.

The Government is committed to providing a world class educational system for all pupils and has provided significant funding to achieve that. The National Funding Formula (NFF) distributes funding fairly based on schools’ and pupils’ needs and characteristics.

The Department have now published the NFF for schools and high needs 2024/25, which can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-funding-formula-for-schools-and-high-needs. It will mean core funding will be at its highest ever level in real terms per pupil in 2024/25, as measured by the independent Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS). This demonstrates the Government’s commitment to ensuring every pupil receives a world class education.

The NFF targets additional funding to schools which have the greatest number of pupils with additional needs. The 2024/25 NFF will target a greater proportion of funding towards deprived pupils than ever before. Over £4.5 billion, or 10.1%, of the schools NFF has been allocated through deprivation factors in 2024/25. Over £7.9 billion, or 17.8%, will be allocated for additional needs overall. This will help schools in their vital work to close attainment gaps and level up educational opportunities.

On top of this core funding through the NFF, Pupil Premium provides additional funding to support disadvantaged pupils. Pupil Premium rates have increased by 5% in 2023/24, taking total Pupil Premium funding to nearly £2.9 billion. Pupil Premium rates for 2024/25 will be announced later this year, in line with the usual timetable.

15th May 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the role of apprenticeship intermediaries in improving the (a) number and (b) quality of apprenticeships available.

The department has developed an employer-led apprenticeship system which allows employers to design the apprenticeships they need and directly access funding for the apprenticeships they want, when they want it. There are currently over 660 high-quality apprenticeship standards available for employers across every sector to access.

We want to make the apprenticeship system as simple to access as possible, especially for small-to-medium sized enterprises (SMEs) who will often have less capacity. That is why the department has removed the limit on the number of apprentices SMEs can employ and are making it simpler for them to set-up an apprenticeship service account and access funding and support. We are also introducing new enhanced advice via the GOV.UK website specifically for SMEs, including new peer-to-peer videos.

Intermediary organisations can play a beneficial role in helping employers in a sector or region understand and access the opportunities that apprenticeships present. For example, the Apprenticeship Ambassador Network is a group of almost 900 employers across the country, who are passionate about apprenticeships and are successful in inspiring other businesses to use high-quality apprenticeships and encourage young people to pursue apprenticeships as a vibrant career route.

Since November 2022 the department has been piloting SME apprenticeship pathfinders in four regions of the north of England, investing £750,000 per year to enable growth partners to reach and support SMEs to take their first steps on their apprenticeship journey successfully. This pilot will be running for two years, and we will begin the evaluation in 2024.

Robert Halfon
Minister of State (Education)
14th Apr 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to improve school attendance (a) by students who are eligible for free school meals and from deprived areas and (b) generally.

The Department has a comprehensive strategy to drive a more consistent response from schools, trusts and Local Authorities to help keep children in school.

The Department has published new, stronger expectations of schools, trusts and Local Authorities to work together to improve attendance. Alongside this, the Department has deployed 10 expert Attendance Advisers to work with Local Authorities and trusts to review attendance practices and develop improvement plans.

The Department has established an improved, more timely flow of national pupil level attendance data. This will help schools, trusts and Local Authorities make better use of attendance data to identify those in need of support earlier, including those on free school meals (FSMs).

The Department’s Attendance Action Alliance of system leaders work to remove barriers to attendance, particularly for vulnerable children, and reduce absence through pledges.

The Department is piloting a mentor programme in Middlesborough that provides direct support to persistently and severely absent children, who are more likely to be eligible for FSMs. The Department is also offering intensive support to the most vulnerable through the Supporting Families and Virtual Schools Head extension programmes and those at risk in serious violence hotspots with our SAFE and Alternative Provision Taskforces. Alongside this, programmes such as Breakfast Clubs and the Holiday and Activities Food Programme stand to particularly support disadvantaged children’s attendance.

The Department is also working closely with schools, trusts, Local Authorities and other partners to address specific attendance issues identified in Priority Education Investment Areas through the local area needs funding.

28th Mar 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the SEND review: right support, right place, right time, published on 29 March 2022, what steps her Department is taking to make it easier for parents of disabled children to receive financial support.

The government has announced further support for next year designed to target the most vulnerable households, including those families raising disabled children. This cost of living support is worth £26 billion in 2023/24 in addition to benefits uprating, which is worth £11 billion to working-age households and people with disabilities. Further details on cost of living payments in 2023/24 is available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/cost-of-living-payments-2023-to-2024.

This means that over eight million households across the UK will be supported via additional Cost of Living Payments. The government is also increasing benefits in line with September inflation by 10.1% and will continue to provide support to all households through the Energy Price Guarantee, which caps the price households will pay for each unit of energy. This will save the average UK household £500 in 2023/24.

In addition, over six million people across the UK on eligible ‘extra costs’ disability benefits will receive a further £150 Disability Cost of Living Payment in 2023/24, to help with the additional costs they face. This is in addition to the cost of living payments for households on means-tested benefits and pensioner households, if eligible.

In 2023/24, the government is investing £27.3 million in Support for Families with Disabled Children Funding to support low-income families raising seriously ill or children with disabilities in England, by providing small grants to purchase equipment, goods, and activities, which would otherwise be inaccessible. This funding is currently administered by our delivery partner, the Family Fund Trust.

The government has provided £842 million for 2023/24 to County Councils and Unitary Authorities in England to support those most in need, and to help with global inflationary challenges and the rising cost of living via the Household Support Fund. Local authorities can decide how to run this scheme and who is eligible, but the funding is aimed at anyone who is vulnerable or cannot pay for essentials, which can include families raising children with disabilities.

Claire Coutinho
Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
27th Feb 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many schools have (a) submitted applications for and (b) been successfully enrolled in the National School Breakfast Programme.

In November 2022, the Department extended the National School Breakfast Programme for an additional year until the end of the summer term in 2024.

The Department is concentrating funding of up to £30 million in this programme overall. This funding will support up to 2,500 schools in disadvantaged areas, meaning that thousands of children from low income families will be offered free nutritious breakfasts to better support their attainment and wellbeing. Schools are eligible for the programme if they have 40% or more pupils from disadvantaged households, as measured by the Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index. As of March 2022, 3,907 applications from eligible schools had been received. In November 2022, 2,170 schools were participating on the programme.

9th Feb 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure unaccompanied children moved from hotels are accommodated in safe, appropriate placements.

Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children (UASC) are accommodated in hotels by the Home Office, on a temporary basis before they transfer to the care of a local authority through the National Transfer Scheme (NTS).

Local authorities are responsible for ensuring that UASC, like all looked-after children, are accommodated in safe and appropriate placements in accordance with the Children Act 1989. The department’s statutory guidance for local authorities ‘Care of Unaccompanied Migrant Children and Child Victims of Modern Slavery (2017)’ sets out a range of factors that local authorities should consider when making placement decisions. This guidance can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/care-of-unaccompanied-and-trafficked-children.

The department continues to work closely with the Home Office to ensure that all UASC are provided with care by a local authority as soon as possible after their arrival.

Claire Coutinho
Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
29th Nov 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans she has to ensure that schools whose budgets are determined by the minimum funding formula benefit from the additional funding announced in the Autumn Statement; and if she will make a statement.

​​The Department will set out plans for the allocation of the additional funding announced at the 2022 Autumn Statement shortly.​

28th Nov 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she plans to launch Alternative Student Finance for Muslim students.

The department understands the concerns held by some Muslim students and their families about student finance. We want all learners with the potential to benefit from higher education to be able to do so. The department remains committed to delivering an alternative student finance (ASF) product for Muslim students.

Going forward, the department is introducing a Lifelong Loan Entitlement (LLE) that will significantly change the ways students can access learning and financial support.

The department's consultation on the detail and scope of the LLE closed in May 2022. In this consultation, the department sought views on what barriers learners with protected characteristics might face in accessing or drawing on their LLE, noting that answers to this question could include consideration of an ASF product for students whose faith has resulted in concerns about traditional loans. We are currently considering if and how ASF can be delivered as part of the LLE.

We will provide a further update on ASF as part of the government response to the LLE consultation.

Robert Halfon
Minister of State (Education)
7th Nov 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential disparities in the (a) access to and (b) quality of financial education between primary schools.

Education on financial matters helps to ensure that young people are prepared to manage their money well, make sound financial decisions and know where to seek further information when needed.

The primary school curriculum already includes financial education within the mathematics curriculum, which provides young people with the knowledge and financial skills to make important financial decisions. In the primary mathematics curriculum, there is a strong emphasis on the essential arithmetic that pupils should be taught. This knowledge is vital, as a strong grasp of mathematics will underpin pupils’ ability to manage budgets and money. The mathematics curriculum also includes specific content about financial education, such as calculations with money.

Primary schools can also teach financial education through citizenship. Although this is not part of the National Curriculum until Key Stage 3, the Department has published a non-statutory citizenship curriculum for Key Stages 1 and 2. This supports schools to make sure that pupils are taught how to look after their money and realise that future wants, and needs may be met through saving. There is a wide range of resources available for schools, including the Money and Pension Service’s (MaPS) financial education guidance for primary and secondary schools in England. This guidance can be found here: https://maps.org.uk/2021/11/11/financial-education-guidance-for-primary-and-secondary-schools-in-england/.

The Department does not monitor financial education in primary schools, but the Department continues to work with MaPS and HM Treasury to consider the evidence and explore opportunities to promote the importance of financial education to schools. The Department is currently working with MaPS on a series of joint financial education webinars during this academic year, to help primary and secondary schools to improve pupils’ skills and knowledge and build teachers’ confidence in this area.

7th Nov 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of including financial education in the primary school national curriculum.

Education on financial matters helps to ensure that young people are prepared to manage their money well, make sound financial decisions and know where to seek further information when needed.

The primary school curriculum already includes financial education within the mathematics curriculum, which provides young people with the knowledge and financial skills to make important financial decisions. In the primary mathematics curriculum, there is a strong emphasis on the essential arithmetic that pupils should be taught. This knowledge is vital, as a strong grasp of mathematics will underpin pupils’ ability to manage budgets and money. The mathematics curriculum also includes specific content about financial education, such as calculations with money.

Primary schools can also teach financial education through citizenship. Although this is not part of the National Curriculum until Key Stage 3, the Department has published a non-statutory citizenship curriculum for Key Stages 1 and 2. This supports schools to make sure that pupils are taught how to look after their money and realise that future wants, and needs may be met through saving. There is a wide range of resources available for schools, including the Money and Pension Service’s (MaPS) financial education guidance for primary and secondary schools in England. This guidance can be found here: https://maps.org.uk/2021/11/11/financial-education-guidance-for-primary-and-secondary-schools-in-england/.

The Department does not monitor financial education in primary schools, but the Department continues to work with MaPS and HM Treasury to consider the evidence and explore opportunities to promote the importance of financial education to schools. The Department is currently working with MaPS on a series of joint financial education webinars during this academic year, to help primary and secondary schools to improve pupils’ skills and knowledge and build teachers’ confidence in this area.

7th Nov 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans she has to improve young people’s understanding of buy-now-pay-later schemes.

The Department wants all young people to manage their money well, make sound financial decisions and know where to seek further information when needed. Financial education is included in the National Curriculum at Key Stages 3 and 4 but can be taught by schools at all Key Stages.

Pupils should be taught about the functions and uses of money, budgeting, money management, and managing financial risk. At secondary school, pupils are taught about income and expenditure, credit and debt, insurance, savings and pensions, financial products and services and the need to understand financial risk, including any emerging financial trends.

The mathematics curriculum includes a strong emphasis on the essential arithmetic that primary pupils should be taught. A strong grasp of mathematics will underpin pupils’ ability to manage budgets and money.

The Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) published financial education guidance for primary and secondary schools in England in November 2021, to support head teachers to enhance their financial education provision. Guidance for this can be found here: https://maps.org.uk/2021/11/11/financial-education-guidance-for-primary-and-secondary-schools-in-england/.

The guidance includes links to quality assured resources for schools, including content and activities on cryptocurrencies and buy now, pay later schemes. It also sets out the knowledge and skills pupils need to protect their personal data, critically evaluate online content, and identify scams.

The Department and MaPS are planning a series of joint financial education webinars during this academic year, to help schools to improve pupils’ skills and knowledge and build teachers’ confidence in this area.

7th Nov 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans she has to improve young people’s understanding of financial products.

The Department wants all young people to manage their money well, make sound financial decisions and know where to seek further information when needed. Financial education is included in the National Curriculum at Key Stages 3 and 4 but can be taught by schools at all Key Stages.

Pupils should be taught about the functions and uses of money, budgeting, money management, and managing financial risk. At secondary school, pupils are taught about income and expenditure, credit and debt, insurance, savings and pensions, financial products and services and the need to understand financial risk, including any emerging financial trends.

The mathematics curriculum includes a strong emphasis on the essential arithmetic that primary pupils should be taught. A strong grasp of mathematics will underpin pupils’ ability to manage budgets and money.

The Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) published financial education guidance for primary and secondary schools in England in November 2021, to support head teachers to enhance their financial education provision. Guidance for this can be found here: https://maps.org.uk/2021/11/11/financial-education-guidance-for-primary-and-secondary-schools-in-england/.

The guidance includes links to quality assured resources for schools, including content and activities on cryptocurrencies and buy now, pay later schemes. It also sets out the knowledge and skills pupils need to protect their personal data, critically evaluate online content, and identify scams.

The Department and MaPS are planning a series of joint financial education webinars during this academic year, to help schools to improve pupils’ skills and knowledge and build teachers’ confidence in this area.

1st Nov 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to increase provision of affordable childcare in the UK.

The department is committed to improving the cost, choice, and availability of childcare.

In July 2022, the department announced measures to increase the take-up of childcare support and reduce the costs and bureaucracy facing providers. These plans aim to give providers more flexibility and autonomy and ensure families can access government support to save them money on their childcare bills. This included consulting on changing staff-to-child ratios for 2-year-olds in group-based settings and clarifying flexibilities for childminders. As part of the Autumn Budget and Spending Review 2021, we have announced additional funding for the early years entitlements of £160 million in 2022/23, £180 million in 2023/24 and £170 million in 2024/25, compared to the 2021/22 financial year, for local authorities to increase hourly rates paid to childcare providers.

The department also announced a £1.2 million marketing campaign underway via the Childcare Choices website to ensure that every parent knows about the government-funded support they are eligible for. The website can be found here: https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/.

The department aims to attract more people to childminding, expand the childminder market by reducing the costs and bureaucracy facing providers, and encourage the growth of childminder agencies, enabling greater access to this flexible, affordable form of care. The full announcement can be viewed online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/drive-to-reduce-the-cost-of-childcare-for-parents.

The department continues to work across government, looking at ways to make childcare more affordable and to encourage families to use the government-funded support they are entitled to.

Claire Coutinho
Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
2nd Sep 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Answer of 23 November 2020 to Question 119161, what recent estimate he has made of when the former East Ham police station building will be back in use.

Newham Planning Committee has resolved to approve the planning application for the East Ham Police Station, subject to the finalisation of a Section 106 agreement for a cycle scheme, carbon offset, travel plan and monitoring of employment/skills.

The department will enter into the building contract shortly. Once completed the building will be handed over to Newham Collegiate School. We anticipate this will allow the school to expand its places from September 2024.

12th Jul 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment he has made of the prevalence of large employers offering inclusive blended work experience programmes, both in-person and virtual, for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds.

We currently do not collect data on the number of T Level industry placements delivered, or committed to, by individual employers. Instead, this information is held by education providers, who are responsible for securing industry placements for their T Level students and, therefore, we are unable to report on the number of large employers currently offering or planning on offering industry placements. However, as part of our ongoing engagement with employers on T Levels, we are encouraging employers of all sizes, including large employers, to offer industry placements.

Traineeships provide young people from all backgrounds with an opportunity to gain valuable work experience and skills needed to start a successful career in a variety of industries.

Through The Careers & Enterprise Company (CEC), we continue to support schools and colleges to provide young people with access to meaningful experiences of the workplace.

We know that during the COVID-19 pandemic, Careers Leaders in schools,colleges and employers responded creatively to the challenges of providing experiences of the workplace, adapting their careers programmes to provide virtual encounters with employers. Many employers are now taking a blended approach to providing workplace experiences..

The CEC have published a range of key resources to support Careers Leaders to develop their careers programmes. This includes guidance around how to meet Gatsby Benchmark 6 (experiences of the workplace) more meaningfully, resources from the ‘My Week of Work’ event, and links to virtual tours with employers and work experience programmes.

The CEC has also worked in partnership with CareerMap and Engineering UK to develop a new resource for employers around virtual work experience and continue to increase opportunities for young people to engage with employers.

Over 300 ‘Cornerstone’ employers who represent a range of business sizes and sectors, including Rolls Royce and BAE Systems, are working with Careers Hubs to bring together business effort and engagement with local schools and colleges. 3,750 Enterprise Advisers are also working with schools and colleges to develop their employer engagement plans.

20th Jun 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans he has to renew Primary PE and Sport Premium funding for the academic year 2022-23.

I refer the hon. Member for East Ham, the hon. Member for Streatham and the hon. Member for Denton and Reddish, to the answer I gave on 16 June 2022 to Question 16901.

24th Feb 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the oral contribution of the Minister for Universities of 15 July 2021, Official Report, column 646, that the Government will provide an update on alternative student finance as it concludes the post-18 review of education and funding, what plans he now has to introduce a system of alternative student finance.

The government’s priority, in our response to the report of the Independent Panel of the Review of Post 18 Education and Funding, is to put the student finance system on a sustainable footing for the long term.

As part of our response, we are introducing the Lifelong Loan Entitlement (LLE). We are considering if and how Alternative Student Finance (ASF) could be delivered as part of the LLE.

We believe it is sensible to align future delivery of an ASF product with these major reforms to ensure fair treatment for all students.

Michelle Donelan
Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
10th Feb 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of schools enrolled on the National School Breakfast Programme have been issued breakfast food orders this academic year since 7 February 2022.

The government is committed to supporting school breakfast provisions. Accordingly, it is investing up to £24 million to extend the National School Breakfast Programme until July 2023. This funding will support up to 2,500 schools in disadvantaged areas, meaning that thousands of children from low-income families will be offered free nutritious breakfasts to better assist their attainment, wellbeing and readiness to be taught.

As of 22 December 2021, 1,245 schools signed up for the programme, and 847 schools placed food orders. The government will continue to work with its supplier, Family Action, to monitor relevant data and consider suitable occasions to share more information on the programme as it progresses.

Despite the number of challenges faced by schools due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the department has noted positive levels of interest in the programme. The enrolment process for the programme is still underway. The department has extended free breakfast provision beyond April 2022, allowing schools to receive free provisions until the end of July 2022. As a result, any school signing up to the programme now is still able to benefit from two terms worth of free food.

10th Feb 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the reasons for the National School Breakfast Programme not reaching its target of 2,500 schools by January 2022; and if he will make a statement.

The government is committed to supporting school breakfast provisions. Accordingly, it is investing up to £24 million to extend the National School Breakfast Programme until July 2023. This funding will support up to 2,500 schools in disadvantaged areas, meaning that thousands of children from low-income families will be offered free nutritious breakfasts to better assist their attainment, wellbeing and readiness to be taught.

As of 22 December 2021, 1,245 schools signed up for the programme, and 847 schools placed food orders. The government will continue to work with its supplier, Family Action, to monitor relevant data and consider suitable occasions to share more information on the programme as it progresses.

Despite the number of challenges faced by schools due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the department has noted positive levels of interest in the programme. The enrolment process for the programme is still underway. The department has extended free breakfast provision beyond April 2022, allowing schools to receive free provisions until the end of July 2022. As a result, any school signing up to the programme now is still able to benefit from two terms worth of free food.

6th Dec 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the impact on (a) schools and (b) young people’s physical activity levels of the uncertainty around Government funding for (i) the School Games Organiser network beyond March 2022 and (ii) the PE and Sport Premium beyond the 2021-22 academic year.

The department is considering arrangements for the primary PE and sport premium for the 2022/23 academic year and beyond. We are aware of the importance of providing schools with sufficient notice of future funding and will confirm the position as early as possible in the new year.

Similarly, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) are considering arrangements for the School Games Organisers programme and will confirm the position on future funding as soon as possible.

We are also working to deliver on the nearly £30 million announced in October 2021 towards improving and opening school sport facilities in England, as well as to improve the teaching of PE at primary school. We will continue to work closely with DCMS and DHSC to deliver on the aims of the School Sport and Activity Action Plan which we will be updating next year.

2nd Nov 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether it is his policy to deliver enhanced pupil premium funding for pupils who have been eligible for support over four or more of the past six years.

This government is committed to levelling up opportunities to make sure everyone has a fair chance to realise their potential and ensure no-one is left behind. The pupil premium furthers this objective by helping schools improve the academic attainment and wider outcomes of pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Total pupil premium funding is increasing to more than £2.5 billion in the 2021-22 financial year, up by £60 million from 2020-21. This reflects an increase in funding in approximately two thirds of schools, as more children have become eligible for free school meals. The department plans to announce rates for the 2022-23 financial year later this year, in line with the usual timetable. Announcements for future years will be made in due course.

The department is continuing to deliver year on year real terms per pupil increases to school funding. As part of the spending review, by the 2024-25 financial year, we are investing a further £4.7 billion in the core schools budget, of which the pupil premium is an important part, compared to previous plans. On top of that, the government has announced an additional £1 billion for a recovery premium over the next two academic years (2022/23 and 2023/24). Building on the pupil premium, the recovery premium will help schools deliver evidence-based approaches to support the most disadvantaged pupils.

The department periodically reviews and assesses the effectiveness of all its policies, and this includes the pupil premium.

2nd Nov 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether it is his policy to increase the pupil premium in real terms each year for the duration of this Parliament.

This government is committed to levelling up opportunities to make sure everyone has a fair chance to realise their potential and ensure no-one is left behind. The pupil premium furthers this objective by helping schools improve the academic attainment and wider outcomes of pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Total pupil premium funding is increasing to more than £2.5 billion in the 2021-22 financial year, up by £60 million from 2020-21. This reflects an increase in funding in approximately two thirds of schools, as more children have become eligible for free school meals. The department plans to announce rates for the 2022-23 financial year later this year, in line with the usual timetable. Announcements for future years will be made in due course.

