Asked by: Tonia Antoniazzi (Labour - Gower)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many veterans were in receipt of Personal Independence Payment in Wales on average during 2021-22.
Answered by Chloe Smith
The information requested is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Tonia Antoniazzi (Labour - Gower)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many veterans were in receipt of Employment Support Allowance in Wales on average during 2021-22.
Answered by Chloe Smith
The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Tonia Antoniazzi (Labour - Gower)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department has taken with the Secretary of State for Defence to enhance the job opportunities for armed forces service leavers.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
DWP regularly meets with departments responsible for key sectors to identify and promote opportunities. We offer significant support across Great Britain to access employment opportunities through our network of Jobcentres. Our Work Coaches provide veterans and others with the help and support they need, and our National Employer and Partnership team encourage our national employers to sign the Armed Forces Covenant, pledging to recruit veterans.
Through our Plan for Jobs, the Department is providing broad ranging support for all jobseekers with our Sector Based Work Academy Programmes (SWAP), Job Entry Targeted Support and Restart scheme.
DWP’s network of 50 Armed Forces Champions and 11 Group Leads provide vital support to veterans and other members of the armed forces community, including providing additional help to get veterans in to work. 83% of veterans are employed within 6 months of discharge, which compares very favourably with the wider population where 75% are in employment.
The Armed Force Champions network receive Going Forward into Employment (GFiE) opportunities direct, supporting this cross government accredited scheme to provide veterans and veterans’ partners (and others) with work placements and fixed-term opportunities across Civil Service departments, which could in turn lead to permanent employment.
Asked by: Tonia Antoniazzi (Labour - Gower)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many independent case examiners there are to assess complaints in respect of the Child Maintenance Service.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
There is one Independent Case Examiner (ICE), appointed under contract to adjudicate on the merits of complaints where the complainant remains dissatisfied, having exhausted the Department’s complaints process and those of its provider partners.
The ICE is supported by the ICE Office, an independent unit which is recruiting up to its headcount of 112 FTE.
Asked by: Tonia Antoniazzi (Labour - Gower)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential effect of not uprating benefits in line with inflation on levels of child poverty in Gower.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
No such assessment has been made. The Government is up-rating benefits in line with inflation. The Secretary of State undertakes an annual review of benefits and pensions with reference to the Consumer Prices Index (CPI). All benefit up-rating since April 1987 has been based on the increase in the relevant price inflation index in the 12 months to the previous September. The relevant benefits are increasing by 3.1% from April.
The latest statistics on the number and proportion of children who are in low income families by local area, covering the six years, 2014/15 to 2019/20, can be found in the annual publication: Children in low income families: local area statistics 2014 to 2020 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)(opens in a new tab).
This Government is committed to reducing poverty and supporting low-income families, and believes work is the best route out of poverty. Our approach is based on clear evidence about the importance of parental employment – particularly where it is full-time – in substantially reducing the risks of child poverty and in improving long-term outcomes for families and children.
Asked by: Tonia Antoniazzi (Labour - Gower)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the number of people who have been affected by the underpayment of benefits after transitioning from incapacity benefit to employment and support allowance in Gower constituency.
Answered by Chloe Smith
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 19th January to question number 104377.
Asked by: Tonia Antoniazzi (Labour - Gower)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the impact of not being considered the primary caregiver, where a shared custody agreement is in place, on Child Maintenance payments for subsequent children.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Where a paying parent has overnight care of a child for whom they pay child maintenance, for at least 52 nights a year (i.e. an average of one night per week), their overall liability is reduced to reflect this.
Reductions are made according to bands, reflecting each additional night per week of overnight care.
Asked by: Tonia Antoniazzi (Labour - Gower)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the potential effect on receipt of benefits for people with joint custody of their children but who are not considered the primary parent in the years (a) 2015, (b) 2016, (c) 2017, (d) 2018, (e) 2019 and (f) 2020.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
No assessment has been made. DWP does not hold information on custody arrangements between all parents claiming benefits and therefore would be unable to make an assessment of the effect on the parent who is not the primary carer.