Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much and what proportion of his Department’s funding is allocated to (a) employing and (b) supporting armed forces champions in jobcentre plus districts.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The funding for Armed Forces Champions forms part of the overall allocation for Jobcentre Work Coaches and Leaders. There is no specific funding separately identifiable for the role of either employing or supporting our Armed Forces Champions, however the Department is committed to providing 11 dedicated Armed Forces Champion lead posts who oversee 50 Armed Forces Champions posts across the DWP Jobcentre network.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what progress his Department has made on developing the Universal Support programme as it relates to veterans.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Universal Support is a new, voluntary employment programme for disabled people, those with health conditions and those with additional barriers to employment, and this will include veterans. The programme will offer veterans up to 12 months of ‘place and train’ support from a dedicated keyworker – helping them to find a suitable role and providing tailored support for the participant and their employer to help sustain that work.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 1 March 2024 to Question 15403 on Jobcentres: Armed Forces, for what reason his Department does not employ specific metrics to assess the performance of Armed Forces Champions in Jobcentres.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The performance of Armed Forces Champions is reviewed in line with the Department’s performance management approach that includes regular one-to-ones with line managers to discuss team objectives, personal development and career progression.
There are no specific metrics used, but good performance and achievements are recognised. In those areas where there are particularly high levels of demand, for example garrison towns, the local manager will ensure that the right level of support can be accessed.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 1 March 2024 to Question 15403 on Jobcentres: Armed Forces, how the performance of Armed Forces Champions in Jobcentres is (a) reviewed and (b) managed.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The performance of Armed Forces Champions is reviewed in line with the Department’s performance management approach that includes regular one-to-ones with line managers to discuss team objectives, personal development and career progression.
There are no specific metrics used, but good performance and achievements are recognised. In those areas where there are particularly high levels of demand, for example garrison towns, the local manager will ensure that the right level of support can be accessed.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of employing an Armed Forces Champion at every Jobcentre.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
As part of the Armed Forces Covenant the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has initiatives which help current and former Armed Forces personnel and their families. This includes the role of the Armed Forces Champion in every Jobcentre Plus District, who provide specialist support to members of the Armed Forces community and build Work Coach capability in our Jobcentres. Armed Forces Champions develop and maintain joint working relationships, provide specialist support to all Jobcentre staff and act as the first point of contact in communities for organisations and services.
Although there is no specific assessment carried out, the Department regularly evaluates the role to ensure we deliver the best service possible and we have had, and continue to receive positive feedback from customers and external stakeholders regarding their experience of working with Armed Forces Champions.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will introduce a marker to enable the collection of data on the number of veterans that are claiming Personal Independence Payments.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We have no immediate plans to introduce such a marker. Where a Personal Independence Payment (PIP) claimant is a veteran, then relevant information on the functional impact of their medical condition will be gathered as part of the claiming process, either through the medical assessment, or by the DWP decision maker.
PIP is based on the needs of the individual and current or previous occupation is unrelated to entitlement.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Answer of 8 June 2023 to Question 187857 on Universal Credit: Armed Forces, how many Universal Credit claimants have been identified as (a) serving and (b) having served in the armed forces for the assessment period ending on 1 February 2024.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) started collecting data on the Armed Forces status of Universal Credit (UC) claimants in Great Britain (GB) in April 2021. From July 2021 onwards, UC agents have also been able to record claimants’ Armed Forces status if they are told about this via other means such as journal messages, face-to-face meetings or by telephone.
Data coverage continues to improve over time and by January 2024 data was held on the status of approximately 71% of the GB UC caseload. It should be noted that Armed Forces status is self-reported by claimants and is not verified by the Ministry of Defence or Office for Veterans’ Affairs. A claimant’s status can be recorded as “currently serving”, “served in the past”, “not served” or “prefer not to say”. Data is not collected on the specific branch of the Armed Forces that claimants are serving in or have served in in the past. The table below shows the proportion of claimants who have disclosed their Armed Forces status.