The department is continuing to deliver year on year real terms per pupil increases to school funding. As part of the spending review, by the 2024-25 financial year, we are investing a further £4.7 billion in the core schools budget, of which the pupil premium is an important part, compared to previous plans. On top of that, the government has announced an additional £1 billion for a recovery premium over the next two academic years (2022/23 and 2023/24). Building on the pupil premium, the recovery premium will help schools deliver evidence-based approaches to support the most disadvantaged pupils.

The department periodically reviews and assesses the effectiveness of all its policies, and this includes the pupil premium.

27th Oct 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what comparative assessment he has made of the educational disadvantage caused by covid-19 school closures to (a) those eligible for the pupil premium and (b) other pupils; and if he will make a statement.

Understanding the impact of the COVID-19 disruption on the attainment and progress of all pupils is a key research priority for the government. The department has commissioned an independent research and assessment agency to provide a baseline assessment of catch-up needs for pupils in schools in England and monitor progress over the course of the 2020/21 academic year. This research is based on assessments that schools are already using and adds no additional burden on teachers. Initial findings from the research were published on gov.uk: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupils-progress-in-the-2020-to-2021-academic-year-interim-report. The department is currently exploring options to assess progress over the course of the current academic year.

The latest evidence suggests that, in Summer 2021, primary pupils were on average around 1 month behind in reading and around 3 months behind in maths compared to where we would expect them to be in a ‘normal year’. Secondary pupils were behind in reading by around 2 months.

Once adjusted for historic differences in pupil progress, pupils who are currently eligible for free school meals or had been within the last six years, were on average around half a month further behind in primary reading and maths, and 1.7 months further behind in secondary reading compared to their more advantaged peers in Summer 2021. Education loss estimates for pupils who are being looked after by a local authority, or who have left care, are not available due to data limitations. However, education loss estimates of children in need, some of whom are also eligible for pupil premium, show that they were on average 1.2 months behind in primary reading and 3.3 months behind in secondary reading.

This government is committed to ensuring children and young people can make up for education lost during the COVID-19 outbreak, especially those most in need. The department has announced funding of almost £5 billion since June 2020 to support education recovery for children and young people in schools, 16-19 colleges and early years. This will have a material impact in closing gaps that have emerged.

The department’s recovery programmes have been designed to allow early years, school and college leaders the flexibility to support those pupils most in need, including the most disadvantaged - with many programmes specifically targeted at disadvantaged pupils.

15th Oct 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans he has to (a) increase flexibility in the apprenticeship system and (b) extend access to workers on temporary contracts.

We are making apprenticeships more flexible so that they better meet the needs of employers in all sectors. We are encouraging greater use of innovative apprenticeship training models, such as the front-loading of off-the-job training, so apprentices can be productive from day one in the workplace. We are also developing accelerated apprenticeships so that apprentices with substantial prior learning from other skills programmes, such as traineeships and T Levels, can complete an apprenticeship more quickly. Additionally, we are making it easier for large employers to transfer levy funds to support new starts in small businesses, or in a certain sector or region. On 13 September 2021, we launched a new online service to allow levy paying employers to advertise funding pledges, enabling a much wider range of businesses to browse and apply for available funds.

We recognise that some sectors with flexible employment patterns and short-term roles, including creative, digital, adult social care, transport, and manufacturing have found it challenging to benefit from the high-quality apprenticeships available. In August, to help these sectors, we launched our new flexi-job apprenticeship offer. We have invited sector bodies, groups of employers, and other interested organisations to register as flexi-job apprenticeship agencies, giving them access to a £7 million fund to support new agencies with their start-up costs. These agencies will enable apprentices to work across multiple short-term projects with different employers and allow them to benefit from the high-quality long-term training that an apprenticeship provides.

Alex Burghart
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
22nd Sep 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate his Department has made of the cost of extending means-tested free school meals to all universal credit or equivalent benefits claimants.

Under this government, eligibility for free school meals (FSM) has been extended several times, and to more groups of children than any other government over the past half century. Our analysis in 2018 estimated that extending eligibility to all families on Universal Credit would result in almost half of all school pupils becoming entitled to FSM. We think it is important that FSM support is targeted at those that need it most, and FSM is an integral part of our provision for families on low incomes, and our wider actions to promote social mobility.

In 2018, the government introduced new eligibility criteria for families on Universal Credit, following a consultation in 2017. It is estimated that this will be more generous in its reach by 2022, in comparison to the legacy benefit system. Further to this we included generous protections, which mean any family eligible for FSM transitioning to Universal Credit from a legacy benefit will continue to have access to FSM even if they move above the earnings threshold.

22nd Sep 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate his Department has made of the levels of take-up of free school meals among families with No Recourse to Public Funds in 2019-2021.

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.

At present, data is not available regarding the take up of free school meals by no recourse to public funds groups during the temporary extension.

22nd Sep 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department has conducted research on the stigmatisation of children who receive free school meals; and if he will make a statement.

There is absolutely no reason for schools to stigmatise pupils by limiting choice for free school meal pupils at lunchtime. The vast majority of schools and caterers already make use of cashless systems and other methods to ensure that children who are eligible for free school meals are not identified separately, removing any stigma for receiving the benefit.

21st Sep 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the decision by the Scottish Government to provide universal free breakfasts to primary school age children.

Decisions around school funding and the provision of school food including breakfast clubs are a matter for the devolved administrations.

The government is committed to continuing support for school breakfast clubs in England and is further investing up to £24 million to continue our national programme for the next two years. This funding will support around 2,500 schools in disadvantaged areas in England, including Opportunity Areas. This will mean that thousands of children from low income families will be offered free nutritious breakfasts to better support their attainment, wellbeing, and readiness to learn.

21st Sep 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans his Department has to provide further support to schools to enable them to help children who are experiencing food insecurity.

The continuing provision of free school meals (FSM) to children from households that are out of work, or on low incomes, is of the utmost importance to the government. Under this government, eligibility for FSM has been extended several times and to more groups of children than any other government over the past half a century.

We want to make sure as many eligible pupils as possible are claiming FSM, and to make it as simple as possible for schools and local authorities to determine eligibility.

To support this:

  • We provide an Eligibility Checking System to make the checking process as quick and straightforward as possible for schools and local authorities.
  • We have developed a model registration form to help schools encourage parents to sign up for FSM.
  • We also provide guidance to Jobcentre Plus advisers so that they can make Universal Credit recipients aware that they may also be entitled to wider benefits, including free school meals.

We have provided around £450 million worth of food vouchers to families whilst schools were largely closed. Now schools are open again, school food provision has returned to typical delivery arrangements, with meals being provided free of charge to eligible pupils at school. If pupils who are eligible for benefits-related free school meals are required to stay at home due to COVID-19, schools should continue to work with their school catering team or food provider to offer a good quality lunch parcel.

Throughout 2021 we are investing up to £220 million in our Holiday Activities and Food programme. Taking place in schools and community venues across the country, delivery began at Easter, has run across the summer and will run in the Christmas holidays. It supports disadvantaged pupils and their families with enriching activities, providing them with healthy food, helping them to learn new things and supporting socialisation and well-being. We are also further investing with £24 million in the National Breakfast Club programme, providing breakfast clubs in schools in disadvantaged areas.

Beyond this, the Department for Work and Pension has provided £429 million through the Covid Local Support Grant. This is being run by local authorities in England to support the hardest hit families and individuals with food and essential utility costs.

21st Sep 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate his Department has made of the number of eligible students who are not in receipt of food support from their school.

The continuing provision of free school meals (FSM) to children from households that are out of work, or on low incomes, is of the utmost importance to the government. Under this government, eligibility for FSM has been extended several times and to more groups of children than any other government over the past half a century.

We want to make sure as many eligible pupils as possible are claiming FSM, and to make it as simple as possible for schools and local authorities to determine eligibility.

To support this:

  • We provide an Eligibility Checking System to make the checking process as quick and straightforward as possible for schools and local authorities.
  • We have developed a model registration form to help schools encourage parents to sign up for FSM.
  • We also provide guidance to Jobcentre Plus advisers so that they can make Universal Credit recipients aware that they may also be entitled to wider benefits, including free school meals.

We have provided around £450 million worth of food vouchers to families whilst schools were largely closed. Now schools are open again, school food provision has returned to typical delivery arrangements, with meals being provided free of charge to eligible pupils at school. If pupils who are eligible for benefits-related free school meals are required to stay at home due to COVID-19, schools should continue to work with their school catering team or food provider to offer a good quality lunch parcel.

Throughout 2021 we are investing up to £220 million in our Holiday Activities and Food programme. Taking place in schools and community venues across the country, delivery began at Easter, has run across the summer and will run in the Christmas holidays. It supports disadvantaged pupils and their families with enriching activities, providing them with healthy food, helping them to learn new things and supporting socialisation and well-being. We are also further investing with £24 million in the National Breakfast Club programme, providing breakfast clubs in schools in disadvantaged areas.

Beyond this, the Department for Work and Pension has provided £429 million through the Covid Local Support Grant. This is being run by local authorities in England to support the hardest hit families and individuals with food and essential utility costs.

20th Sep 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the impact of child hunger on levels of lost learning.

We recognise that extended school and college restrictions have had a substantial impact on children and young people’s education and we are committed to helping pupils catch up as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak.

The department commissioned Renaissance Learning to provide a baseline assessment of lost learning for pupils in schools in England and monitor progress over the course of the 2020/21 academic year. The latest interim findings from this research were published on 4 June: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupils-progress-in-the-2020-to-2021-academic-year-interim-report.

Since June 2020, we have announced more than £3 billion to support education recovery, including over £950 million flexible funding to schools and £1.5 billion for a national tutoring revolution. This will have a material impact in closing gaps that have emerged.

Recovery programmes have been designed to allow early years, school, and college leaders the flexibility to support those pupils most in need. This includes the most disadvantaged and will expand our reforms in two areas where the evidence is clear that our investment will have a significant impact for disadvantaged children - high quality tutoring and great teaching.

We have provided around £450 million worth of food vouchers to families whilst schools were largely closed. Now schools are open again, school food provision has returned to typical delivery arrangements, with meals being provided free of charge to eligible pupils at school. If pupils who are eligible for benefits-related free school meals are required to stay at home due to COVID-19, schools should continue to work with their school catering team or food provider to offer a good quality lunch parcel.

Throughout 2021 we are investing up to £220 million in our holiday activities and food programme. Taking place in schools and community venues across the country, delivery began at Easter, has run across the summer and will run in the Christmas holidays. It supports disadvantaged pupils and their families with enriching activities, providing them with healthy food, helping them to learn new things and supporting socialisation and well-being. We are also further investing with £24 million in the National Breakfast Club programme, providing breakfast clubs in schools in disadvantaged areas.

Beyond this, the Department for Work and Pension has provided £429 million through the Covid Local Support Grant. This is being run by local authorities in England to support the hardest hit families and individuals with food and essential utility costs.

3rd Sep 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans his Department has to help promote the study of mathematics at universities.

Universities are autonomous bodies, independent from government, and they have control over decisions about who to admit to their courses.

The department funds the Advanced Mathematics Support Programme which aims to increase participation and attainment in level 3 mathematics through targeted support ensuring students in all 16-19 state funded schools and colleges can access AS and A level maths and AS and A level further mathematics and helping them study these subjects to a higher level.

We are working with universities and academy trusts to establish a specialist maths school in each region (and a total of 11 nationally). These aim to prepare more of our most mathematically able students to succeed in maths disciplines at top universities. They also deliver outreach work with teachers and students in schools in their surrounding areas to increase maths A level participation and attainment.

We strongly believe effective careers guidance and advice is key to supporting young people in their education and career choices, to undertake learning and develop skills in the areas employers are looking for.

The government’s Careers Strategy sets out a long-term plan to build a world class careers system to achieve this ambition. We are increasing the information available to students to ensure they can make informed choices about what and where to study. The delivery of the Careers Strategy also ensures that science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) encounters, such as with employers and apprenticeships, are built into school career programmes.

Michelle Donelan
Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
3rd Sep 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans his Department has to help increase the number of students studying mathematics at (a) A Level and (b) Higher Education.

Mathematics remains the most popular A level subject with 19% more entries since 2010. There has been an increase in entries to both A level Mathematics and further Mathematics of 3.8% and 7.1% respectively since 2020.

The Department has reformed the curriculum for Mathematics so that it matches standards set in the highest performing jurisdictions internationally. A new, more challenging GCSE provides a better foundation to study these subjects at A level, and the reformed mathematics A levels ensure that students are prepared for higher education.

The Department funds a national network of 40 maths hubs across England to raise the standard of Mathematics education to meet the standards achieved in top-performing jurisdictions. Through a school-led model, maths hubs aim to harness Mathematics expertise within an area to develop and spread excellent practice in the teaching of Mathematics, for the benefit of all students.

The Department funds the Advanced Mathematics Support Programme (AMSP) to support schools and colleges to improve the effectiveness of level 3 Mathematics teaching and increase participation, including the provision of tailored support to schools and colleges in areas with low levels of progression.

The Government will nurture our top mathematical talent by delivering its commitment to have a 16-19 maths school in every region, 11 in total. The principal aim of maths schools is to help prepare more of our most mathematically able students to succeed in maths disciplines at top universities and pursue mathematically intensive careers.

This is part of a range of initiatives to improve maths provision, including the AMSP and additional funding via the Advanced Maths Premium to support schools to increase A level maths participation. It will also complement the work of maths hubs.

The AMSP also provides targeted support for students preparing for study in higher education.

21st Jun 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans his Department has to mark the contribution of pure mathematics as part of the 80th anniversary of the breaking of the Enigma code.

It is for schools, colleges, and universities to decide how or if they choose to celebrate this important anniversary.

The Department remains committed to encouraging more students to study advanced mathematics so they can follow in the footsteps of those men and women whose brilliant grasp of mathematics led to the breaking of the Enigma code.

21st Jun 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent discussions his Department has had with Vice Chancellors on the promotion and protection of pure mathematics (a) teaching and (b) research at UK universities.

The department funds the Advanced Mathematics Support Programme (AMSP) which aims to increase participation and attainment in level 3 mathematics. The AMSP targets ensuring students in all 16-19 state-funded schools and colleges can access AS/A level mathematics and AS/A level further mathematics and helps them study these subjects to a higher level.

With AS and A level mathematics, 100% of the course is prescribed, but with AS and A level further mathematics, 50% of the content is a prescribed pure mathematics core. For the remaining 50% of the content, different options are available. These options vary between specifications and may include mechanics, statistics, discrete/decision mathematics and additional pure mathematics.

In May, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), published the research and development budget for financial year 2021/22, outlining how his department will allocate £11.35 billion.

BEIS is investing more money than ever before in core research, which will include pure mathematics. At the Spending Review in November 2020, BEIS announced that the government will increase investment in core UK Research and Innovation and National Academy funded research by more than £1 billion by 2023/24.

The government announced up to an additional £300 million for mathematical sciences in January 2020. This was new investment for research projects, fellowships and doctoral awards where the research focus is in mathematical sciences, as well as providing additional funding to the Heilbronn Institute to support PhD students and research, and to the Isaac Newton Institute and International Centre for Mathematical Sciences to enable increased participation.

Michelle Donelan
Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
21st Jun 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what support his Department is providing to universities on promoting and protecting the (a) teaching and (b) research of pure mathematics.

The department funds the Advanced Mathematics Support Programme (AMSP) which aims to increase participation and attainment in level 3 mathematics. The AMSP targets ensuring students in all 16-19 state-funded schools and colleges can access AS/A level mathematics and AS/A level further mathematics and helps them study these subjects to a higher level.

With AS and A level mathematics, 100% of the course is prescribed, but with AS and A level further mathematics, 50% of the content is a prescribed pure mathematics core. For the remaining 50% of the content, different options are available. These options vary between specifications and may include mechanics, statistics, discrete/decision mathematics and additional pure mathematics.

In May, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), published the research and development budget for financial year 2021/22, outlining how his department will allocate £11.35 billion.

BEIS is investing more money than ever before in core research, which will include pure mathematics. At the Spending Review in November 2020, BEIS announced that the government will increase investment in core UK Research and Innovation and National Academy funded research by more than £1 billion by 2023/24.

The government announced up to an additional £300 million for mathematical sciences in January 2020. This was new investment for research projects, fellowships and doctoral awards where the research focus is in mathematical sciences, as well as providing additional funding to the Heilbronn Institute to support PhD students and research, and to the Isaac Newton Institute and International Centre for Mathematical Sciences to enable increased participation.

Michelle Donelan
Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
8th Jun 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if his Department will publish data on the take-up of free school meals from children from families with No Recourse to Public Funds during the temporary extension period.

We have temporarily extended our eligibility for free school meals during the COVID-19 outbreak to include children of Zambrano carers, families with leave to remain under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, families receiving Section 17 support who also have a no recourse to public funds condition and to families receiving Section 4 support.

The department does not plan to publish data regarding the take-up of free school meals from children from families with no recourse to public funds during the temporary extension.

12th Apr 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, on what date university students will be able to return to their campus and resume face-to-face teaching.

Following the review into when the remaining higher education students can return to in-person teaching and learning, the government has announced that the remaining students should return to in-person teaching no earlier than 17 May 2021, alongside Step 3 of the roadmap. Students and institutions will be given at least a week’s notice of any further return in accordance with the timing of Step 3 of the roadmap.

The government roadmap is designed to maintain a cautious approach to the easing of restrictions to reduce public health risks and ensure that we can maintain progress towards full reopening. However, the government recognises the difficulties and disruption that this may cause for many students and their families and that is why the government is making a further £15 million of additional student hardship funding available for this academic year 2020/21. In total we have made an additional £85 million of funding available for student hardship.

We are supporting universities to provide regular twice weekly asymptomatic testing for all students and staff on-site and, from May, at home. This will help break chains of transmission of the virus.

Michelle Donelan
Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
9th Feb 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of extending free school meals eligibility to undocumented children.

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.

9th Feb 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate his Department has made from the October 2020 schools census of the number of children from families with no recourse to public funds accessing free school meals.

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.

9th Feb 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when his Department plans to (a) conclude and (b) publish the review in respect of the extension of free school meals to children from low-income families affected by no recourse to public funds.

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.

8th Feb 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he made of salary levels in London in deciding that London weighting should be removed from the higher education teaching grant; and if he will make a statement.

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.

Michelle Donelan
Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
14th Dec 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Answer of 16 April 2018 to Question 134699 on Religion: Education, whether his Department has a copy of the locally agreed syllabus for religious education for each local education authority in England.

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.

14th Dec 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Answer of 16 April 2018 to Question 134699 on Religion: Education, what requirement is in place for local authorities to ensure that any resident can read the locally agreed syllabus for religious education; and if he will make a statement.

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.

14th Dec 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Answer of 16 April 2018 to Question 134699 on Religion: Education, whether his Department has a record for each local education authority of (a) the date on which its religious education syllabus was last reviewed and (b) when the current syllabus was brought into effect.

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.

14th Dec 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to his Department's 2012 guidance on Religious education (RE) and collective worship in academies and free schools, what information his Department holds on (a) the religious education syllabus operating in each academy school and (b) whether that syllabus is the agreed syllabus for its locality.

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.

14th Dec 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Answer of 16 April 2018 to Question 134699 on Religion: Education, what assessment his Department has made of the (a) adequacy of the different syllabuses for religious education in place in England and (b) extent to which those syllabuses take account of the teaching and practices of the principal religions represented in Great Britain; and if he will make a statement.

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.

23rd Nov 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Answer of 31 January 2019 to Question 213168, what plans his Department has to bring the former East Ham police station building back into use.

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.

17th Nov 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 12 November to Question 106891 on Free School Meals: Immigrants, what plans he has to publish the outcome of the review being undertaken by his Department with the Home Department.

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.

9th Nov 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer dated 2 November 2020 to Question 106891, whether he plans to consult externally in working with the Home Office on how immigration status and no recourse to public funds interact with free school meals and other educational entitlements; and if he will make a statement.

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.

5th Nov 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to calls by the Association of School and College Leaders that Ofsted inspections should not return until September 2021, what discussions he has had with the Chief Inspector for Ofsted on resuming inspections on state (a) schools, (b) nurseries and (c) colleges.

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.

5th Oct 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the sustainability of outdoor education facilities affected by covid-19 restrictions; and if he will make a statement.

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.

14th Sep 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of using UCAS predicted grades to determine the A-level results for external candidates who were unable to sit their exams in summer 2020; and if he will make a statement.

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.

8th Jul 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what criteria he plans to use to determine for how long families with No Recourse to Public Funds will have access to free school meals; and if he will make a statement.

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.

17th Jun 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will update his Department’s online guidance to show that the current maximum income threshold for free school meals eligibility for children in families with No Recourse to Public Funds is £16,190.

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.

5th Jun 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, by what date schools will start teaching Relationships Education, Health Education and Relationships and Sex Education; and if he will make a statement.

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.

11th May 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the current suspension of consultation exercises, what steps he will take to ensure adequate consultation is completed before the new relationships and sex education requirements take effect in schools; and if he will make a statement.

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.

24th Apr 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of local authority Serious Case Reviews into child deaths have involved families with no recourse to public funds in each of the last five years.

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.

21st Feb 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he plans to introduce a national measure of children’s well-being; and if he will make a statement.

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.

21st Nov 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how she plans to implement the (a) review of the use of cages, (b) introduction of animal welfare labelling for food and (c) other commitments of her Department's Action Plan for Animal Welfare; and if she will make a statement.

Animal welfare is an important issue, and we are committed to strengthening standards and protections through our Action Plan for Animal Welfare which sets out our vision for a wide range of ambitious improvements.

We are committed to exploring the phasing out of confinement systems. Decisions on the timing of public consultation around this issue must be carefully considered in light of wider challenges Britain’s farmers are currently facing.

Last year we ran an extensive call for evidence on the impacts, costs and deliverability of food labelling for animal welfare as part of our work on the new Animal Health and Welfare Pathway. Based on the evidence provided, and as announced in our Food Strategy, we plan to consult on reforming mandatory labelling for animal welfare, and proposals are being co-developed with partners across the supply chain.

We continue to drive forward our animal welfare agenda through legislation as Parliamentary time allows, and through non-legislative reforms.

Mark Spencer
Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
8th Feb 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 8 February 2021 to Question 148675 on Overseas Trade: Israeli Settlements, which products originating from settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories must be labelled as such.

Under retained marketing and food information rules, country of origin information is required for unprocessed beef, pork, sheep, goat and poultry, fruit and vegetables, olive oil, fish and shellfish (whether pre-packed or loose), wine, and honey.

Under the provisions of the retained 1169/2011 Regulation on the provision of food information to consumers, the country of origin or place of provenance of food must also be given on prepacked food where failure to indicate this might mislead the consumer as to the true country of origin or place of provenance of the food, in particular if the information accompanying the food or the label as a whole would otherwise imply that the food has a different country of origin or place of provenance.

In addition, retained Regulation 775/2018 requires that if the origin or provenance of food is provided and is different to that of the primary ingredient of that food, the origin of the primary ingredient must also be given or an indication that it is not the same as that of the food.

In respect of wine, retained Regulation 1308/2013 requires that an indication of the provenance of a wine must be shown on the label. This should match the indication of provenance shown on the VI1 import certificate, and be authorised by the appropriate bodies in the exporting country.

Victoria Prentis
Attorney General
9th Jan 2020
What recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on the potential effect of the Withdrawal Agreement on the Northern Ireland economy.

I regularly meet with my predecessor, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Northern Ireland to discuss the deal, including the new Protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland, and will continue to do so.

As the Prime Minister has said, beyond the changes introduced by the Protocol, there will be no changes to GB-NI trade. Northern Ireland remains part of the UK’s customs territory.

3rd Feb 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how consumers can recognise before purchase products from the illegal Palestinian settlements; and if she will make a statement.

The United Kingdom does not recognise the Occupied Palestinian Territories, including settlements, as part of Israel. Certain products, such as food, originating from settlements must be labelled as such. Our retained EU legislation is clear that information on origin and provenance of goods must not be misleading and should be provided if failure to do so would itself be misleading to consumers.

28th Aug 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 29 June 2020 to Question 63203 on clothing: Bangladesh, what further discussions she has had since 21 May 2020 with UK retailers on payments to garment manufacturers in Bangladesh for products supplied during the covid-19 pandemic; and if she will make a statement.

My Department continues to work across HM Government and with British retailers on this important issue. We have been encouraging companies to honour existing orders, prioritising the labour portion of cost of goods to help protect workers’ incomes. We work with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and British garment retailers to combat payment issues through a regular working group too. Moreover, FCDO has recently launched the Vulnerable Supply Chains Facility, which will enable vulnerable garment workers in Bangladesh to recover from – and remain resilient to – the economic and social impacts of COVID-19.

23rd Jun 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what representations she has made to UK retailers who have not paid garment manufacturers in Bangladesh for products supplied during the covid-19 pandemic.

My Department is working across HM Government and with British retailers on this important issue.

There was a joint Ministerial meeting with the British Retail Consortium and its members on 21st May on the garment supply chains of British companies. Some of the topics for discussion included providing advice to businesses operating in Britain on how they can (a) support workers impacted by COVID-19; (b) support their supply chains in developing countries; and (c) meet their own duties to uphold rights and responsibilities overseas.

12th Jun 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress his Department has made on delivering the Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy.

The Government’s most recent assessment of progress towards delivering the Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy was set out in the Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy report to Parliament in July 2022, a copy of which is available in the House Libraries.

9th Jun 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to his Department's publication entitled The second cycling and walking investment strategy, published 10 March 2023, what progress his Department has made on completing its objective of increasing walking activity to 365 stages per person per year by 2025.

The Government’s most recent assessment of progress towards meeting its active travel goals was set out in the Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy (CWIS) report to Parliament in July 2022, a copy of which is available in the House Libraries. The most recent National Travel Survey statistics for 2021 show that the number of walking stages per person per year fell to 279 stages following impacts from the pandemic. The previous (CWIS1) objective of 300 stages per person had consistently been achieved from 2015 to 2019, with an average of 331 stages per person per year across this period, which is why the objective was made more ambitious in CWIS2. The latest statistics for 2022 are due to be published in September 2023, and the Department will provide a further assessment in its next report to Parliament in due course.

9th Jun 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many successful Levelling Up Fund bids were assessed by Active Travel England in the last 12 months.

In August 2022, Active Travel England assessed all bids relating to active travel that were submitted as part of the second round of the Levelling Up Fund. This included 20 successful bids from local authorities containing active travel measures.

16th Nov 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of how much Brazilian hardwood Network Rail has used for railway sleepers in each of the last five years.

The amount of Brazilian Hardwood Network Rail has used for railway sleepers in each of the past three years is listed below. Network Rail do not hold the information for the years 18/19 and 17/18.

Hardwood timber sleepers and bearers originating from Brazil:

Cubic Metres

Year

Sleepers

Bearers

Total

19/20

1404

1422

2826

20/21

1506

2259

3765

21/22

1670

2026

3696

By way of context, below are the percentages of hardwood sleepers originating from Brazil purchased against all sleeper types (concrete, steel and timber):

19/20

20/21

21/22

3.1%

3.4%

3.5%

Huw Merriman
Minister of State (Department for Transport)
11th Feb 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has for new infrastructure at ports to enable additional checks on vehicles and goods arriving from the EU from 1 January 2021; and if he will make a statement.

HMG will be engaging with ports, airports and other stakeholders at key border locations over the next few months to understand local constraints and opportunities and how the government can best support planning for operational readiness.

The Department for Transport has already committed £10 million, as part of the Port Infrastructure Resilience and Connectivity (PIRC) competition, to help deliver upgrades which will enhance capacity and maintain trade flow.

23rd Nov 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the oral contribution of 22 November 2023 by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Official Report, column 348, what the value of the Household Support Fund will be in 2024-25.

The Government has provided over £2 billion in funding for the Household Support Fund since October 2021.

The current Household Support Fund runs from April 2023 until the end of March 2024.

No further decisions have been taken on the Household Support Fund, and the government continues to keep all its existing programmes under review in the usual way.

Mims Davies
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
21st Nov 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the (a) financial and (b) practical implications for Universal Credit claimants of 53 charging days for rent in 2024.

Universal Credit always converts weekly amounts to monthly sums using 52 weeks. The issue of there being 53 rent charging days in a year is relevant only for Universal Credit (UC) claimants who have their rent charged on a weekly basis and have 53 charging periods in a calendar year.

UC claimants in the Social Rented Sector are typically charged rent weekly every Monday and so in a typical year their 12 monthly UC payments will align with the 52 charging periods. Every six years, or five if including a leap year, they will have 53 charging periods. In 2024 there will be 53 of these periods with the 53rd rent payment occurring on the final day of the calendar year. 53 charging periods will not apply in all UC claims and some claimants will not have a 53 charging period year during the life of their benefit claim.

We have considered alternative options for those with weekly tenancies, but each have their own limitations and disadvantages for claimants. The matter occurs because weekly charging periods can never be accurately aligned with monthly periods. Tenants of social housing providers are used to managing varying outgoings every month depending on whether four or five rent payments are due – not just during a year in which there are 53 charging periods.

Discretionary Housing Payments can be paid to those entitled to Housing Benefit or the housing element of Universal Credit who face a shortfall in meeting their housing costs. Since 2011, the government has provided nearly £1.7 billion in Discretionary Housing Payments to local authorities.

We do not have forecasts for this group for 2024. The most recent data from DWP’s statistical release platform Stat-Xplore is for August 2023 which shows that there were 1,664,104 Social Rented Sector households receiving housing support through UC, of which the department’s analysts estimate that approximately 1.4 million (85%) were charged weekly.

Mims Davies
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
21st Nov 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of Universal Credit claimants who will have 53 charging days for rent in 2024.

Universal Credit always converts weekly amounts to monthly sums using 52 weeks. The issue of there being 53 rent charging days in a year is relevant only for Universal Credit (UC) claimants who have their rent charged on a weekly basis and have 53 charging periods in a calendar year.

UC claimants in the Social Rented Sector are typically charged rent weekly every Monday and so in a typical year their 12 monthly UC payments will align with the 52 charging periods. Every six years, or five if including a leap year, they will have 53 charging periods. In 2024 there will be 53 of these periods with the 53rd rent payment occurring on the final day of the calendar year. 53 charging periods will not apply in all UC claims and some claimants will not have a 53 charging period year during the life of their benefit claim.

We have considered alternative options for those with weekly tenancies, but each have their own limitations and disadvantages for claimants. The matter occurs because weekly charging periods can never be accurately aligned with monthly periods. Tenants of social housing providers are used to managing varying outgoings every month depending on whether four or five rent payments are due – not just during a year in which there are 53 charging periods.

Discretionary Housing Payments can be paid to those entitled to Housing Benefit or the housing element of Universal Credit who face a shortfall in meeting their housing costs. Since 2011, the government has provided nearly £1.7 billion in Discretionary Housing Payments to local authorities.

We do not have forecasts for this group for 2024. The most recent data from DWP’s statistical release platform Stat-Xplore is for August 2023 which shows that there were 1,664,104 Social Rented Sector households receiving housing support through UC, of which the department’s analysts estimate that approximately 1.4 million (85%) were charged weekly.

Mims Davies
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
21st Nov 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many real time information disputes were raised by Universal Credit claimants between 1 January and 31 December 2022.

The Real Time Information (RTI) system is working well with over 99% of individual employment records now being reported in real time. In most cases, Real Time Information (RTI), supplied by employers, is an efficient and accurate method of calculating Universal Credit payments. Less than 1% resulted in RTI disputes between 1 January and 31 December 2022, around a fifth of these were found to contain an error by employers - around 0.2% of total RTI returns.

Jo Churchill
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
21st Nov 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 14 November to Question 17 on Universal Credit, if he will estimate the number of working Universal Credit recipients who received an incorrect Universal Credit payment as a result of an employer's incorrect real time information submission to HMRC in the latest month for which data is available.

For the last 12 months, UC has received around 29 million RTI feeds to calculate UC payments for those households with employed earnings. Where errors affect UC entitlement, payments are corrected as part of normal business.

Jo Churchill
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
15th Nov 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Universal Credit claims were subject to deductions; how much on average was deducted; what the total sum of deductions was; what proportion of each of those sums was deducted to repay advance payments in each local authority in the 2021-22 financial year; and if he will make a statement.

The requested analysis of Universal Credit claims with deductions, in the 2021-22 financial year, by Local Authority in Great Britain (GB) is provided in the separate spreadsheet, with the following points to note:

1. Average deduction amounts have been rounded to the nearest £1 and proportions have been rounded to the nearest percentage point. The sum of individual constituencies may not sum to the total figure due to rounding.

2. Deductions include advance repayments, third party deductions and all other deductions, but exclude sanctions and fraud penalties which are reductions of benefit rather than deductions.

3. The' unknown' parliamentary constituency label relates to claims for which a constituency could not be determined due to incomplete postcode information. Unknown parliamentary constituency accounts for 0.2% of all UC households.

4. In April 2021, the maximum deductions limit was reduced from 30% of the standard allowance to 25%. In May 2021, the additional court fines deduction was removed lowering the rate to 5% of standard allowance.

5. "Advances" include all four UC advance types: New Claim, Benefit Transfer, Budgeting and Change of Circumstances.

6. The table includes the number of distinct Universal Credit households subject to a deduction in the period 2021-2022. Any household with deductions in more than one assessment period within the period requested will only be counted once. Deduction amount represents the total deduction taken for a particular household. So if a household has multiple deductions in the same assessment period these figures provide the total of all deductions taken.

7. Figures are provisional and are subject to retrospective change as later data becomes available.

__________________________________________________________________________

Jo Churchill
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
7th Nov 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the workload of work coaches in job centres that are (a) taking part and (b) not taking part in the Additional Jobcentre Support Pilot.

The DWP as a whole, Service Leaders and local Jobcentre managers work closely with their teams to ensure that the workload is distributed appropriately, and our Work Coach caseloads continue to remain manageable.

The size of a Work Coach caseload will vary as it is dependent on several factors, including the level of customer support required, the needs of the local labour market and the experience and working pattern of each Work Coach.

Guy Opperman
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
7th Nov 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many work coaches have left their roles in each month since November 2021.

The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate costs, as to provide a reply would require us to link together several complex datasets and to quality assure the results.

Jo Churchill
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
7th Nov 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an estimate of the number of working Universal Credit recipients who received an incorrect payment as a result of an incorrect employer's real time information submission to HM Revenue and Customs in the latest month for which data is available.

Legislation provides for the use of RTI in the calculation of UC entitlements. That system is working well and providing accurate information but where a claimant thinks the information provided by their employer to HMRC is wrong they are asked to raise a dispute with HMRC for them to investigate. Over the last 12 months 99.8% of RTI returns by employers to support UC claims were found to be correct. For the 0.2% of cases, where employers adjust their returns, we endeavour to correct UC entitlements as soon as possible.

Jo Churchill
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
23rd Oct 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what progress the Financial Markets and Law Committee’s working group is making on reforming the guidance on fiduciary duty for pension trustees.

Government continues to work with the Financial Markets and Law Committee’s (FMLC) working group to review how best to clarify fiduciary duty, particularly in relation to climate change. The FMLC working group is independent from government. DWP looks forward to the publication of the group’s final report.

Laura Trott
Chief Secretary to the Treasury
23rd Oct 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the extent to which his Department’s Stewardship Guidance is being followed by pension scheme trustees.

We remain committed to reviewing the extent to which the Department’s Stewardship Guidance is being followed by pension scheme trustees to determine how far the guidance has helped trustees understand expectations around the Statement of Investment Principles (SIP) and Implementation Statement (IS), and whether improvements can be made.

Laura Trott
Chief Secretary to the Treasury
23rd Oct 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the judgment in R (TD & Ors) v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions [2020] EWCA Civ 618, when his Department plans to introduce a remedy scheme in the context of that judgment; which claimants are to be included in the proposed scheme; and whether it is his Department's policy for the proposed scheme to offer beneficiaries the difference between the amount they would have received had their legacy benefits not been terminated and the amount received through Universal Credit.

We are working on the delivery process for implementing the remedy and will set out the details in due course.

Guy Opperman
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
23rd Oct 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to help improve collections of debts from individuals who are not currently in receipt of Universal Credit; and if he will make a statement.

The department is committed to improving debt collections from those individuals no longer in receipt of benefits, and we continue to investigate opportunities to ensure parity of treatment between those in receipt of a benefit, or in PAYE employment, and those who are not.

Tom Pursglove
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
13th Oct 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has made an estimate of the additional number of people who would be found fit for work if the number of points awarded for the (a) coping with social engagement and (b) getting about indicators was reduced.

The department has developed estimates across the range of options being considered in the Work Capability Assessment activities and descriptors consultation. The consultation runs until the 30th October and we will continue to refine these estimates as responses are considered following the end of the consultation period.

Tom Pursglove
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
13th Oct 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has made an estimate of the additional number of people who would be found fit for work if the (a) coping with social engagement and (b) getting about indicators were removed from the Work Capability Assessment.

The department has developed estimates across the range of options being considered in the Work Capability Assessment activities and descriptors consultation. The consultation runs until the 30th October and we will continue to refine these estimates as responses are considered following the end of the consultation period.

Tom Pursglove
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
13th Oct 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has made an estimate of the number of people whose benefit award would be assessed as lower if the number of points awarded for the (a) coping with social engagement and (b) getting about indicators was reduced.

The department has developed estimates across the range of options being considered in the Work Capability Assessment activities and descriptors consultation. The consultation runs until the 30th October and we will continue to refine these estimates as responses are considered following the end of the consultation period.

Tom Pursglove
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
13th Oct 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has made an estimate of the number of people whose benefit award would be assessed as lower if the (a) coping with social engagement and (b) getting about indicators were removed from the Work Capability Assessment.

The department has developed estimates across the range of options being considered in the Work Capability Assessment activities and descriptors consultation. The consultation runs until the 30th October and we will continue to refine these estimates as responses are considered following the end of the consultation period.

Tom Pursglove
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
11th Sep 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, on what date will the Child Support Collection Act 2023 enter into force.

Preventing domestic abuse within CMS remains a key priority for the department and we want to work at pace to tackle it. The Child Support Collection (Domestic Abuse) Act 2023 requires secondary legislation before it can come into force. We will engage widely with stakeholders and other government departments to ensure the changes made are right.

The department has already commenced a single caseworker pilot where there are cases of Domestic Abuse within CMS. The evaluation of this pilot will take place early next year. We have also implemented mandatory training for all CMS staff in how to respond to cases of domestic abuse and rolled out a complex needs toolkit which provides caseworkers with clear steps to follow where there are cases involving domestic abuse.

Mims Davies
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
1st Sep 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment he has made of the (a) impact and (b) cost effectiveness of steps being taken by local authorities to increase levels of take up of Pension Credit; and if he will make a statement.

We are identifying a trial with local authorities of ‘Invitation to Claim’ letters sent to housing benefit recipients who do not claim Pension Credit.

We will analyse the results of this later this year. We do not undertake assessments of general Local Authority activity.

Laura Trott
Chief Secretary to the Treasury
11th Jul 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the reasons for approximately a third of registrations for Universal Credit not leading to a claim being submitted in the year to February 2023; and if he will make a statement.

The requested information is not held as claimants are not required to inform the Department why they have chosen not to continue their claim, and there may be multiple reasons why they have chosen not to.

Guy Opperman
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
10th Jul 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has made an assessment of trends in poverty levels among people aged over 50 who have become economically inactive since the start of the pandemic; and if he will make a statement.

It is not possible to produce a robust assessment of trends in poverty levels among people aged over 50 who have become economically inactive since the start of the pandemic.

The Covid-19 pandemic impacted the sample size and quality of data collected during the first year of the pandemic. DWP did not publish lower-level data in the 2020/21 HBAI publication and advises caution when making comparison with previous years.

Discontinuities and additional biases introduced by the changes to data collection during the pandemic become more evident when the statistics are disaggregated into smaller groups, such as people aged over 50 who have become economically inactive since the start of the pandemic.

Mims Davies
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
10th Jul 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the oral contribution of the Minister for Employment on 4 July 2023, Official Report, Col 734, how many extra staff have been hired to tackle fraud and error in the benefit system between (a) January–June 2020, (b) July–December 2020, (c) January–June 2021, (d) July–December 2021, (e) January–June 2022, (f) July–December 2022 and (g) January–June 2023.

Tackling fraud and error is a key priority for the DWP, and every member of staff has a role to play and undertakes mandatory annual fraud and error training. The department’s approach to tackling fraud was set out in the fraud plan [Fighting Fraud in the Welfare System - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)], which included the commitment to increase our counter fraud teams and create a new targeted case review capability.

The department’s annual report and accounts, published on 6 July 2023 [DWP annual report and accounts 2022 to 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)], shows how we are using our resource to tackle fraud and error.

Tom Pursglove
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
10th Jul 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many staff in her Department worked on tackling fraud and error in the benefit system between (a) January–June 2020, (b) July–December 2020, (c) January–June 2021, (d) July–December 2021, (e) January–June 2022, (f) July–December 2022 and (g) January–June 2023.

Tackling fraud and error is a key priority for the DWP, and every member of staff has a role to play and undertakes mandatory annual fraud and error training. The department’s approach to tackling fraud was set out in the fraud plan [Fighting Fraud in the Welfare System - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)], which included the commitment to increase our counter fraud teams and create a new targeted case review capability.

The department’s annual report and accounts, published on 6 July 2023 [DWP annual report and accounts 2022 to 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)], shows how we are using our resource to tackle fraud and error.

Tom Pursglove
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
15th Jun 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department is taking steps to ensure that legacy benefit claimants (a) are aware of and (b) have access to managed payments to landlord in the managed migration to Universal Credit.

We are not currently moving claimants who have Housing Benefit onto Universal Credit.

The Department has published guidance online to ensure legacy benefit claimants are aware of and have access to managed payments to landlords. This information is in the public domain and can be found in the following link: Understanding Universal Credit - Advances and help with budgeting.

Guy Opperman
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
15th Jun 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of excluding any legacy benefit claimant due to qualify for Pension Credit before April 2025 from having to migrate to Universal Credit; and if he will make a statement.

We are currently excluding anyone within 6 months of State Pension Age from the Managed Migration process to reduce the number of benefit changes households need to make within a short period of time.

Guy Opperman
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
15th Jun 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he plans to amend Universal Credit regulations to allow claimants of legacy benefits to be eligible for transitional protection if their initial claim was rejected due to a lack of information but was then approved in a subsequent claim.

We have no plans to amend the regulations.

The regulations allow transitional protection to be considered in all instances where there is a qualifying Universal Credit (UC) claim made within the given deadline, for which all the necessary information is provided.

Guidance has been issued to decision makers making this clear. We also issue reminders to claimants during this period about the need to make a UC claim to continue receiving benefit.

Guy Opperman
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
13th Jun 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has had recent discussions with social landlords who are in the discovery areas of the managed migration to Universal Credit on taking steps to ensure that the landlord portal supports tenants adequately; and if he will make a statement.

The DWP has regular engagement with a number of representatives across the Social Rented Sector (SRS) landlord community, which includes a move to Universal Credit (UC) monthly update. The Universal Credit Landlord Portal allows social rented sector landlords to verify rent and submit managed payment requests online, rather than by email.

The Portal is offered to SRS landlords with Trusted Partner status. Trusted Partners are registered social landlords (including stock owning local authorities) that have made an agreement with DWP. They have agreed to support their tenants, where possible with financial and personal budgeting. In exchange they are allowed to request an Alternative Payment Arrangement (APA, previously known as MPTL) for their tenants whenever they identify a need and DWP will implement them without challenge.

Guy Opperman
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
2nd Jun 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the new online application service for Personal Independence Payments will include a facility to update a current claim with (a) new address and (b) other information.

The Health Transformation Programme will transform the entire Personal Independence Payment (PIP) service, from finding out about benefits through to decisions, eligibility, and payments. We are developing the new service carefully and incrementally, designing the service around the needs of claimants. We have begun by focussing on the initial application part of the process and we are operating a small-scale test of the new online apply service. In time, we intend that the transformed PIP service will let claimants update their address and other information online. Currently, claimants using the online application process can update their claim by calling the PIP phone line, as other claimants do.