UC caseload month | Proportion of caseload with a recorded status | Currently serving | Served in the past | Not served | Prefer not to say | No recorded status | ||
July 2022 | 51% | 3,000 | 39,000 | 2,800,000 | 21,000 | 2,800,000 | ||
August 2022 | 53% | 3,200 | 40,000 | 2,900,000 | 22,000 | 2,700,000 | ||
September 2022 | 54% | 3,200 | 41,000 | 3,000,000 | 22,000 | 2,600,000 | ||
October 2022 | 56% | 3,300 | 43,000 | 3,100,000 | 23,000 | 2,500,000 | ||
November 2022 | 57% | 3,300 | 44,000 | 3,200,000 | 24,000 | 2,500,000 | ||
December 2022 | 58% | 3,400 | 45,000 | 3,300,000 | 25,000 | 2,400,000 | ||
January 2023 | 59% | 3,500 | 46,000 | 3,400,000 | 25,000 | 2,300,000 | ||
February 2023 | 61% | 3,500 | 48,000 | 3,500,000 | 26,000 | 2,300,000 | ||
March 2023 | 62% | 3,600 | 48,000 | 3,500,000 | 27,000 | 2,200,000 | ||
April 2023 | 63% | 3,700 | 50,000 | 3,600,000 | 28,000 | 2,200,000 | ||
May 2023 | 64% | 3,800 | 50,000 | 3,700,000 | 28,000 | 2,100,000 | ||
June 2023 | 65% | 3,900 | 51,000 | 3,800,000 | 29,000 | 2,100,000 | ||
July 2023 | 66% | 4,000 | 52,000 | 3,900,000 | 30,000 | 2,100,000 | ||
August 2023 | 66% | 4,000 | 53,000 | 3,900,000 | 30,000 | 2,000,000 | ||
September 2023 | 67% | 4,000 | 54,000 | 4,000,000 | 30,000 | 2,000,000 | ||
October 2023 | 68% | 3,900 | 54,000 | 4,100,000 | 30,000 | 2,000,000 | ||
November 2023 | 69% | 3,900 | 55,000 | 4,200,000 | 31,000 | 1,900,000 | ||
December 2023 | 70% | 3,900 | 57,000 | 4,300,000 | 31,000 | 1,900,000 | ||
January 2024 (provisional) | 71% | 4,000 | 58,000 | 4,400,000 | 32,000 | 1,900,000 | ||
The way the data is collected means the claimants for whom an Armed Forces status is recorded may not be representative of the UC caseload as a whole. This means it is not yet possible to produce reliable estimates of the overall number or proportion of UC claimants who are currently serving in the Armed Forces or who have served in the past.
Increases in the numbers of claimants with a recorded status of “currently serving” or “served in the past” do not necessarily mean the overall numbers of claimants who are currently serving or have served in the past have increased and may reflect increases in the number of claimants for whom data is held as data coverage improves over time.
Notes:
1. Figures are for Great Britain. Data is not collected on the Armed Forces status of UC claimants in Northern Ireland.
2. Figures in the table have been rounded according to the Department’s Official Statistics rounding policy.
3. In line with the latest published People on UC official statistics, provisional figures relating to January 2024 are provided. These figures will be subject to revision in subsequent releases.
4. These figures are based on the Official Statistics UC caseload definition. Some previous figures have used an alternative caseload definition based on assessment period end dates.
5. Further information on the caseload definition used for the UC official statistics can be found on Stat-Xplore: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 27 November 2023 to Question 3093 on Universal Credit: Armed Forces, whether his Department has made an assessment of the circumstances affecting whether armed forces personnel become eligible for Universal Credit.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
No estimate has been made of the number of Universal Credit claimants who are veterans, but who do not declare their veteran status. UC claimants are asked about their armed forces status when declaring or reporting changes in their work and earnings and UC agents are also able to record claimants’ Armed Forces status if they are told about this via other means such as journal messages, face-to-face meetings or by telephone.
This Government believes it is important to identify veterans and serving personnel, so we can ensure they can get all the help and support they need. For more information, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to PQ3093, where the Department explained the current progress in identifying such claimants.
No assessment has been made of reasons for any increase, the number of UC claimants recorded as previously served or currently serving has been stable since June 2023.
Serving armed forces personnel claiming Universal Credit will be no different to other UC claimants.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 27 November 2023 to Question 3093 on Universal Credit: Armed Forces, whether his Department has assessed the reasons for why the number of veterans claiming Universal Credit increased between May and July 2023.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
No estimate has been made of the number of Universal Credit claimants who are veterans, but who do not declare their veteran status. UC claimants are asked about their armed forces status when declaring or reporting changes in their work and earnings and UC agents are also able to record claimants’ Armed Forces status if they are told about this via other means such as journal messages, face-to-face meetings or by telephone.
This Government believes it is important to identify veterans and serving personnel, so we can ensure they can get all the help and support they need. For more information, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to PQ3093, where the Department explained the current progress in identifying such claimants.
No assessment has been made of reasons for any increase, the number of UC claimants recorded as previously served or currently serving has been stable since June 2023.
Serving armed forces personnel claiming Universal Credit will be no different to other UC claimants.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 27 November 2023 to Question 3093 on Universal Credit: Armed Forces, if he will make an estimate of the number of Universal Credit claimants who are veterans, but who don’t declare their veteran status.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
No estimate has been made of the number of Universal Credit claimants who are veterans, but who do not declare their veteran status. UC claimants are asked about their armed forces status when declaring or reporting changes in their work and earnings and UC agents are also able to record claimants’ Armed Forces status if they are told about this via other means such as journal messages, face-to-face meetings or by telephone.
This Government believes it is important to identify veterans and serving personnel, so we can ensure they can get all the help and support they need. For more information, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to PQ3093, where the Department explained the current progress in identifying such claimants.
No assessment has been made of reasons for any increase, the number of UC claimants recorded as previously served or currently serving has been stable since June 2023.
Serving armed forces personnel claiming Universal Credit will be no different to other UC claimants.