Tom Pursglove
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
22nd May 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 18 May to Question 184871 on Personal Independence Payment: Applications, who is taking part in the small-scale test of the digital PIP service; and whether organisations supporting disabled people can offer to contribute to it.

As we test the new online apply service for PIP, it is currently being offered to a small number of claimants who call the department to begin a new claim. Currently, we are offering the service to 60 claimants a day.

Only those claimants who are able to apply online, and feel comfortable doing so, are offered a digital application. Call agents offer this voluntary option to new PIP claimants within scope of the current service until the daily limit is met.

The following user groups are not currently in scope:

  • Anyone applying in an official capacity (e.g. appointees);
  • Anyone with a Welsh or Northern Ireland postcode;
  • Anyone applying for special rules;
  • Anyone with a previous or existing PIP or DLA claim; and
  • Those without a NINO or with a GY or JY postcode.

As we gradually expand the service, we will incrementally bring more user groups in scope. This approach is allowing us to build, develop and design the service safely.

The department is committed to working with stakeholder organisations as we develop the new online new online apply service for PIP. Their input will be vital to its delivery. To date, three workshops dedicated to the service have been held, engaging with 16 different key stakeholder organisations. These workshops are contributing to the design and the delivery of the service and will continue as we gradually expand the service.

Tom Pursglove
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
22nd May 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the waiting time for the Independent Case Examiner to commence an investigation of a complaint relating to the Child Maintenance Service was as of 22 May 2023; and if he will make a statement.

The ICE process has several stages. Once a case has been accepted, ICE will attempt to resolve it without a full evidence gather. If a resolution cannot be brokered, the case awaits allocation to an investigator who will judge, once the evidence is available, whether an attempt to settle without a full investigation is appropriate. If this is not appropriate, or if settlement action cannot be agreed with the complainant, a full investigation is conducted.

The rate at which complaints can be allocated to an investigator depends on a number of factors, including the volume and complexity of complaints received, as well as available investigative resource.

Post-Covid, ICE has seen an increased number of referrals accompanied by an increase in the number of cases it has accepted. In the year April 2021 to March 2022, there was a 17% increase in the number of complaints being referred to ICE and a 68% increase in the number of complaints being accepted for examination, compared to the previous reporting year. In 2022-23 ICE received and accepted broadly similar volumes of cases referred and accepted.

The average time taken, as of 23 May 2023, from complaint receipt to allocation to an investigator (based on all current live cases being investigated) is 71 weeks for CMS cases.

The ICE office is continuously reviewing its processes and operating model to improve productivity and reduce the length of time investigations take to be concluded, without compromising quality. Since 1 April 2022, the ICE office has recruited an additional 18 investigators who will become increasingly productive as they consolidate initial training. A further 5 staff are due to join the team from July. Additional resource will be focused on CMS work.

Mims Davies
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
15th May 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans his Department has for when Personal Independence Payment claimants will be able to make applications digitally; and if he will make a statement.

The Health Transformation Programme is transforming the entire PIP service, including introducing a digital PIP service with the option to apply online.   We are currently operating a small-scale test of this new apply service, taking a small number of claims to begin with, before we gradually and carefully increase the number of people who can use it.

We have already introduced a digital version of the PIP2 health questionnaire, which is now offered to the majority of those making a claim. The full online apply service will offer claimants the option to claim PIP online, including the ability to save and resume and to upload medical evidence.

The programme will be developing the new PIP service carefully and incrementally, designing it around the needs of claimants, making it quicker, simpler and more transparent.

Tom Pursglove
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
15th May 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment he has made of the number of people who qualify for but have not taken up (a) Universal Credit, (b) social tariff schemes and (c) other financial support schemes.

The Department does not hold the information requested. A single system for those in and out of work is expected to increase take-up compared to legacy benefits, as set out in the UC business case Universal Credit programme full Business Case summary (publishing.service.gov.uk)

The Affordability of Communications Services report published by Ofcom in April 2023 sets out information about take up of social tariffs.

Guy Opperman
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
2nd May 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to improve training for (a) work coaches and (b) disability employment advisers to help ensure that jobseekers with complex disabilities receive support to (i) find and (ii) stay in employment; and if he will make a statement.

Learning products within the Work Coach and Disability Employment Adviser Learning Journey include learning around supporting and coaching claimants with complex needs to move closer to, in to, and sustain, employment.

To ensure the continuous improvement of our learning, the Work Coach and Disability Employment Adviser learning products are regularly reviewed with policy colleagues, work psychologists and representatives from service delivery, and utilising findings from our post learning evaluation. Any opportunities to improve are impacted across all the learning products and changes made as quickly as possible.

Tom Pursglove
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
2nd May 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he plans to introduce (a) screen readers, (b) specialist screen magnification software and (c) refreshable braille displays in jobcentres.

The Department provides computers for customer use in Jobcentres which have assistive technology such as screen readers and screen magnification built into them. Although Jobcentres do not offer the use of refreshable braille displays, customers are able to access a wide range of services which can support their needs such as braille and large print documents being made available upon request.

Guy Opperman
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
14th Apr 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the policy paper Transforming Support: The Health and Disability White Paper, published 16 March 2023, what steps he plans to take to train and support (a) work coaches and (b) disability employment advisors to improve support for disabled jobseekers.

Learning for Work Coaches and Disability Employment Advisors already includes health and disability, we are currently working with Policy to impact and iterate learning journeys to align with Policy intent.

DWP Work Coaches receive comprehensive learning to support customers with additional or complex needs, which continues at point of need throughout their role. The learning provides Work Coaches with the knowledge and skills to enable them to support claimants moving towards employment.

Learning enables the Work Coach to determine what is required and to tailor the support and advice they offer. They complete scenario-based discussions and skills practice to cultivate effective communication skills, including the sensitive use of questions, to reach joint decisions.

Within DWP, the Disability Employment Advisor (DEA) role is expected to have completed the Work Coach Learning Journey prior to commencing specific learning for the DEA role, which provides them with further skills to support specific needs, enabling claimants to progress towards employment and making opportunities more accessible.

Tom Pursglove
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
28th Mar 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to (a) support parents of disabled children and (b) help those parents return to work.

The Government is committed to providing extensive support to help parents return to work, including parents of disabled children. Recognising that high childcare costs can affect parents’ decisions about work and hours, the Government has announced improvements to the UC childcare element, offering additional financial support to parents starting work, or increasing their earnings.

The Government believes that the best way to support living standards is through good work, better skills, and higher wages, which is why, on the 24 November 2021, the Universal Credit taper rate was reduced from 63% to 55%, enabling claimants to keep more of their earnings. Parents also benefit from the Work Allowance, which is increasing by £500 a year, in addition to the normal benefits uprating.

When a dependent child is disabled, the claimant may qualify for Disabled Child Addition. To be eligible, the child must be receiving Disability Living Allowance (DLA). DLA is available to eligible children under 16, regardless of the family’s income. Parents of disabled children, like all claimants, agree to commitments that are tailored to their circumstances and improve the likelihood of them moving into work.

Tom Pursglove
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
27th Mar 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of replacing the first sanction for someone claiming Universal Credit with a formal warning; and if he will make a statement.

Evidence from a previous Early Warning trial in 2016 showed the cost of the warning system outweighed the benefits. Since then, we have completed two small-scale proofs of concept to test a simple warning process and currently have no plans to run another test.

The Department is focusing its efforts on intensifying the support we offer to get people back to work and into good jobs. The majority of sanctions are for failing to attend a meeting with a work coach and these can be quickly resolved by booking and attending another meeting.

Guy Opperman
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
27th Mar 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he plans to introduce specialist Jobcentre Plus Work Coaches with expertise on supporting single parents.

Our Jobcentre teams are committed to delivering a quality service to ensure all claimants, including single parents, receive the best possible support that takes account of their individual circumstances. There are no current plans to introduce specialist Work Coaches for single parents.

Work Coaches undergo a comprehensive learning journey designed to equip them with the tools, skills and behaviours required to provide a high quality, efficient service to all claimants. They receive on-going learning in their roles and have access to guidance which is refreshed at regular intervals. We are however continuously reviewing the service claimants receive to ensure that it is responsive to their needs. In relation to a core need of parents seeking to work or work more, we have established networks of childcare champions and childcare subject matter experts who are upskilling our teams to be able to promote the Universal Credit childcare offer and explain how it fits with other relevant help with childcare.

Guy Opperman
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
27th Mar 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential for Work Coaches or other Jobcentre Plus staff to support employers to job carve, to create roles suitable for single parents seeking to balance work with parenting responsibilities; and if he will make a statement.

It is for employers to consider the specifics of job design. This government however recognises the importance of flexible work for parents and is supporting the Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Bill throughout its journey in Parliament.

Childcare is also important for working parents. We have just announced a generous new offer for parents needing childcare to work, to be rolled out starting this year. We are increasing the Universal Credit childcare cap to £951 for one child (up from £646) and £1,630 for two children (up from £1,108). We will also be paying parents on Universal Credit childcare support up-front when they are moving into work or increasing their hours, rather than in arrears, removing a key barrier for low-income families.

In addition, from April 2024 we will be increasing the free childcare available to working parents in England in a staged rollout, so that by September 2025 all working parents of children aged 9 months up to 3 years old will be able to access 30 hours free childcare per week.

Guy Opperman
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
27th Mar 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when his Department plans to reply to correspondence of 10 February from the Rt Hon. Member for East Ham, reference ST102732.

The Complaint Resolution Teams aims to deal with correspondence from Members of Parliament, within 15 working days, in line with Cabinet Office guidelines. There may be occasions when we cannot meet this however, we will always try to keep the MP updated if this is the case.

The case in question is a complex case that requires additional time to find an adequate solution. A written update has been sent in the post which includes contact details for the team leading on this case who can provide more details.

Mims Davies
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
27th Mar 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how job centre work coaches are trained to understand the circumstances of working parents and disabled people when setting in-work progression requirements; and if he will make a statement.

All new entrant work coaches undergo a work coach learning journey which includes learning products on health and supporting claimants with disabilities which equips work coaches with tools, knowledge, skills, and behaviours to enable them to support individuals moving closer to the working environment. This includes childcare modules to support working lone parents.

From October 2022 in work progression (IWP) work coaches have received tailored learning to support people with individual circumstances, including lone parents in-work and disabled people.

Guy Opperman
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
20th Mar 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 8 March 2023 to Question 161211 on Universal Credit: Coronavirus, how much was not collected in deductions from Universal Credit as a result of the suspension of deductions during the covid-19 pandemic in the period between January 2020 and January 2021.

In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, and in agreement with His Majesty’s Treasury and the Chancellor, debt recovery was paused for 3 months from April 2020.

Due to the number of variables involved, and taking account of the phased reintroduction of debt recovery, we cannot accurately provide details of the amount not collected in deductions from Universal Credit for the period January 2020 to January 2021.

The department continues to have a well-established process for working with individuals to support them to manage their debts; this might result in agreeing a reduced rate of deduction or, in exceptional cases, suspending repayments. Individuals impacted by the pandemic may have contacted the department seeking a reduction in, or suspension of, their rate of repayment, had the department not suspended all recovery.

Processing of newly identified overpayments was also suspended, and we are unable to accurately estimate the rate of repayment that would have been negotiated given the impact of the pandemic.

Additionally, as we recommenced recovery, changes to individual circumstances may have led to a lower rate of repayment than was in place prior to the pandemic.

Tom Pursglove
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
20th Mar 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many calls to his Department were (a) received and (b) answered by service area in each of the last five years; and what the average wait time for such calls was in each such area in each such year.

DWP plans resourcing according to forecasted telephony demand in an effort to keep wait times down. Wait time performance is frequently reviewed, and where DWP’s telephony is delivered by an outsourced provider we use the Key Performance Indicator of percentage of calls answered.

The data below shows how many calls were (a) received, (b) answered and (c) average speed of answer for each service area in each of the last five years. CFCD data is only available for the last 2 years.

Financial Year

Service Area

Calls Offered

Calls Answered

Average Speed of Answer hh:mm:ss

2022-2023

CFCD

2,181,364

1,870,726

0:06:37

2022-2023

CMG

1,969,296

1,579,458

0:14:09

2022-2023

Disability Services

8,031,706

5,916,291

0:18:47

2022-2023

Retirement Services

9,563,255

8,065,542

0:06:22

2022-2023

Universal Credit

15,583,662

14,504,606

0:03:00

2022-2023

Working Age

3,848,833

2,837,717

0:18:55

Data above covers the period 1/4/22 – 19/3/23 representing the latest available data for the current financial year.

2021-2022

CFCD

2,266,123

2,044,015

0:04:32

2021-2022

CMG

1,853,670

1,403,894

0:17:06

2021-2022

Disability Services

7,788,882

5,883,066

0:17:45

2021-2022

Retirement Services

8,489,843

6,660,842

0:09:11

2021-2022

Universal Credit

18,406,628

16,100,254

0:05:08

2021-2022

Working Age

4,682,665

3,526,054

0:17:35

2020-2021

CMG

1,494,693

1,098,457

0:14:40

2020-2021

Disability Services

5,800,280

4,319,762

0:17:11

2020-2021

Retirement Services

7,053,720

5,440,280

0:08:43

2020-2021

Universal Credit

17,407,587

15,870,315

0:03:41

2020-2021

Working Age

5,151,549

3,884,057

0:16:55

2019-2020

CMG

3,464,411

2,750,564

0:08:53

2019-2020

Disability Services

7,703,309

6,154,284

0:09:58

2019-2020

Retirement Services

9,338,493

7,866,169

0:04:52

2019-2020

Universal Credit

18,588,061

16,290,226

0:04:45

2019-2020

Working Age

9,901,097

7,073,534

0:15:48

2018-2019

CMG

3,664,662

3,289,464

0:01:18

2018-2019

Disability Services

7,395,433

6,147,557

0:06:50

2018-2019

Retirement Services

9,567,951

8,496,762

0:03:06

2018-2019

Universal Credit

13,921,347

11,564,360

0:06:28

2018-2019

Working Age

17,032,506

12,699,993

0:11:49

Debt Recovery Line

Debt PAY Line (Inc SERCO)

Year From - To

Offered

Answered

ASA

Offered

Answered

ASA

Apr 2018 – Mar 2019

1511241

1319552

N/A

N/A

378723

N/A

Apr 2019 – Mar 2020

2185905

1493931

17:33

476005

423857

01:20

Apr 2020 – Mar 2021

1050818

833339

10:47

376987

354297

01:59

Apr 2021 – Mar 2022

1768821

1598025

05:13

823237

785246

01:45

Apr 2022 – Feb 2023

1604141

1390350

07:25

749320

705380

03:46

NBFH (National Benefit Fraud Hotline) – please note the line was shut down from April 20 to March 22 due to Covid.

April 22 to March 23 (WC 13/03) - Internal DWP team.

Average call waiting time: 6:13

Total calls received: 97,720

Total calls answered: 75,137

April 19 to 20 March 20 (Serco)

Average call waiting time: 38s

Total calls received: 123,341

Total calls answered 116,774

Sept 18 to March 19 (Serco)

Average call waiting time: 37s

Total calls received: 73,709

Total calls answered: 69,540

April 2018 to Sept 18 (Capita)

Average call waiting time: 57s

Total calls received: 70,959

Total calls answered: 66,070

Please note this information is derived from the Department’s management information designed solely for the purpose of helping the Department to manage its business. As such, it has not been subjected to the rigorous quality assurance checks applied to our published official statistics. As DWP holds the information internally, we have released it. However, it is possible information held by DWP may change due to operational reasons and we recommend that caution be applied when using it.

Mims Davies
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
13th Mar 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether any decisions on people’s Universal Credit entitlement are fully automated; and if he will make a statement.

As a modern digital service, Universal Credit uses a high degree of automation to make claims and changes to claims, making it easier for claimants and more efficient for the department. The Department continues to review the way in which decisions are made within the Universal Credit service as processes are further automated.

Guy Opperman
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
8th Mar 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an estimate of the income not received by his Department as a result of the suspension of deductions from Universal Credit during the covid-19 pandemic for the first 12 months from the start of that suspension.

The impact of pausing deductions resulted in debt recovery being delayed rather than lost.

Guy Opperman
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
6th Mar 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of raising the standard allowance of Universal Credit in the context of rising inflation.

The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions has completed his statutory annual up-rating review and State Pension and benefit rates will increase in line with the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) for the year to September 2022. This means the rate of Universal Credit standard allowance will increase by 10.1% from 10 April 2023.

His decisions were announced by means of a written ministerial statement on 17 November 2022 and the rates can be found on gov.uk:

Benefit and pension rates 2023 to 2024 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Guy Opperman
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
20th Feb 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment the Government has made of the potential impact of the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill on the (a) ban on the use of asbestos in the UK and (b) Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012.

With the introduction of the Retained EU Law (REUL) Bill, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) remains focused on ensuring that regulatory frameworks maintain the United Kingdom’s high standards of health and safety protection and continue to reduce burdens for business.

In Great Britain, the legislation which controls asbestos exposure risks in workplaces are the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 (CAR). These regulations are owned by the Health and Safety Executive.

Under these regulations HSE requires dutyholders to assess whether asbestos is present in their buildings, what condition it’s in and whether it gives rise to a risk of exposure. The duty-holder must then draw up a plan to manage the risk associated with asbestos which, importantly, must include removal of the asbestos if it cannot be safely managed where it remains in place. In addition to this, dutyholders are legally required to remove asbestos containing materials before major refurbishment or demolition work can occur.

Great Britain’s (GB) asbestos legacy remains a key issue and continuing to improve and build on the evidence base around safe management and disposal of asbestos is fundamental. However, concerns remain that moving to a fixed deadline for removal would increase the opportunity for exposure. This is difficult to support where the current risk of exposure is very low and asbestos can be managed safely in situ until planned refurbishment works.

Our standards of health and safety protections are among the highest in the world. HSE will continue to review its retained EU Law to seek opportunities to reduce business burdens and promote growth whilst maintaining the United Kingdom’s high standards of health and safety.

Mims Davies
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
20th Feb 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make it his policy to lift the stay of decisions on Universal Credit claims by EU citizens with pre-settled status who notify his Department that they are not able to meet their basic needs as a result of that stay.

Where an appeal is pending in a lead test case, as there is in relation to EU citizens with pre-settled status in scope of SSWP v AT (AIRE Centre and IMA Intervening) [2022] UKUT 330 (AAC), then under Section 25 of the Social Security Act 1998, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions has the power to stay making decisions on any lookalike claims.

A stay may be lifted where there is application on hardship grounds. Each application is considered on its merits.

We are not staying any cases where a right to reside has been identified for those with pre-settled status, and in such cases, the grant of UC should follow subject to the usual eligibility criteria being met.

Guy Opperman
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
17th Feb 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Upper Tribunal’s judgment in Secretary of State for Work and Pensions v AT (Aire Centre and IMA intervening) UC: [2022] UKUT 330 (AAC), how many cases of EU citizens and their families with pre-settled status applying for Universal Credit had been stayed behind that lead case.

Following the Upper Tribunal’s judgment in Secretary of State for Work and Pensions v AT (Aire Centre and IMA intervening) UC: [2022] UKUT 330 (AAC), DWP appealed to the Court of Appeal. This application has been granted and the appeal has been listed for March.

Under Section 25 of the Social Security Act 1998, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions has the power to stay decision making when an appeal is pending in a lead test case.

DWP decision makers are currently reviewing cases to determine which cases are in scope of the judgment and which cases should be stayed.

Cases where a right to reside has been identified for those with pre-settled status will not be stayed, and in such cases, the grant of UC should follow in the usual way subject to the usual eligibility criteria. DWP decision makers will consider hardship when considering whether to stay individual cases in line with guidance. This application has been granted and the appeal has been listed for March.

Guy Opperman
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
17th Feb 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many decisions on Universal Credit habitual residence tests for EU citizens were made in the period between (a) 14 November 2022 to 13 December 2022 and (b) 14 December 2022 to 13 January 2022; and how many and what proportion of these were positive decisions.

The Department does not have this information. Habitual Residence Test data is retrospectively updated and currently only available to November 2022.

Guy Opperman
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
9th Feb 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for Industrial Injuries Disablement Allowance, how many (a) applications were received, (b) awards were made and (c) mandatory reconsiderations were completed in which the decision was (i) upheld and (ii) overturned in each year since 2013.

We have grouped the response to the above three parliamentary questions together.

The information requested is in the attached document.

Points to note:

  • Information on the volume of applications received and the volume of awards made for Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit is available as published data on Stat Xplore from 2017 onwards. In particular the ‘Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit (IIDB) Assessments’ dataset gives data on ‘Accepted – payable’ assessments and the ‘New Claims to Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit (IIDB)’ dataset. These datasets can be found in the Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit (IIDB) folder. Guidance on how to use Stat-Xplore can be found here: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/index.html.

  • The rest of this data is derived from unpublished management information which was collected for internal departmental use only, and has not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standards. It should therefore be treated with caution.
  • Figures for applications received and awards made are rounded to the nearest 1,000.
  • Figures for Mandatory Reconsiderations (MRs) are rounded to the nearest 100.
  • Figures for Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit includes Industrial Injuries Disablement Allowance and Reduced Earnings Allowance.
  • Figures for Disability Living Allowance (DLA) cover both DLA Adult and DLA Child and awards made include new claims and renewals.
  • Definition of Mandatory Reconsideration: Claimants who wish to dispute a decision made on their claim are required to ask the department to reconsider the decision before they can lodge an appeal with His Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service. MRs can arise for various reasons, such as omitting to tell the DWP about relevant evidence during the initial decision-making process; this could include not returning forms required as part of the claim.
  • Figures are for Great Britain only.
  • Figures cover applications, awards and Mandatory Reconsiderations from October 2013 up to May 2022.

Tom Pursglove
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
9th Feb 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for Attendance Allowance, how many (a) applications were received, (b) awards were made and (c) mandatory reconsiderations were completed in which the decision was (i) upheld and (ii) overturned in each year since 2013.

We have grouped the response to the above three parliamentary questions together.

The information requested is in the attached document.

Points to note:

  • Information on the volume of applications received and the volume of awards made for Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit is available as published data on Stat Xplore from 2017 onwards. In particular the ‘Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit (IIDB) Assessments’ dataset gives data on ‘Accepted – payable’ assessments and the ‘New Claims to Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit (IIDB)’ dataset. These datasets can be found in the Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit (IIDB) folder. Guidance on how to use Stat-Xplore can be found here: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/index.html.

  • The rest of this data is derived from unpublished management information which was collected for internal departmental use only, and has not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standards. It should therefore be treated with caution.
  • Figures for applications received and awards made are rounded to the nearest 1,000.
  • Figures for Mandatory Reconsiderations (MRs) are rounded to the nearest 100.
  • Figures for Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit includes Industrial Injuries Disablement Allowance and Reduced Earnings Allowance.
  • Figures for Disability Living Allowance (DLA) cover both DLA Adult and DLA Child and awards made include new claims and renewals.
  • Definition of Mandatory Reconsideration: Claimants who wish to dispute a decision made on their claim are required to ask the department to reconsider the decision before they can lodge an appeal with His Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service. MRs can arise for various reasons, such as omitting to tell the DWP about relevant evidence during the initial decision-making process; this could include not returning forms required as part of the claim.
  • Figures are for Great Britain only.
  • Figures cover applications, awards and Mandatory Reconsiderations from October 2013 up to May 2022.

Tom Pursglove
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
9th Feb 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for Disability Living Allowance, how many (a) applications were received, (b) awards were made and (c) mandatory reconsiderations were completed in which the decision was (i) upheld and (ii) overturned in each year since 2013.

We have grouped the response to the above three parliamentary questions together.

The information requested is in the attached document.

Points to note:

  • Information on the volume of applications received and the volume of awards made for Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit is available as published data on Stat Xplore from 2017 onwards. In particular the ‘Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit (IIDB) Assessments’ dataset gives data on ‘Accepted – payable’ assessments and the ‘New Claims to Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit (IIDB)’ dataset. These datasets can be found in the Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit (IIDB) folder. Guidance on how to use Stat-Xplore can be found here: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/index.html.

  • The rest of this data is derived from unpublished management information which was collected for internal departmental use only, and has not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standards. It should therefore be treated with caution.
  • Figures for applications received and awards made are rounded to the nearest 1,000.
  • Figures for Mandatory Reconsiderations (MRs) are rounded to the nearest 100.
  • Figures for Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit includes Industrial Injuries Disablement Allowance and Reduced Earnings Allowance.
  • Figures for Disability Living Allowance (DLA) cover both DLA Adult and DLA Child and awards made include new claims and renewals.
  • Definition of Mandatory Reconsideration: Claimants who wish to dispute a decision made on their claim are required to ask the department to reconsider the decision before they can lodge an appeal with His Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service. MRs can arise for various reasons, such as omitting to tell the DWP about relevant evidence during the initial decision-making process; this could include not returning forms required as part of the claim.
  • Figures are for Great Britain only.
  • Figures cover applications, awards and Mandatory Reconsiderations from October 2013 up to May 2022.

Tom Pursglove
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
27th Jan 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an estimate of the number of people with Multiple Sclerosis who are economically inactive.

The specific information requested is not available.

The Prime Minister has tasked the DWP’s Secretary of State to look in detail at the issue of workforce participation. This involves working with other Government departments, including the Department of Health and Social Care, to identify and understand the barriers preventing people from joining the workforce and/or resulting in people leaving the workforce early.

Disabled people and people with health conditions are a key focus of this work, which will build on the Government’s existing package of support to help disabled people and people with health conditions to start, stay and succeed in work.

Background

Headline estimates on employment, unemployment and economic inactivity are produced using the Labour Force Survey (LFS), which provides internationally recognised information on the UK labour market. The LFS also asks respondents about any long-term (lasting or expected to last 12 months or more) physical or mental health condition they may have with 18 different conditions, or groups of conditions, to select from. Multiple Sclerosis would normally be recorded under the category Progressive Illnesses (not included elsewhere), which also includes conditions such as Cancer, symptomatic HIV, Parkinson’s Disease and Muscular Dystrophy. A breakdown for the individual conditions within this category is not available from the LFS.

In 2021/2022, the number of economically inactive people who reported having a Progressive Illness was 410,000 (or 5% of the total number of people who were economically inactive).

Source: The employment of disabled people 2022 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Tom Pursglove
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
27th Jan 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an estimate of the number of people with Multiple Sclerosis who are in the Employment and Support Allowance (a) Support Group and (b) Work-Related Activity Group.

In May 2022, there were around 21,800 people on ESA whose main condition was multiple sclerosis. Of these, around 400 were in the Work-Related Activity Group and around 20,000 were in the Support Group, with the remainder being in the assessment phase or receiving National Insurance credits only, and not assigned to a particular group.

Tom Pursglove
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
27th Jan 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people with Multiple Sclerosis are in receipt of (a) income-related Employment and Support Allowance and (b) new-style contribution-based Employment and Support Allowance.

In May 2022, there were around 21,800 people on ESA whose main condition was multiple sclerosis. Of these, around 4,000 were in receipt of Income-Related ESA and around 12,000 were in receipt of Contributory (New-Style) ESA, with a further 4,300 in receipt of both Income-Related and Contributory ESA. There were also around 1,500 who were only receiving National Insurance Credits.

Tom Pursglove
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
9th Jan 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether work coaches receive disability awareness training in relation to (a) service users and (b) colleagues.

DWP Work Coaches undergo comprehensive learning to support customers with additional or complex needs, particularly disabilities and they continue to build on this in the workplace through accessing point of need learning products.

The learning provides Work Coaches with the knowledge and skills to enable them to:

  • treat each claimant as an individual;
  • to be aware and support claimants with their disability and the impacts of their condition;
  • help overcome any barriers; and
  • support them into moving closer to the working environment.

Learning includes DWP Fundamental Learning Journey which contains a number of training courses that cover disability awareness:

  • Becoming Disability Confident - seeing past the misconceptions that can exist around disabilities and being able to have open, honest and well-informed conversations with disabled colleagues in order to create, or contribute to, an inclusive work environment in which disabled colleagues can thrive;
  • Helping customers who need additional support – working with customers who need additional support either because they are in a vulnerable situation, are disabled, or suggest suicide or self-harm, requires additional customer service skills; and
  • Vulnerable Customers and Complex Needs.

Learning also includes technical learning which enables Work Coaches to determine what is required and never assume to know and to cultivate effective communication skills, including the sensitive use of questions, to reach joint decisions with the claimant.

DWP also provides the Work Coach with an understanding of assisted digital, and how they can effectively coach claimants who find using digital services a challenge.

Work Coaches are also signposted to tools, guidance support and websites to effectively use resources from both internal and external sites. This ensures that they access the most up to date advice and expertise on a particular health condition.

Tom Pursglove
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
6th Jan 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, which topics are included in initial training for work coaches.

Work Coaches also receive on-going learning for their roles and access to guidance which is refreshed at regular intervals.

Please see attached list of learning (Training Index) which Work Coaches undertake as part of their comprehensive learning journey to assist.

Guy Opperman
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
6th Jan 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether work coaches receive training on (a) potential barriers to employment for disabled people and (b) how to support disabled jobseekers who may be experiencing such barriers; and if he will make a statement.

Work Coach Learning equips staff with tools, knowledge, coaching skills and behaviours through a mix of topics, to enable them to support all individuals moving closer to the working environment; this is prevalent when supporting people with disabilities and overcoming barriers.

For example, within the Topic ‘Claimant Commitment’, learning includes how we consider the impact of the claimants’ condition and their ability to work and the need to consider what work search activities they are capable of now and in the future, their barriers, any transferrable skills, and any support they are receiving or require.

Work Coaches also explore any previous work activity and discuss any local provision that can help with these needs.

In addition, the topics:

  • ‘Complex Needs’ includes supporting claimants with a disability
  • ‘Assisted Digital’ includes learning to support people whose circumstances make it difficult for them to use online government services, and
  • ‘Access to Work’ provides individual practical support and advice to help overcome barriers at work. It helps people with all types of disabilities, including mental health conditions and a condition does not have to be diagnosed.

In addition there are over 500 Disability Employment advisors in job centres up and down the country.

Guy Opperman
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
6th Jan 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential impact on youth employment of the abolition of traineeships, announced on 12 December 2022.

Traineeships are not being abolished. The Department for Education has taken the decision that Traineeship provision will be integrated into 16-19 study programme and adult education provision from 1 August 2023. All the elements of the Traineeship programme - English and Maths, work experience, employability and occupational skills, and qualifications - will continue to be funded for 16–19-year-olds as part of the national 16-19 study programme, and for adults through the adult education budget.

The DWP Youth Offer provides individually tailored Work Coach support to young people aged 16 to 24 who are in the Universal Credit Intensive Work Search group. This includes the Youth Employment Programme, Youth Employability Coaches for young people with additional employment barriers, and Youth Hubs across Great Britain, which provide young people access to enter a variety of work-related support including Sector-based Work Academy Programmes, work experience, Mentoring Circles, apprenticeships, employer engagement, careers advice and traineeships.

DWP will continue to work with national and local partners to ensure the right support is available to help young people to enter and progress in employment.

Mims Davies
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
28th Nov 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he plans to uprate the value of the Bereavement Support payment which was introduced at its current level in 2017; and if he will make a statement.

The rate of Bereavement Support Payment is reviewed on a discretionary basis as part of the annual uprating process. Following this year’s review, Bereavement Support Payment will stay at the current rate. This means that claimants on the standard rate will continue to receive a first payment of £2,500 and 18 monthly payments of £100, and those on the higher rate will receive £3,500 followed by 18 monthly payments of £350.

Bereavement Support Payment is intended to provide working people with short-term financial support following the death of a spouse or civil partner, to help towards the additional costs associated with a death. It is not means-tested unlike income replacement benefits such as Universal Credit, which we are increasing in line with inflation to protect the least well-off. Families needing extra financial support are protected by this welfare safety net.

Mims Davies
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
24th Nov 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans he has to take forward the National Disability Strategy, following the court defeat suffered by the Government in January 2022.

We are disappointed by, and strongly disagree with, the High Court’s finding in January of this year, that the National Disability Strategy was unlawful, and the Secretary of State has been granted permission to appeal the Court's declaration. In order to ensure compliance with the Court’s declaration, we are obliged to pause a limited number of policies which are referred to in the strategy, or are directly connected with it.

We are fully committed to supporting disabled people in the UK through creating more opportunities, protecting their rights and ensuring they fully benefit from, and can contribute to, every aspect of our society.

Tom Pursglove
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
22nd Nov 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to his written statement of 17 November 2022 on Social Security Update, HCWS374, for what reasons he has set the benefit cap at the new level.

The Secretary of State has completed his statutory review of the benefit cap levels and in doing so has considered a wide range evidence and statistics held in the department, and the implications of, and for, other policies and decisions.

Guy Opperman
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
31st Oct 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of Universal Credit claimants who are estimated to be living in poverty.

Statistics on poverty levels for Universal Credit claimants in 19/20 are available at:

https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/ on the HBAI dataset.

It is not possible to provide a robust estimate for 2020/21 due to the impact the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic had on data quality in 2020/21.

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

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

Guy Opperman
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
25th Oct 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, in what circumstances a man's pension that is subject to a Section 32 buyout policy will not pay out until the age of 65; and for what reasons there are restrictions on pensions subject to a buyout policy.

A Section 32 buy-out policy is an individual contract between an individual and usually an insurance company, purchased using funds transferred from an occupational pension scheme.

Such a contract can and may pay out before the age of 65 for a man. However, a Section 32 policy may contain a Guaranteed Minimum Pension (GMP), and where it does, it must, as a minimum, pay a GMP from age 65 for a man or 60 for a woman, regardless of investment performance. Where there are insufficient funds to pay additional benefits, a Section 32 policy may therefore pay out only the GMP from these ages. This is a valuable guarantee, as it means that a person’s retirement income cannot decline below the amount of the GMP.

Laura Trott
Chief Secretary to the Treasury
20th Oct 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent estimate she has made of the number of trust-based defined contribution pension scheme accounts there are as of 20 October 2022.

This department does not collect that information. However, statistics on trust-based defined contribution pension schemes is collected by The Pensions Regulator and can be viewed at: https://www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/en/document-library/research-and-analysis/dc-trust-scheme-return-data-2021-2022

Alex Burghart
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
20th Oct 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will publish her Department's evaluation of the Mid-life MOT pilots undertaken in 2021.

A formal evaluation of the 2021 tests was not undertaken, as this was not appropriate given their small scale.

However, informal learning from the project has informed the design of the expanded delivery of Mid-Life MOT approaches through both private sector-led and Jobcentre Plus-led pilots, which we will be monitoring to understand their effectiveness.

Alex Burghart
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
20th Oct 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department plans to take steps to further expand testing of the Mid-life MOT programme.

In the winter 2021 budget, DWP secured more than £5m to deliver new work to expand and improve the Mid-Life MOT offer across three new workstreams.

The three workstreams are (1) developing and and enhancing the Government’s digital MOT offering; (2) delivering Mid-life MOTs through our UK network of Job Centre Plus offices; and (3) launching a face-to-face Mid-life MOT programme delivered through employers and direct to employees in three pilot areas (the North East of England; Cornwall & Devon; and East Anglia), via providers to be identified through a commercial exercise.

These new measures are part of DWP’s £22 million package to help over 50s find new careers and earn more money, including by boosting time with Work Coaches and bringing in specialist support.

Alex Burghart
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
13th Oct 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answers of 5 September 2022 to Question 40729 and of 11 October 2022 to Question 53261 on Universal Credit Work Capability Assessments, what the aggregate number of Universal Credit Work Capability Assessment Mandatory Reconsideration (a) registrations, (b) clearances and (c) outcomes was in each of the most recent 12 months for which data is available.

The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

Claire Coutinho
Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
13th Oct 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of light touch reviews for Personal Independence Payments on the wellbeing of people with (a) Parkinson's disease and (b) other long-term conditions.

Personal Independence Payment is based on regular reviews to ensure individuals receive the right award reflecting any changes in their condition.

The principle of a 10 year light touch review for ongoing awards was introduced in 2013. The first claims of 10 year duration are now coming due for review. We are currently reviewing the design of the light touch review process following helpful insight provided to us by stakeholders, including by Parkinson’s UK and other organisations representing people with long-term conditions. Our aim is to have the minimum necessary contact with the claimant to check whether anything has changed, adjust the award if needed, and ensure we hold up to date information.

Claire Coutinho
Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
13th Oct 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when her Department plans to publish further details on the procedure that will be used for Personal Independence Payment light touch reviews.

Personal Independence Payment is based on regular reviews to ensure individuals receive the right award reflecting any changes in their condition.

The principle of a 10 year light touch review for ongoing awards was introduced in 2013. The first claims of 10 year duration are now coming due for review. We are currently reviewing the design of the light touch review process following helpful insight provided to us by stakeholders, including by Parkinson’s UK and other organisations representing people with long-term conditions. Our aim is to have the minimum necessary contact with the claimant to check whether anything has changed, adjust the award if needed, and ensure we hold up to date information.

Claire Coutinho
Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
11th Oct 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans her Department has to reduce delays and waiting times for people making applications for Personal Independence Payments.

We are committed to ensuring people can access financial support through Personal Independence Payment (PIP) in a timely manner, taking into account the need to review all available evidence. Reducing customer journey times for PIP claimants is a priority for the Department and we are working constantly to make improvements to our service, including using a blend of phone, video and face-to-face assessments, increasing case manager and assessment provider health professional resource and prioritising new claims, whilst safeguarding the continuity of existing awards to ensure they do not go out of payment.

We are seeing an improvement in average clearance times and the latest statistics show that the end-to-end journey has steadily reduced from 26 weeks in August 2021 to 18 weeks at the end of August 2022.

Claire Coutinho
Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
11th Oct 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the number of patients with (a) multiple sclerosis and (b) other progressive conditions who face unnecessary repeat assessments.

Entitlement to Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is assessed on the basis of the needs arising from a health condition or disability, rather than the health condition or disability itself. Award rates and their durations are set on an individual basis, based on the claimant’s needs and the likelihood of those needs changing. Award reviews allow for the correct rate of PIP to remain in payment, including where needs have increased as a consequence of a congenital, degenerative or progressive condition. No such estimate has been made concerning numbers of patients with any specific health condition.

Claire Coutinho
Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
11th Oct 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what guidance her Department provides to disabled people on applying for benefits and wider support, such as housing and social care.

Gov.uk provides information on eligibility and how to make a claim for benefits, including signposting to telephony routes (including textphone and Relay UK) for people who are unable to complete forms online. For Personal Independence Payment and Disability Living Allowance for children, there are videos on the DWP YouTube channel that provide further information about those benefits, including how to claim and what to expect once a claim has been made.

Guidance on gov.uk includes information on benefits people may be able to claim and other financial support. This includes housing support, help with council tax and direct payments for social care. Where appropriate DWP letters include signposting to additional help and support.

We have produced 30 easy read guides, over 90 British Sign Language videos and are ensuring benefit claim forms are accessible to all covering a variety of DWP benefits and services. These provide disabled people with information on benefit type, who can apply, how to make a claim and assist with making a claim.

Operational staff also have access to a database of known support called a District Provision Tool. It covers national and local information. This contains support for customers such as housing, debt, domestic abuse, modern slavery, and other complex needs alongside specific organisations that support people with disabilities or specific health conditions. This tool is used to facilitate signposting discussions with customers so they can access tailored support where required.

Anyone who requires support to make a new claim to Universal Credit - whether they are claiming benefits for the first time, have had a change of circumstance on legacy benefits which has initiated a move to Universal Credit, or have chosen voluntarily to move to Universal Credit - will be able to access the Help to Claim support provided by Citizens Advice and Citizens Advice Scotland

Claire Coutinho
Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
11th Oct 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department plans to commission an independent assessment of the adequacy of disability benefits rates to enable disabled people, including people with multiple sclerosis, to cover all their costs and meet their needs.

As referenced in the Government’s response to the Work and Pensions Committee report on The Cost of Living published on 8 September 2022 (HC 671), the Government does not intend to commission a review into the adequacy of disability benefit levels.

Claire Coutinho
Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
10th Oct 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans she has to address rising economic inactivity among young people aged 16 to 24.

The government is committed to delivering targeted support for all young people, no matter what their start in life or the challenges they face, to give them the best chance of getting into and progressing in work.

While there has been an increase in economic inactivity among young people, this is largely been driven by an increase in young people in full time education. As part of our work to support young people we regularly assess their situation and develop support which best serves their needs in the moment, as we did when we developed the Kickstart Scheme with the aim of protecting young people from the scarring effects of long-term unemployment.

Youth employability coaches who support young people with multiple barriers in to work already have the flexibility to agree with the young person up to six weeks, in work support and through the in-work progression offer we will also be looking at how we can support young people who are working to progress and develop their careers.

Victoria Prentis
Attorney General
10th Oct 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment she has made of the impact of the Youth Offer on reducing unemployment for young people aged 16 to 24, in particular for young people who have complex needs and face multiple disadvantages.

The Department of Work and Pensions Youth Offer provides individually tailored work coach support to young people aged 16 to 24 who are in the Universal Credit Intensive Work Search group. This support includes the Youth Employment Programme, Youth Employability Coaches for young people with additional barriers to finding work, and Youth Hubs across Great Britain.

The Youth Offer is subject to a Process Evaluation, with full findings expected to be shared internally by late 2023. This will inform any improvements or future changes to the Youth Offer policy. The evaluation plans which involve hearing from young people from a range of backgrounds and circumstances and those that work with them, on the services they receive to understand their effectiveness and enable us to make improvements as appropriate.

There are also plans for an impact assessment of the effectiveness of the Youth Offer whose findings will be shared internally once available.

Official Labour Market Statistics are produced by the ONS. The latest data (June-August ’22) shows that 372,000 young people are unemployed, this is a decrease of 62,000 on the previous quarter and a decrease of 141,000 compared to pre-pandemic levels (Dec-Feb ’20).

Victoria Prentis
Attorney General
21st Sep 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 5 September 2022 to Question 40729 on Universal Credit: Work Capability Assessment, what the aggregate outcomes of Work Capability Assessments for people claiming Universal Credit were in each of the most recent 12 months for which data is available.

The table below shows the latest Universal Credit Work Capability Assessment decisions recorded between July 2021 and June 2022 by the month the decision was recorded on the Universal Credit System across GBR.

NO LIMITED CAPABILITY FOR WORK

LIMITED CAPABILITY FOR WORK

LIMITED CAPABILITY FOR WORK RELATED ACTIVITIES

Jul-21

11,600

9,200

30,000

Aug-21

9,600

7,600

22,900

Sep-21

11,200

8,800

29,200

Oct-21

10,700

9,200

30,300

Nov-21

4,700

8,200

28,200

Dec-21

4,800

7,700

28,300

Jan-22

9,300

10,200

32,100

Feb-22

12,300

9,400

33,900

Mar-22

15,800

11,100

39,300

Apr-22

11,400

8,300

29,300

May-22

8,400

10,700

39,300

Jun-22

10,100

10,600

36,200

Claire Coutinho
Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
2nd Sep 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the number of claimants of disability benefits who miss hospital appointments through being unable to afford to attend them; and if she will make a statement.

PIP is designed to help claimants with extra costs arising from needs due to their disability. Individuals may use the benefit in the best way they see fit to support them.

Information concerning missed hospital appointments is not available.

20th Jul 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Work Capability Assessments were carried out for people applying for Universal Credit in each of the most recent 12 months for which data is available.

The volume of Work Capability Assessments (WCA) carried out in relation to Universal Credit (UC) claims between March 2021 and February 2022 is as follows:

Mar 21

Apr 21

May 21

Jun 21

Jul 21

Aug 21

UC WCA

44,000

40,000

37,000

40,000

40,000

39,000

Sep 21

Oct 21

Nov 21

Dec 21

Jan 22

Feb 22

UC WCA

39,000

36,000

41,000

37,000

46,000

44,000

Please note

  • All volumes have been rounded to the nearest 1,000
  • The above data is derived from unpublished management information which is collected for internal departmental use only and has not been quality assured to Official Statistics Publication standards

18th Jul 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many (a) Disability Employment Advisors and (b) Work Coaches employed by her Department identify as disabled.

Disability Employment Advisors who identify as disabled in June 2022 – 298.10 (FTE)

Work Coaches who identify as disabled in June 2022 – 3062.25 (FTE)

Guy Opperman
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
18th Jul 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether training offered by her Department to (a) Disability Employment Advisors and (b) Work Coaches covers assistive technology.

All staff who undertake the DEA role are expected to have completed the Work Coach Learning Journey prior to commencing learning for the DEA role. As part of the Work Coach Learning, staff complete a module, Assisted Digital (UC37) where they are provided with the knowledge and skills which will enable them to:

  • explain what assisted digital is
  • describe the benefits of using the digital service to a claimant
  • identify challenges claimants may have using digital channels
  • explain the support available to claimants with low or no digital capability or access to digital services, and
  • signpost claimants to further support available

There is also a new product Accessibility Fundamentals learning which provides delegates with the knowledge to understand the various features in Microsoft that can be used to make opportunities more accessible.

18th Jul 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Disability Employment advisers were employed by her Department as of 18 July 2022.

Disability Employment Advisers (DEAs) are an integral part of our services and we are absolutely committed to supporting disabled people, including ensuring that every work coach in every jobcentre across England, Scotland and Wales continues to have access to a DEA. Since April 2021, we have increased the number of DEAs and DEA Leaders to 941 FTE.

Our DEA and DEA leaders are one part of our offer to help disabled people into work. There are a range of Government initiatives to support our customers, including the Work and Health programme, the Intensive Personalised Employment Support programme, Access to Work, Disability Confident, and supporting partnerships with the health system.

Please note that the data supplied is derived from unpublished management information which was collected for internal Departmental use only and has not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standard. The data should therefore be treated with caution.

18th Jul 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what progress her Department has made towards its target of increasing the number of Disability Employment Advisors, as announced in April 2021.

Disability Employment Advisers (DEAs) are an integral part of our services and we are absolutely committed to supporting disabled people, including ensuring that every work coach in every jobcentre across England, Scotland and Wales continues to have access to a DEA. Since April 2021, we have increased the number of DEAs and DEA Leaders to 941 FTE.

Our DEA and DEA leaders are one part of our offer to help disabled people into work. There are a range of Government initiatives to support our customers, including the Work and Health programme, the Intensive Personalised Employment Support programme, Access to Work, Disability Confident, and supporting partnerships with the health system.

Please note that the data supplied is derived from unpublished management information which was collected for internal Departmental use only and has not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standard. The data should therefore be treated with caution.

12th Jul 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to Disability employment gap: Government Response to the Work and Pensions Select Committee’s Second Report of Session 2021–22 In-Work Support – Information and Advice, when her Department plans to launch its service to support employers managing health and disability in the workplace.

We expect to launch the Information and Advice service into Public Beta testing shortly. It will be named “Support with Employee Health and Disability”.

12th Jul 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to Disability employment gap: Government Response to the Work and Pensions Select Committee’s Second Report of Session 2021–22 In-Work Support – Information and Advice, what progress her Department has made since it entered private live testing of an early version of a service to support employers managing health and disability in the workplace.

A new digital guidance service to help employers support disabled employees and employees with health conditions has been tested with approximately 1600 employers from smaller businesses.

We hope to make an early and limited version of the service more widely available shortly.

We will continue to develop the service, adding features and content, in response to test findings.

8th Jul 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of the effectiveness of the Household Support Fund for supporting low income families.

The Household Support Fund has provided additional support for households who have needed extra help to meet cost of living pressures. The Department for Work and Pensions requires that Local Authorities provide management information returns detailing their expenditure.

For the Household Support Fund, the returns record the Local Authority’s grant allocation, spend and volume of awards made in relation to food, energy and water bills, wider essentials and housing costs.

This information, for the scheme running 6 October 2021- 31 March 2022, will be published shortly, and will be considered during future policy making.

Management Information for previous discretionary welfare funds is published online and can be found here: COVID Local Support Grant management information; COVID Winter Grant management information.

David Rutley
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
7th Jul 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, on what basis the allocations from the Household Support Fund to each local authority in England have been calculated in each of the three tranches announced as of 7 July 2022; and if she will make a statement.

For the current Household Support Fund running 1 April – 30 September each Local Authority has been allocated a share of the £421m based on population weighted by the index of multiple deprivation. This is the same basis on which the previous Household Support Fund running 1 October 2021 – 31 March 2022 was allocated. The allocations for the current Household Support Fund can be found here

A further £421 million extension of the Household Support Fund is to be made available from October 2022. Guidance and individual Local Authority allocations for this further extension to the Household Support Fund will be announced in due course.

David Rutley
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
7th Jul 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, which local authorities have (a) underspent and (b) returned to her Department funding allocated to them from the first tranche of the Household Support Fund.

Local Authorities are paid in arrears, at the mid-way point and after the Fund end, subject to the return of management information confirming the spend is in line with the conditions set out in the Grant Determination and Guidance. For the first iteration of the Household Support Fund, 6 October 2021 – 31 March 2022, the Management Information, including Local Authority spend levels, will be published shortly.

David Rutley
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
7th Jul 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much has been allocated from the Household Support Fund to each local authority in England, in each of the three tranches announced so far.

Local Authorities have received their allocations for the current £421m Household Support Fund covering April – September 2022, alongside the grant determination and guidance. The allocations for Local Authorities for this period are the same as for the first scheme which ran from 6 October 2021 - 31 March 2022 and can be found here.

A further £421 million extension of the Household Support Fund is to be made available from October 2022. Guidance and individual Local Authority allocations for this further extension to the Household Support Fund will be announced in due course.

David Rutley
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
7th Jul 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what guidance she has given to local authorities on the disbursement of the Household Support Fund for each of the three tranches of that Fund.

For each iteration of the Household Support Fund, the Government has issued a Grant Determination as well as written guidance for Local Authorities. For the current scheme, which runs 1 April – 30 September 2022, these documents, along with others relating to the scheme, can be found here: Household Support Fund: guidance for local councils - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). A further £421 million extension of the Household Support Fund is to be made available from October 2022. Guidance and individual Local Authority indicative allocations for this further extension to the Household Support Fund will be announced in due course.

David Rutley
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
4th Jul 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Universal Credit claims have been identified as not correct through the reverification exercise to date; and, of those, how many claimants have applied for mandatory reconsideration.

In March 2020 the Department introduced a temporary verification easement to Universal Credit claims to support people during the height of the pandemic. This easement meant the Department successfully paid an additional 2.4 million claims during the early months of the pandemic.

We reported last year on how we were reviewing cases paid under these temporary verification easements, known as “Trust and Protect”, and were re-applying these specific checks. The number of cases where evidence has been reviewed under this process has now risen from the figure of 900,000 previously reported to 1.1 million.

Of that number, 125,000 cases have been found to have an element of incorrectness that has affected the original entitlement decision. Decisions made as a result of this exercise have generated c14,500 (12%) Mandatory Reconsideration requests. (This data is based on internal and emerging internal management information and therefore has not been subject to the same degree of scrutiny and quality assurance as an official statistic.)

The learning from this work is informing the new Targeted Case Review exercise announced in the ‘Fighting Fraud in the Welfare System’ plan (published May 2022) which will review over 2 million UC claims over the next 5 years.

David Rutley
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
29th Jun 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when she last reviewed the benefit cap.

There is a statutory duty to review the levels every 5 years . The last time the Benefit cap was reviewed was November 2016.

David Rutley
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
24th Jun 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the oral evidence to the Work and Pensions Committee of the Change Director General and Senior Responsible Owner for universal credit, on 24 November 2021, Q34, HC728, how many cases of the 90,000 estimated as not correct have been identified through reverification as not correct; and in how many of those cases has mandatory reconsideration been applied for.

In March 2020 the Department introduced a temporary verification easement to Universal Credit claims to support people during the height of the pandemic. This easement meant the Department successfully paid an additional 2.4 million claims during the early months of the pandemic.

We reported last year on how we were reviewing cases paid under these temporary verification easements, known as “Trust and Protect”, and were re-applying these specific checks. The number of cases where evidence has been reviewed under this process has now risen from the figure of 900,000 previously reported to 1.1 million.

Of that number, 125,000 cases have been found to have an element of incorrectness that has affected the original entitlement decision. Decisions made as a result of this exercise have generated c14,500 (12%) Mandatory Reconsideration requests. (This data is based on internal and emerging internal management information and therefore has not been subject to the same degree of scrutiny and quality assurance as an official statistic.)

The learning from this work is informing the new Targeted Case Review exercise announced in the ‘Fighting Fraud in the Welfare System’ plan (published May 2022) which will review over 2 million UC claims over the next 5 years.

David Rutley
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
6th Jun 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department has taken to support unpaid carers applying for Universal Credit on behalf of people with complex disabilities undergoing the process of managed migration.

We recently restarted work to design and deliver a service for people to move to Universal Credit. We are currently taking forward a discovery phase focussing on controlled, small volumes. During this phase we will seek to understand how best to support claimants when making their claim to Universal Credit, including where claimants receive additional support from people who are not their appointees to make their claim.

A variety of support is in place for those issued with migration notices, including for individuals with health conditions and disabilities. Our current support consists of:

  • A dedicated phoneline.
  • Further guidance on website Welcome to GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
  • Specially trained staff in JCP’s and service centres who can identify local tailored support; and
  • Support through the Help to Claim
David Rutley
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
23rd May 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what guidance she has given to support services assisting people with complex disabilities undergoing managed migration to Universal Credit.

We recently restarted work to design and deliver a service for people to move to Universal Credit. The first phase is Discovery with controlled small volumes; during this phase we will work with small numbers of claimants to learn how best to ensure a smooth transition to Universal Credit and identify what support claimants need to make their claim to UC.

A variety of support is in place for those issued with migration notices, including for individuals with health conditions and disabilities. Our current support consists of:

  • A dedicated phoneline
  • Further guidance on Gov.uk website
  • Specially trained staff in JCP’s and service centres who can identify local tailored support
  • Support through Help to Claim

The Department holds regular engagement sessions with a broad range of external stakeholders, including in the health and disability sector. As we progress through the discovery phase, we are keen to understand what additional support is required for people to make their claim to UC.

David Rutley
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
23rd May 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether tax credit recipients who have more than £16,000 in savings will lose all their support on being migrated to Universal Credit after the one year grace period, or whether they will be entitled to further transitional protection.

Tax Credit claimants will have any capital they hold above £16,000 disregard for up to 12 months once moved to Universal Credit as part of the managed migration process. This means that the normal rules for the treatment of capital, that would usually prevent them claiming UC, will not be applied during this period.

Normal UC rules for capital will still be applied to the capital they hold between £6,001 and £16,000. If their capital falls to £16,000 or below during the 12 months, then the disregard is not re-applied, should their capital rise above £16,000 again.

After 12 months, the disregard on tax credit claimants’ income that permits them to claim UC if their capital exceeds £16,000 will cease to apply and, like all claimants with capital over £16,000, they will not be entitled to Universal Credit.

David Rutley
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
23rd May 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that people with complex disabilities who are undergoing managed migration to Universal Credit will not have their benefits claims unfairly stopped.

We are committed to fully complying with the Public Sector Equality Duty.

A variety of support is in place for those issued with migration notices including for individuals with a heath condition and disabilities. As we progress through discovery phase, we are keen to understand what additional support is required for people to make their claim to UC.

Our current support consists of

  • A dedicated phoneline
  • Further guidance on the Gov.uk website
  • Specially trained staff in the JCP’s and Service Centres who can identify local tailored support
  • Support through help to claim
David Rutley
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
23rd May 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the (a) help and (b) guidance available to people with complex disabilities undergoing managed migration to Universal Credit.

We are committed to fully complying with the Public Sector Equality Duty.

A variety of support is in place for those issued with migration notices including for individuals with a heath condition and disabilities. As we progress through discovery phase, we are keen to understand what additional support is required for people to make their claim to UC.

Our current support consists of

  • A dedicated phoneline
  • Further guidance on the Gov.uk website
  • Specially trained staff in the JCP’s and Service Centres who can identify local tailored support
  • Support through help to claim
David Rutley
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
23rd May 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what protections her Department has put in place for people with complex disabilities undergoing managed migration to Universal Credit.

We are committed to fully complying with the Public Sector Equality Duty.

A variety of support is in place for those issued with migration notices including for individuals with a heath condition and disabilities. As we progress through discovery phase, we are keen to understand what additional support is required for people to make their claim to UC.

Our current support consists of

  • A dedicated phoneline
  • Further guidance on the Gov.uk website
  • Specially trained staff in the JCP’s and Service Centres who can identify local tailored support
  • Support through help to claim
David Rutley
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
14th Apr 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, on what date her Department made the most recent equality impact assessment of (a) the benefit cap and (b) local housing allowance rates.

The Impact Assessment of the benefit cap was published on 26 August 2016 and can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/welfare-reform-and-work-act-impact-assessment-for-the-benefit-cap.

The Secretary of State has complied with her duties under the Equality Act 2010 and had due regard to the equality impacts of the benefit cap for example in respect of the Covid 19 policy changes. There is no requirement to record or publish this in the form of an equality impact assessment and we do not intend to publish the analysis.

In November 2021 the Secretary of State considered the equality impacts of the decision to maintain Local Housing Allowance rates in 2022/23 at the elevated cash rates agreed for 2020/21. Following PQ UIN 120618, a copy of the equality analysis was placed in the House of Commons library.

David Rutley
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
24th Mar 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Household Support Fund in supporting low income families; and if she will make a statement.

The Department for Work and Pensions requires Local Authorities provide management information (MI) returns detailing their spend and volume of Household Support Fund awards made in relation to food, energy and water bills, essentials linked to energy and water bills, wider essentials, and housing costs. MI returns also detail grant spend and the volume of awards made in relation to families with and without children.

This information, for the scheme running 6 October 2021- 31 March 2022, will be published in the coming months.

David Rutley
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
14th Mar 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans her Department has to support Access to Work applicants facing delays in the processing of their application; and if she will make a statement.

Access to Work are currently receiving an increased level of applications for support and are working through all applications to ensure that they are progressed as soon as possible.

For applications where a customer is due to begin a job in the next 4 weeks (whether employed or self-employed), and renewal applications for on-going support, their case will be prioritised and contact made as soon as possible. The Department is currently recruiting and training more people to work on Access to Work, as well the use of overtime working to support reducing the outstanding claim volumes.

14th Mar 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will re-introduce the six-month extension of Access to Work grant awards for claimants who rely on support workers and are experiencing delays in the processing of their renewal applications.

In response to the increase in Access to Work applications, business processes have been regularly reviewed, including the Renewals process. As part of this, we will now treat applications that are classified as renewals for on-going support as a priority group.

Although this is not an automatic extension of the award, the prioritisation of renewals will enable applications to be cleared more quickly. Where the decision is to put in place a new award, this will be put in place for the longest period appropriate (up to the current 3 year maximum) so that the customer has stability in terms of their award, rather than having to renew again in a very short timeline, as was the case with automatically extended awards.

14th Mar 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people are awaiting a review of their Personal Independence Payment (PIP) award after registration; and what the average time taken to review a PIP award is in the most recent period for which data is available.

On 31st January 2022 (most recent data available), there were around 220,000 Personal Independence Payment (PIP) Award Reviews registered that were awaiting a decision.

For PIP Award Review decisions made in January 2022 (most recent data available) the average (median) time from Award Review registration to DWP decision was around 16 weeks.

Customers awaiting an assessment to review their PIP will continue to be paid until the review is complete. We always aim to make an award decision as quickly as possible, considering the need to review all available evidence, including that from the claimant.

Notes:

Data Source: PIP Atomic Data Store (ADS)

  • This is unpublished data. It should be used with caution and it may be subject to future revision.
  • Figures refer to planned PIP Award Reviews, where a claimant has reached their scheduled review date and the Department has sent an AR1 form.
  • The average referred to here is the median. The median time is the middle value if you were to order all the times within the distribution from lowest value to highest value.
  • Processing times have been rounded to the nearest whole number of weeks.
  • The 'Award Review Registration to DWP decision (end to end)' processing time is measured as the average (median) time between the date of Award Review registration and the date of the DWP decision on the outcome of the review.
  • Median processing times are for Award Reviews where a decision was made in January 2022.
  • Processing Time measures do not include claims that were withdrawn by the claimant during the review or claims that were disallowed by DWP prior to assessment (e.g. for failure to return paperwork).
  • Award reviews that are subsequently cancelled by DWP are excluded from these figures.
  • Figures are for Great Britain only.
14th Mar 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of Personal Independence Payment assessments have been carried out by (a) telephone, (b) paper based or (c) face-to-face assessments between (i) November 2021 and January 2022, (ii) August and October 2021, (iii) May and July 2021, (iv) February and April 2021 and (v) February 2020 and January 2021.

The information requested can be found in the table below.

We have not included February and March 2020 as the data is not available. Therefore, the information provided in the table covers April 2020 to January 2022.

Although not included in your question, it may be helpful to know that from autumn 2020, we have also been conducting video assessments, where appropriate, alongside telephone, paper based and face to face assessments. The proportion of video assessments have been included in the table for completeness.

v

iv

iii

ii

i

Apr 20 – Jan 21

Feb 21 – Apr 21

May 21 – Jul 21

Aug 21 – Oct 21

Nov 21 – Jan 22

Paper based review

17.4%

16.1%

17.2%

16.3%

16.3%

Face to face assessment

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

6.8%

4.6%

Telephone assessment

82.5%

83.8%

82.3%

76.3%

77.3%

Video assessment

0.0%

0.1%

0.4%

0.7%

1.8%

Please Note:

The above data is derived from unpublished management information which is produced by the assessment providers and has not been quality assured to Official Statistics Publication standards.

Some of the monthly totals have been calculated using weekly MI as there is no monthly MI available.

All percentages have been rounded to the nearest .1%, therefore percentages may not add to 100%.

2nd Mar 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what comparative assessment he has made of the equity of pension income being treated as equivalent to earned income for Universal Credit purposes whereas pension income inherited by the pensioner’s widow is deducted pound for pound from a Universal Credit award.

No such assessment has been made.

The general principle is that income, other than earnings, which is provided to meet everyday living costs, is fully taken into account in the calculation of Universal Credit. This includes income from pensions and widow’s pensions.

In common with the means tested legacy benefits it replaces, Universal Credit takes into account money available from other sources which allow a claimant to support themselves, allowing a fair balance to be struck between those in the greatest financial need and hardworking taxpayers.

David Rutley
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
28th Feb 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many applications for Access to Work grants are awaiting a decision.

I refer the Hon. Member/ Rt Hon. Member to my response to parliamentary question UIN 127254, on 28th February 2022.

28th Feb 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many applications for Access to Work grants have been decided in each of the last four weeks.

I refer the Hon. Member/ Rt Hon. Member to my response to parliamentary question UIN 131034 on 28th February 2022.

28th Feb 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average length of time is for which Access to Work grant applications have been awaiting a decision; what proportion of those applications have been waiting for a decision for longer than six weeks; and what the longest time is for which such an application has been awaiting a decision.

I refer the Hon. Member/ Rt Hon. Member to my response to parliamentary question UIN 127255, on 1st March 2022.

22nd Feb 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many applications for Access to Work grants have been decided in each of the last four weeks.

The volume of Access to Work applications decided in each of the last four weeks is:

Week ending 30/01/2022 = 1,566 applications

Week ending 06/02/2022 = 1,426 applications

Week ending 13/02/2022 = 1,486 applications

Week ending 20/02/2022 = 1,722 applications

Please note that the data supplied is derived from unpublished management information which was collected for internal Departmental use only, and have not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standard. They should therefore be treated with caution.

22nd Feb 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average length of delay for Access to Work grant applications currently awaiting a decision; what proportion of those applications have been waiting for a decision for longer than six weeks; and what is the longest time for which an application of that type has been awaiting a decision.

The information requested is in part not held or not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

22nd Feb 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many applications for Access to Work grants are currently awaiting a decision.

There are currently 17,940 Access to Work applications awaiting a decision as of 22nd February 2022. Please be aware however that this information is based on internal unpublished data.

The Access to Work statistical release includes how many applications results in provision being approved from 2007/08 to 2019/20. Please see Table 1 of the Access to Work statistics.

The latest Access to Work statistical release can be found here:

Access to Work statistics: April 2007 to March 2021 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

2nd Feb 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the costs and potential merits of opening jobcentres on Saturday since 2016; and if she will make a statement.

Initially 262 large and medium sized Jobcentres began opening on Saturdays from December 2020, with additional Jobcentres opening their doors on Saturdays in 2021. Due to the global pandemic and the application of social distancing in these sites, it is too early to make a robust assessment of the costs and merits of opening Jobcentres on Saturdays.

Mims Davies
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
17th Jan 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 11 January 2022 to Question 98884, on Employment, whether it is her policy to include the self-employed in the calculation of the total number of people in employment; and what comparative estimate she has made of the total number of people in employment when calculated (a) with and (b) without the number of self-employed (i) as of 17 January 2022 and (ii) before the covid-19 outbreak.

The answer of 11 January 2022 to question 98884 referred to the payroll employment measure of people in work.

The payroll employment measure is the timeliest labour market measure of people in work, derived from Real Time Information employers submit to the Pay As You Earn (PAYE) system. Further explanation of this measure is available at: Comparison of labour market data sources - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk)

Mims Davies
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
9th Nov 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans she has to enable people aged 16 to 24 who are (a) not universal credit claimants and (b) at risk of unemployment to undertake work placements as part of the Kickstart scheme.

The Kickstart Scheme offers six-month jobs for young people aged 16 to 24 years’ old who are currently claiming Universal Credit (UC) and are at risk of long-term unemployment. There are no current plans to extend the eligibility criteria of the Kickstart Scheme.

For those not eligible to claim UC, they can still receive help from our DWP Youth Hubs who work with a range of local providers to help them address and overcome any barriers and support them in moving forward into employment.

Mims Davies
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
9th Nov 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many referrals from Job Centre work coaches have been made to the Kickstart Scheme; and how many of those referrals were people classified as being disabled.

As of 9th November, there have been 2,203,000 referrals made by Work Coaches of young people onto the Kickstart Scheme. Young people on the Kickstart Scheme can be referred to multiple Kickstart jobs and several young people can be referred to each job.

We are unable to break these referrals down to those with a disability and those without as the information is not currently collated centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost. This is due to data being contained across multiple systems and being provided voluntarily, meaning it would require a significant level of gathering and quality assurance.

However, we do plan to track the success of Kickstart amongst young people on the scheme who have a disability or health condition and will do this as part of the scheme’s evaluation. The evaluation will include surveys to capture the views and experiences of Kickstart participants. It will look at their experiences within their Kickstart job and track changes in views, attitudes and employment status. We will publish the evaluation once it has been completed.

Although care is taken when processing and analysing Kickstart applications, referrals and starts, the data collected might be subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale recording system, which has been developed quickly.

The management information presented here has not been subjected to the usual standard of quality assurance associated with official statistics, but is provided in the interests of transparency. Work is ongoing to improve the quality of information available for the programme.

Mims Davies
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
9th Nov 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many disabled people have undertaken work placements under the Kickstart scheme or other similar programmes as part of the Plan for Jobs.

The Kickstart Scheme supports eligible young people at risk of long term unemployment, regardless of disadvantage or disability. Mechanisms that record the number of disabled young people participating were not included within the initial design of Kickstart, however disability status is recorded on the wider Universal Credit systems.

We are unable to provide information on the number of jobseekers with disabilities who are participating on the Kickstart Scheme or similar programmes as a part of the plan for jobs. This is because the information is not currently collated centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost. This is due to data being contained across multiple systems and in some cases being provided voluntarily, meaning it would require a significant level of gathering and quality assurance.

The Department of Work and Pensions plans to track the success of Kickstart amongst young people on the scheme including those who have a disability or health condition as part of the evaluation. We will publish the evaluation once it has been completed.

Mims Davies
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
2nd Nov 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the oral evidence given by the Permanent Secretary to the Public Accounts Committee on Thursday 28 October 2021, Qs 59-62, when her Department plans to start paying the State Pension due to (a) Gerald Simon Pengelley, following his application submitted on 30 July and (b) Iain Davidson, following his application submitted on 4 June 2021.

Both applications have been processed and are being paid.

Guy Opperman
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
1st Nov 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many new claims for State Pension were paid more than four weeks after the claimant’s sixty-sixth birthday in each of the last 12 months.

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

Guy Opperman
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
1st Nov 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average waiting time was for calls to her Department’s telephone lines for (a) attendance allowance, (b) the Child Maintenance Service, (c) personal independence payment, (d) the State Pension and (e) debt management in each month from January 2021 to October 2021.

The average call waiting time (Average Speed of Answer) for calls to DWP Service Lines for (a) attendance allowance, (b) the Child Maintenance Service, (c) personal independence payment, (d) the State Pension and (e) debt management in each month from January 2021 to September 2021 is shown in the table below in the format of hours:minutes:seconds.

The figures provided for Debt Management have been split between the Pay and Recovery lines.

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

Personal Independence Payment New Claims

00:02:50

00:03:41

00:02:16

Personal Independence Payment New Claims Reassessment

00:02:40

00:03:33

PIP New Claims & New Claims Reassessments

00:02:59

00:05:06

00:06:51

00:03:28

00:02:56

00:07:47

PIP New Claims Special Rules for Terminally Ill

00:03:06

00:03:53

00:04:00

00:04:08

00:03:59

00:05:01

00:05:36

00:06:00

00:05:11

PIP Enquiries

00:23:17

00:19:19

00:16:50

00:19:24

00:17:40

00:28:01

00:30:44

00:23:30

00:21:46

PIP Reassessment Enquiries

00:00:35

00:00:52

00:00:21

00:00:17

00:00:25

00:00:42

00:00:32

00:01:07

00:01:35

State Pension New Claims

00:21:55

00:21:31

00:15:21

00:10:13

00:12:35

00:04:39

00:06:37

00:26:39

00:17:51

State Pension Changes

00:21:05

00:21:37

00:21:56

00:20:53

00:21:14

00:20:08

00:21:18

00:20:26

00:21:51

Attendance Allowance Total

00:14:05

00:14:48

00:13:57

00:19:27

00:15:18

00:14:22

00:12:35

00:15:05

00:14:57

State Pension Enquiries

00:04:12

00:02:37

00:09:26

00:13:30

00:09:17

00:01:02

00:03:24

00:03:41

00:05:10

Child Maintenance Service

00:20:02

00:20:23

00:16:11

00:15:07

00:16:43

00:17:15

00:19:27

00:19:22

00:20:59

Debt Management "Pay"

00:54

00:51

01:57

0.14

00:29

02:00

00:26

02:01

02:04

Debt Management "Recovery"

06:47

07:05

07:55

05:53

04:40

02:25

05:13

04:40

04:13

Data Source: BT - Historical Management Information (GI2 – HMI) Serco, G4S

PIP New Claims & PIP New Claims Reassessment lines were combined for reporting purposes from April 21.

The telephony system does not use the term “waiting time” but instead provides data on the average speed that the call is answered.

Average Speed of Answer is the average customer wait time from the point of entering a queue to connection to an agent. This figure excludes any time spent in pre-queue messaging and any wait time for calls ultimately abandoned by callers.

October data has not yet been compiled.

The data supplied is derived from unpublished management information which was collected for internal Departmental use only and has not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standard. The data should therefore be treated with caution.

Guy Opperman
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
1st Nov 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of calls to her Department’s telephone lines for (a) attendance allowance, (b) the Child Maintenance Service, (c) personal independence payment, (d) the State Pension and (e) debt management were answered in each month from January 2021 to October 2021.

The Percentage of Calls Answered by DWP telephone lines for (a) attendance allowance, (b) the Child Maintenance Service, (c) personal independence payment, and (d) the State Pension were answered in each month from January 2021 to September 2021 is shown in the table below

The table below also shows the number of calls received (i.e. offered to the network) and answered across all of Debt Management’s “Pay” and “Recovery” lines, over the period January to September 2021.

The proportion of calls answered is shown as a percentage for each month. Debt Management aims to achieve 90% of calls answered. In the table below there are two months where the percentage fell below 90% (March and September) but for both of these months the number of calls received was higher so placing extra demands on the system.

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

Personal Independence Payment New Claims

94.1%

92.4%

94.6%

Personal Independence Payment New Claims Reassessment

93.7%

91.9%

PIP New Claims & New Claims Reassessments

93.3%

89.6%

86.4%

92.0%

93.0%

84.6%

PIP New Claims Special Rules for Terminally Ill

92.6%

92.8%

91.6%

91.0%

92.1%

89.8%

90.7%

89.0%

89.2%

PIP Enquiries

69.9%

73.7%

76.7%

74.3%

76.2%

65.5%

65.5%

71.4%

73.0%

PIP Reassessment Enquiries

87.0%

85.1%

87.4%

89.6%

84.8%

87.4%

88.9%

84.8%

79.0%

State Pension New Claims

61.3%

64.0%

70.1%

81.1%

78.1%

90.9%

88.1%

58.6%

70.0%

State Pension Changes

56.7%

55.2%

53.6%

56.2%

59.6%

58.7%

58.0%

59.7%

58.6%

Attendance Allowance

65.0%

63.9%

66.5%

55.8%

61.4%

65.1%

67.9%

64.3%

63.1%

State Pension Enquiries

87.6%

92.0%

74.8%

67.9%

76.8%

97.3%

90.8%

90.4%

84.6%

Child Maintenance Service

69.9%

70.0%

74.9%

76.4%

74.5%

74.5%

71.3%

73.8%

70.4%

Debt Management "Pay" and "Recovery" Lines

91.4%

90.0%

88.7%

91.8%

92.9%

95.1%

92.4%

91.1%

89.4%

Data Source: BT - Historical Management Information (GI2 – HMI) Serco, G4S

PIP New Claims & PIP New Claims Reassessment lines were combined for reporting purposes from April 21.

October data has not yet been compiled.

The data supplied is derived from unpublished management information which was collected for internal Departmental use only and has not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standard. The data should therefore be treated with caution.

Guy Opperman
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
27th Oct 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 21 October 2021 to Question 56659 on State Retirement Pensions, what management information her Department holds on the timeliness of the payment of new State Pension claims; and if she will make a statement.

Yes. As of 4 November, there were 3,220 claims where we awaited further information from the customer before we can finalise their claim.

Guy Opperman
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
20th Oct 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, in each of the Restart contract package areas, how many of the people referred to Restart providers since July 2021 have so far started the programme.

As of Sunday 17 October 2021, 73,665 people have been referred to the Restart programme since it began in July 2021. Many of those who have been referred to the programme will not yet have started due to the time factors involved: so far 41,570 have been recorded as having started on the programme. In addition, not all starts that occurred in this period will have been recorded on the system yet as a small number are recorded retrospectively.

The table below shows the breakdown of the total number of Referrals and Starts by Contract Package Area.

Contract Package Area

People Referred

People with a Start

CPA 1a West Central

7,020

3,795

CPA 1b East Central

6,865

3,910

CPA 2a North East & Humber

5,370

3,610

CPA 2b S&W Yorkshire, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire

9,560

5,050

CPA 3a North West

3,940

2,020

CPA 3b Greater Manchester

4,015

1,990

CPA 4a South West

5,795

3,155

CPA 4b South Central

5,620

2,960

CPA 5a Central & West London

7,060

4,220

CPA 5b East & South London

5,900

3,085

CPA 5c Home Counties

9,095

5,750

CPA 6 Wales

3,430

2,025

All

73,665

41,570

Notes:

Source: Management Information from Provider Referral and Payment System

Not all starts will have been recorded on the system – a small number are recorded retrospectively.

All figures have been rounded to nearest 5, and totals do not necessarily sum due to rounding.

The Management Information above has not been subjected to the usual standard of quality assurance associated with Official Statistics, but is provided in the interests of transparency.

Mims Davies
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
20th Oct 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people have been referred to Restart scheme providers in each of the Restart scheme contract package areas since July 2021.

As of Sunday 17 October 2021, 73,665 people have been referred to the Restart programme since it began in July 2021. Many of those who have been referred to the programme will not yet have started due to the time factors involved: so far 41,570 have been recorded as having started on the programme. In addition, not all starts that occurred in this period will have been recorded on the system yet as a small number are recorded retrospectively.

The table below shows the breakdown of the total number of Referrals and Starts by Contract Package Area.

Contract Package Area

People Referred

People with a Start

CPA 1a West Central

7,020

3,795

CPA 1b East Central

6,865

3,910

CPA 2a North East & Humber

5,370

3,610

CPA 2b S&W Yorkshire, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire

9,560

5,050

CPA 3a North West

3,940

2,020

CPA 3b Greater Manchester

4,015

1,990

CPA 4a South West

5,795

3,155

CPA 4b South Central

5,620

2,960

CPA 5a Central & West London

7,060

4,220

CPA 5b East & South London

5,900

3,085

CPA 5c Home Counties

9,095

5,750

CPA 6 Wales

3,430

2,025

All

73,665

41,570

Notes:

Source: Management Information from Provider Referral and Payment System

Not all starts will have been recorded on the system – a small number are recorded retrospectively.

All figures have been rounded to nearest 5, and totals do not necessarily sum due to rounding.

The Management Information above has not been subjected to the usual standard of quality assurance associated with Official Statistics, but is provided in the interests of transparency.

Mims Davies
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
15th Oct 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many new claims for State Pension from (a) men and (bi) women were paid more than four weeks after the claimant’s sixty-sixth birthday in each of the last twelve months.

This information is not collated as a matter of normal business under this, or previous governments and is only available at disproportionate cost to The Department for Work & Pensions.

Guy Opperman
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
20th Sep 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of trends in the level of food insecurity amongst school children since the start of the covid-19 outbreak.

We have not made an assessment of this kind. Issues of food insecurity amongst school children fall within the remit of the Department for Education so assessments such as this would be their responsibility.

David Rutley
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
13th Sep 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many claims awarded under the Special Rules for Terminal Illness have been reviewed by her Department following the end of their three-year award duration in each of the last five years.

Claims can be awarded under Special Rules for Terminal Illness (SRTI) across a range of DWP benefits. The information requested in relation to reviews of SRTI awards is not readily available across all of these benefits, and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

6th Sep 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reason people with a terminal illness are required to reapply for a claim after three years under the special rules for terminal illness.

For the majority of cases made under the SRTI, people are given three year awards. This approach was based on a recommendation from an expert advisory group, initially for DLA, but later adopted in other benefits. The three year awards given to SRTI claims strikes a balance that recognises making a prognosis is not an exact science and that people who do live longer than expected should continue to receive the support provided to them by benefit system, while also enabling those who live for much longer than expected, to be looked at afresh in light of their circumstances as they come towards the end of their award.

As part of the Health and Disability Green Paper consultation, we are consulting on reform of assessments and seeking views on policy proposals, including the principle of receiving unnecessary assessments and reviews. Following the consultation, detailed proposals will then be brought forward in a White Paper next year.

6th Sep 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if her Department will remove the three year award duration for benefits claims made under the special rules for terminal illness.

For the majority of cases made under the SRTI, people are given three year awards. This approach was based on a recommendation from an expert advisory group, initially for DLA, but later adopted in other benefits. The three year awards given to SRTI claims strikes a balance that recognises making a prognosis is not an exact science and that people who do live longer than expected should continue to receive the support provided to them by benefit system, while also enabling those who live for much longer than expected, to be looked at afresh in light of their circumstances as they come towards the end of their award.

As part of the Health and Disability Green Paper consultation, we are consulting on reform of assessments and seeking views on policy proposals, including the principle of receiving unnecessary assessments and reviews. Following the consultation, detailed proposals will then be brought forward in a White Paper next year.

6th Sep 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, on what date her Department received the final report of the NatCen research project entitled The Uses of Health and Disability Benefits; and for what reason that report has not been published.

The Government considers a broad range of analysis and evidence to support the formation of all its policy, including that which is both internally and externally commissioned. It is not necessary to publish all of this material, and the Government does not have plans to publish the NatCen report at this time.

3rd Sep 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will place in the Library a list of the members of her Department’s Assessments Policy Forum; and whether that the Forum will continue to meet.

We will place in the Library a list of those members of the Assessments Policy Forum who are content to be named. We will continue to engage with a forum to discuss assessments and broader issues going forward.

3rd Sep 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will amend the severe conditions criteria so that people who have already been diagnosed with a terminal condition do not need to go through a work capability assessment to claim benefits.

The Department provides fast-track access to Personal Independence Payment (PIP), Disability Living Allowance, Attendance Allowance, Universal Credit (UC) and Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) for people who are nearing the end of their lives through the Special Rules for Terminal Illness. Claimants who have been diagnosed as being likely to live for 6-months or less, are able to claim under a fast-tracked process, without the requirement for waiting periods or a face-to-face assessment and usually receive the highest rate of benefit. On 8th July 2021, following an extensive evaluation into how the benefits system supports people nearing the end of their lives the Department announced its intention to replace the current 6-month rule with a 12-month, end of life definition.

We would like to highlight that as announced in the Shaping Future Support: Health and Disability Green Paper published 20th July 2021 we are testing the possibility of a new Severe Disability Group for those with severe and lifelong conditions to access ESA/UC and PIP. This will simplify the process by removing the need for a long form or a face-to-face assessment for this group and build on existing provision such as Severe Conditions and Special Rules for Terminal Illness. We will consider the test results alongside the responses to the Green Paper when determining whether the policy should be rolled out further

3rd Sep 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans she has to extend awards under the special rules for terminal illness in line with changes made for claimants with severe lifelong conditions; and if she will make a statement.

The Department is committed to supporting people nearing the end of their lives. I can confirm that on 8th July 2021 I announced that following a wide-ranging evaluation, the Department intends to replace the current 6-month rule with a 12-month, end of life approach. This will mirror the current definition of end of life used across the NHS and ensure that people receive vital support through the Special Rules six months earlier than they do now. People who claim under the Special Rules for Terminal Illness are able to claim under a fast-tracked process, without the requirement for waiting periods or a face-to-face assessment and usually receive the highest rates of benefit.

3rd Sep 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will end the practice of Departmental assessors rejecting the clinical judgment of a medical professional that a patient is terminally ill in relation to accessing benefits under the special rules for terminal illness.

A claim made under the Special Rules for Terminal Illness is in most cases supported by a DS1500. DS1500 forms have never been a requirement for a claim under the terminal illness rules but remain the quickest and most appropriate route to gather evidence to support entitlement in these cases. The DS1500 form is completed by the claimant’s healthcare professional and provides information relating to their diagnosis, clinical features and past or current treatment. The Assessment Provider’s healthcare professionals may, on occasion, contact the claimant’s medical practitioner where additional information or clarification is required in order to process the claim under the Special Rules for Terminal Illness.

Where it is not possible to supply a DS1500 in support of a Special Rules for Terminal Illness claim we will consider alternative evidence and work flexibly and quickly with the claimant and/or their clinician(s) to make a determination.

18th Aug 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average back payment was to personal independence payment claimants where the claimant has been awarded that benefit at a tribunal for the most recent period for which figures are available.

The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

18th Aug 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, in 2019-20, how many claimants received between zero and six points in their Work Capability Assessment and then subsequently had that benefit awarded on (a) mandatory assessment or (b) appeal.

The specific information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

The available information on Mandatory Reconsiderations (MRs) and appeals in relation to Employment Support Allowance Work Capability Assessments is published here:

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

18th Aug 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the recommendations of the review undertaken in 2019 and the findings of the coroner’s inquest in April 2021 into the murder in May 2017 of Emma Day by her ex-partner, what plans she has to review the management by the Child Maintenance Service of cases in which the parent with care is threatened by an ex-partner with violence; and if she will make a statement.

The Child Maintenance Service takes the safety of all its customers extremely seriously. It has significantly strengthened its processes to ensure customers experiencing domestic abuse are supported and can set up a child maintenance arrangement safely.

The Department has commissioned an independent review of ways in which the Child Maintenance Service supports victims of domestic abuse and the details of this review will be outlined in due course.

Guy Opperman
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
12th Jul 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of paying childcare costs within universal credit in advance, to support parents who cannot afford to pay upfront charges; and if she will make a statement.

No assessment has been made.

With Universal Credit, working families can claim back up to 85% of their registered childcare costs each month, compared to 70% on the legacy benefits system regardless of the number of hours worked. This can be claimed up to a month before starting a job and for families with two children, this could be worth up to £13,000 a year.

Eligible claimants can get help from the Flexible Support Fund with initial up-front fees and costs as they move into work. Alternatively, help with upfront costs may also be available through Budgeting Advances.

12th Jul 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to ensure economically inactive disabled people are supported to find jobs; and if she will make a statement.

The Government is committed to improving the lives of disabled people, and will publish a National Disability Strategy later this year. The Strategy will be informed by insights from the lived experience of disabled people, focusing on the issues that disabled people say affect them the most in all aspects and phases of life, including employment.

A range of DWP initiatives are supporting disabled people to stay in and enter work. These include the Work and Health Programme, the Intensive Personalised Employment Support programme, Access to Work, Disability Confident and support in partnership with the health system, including Employment Advice in NHS Improving Access to Psychological Therapy services. The Government has also increased the number of specialist Disability Employment Advisors in Jobcentres.

In addition, the DWP will shortly publish a Green Paper on health and disability support which will consider how we can improve our current service, provide extra support to navigate the system and seek to better understand how we can improve the current employment support offer.

5th Jul 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will extend eligibility for the Kickstart and Restart schemes to people in receipt of employment support allowance; and if she will make a statement.

There are currently no plans to extend the eligibility criteria of the Kickstart Scheme or the Restart Scheme.

Employment Support Allowance claimants who require more intensive employment support would have access to both the Work and Health Programme (WHP) and Intensive Personalised Employment Support (IPES) and can volunteer for this support at any time irrespective of benefit claimed or no benefit. The WHP predominantly helps people with a wide range of disabilities and health conditions to enter into and stay in work, and is suited to those who expect to find work within 12 months. IPES is an intensive, highly personalised voluntary support package that is flexible to participants’ needs. It supports disabled people with complex barriers to work who would be more than 12 months from the labour market without the benefit of IPES support.

Mims Davies
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
5th Jul 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will include whether a surveyed family has no recourse to public funds in the Family Resources Survey when the sample size is expanded in 2022; and if she will make a statement.

The Department is currently considering the questionnaire for next year’s Family Resources Survey, April 2022 to March 2023.

24th May 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the effect of the £20 uplift in universal credit on levels of child poverty in (a) England and (b) East Ham constituency.

No assessment has been made.

This Government is wholly committed to supporting those on low incomes, including by increasing the living wage, and by spending an estimated £112 billion on welfare support for people of working age in 2020/21. This included around £7.4 billion of Covid-related welfare policy measures.

We introduced our Covid Winter Grant Scheme providing funding to Local Authorities in England to help the most vulnerable children and families stay warm and well fed during the coldest months. It will now until June as the Covid Local Support Grant, with a total investment of £269m.

As the economy recovers, our ambition is to help people move into and progress in work as quickly as possible based on clear evidence around the importance of employment, particularly where it is full-time, in substantially reducing the risks of poverty. We are investing over £30 billion in our ambitious Plan for Jobs which is already delivering for people of all ages right across the country.

24th May 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent estimate she has made of the level of child poverty in (a) England and (b) East Ham constituency.

This Government is wholly committed to tackling poverty. Throughout the pandemic, our priority has been to support the most vulnerable including through spending an additional £7.4billion to strengthen the welfare system, taking our total expenditure on welfare support for people of working age to an estimated £112 billion in 2020/21. Additionally, in December 2020 we introduced our Covid Winter Grant Scheme, providing funding to Local Authorities in England to enable them to support people with food and essential utility bills during the coldest months. It will now run until June as the Covid Local Support Grant, with a total investment of £269m.

National Statistics on the number and percentage of children in low income are published annually in the “Households Below Average Income” publication. Data for East Ham is unavailable due to insufficient sample size.

Latest statistics for the levels of children who are in low income in England, covering 2019/20, can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/households-below-average-income-for-financial-years-ending-1995-to-2020 ,“children-hbai-timeseries-1994-95-2019-20-tables” in table 4.16ts (relative low income, before and after housing costs) and in table 4.22ts (absolute low income, before and after housing costs).

In the three years to 2019/20, the absolute child poverty rate, before housing costs, in England was 18%, down 3 percentage points since the three years to 2009/10.

The Department now publishes supplementary official statistics on the number of children in low income families at constituency level. Children in Low Income Families data is published annually.

In 2019/20 the absolute levels of child poverty, before housing costs, in East Ham was 22%. The latest figures on the number of children who are in low income in East Ham and in England, covering 2019/20, can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/children-in-low-income-families-local-area-statistics-2014-to-2020/children-in-low-income-families-local-area-statistics-fye-2015-to-fye-2020

Due to methodological differences, the figures in these two publications are not comparable.

17th May 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department plans to take to support people with No Recourse to Public Funds when the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme ends.

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.

27th Apr 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the letter of 24 March 2021 from the Minister for Disabled People to the Work and Pensions Committee, how many claimants her Department has identified as being ineligible for a remote Work Capability Assessment in each month since the suspension of face-to-face assessments on 16 March 2020 in response to the covid-19 outbreak; and how many of those claimants so identified her Department has now assessed.

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.

27th Apr 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to improve employment rates of young people from (a) Black and (b) Asian backgrounds and if she will make a statement.

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.

Mims Davies
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
24th Mar 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to oral evidence given by the Minister for Welfare Delivery on 9 March 2021 to the Work and Pensions Committee and the House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee, how her Department concluded that introducing non-repayable grants in universal credit would take two years or longer; and what assessment she has made of the barriers to introducing those grants more quickly.

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.

24th Mar 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to oral evidence given by the Minister for Welfare Delivery on 9 March 2021 to the Work and Pensions Committee and the House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee, how her Department reached the conclusion that introducing a non-repayable grant for new universal credit claimants would cost about £2 billion to £2.5 billion per annum; and if she will publish the details of those costings.

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.

9th Mar 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many regulatory interventions recorded by the Health and Safety Executive in relation to the covid-19 outbreak there were by each class of reason in each month since March 2020.

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:

Month / Year

Concerns dealt with by Visiting / Regulatory Contact Officers

Concerns dealt with by Inspectors

March 2020

-

-

April 2020

203

1510

May 2020

148

835

June 2020

63

482

July 2020

55

339

August 2020

39

258

September 2020

74

330

October 2020

86

396

November 2020

94

387

December 2020

102

134

January 2021

154

271

February 2021

74

59

March 2021

4

6

Totals

1096

5,007

Notes:

i. Data was extracted from HSE’s live operational database on 10th 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:

Month / Year

Concerns resulting in formal written correspondence

Concerns resulting in enforcement notices

March 2020

-

-

April 2020

46

1

May 2020

41

8

June 2020

37

10

July 2020

41

4

August 2020

23

4

September 2020

40

5

October 2020

30

1

November 2020

40

2

December 2020

17

0

January 2021

29

3

February 2021

14

1

March 2021

1

0

Totals

359

39

Note: Data was extracted from HSE’s live operational database on 10th 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:

Month / Year

Covid-19 interventions without site visit

Covid-19 interventions with site visit

Covid-19 interventions where visit status unclear from records

March 2020

4

2

-

April 2020

1,686

44

-

May 2020

924

134

-

June 2020

1,989

198

2

July 2020

2,527

1,646

48

August 2020

3,406

1,582

49

September 2020

9,008

2,202

52

October 2020

11,408

5,378

87

November 2020

11,256

9,382

52

December 2020

9,197

10,019

157

January 2021

11,721

13,586

42

February 2021

22,170

15,580

31

March 2021

6,586

3,870

8

Totals

91,882*

63,627

528

*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 10th 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:

Month / Year

Workplace concern interventions

Spot check interventions

Outbreak interventions

RIDDOR investigations (fatalities)

RIDDOR investigations (non fatalities)

Totals

March 2020

331

6

0

0

0

337

April 2020

3,721

12

1

0

0

3,734

May 2020

2,060

71

0

39

14

2,184

June 2020

1,247

1,632

5

33

15

2,932

July 2020

1,269

3,774

51

10

31

5,135

August 2020

1,016

4,692

45

5

7

5,765

September 2020

1,152

10,779

76

13

21

12,041

October 2020

1,520

16,252

131

7

14

17,924

November 2020

2,347

20,043

149

10

65

22,614

December 2020

1,202

19,071

64

16

35

20,388

January 2021

3,105

24,850

55

23

29

28,062

February 2021

1,578

37,608

39

21

26

39,272

March 2021

187

10,454

3

5

22

10,671

Totals

20,735*

149,244

619

182

279

171,059

*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 10th 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.

Mims Davies
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
9th Mar 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many regulatory interventions in relation to the covid-19 outbreak have been conducted (a) as a result of a site visit and (b) without a site visit in each month since March 2020.

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:

Month / Year

Concerns dealt with by Visiting / Regulatory Contact Officers

Concerns dealt with by Inspectors

March 2020

-

-

April 2020

203

1510

May 2020

148

835

June 2020

63

482

July 2020

55

339

August 2020

39

258

September 2020

74

330

October 2020

86

396

November 2020

94

387

December 2020

102

134

January 2021

154

271

February 2021

74

59

March 2021

4

6

Totals

1096

5,007

Notes:

i. Data was extracted from HSE’s live operational database on 10th 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:

Month / Year

Concerns resulting in formal written correspondence

Concerns resulting in enforcement notices

March 2020

-

-

April 2020

46

1

May 2020

41

8

June 2020

37

10

July 2020

41

4

August 2020

23

4

September 2020

40

5

October 2020

30

1

November 2020

40

2

December 2020

17

0

January 2021

29

3

February 2021

14

1

March 2021

1

0

Totals

359

39

Note: Data was extracted from HSE’s live operational database on 10th 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:

Month / Year

Covid-19 interventions without site visit

Covid-19 interventions with site visit

Covid-19 interventions where visit status unclear from records

March 2020

4

2

-

April 2020

1,686

44

-

May 2020

924

134

-

June 2020

1,989

198

2

July 2020

2,527

1,646

48

August 2020

3,406

1,582

49

September 2020

9,008

2,202

52

October 2020

11,408

5,378

87

November 2020

11,256

9,382

52

December 2020

9,197

10,019

157

January 2021

11,721

13,586

42

February 2021

22,170

15,580

31

March 2021

6,586

3,870

8

Totals

91,882*

63,627

528

*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 10th 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:

Month / Year

Workplace concern interventions

Spot check interventions

Outbreak interventions

RIDDOR investigations (fatalities)

RIDDOR investigations (non fatalities)

Totals

March 2020

331

6

0

0

0

337

April 2020

3,721

12

1

0

0

3,734

May 2020

2,060

71

0

39

14

2,184

June 2020

1,247

1,632

5

33

15

2,932

July 2020

1,269

3,774

51

10

31

5,135

August 2020

1,016

4,692

45

5

7

5,765

September 2020

1,152

10,779

76

13

21

12,041

October 2020

1,520

16,252

131

7

14

17,924

November 2020

2,347

20,043

149

10

65

22,614

December 2020

1,202

19,071

64

16

35

20,388

January 2021

3,105

24,850

55

23

29

28,062

February 2021

1,578

37,608

39

21

26

39,272

March 2021

187

10,454

3

5

22

10,671

Totals

20,735*

149,244

619

182

279

171,059

*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 10th 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.

Mims Davies
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
9th Mar 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many amber /red covid-19 concerns dealt with by Health and Safety Executive regulatory staff have resulted in (a) formal written advice and (b) enforcement in each month since March 2020.

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:

Month / Year

Concerns dealt with by Visiting / Regulatory Contact Officers

Concerns dealt with by Inspectors

March 2020

-

-

April 2020

203

1510

May 2020

148

835

June 2020

63

482

July 2020

55

339

August 2020

39

258

September 2020

74

330

October 2020

86

396

November 2020

94

387

December 2020

102

134

January 2021

154

271

February 2021

74

59

March 2021

4

6

Totals

1096

5,007

Notes:

i. Data was extracted from HSE’s live operational database on 10th 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:

Month / Year

Concerns resulting in formal written correspondence

Concerns resulting in enforcement notices

March 2020

-

-

April 2020

46

1

May 2020

41

8

June 2020

37

10

July 2020

41

4

August 2020

23

4

September 2020

40

5

October 2020

30

1

November 2020

40

2

December 2020

17

0

January 2021

29

3

February 2021

14

1

March 2021

1

0

Totals

359

39

Note: Data was extracted from HSE’s live operational database on 10th 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:

Month / Year

Covid-19 interventions without site visit

Covid-19 interventions with site visit

Covid-19 interventions where visit status unclear from records

March 2020

4

2

-

April 2020

1,686

44

-

May 2020

924

134

-

June 2020

1,989

198

2

July 2020

2,527

1,646

48

August 2020

3,406

1,582

49

September 2020

9,008

2,202

52

October 2020

11,408

5,378

87

November 2020

11,256

9,382

52

December 2020

9,197

10,019

157

January 2021

11,721

13,586

42

February 2021

22,170

15,580

31

March 2021

6,586

3,870

8

Totals

91,882*

63,627

528

*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 10th 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:

Month / Year

Workplace concern interventions

Spot check interventions

Outbreak interventions

RIDDOR investigations (fatalities)

RIDDOR investigations (non fatalities)

Totals

March 2020

331

6

0

0

0

337

April 2020

3,721

12

1

0

0

3,734

May 2020

2,060

71

0

39

14

2,184

June 2020

1,247

1,632

5

33

15

2,932

July 2020

1,269

3,774

51

10

31

5,135

August 2020

1,016

4,692

45

5

7

5,765

September 2020

1,152

10,779

76

13

21

12,041

October 2020

1,520

16,252

131

7

14

17,924

November 2020

2,347

20,043

149

10

65

22,614

December 2020

1,202

19,071

64

16

35

20,388

January 2021

3,105

24,850

55

23

29

28,062

February 2021

1,578

37,608

39

21

26

39,272

March 2021

187

10,454

3

5

22

10,671

Totals

20,735*

149,244

619

182

279

171,059

*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 10th 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.

Mims Davies
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
9th Mar 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many amber /red covid-19 concerns dealt with by Health and Safety Executive regulatory staff have been handled by (a) visiting officers, (b) regulatory contact officers and (c) inspectors in each month since March 2020.

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:

Month / Year

Concerns dealt with by Visiting / Regulatory Contact Officers

Concerns dealt with by Inspectors

March 2020

-

-

April 2020

203

1510

May 2020

148

835

June 2020

63

482

July 2020

55

339

August 2020

39

258

September 2020

74

330

October 2020

86

396

November 2020

94

387

December 2020

102

134

January 2021

154

271

February 2021

74

59

March 2021

4

6

Totals

1096

5,007

Notes:

i. Data was extracted from HSE’s live operational database on 10th 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:

Month / Year

Concerns resulting in formal written correspondence

Concerns resulting in enforcement notices

March 2020

-

-

April 2020

46

1

May 2020

41

8

June 2020

37

10

July 2020

41

4

August 2020

23

4

September 2020

40

5

October 2020

30

1

November 2020

40

2

December 2020

17

0

January 2021

29

3

February 2021

14

1

March 2021

1

0

Totals

359

39

Note: Data was extracted from HSE’s live operational database on 10th 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:

Month / Year

Covid-19 interventions without site visit

Covid-19 interventions with site visit

Covid-19 interventions where visit status unclear from records

March 2020

4

2

-

April 2020

1,686

44

-

May 2020

924

134

-

June 2020

1,989

198

2

July 2020

2,527

1,646

48

August 2020

3,406

1,582

49

September 2020

9,008

2,202

52

October 2020

11,408

5,378

87

November 2020

11,256

9,382

52

December 2020

9,197

10,019

157

January 2021

11,721

13,586

42

February 2021

22,170

15,580

31

March 2021

6,586

3,870

8

Totals

91,882*

63,627

528

*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 10th 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:

Month / Year

Workplace concern interventions

Spot check interventions

Outbreak interventions

RIDDOR investigations (fatalities)

RIDDOR investigations (non fatalities)

Totals

March 2020

331

6

0

0

0

337

April 2020

3,721

12

1

0

0

3,734

May 2020

2,060

71

0

39

14

2,184

June 2020

1,247

1,632

5

33

15

2,932

July 2020

1,269

3,774

51

10

31

5,135

August 2020

1,016

4,692

45

5

7

5,765

September 2020

1,152

10,779

76

13

21

12,041

October 2020

1,520

16,252

131

7

14

17,924

November 2020

2,347

20,043

149

10

65

22,614

December 2020

1,202

19,071

64

16

35

20,388

January 2021

3,105

24,850

55

23

29

28,062

February 2021

1,578

37,608

39

21

26

39,272

March 2021

187

10,454

3

5

22

10,671

Totals

20,735*

149,244

619

182

279

171,059

*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 10th 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.

Mims Davies
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
8th Mar 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to Written Statement HCWS824 made on 4 March 2021 by the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Pensions and Financial Inclusion, how much her Department has paid in backpayments as a result of the correction exercise to date.

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.

Guy Opperman
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
8th Mar 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to Written Statement HCWS824 made on 4 March 2021 by the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Pensions and Financial Inclusion, how many underpayments her Department’s correction exercise has identified to date.

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.

Guy Opperman
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
8th Mar 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many site-based Health and Safety Executive spot checks have been carried out by (a) covid-19 support officers, (b) visiting officers/regulatory contact officers and (c) inspectors in each month since March 2020.

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:

Month / Year

Spot Check Support Officer

HSE Visiting Officer / Regulatory Contact Officer

HSE Inspector

March 2020

2

April 2020

6

May 2020

15

June 2020

91

July 2020

20

1475

August 2020

18

1448

September 2020

38

1989

October 2020

2,263

26

2804

November 2020

7,395

41

1714

December 2020

8,948

20

974

January 2021

12,737

7

721

February 2021

14,805

11

723

March 2021

6,765

2

94

Totals

52,913

183

12,056

Note: Figures were obtained from HSE’s live operational database on 9th 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.

Mims Davies
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
8th Mar 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 3 March to Question 156242 on Carer's Allowance: Overpayments, what information her Department holds on the starting date and durations of the overpayments of Carer’s Allowance first identified in (a) 2018-19, (b) 2019-20 and (c) 2020-21.

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:

2018/2019

2019/2020

2020/2021 YTD

Average Length (Days)

164

213

135

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

2018/2019

2019/2020

2020/2021 YTD

Median Start Date

06/11/2017

17/12/2018

09/12/2019

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.
1st Mar 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the Health and Safety Executive's response is to representations made to it by the Road Haulage Association on tightening guidance on the provision of toilet facilities to visiting truck drivers; and if she will make a statement.

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.

Mims Davies
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
22nd Feb 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people have been asked to repay overpayments of carer's allowance in each of the last five years.

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:

Financial Year

Volume

2016/2017

17.5k

2017/2018

13.0k

2018/2019

37.6k

2019/2020

51.9k

2020/2021 YTD

11.5k

Total

131.5k

1st Feb 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of (a) formal written advice notices and (b) enforcement notices issued by HSE in each month since March 2020 were in relation to (i) employee safety concerns arising from covid-19 and (ii) concerns of inadequate ventilation as a risk of covid-19 transmission.

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

COVID concerns with an outcome of 'Written correspondence'

COVID concerns with an outcome of Notice

COVID spot checks with an outcome of ‘Written correspondence’

COVID spot checks with an outcome of Notice

Mar-20

0

0

0

0

Apr-20

45

1

0

0

May-20

42

8

3

1

Jun-20

38

10

18

8

Jul-20

41

4

128

25

Aug-20

22

3

134

23

Sep-20

39

5

160

30

Oct-20

32

0

251

30

Nov-20

36

1

127

22

Dec-20

16

0

104

14

Jan-21

15

1

63

7

February 2021 (to 02.02.21)

0

0

2

0

Totals

326

33

990

160

Note: This data was extracted from HSE’s live operational database on 3rd 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.

Mims Davies
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
26th Jan 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the cost to the public purse of implementing the automated process under the Universal Credit (Earned Income) Amendment Regulations 2020.

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.

26th Jan 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when the automated process to deliver the Universal Credit (Earned Income) Amendment Regulations 2020 will be in place.

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.

26th Jan 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many (a) Stage 1 phone calls, (b) Stage 2 follow-up calls, (c) Stage 3 site visits and (d) covid support officer site visits have been undertaken by HSE in each month since March 2020 in relation to (i) all employee safety concerns arising from covid-19 and (ii) concerns of inadequate ventilation causing an increased risk of covid-19 transmission.

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.

Month/Year

Completed COVID Concerns

COVID concerns investigated by regulatory staff.

Requiring a visit to site

03-2020

336

-

04-2020

3749

1715

37

05-2020

2006

982

119

06-2020

1238

548

103

07-2020

1272

393

127

08-2020

1008

295

93

09-2020

1132

399

125

10-2020

1437

473

203

11-2020

2228

462

157

12-2020

1132

195

38

01-2021

2177

178

41

Total

17715

5640

1043

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

Mims Davies
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
21st Jan 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the letter of 15 January 2021 from the Permanent Secretary to the Work and Pensions Committee, how her Department defines the acceptable service level for its telephone lines for (a) attendance allowance, (b) the Child Maintenance Service, (c) personal independence payment and (d) state pension; and in each month from August 2020 to December 2020 what service level was provided on each of those lines.

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.

% Calls Answered (PCA)

Aug-20

Sep-20

Oct-20

Nov-20

Dec-20

AA

61.10%

60.20%

64.40%

62.00%

64.00%

CMS

78.90%

75.60%

74.80%

74.30%

68.40%

PIP

70.60%

70.60%

63.30%

69.60%

69.20%

SP

60.60%

57.90%

52.10%

55.20%

60.30%

Guy Opperman
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
20th Jan 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what her Department's policy is on automatically extending personal independence payment awards.

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.

20th Jan 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the letter of 15 January 2021 from the Permanent Secretary to the Work and Pensions Committee, in each month from August 2020 to December 2020 how many call attempts to her Department’s debt management service (a) were made, (b) were blocked and (c) were not blocked but were not answered.

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

Call attempts

Calls answered

Calls blocked

Calls not answered

August

153,800

102,400

22,200

29,300

September

282,100

127,900

101,600

52,600

October

221,800

147,500

41,800

32,500

November

605,300

149,600

413,700

42,000

December

278,900

122,600

129,400

26,900

January (to 11/01/21)

46,500

42,700

100

3,700

*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.

20th Jan 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will publish the timetable for the National Disability Strategy, and whether that Strategy will be consulted on as a command paper.

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.

20th Jan 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the effect of modifications to Access to Work during the covid-19 outbreak on support for people with musculoskeletal conditions.

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%.

20th Jan 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 7 December 2020 to Question 123507, how much funding was allocated to promote the Access to Work scheme in the last financial year; and what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of that promotion in relation to the uptake of that scheme.

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.

10th Dec 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of written complaints to her Department’s Debt Management team were answered within 15 working days in (a) August (b) September (c) October and (d) November 2020.

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

August

September

October

November

Proportion of complaints answered by Debt Management within 15 working days

93%

88%

88%

49%

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.

10th Dec 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of calls to her Department’s Debt Management team were answered in (a) August (b) September (c) October and (d) November 2020.

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:

August

September

October

November

Proportion of calls presented to agents that are answered

77%

71%

80%

78%

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 20th 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 7th–11th December, this had fallen to less than 6,000 each day.

7th Dec 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to her letter of 20 July 2020 to the Work and Pensions Committee, how many cases of universal credit identity hijack her Department (a) has investigated since October 2018 and (b) is currently investigating.

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.

7th Dec 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the letter of 21 November 2020 from the Permanent Secretary to the Work and Pensions Committee, how many cases of universal credit identity hijack have been referred to the Stolen Identity Team since 24 June 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.

1st Dec 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much has been spent on promoting the Access to Work scheme in the 2020-21 financial year.

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.

1st Dec 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the amount her Department will have spent on promoting the Access to Work scheme in the current financial year, 2020-21, by the end of the financial year.

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.

1st Dec 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of her Department's promotion of Access to Work in the current financial year on the number of applications to that scheme.

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.

30th Nov 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions her Department is having with representatives of (a) Equity and (b) other similar organisations on social security support for self-employed workers in the creative industries during the covid-19 outbreak; and if she will make a statement.

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.

Mims Davies
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
30th Nov 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what guidance she has given to jobcentre staff on relaxing normal work search requirements for benefit claimants who are self-employed and highly experienced but temporarily unable to find work in their usual field during the covid-19 outbreak.

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.

Mims Davies
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
23rd Nov 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 16 November 2020 to Question 114047 on Immigrants: Coronavirus, if she will issue guidance to local authorities to clarify that families with No Recourse to Public Funds are eligible for help from Government funds provided for supporting disadvantaged families.

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

19th Nov 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions she has had with representatives (a) among the self-employed and (b) workers in the creative arts sector on the operation of the social security system during the covid-19 outbreak.

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.

Mims Davies
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
11th Nov 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to her oral statement of 9 November 2020, Official Report, column 637 on supporting disadvantaged families, whether children in families whose immigration status has the No Recourse to Public Funds condition will be eligible for help if they are (a) born in the UK and (b) born outside the UK.

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.

10th Nov 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she plans to increase the rate of (a) jobseekers' allowance and (b) employment and support allowance in line with the increase in universal credit; and if she will make a statement.

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.

10th Nov 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what method her Department has used to conduct personal independence payment medical assessments since face-to-face assessments were paused in response to the covid-19 outbreak.

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.

9th Nov 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 2 November 2020 to Question 106889 on State Retirement Pensions, how many people were having deductions and adjustments made to their State Pension payments by her Department to repay claimant debts owed to Government on the most recent date for which that data is available.

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.

30th Oct 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on a joined-up approach by Government and regulators to implementing the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures; and if she will make a statement.

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.

Guy Opperman
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
30th Oct 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make it her policy for the Money and Pensions Service to reintroduce the Pension Wise usage data reports, showing monthly Pension Wise take up by channel, which were published by her Department up to January 2019.

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.

Guy Opperman
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
30th Oct 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to promote diversity in pension schemes governance; and if she will make a statement.

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.

Guy Opperman
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
21st Oct 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many claimants are having deductions made from their State Pension as a result of debts owed to the Government.

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 c