Asked by: Yvette Cooper (Labour - Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to support people aged 60 and over who have been made redundant and who are ineligible to claim universal credit and have not yet reached the state pension age.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department recognises that work is the best route to prosperity. Claimants who are not eligible for Universal Credit may be eligible for contributory benefits, which are not means tested. Claimants in receipt of contributory benefits can access our wider Jobcentre offer, including tailored support from a dedicated Work Coach.
Furthermore, the Rapid Response Service (RRS) supports eligible people regardless of age who are serving their notice period, whether from compulsory redundancy or other workforce measures such as an early release scheme. The RRS offer is flexible and includes a range of options that can be pulled together into an appropriate support package. Those who do not find alternative employment before losing their job can access the same support as those under notice of redundancy for a period of 13 weeks, irrespective of whether they make a claim for benefit or not.
Mid-life MOTs, which offer support from the National Careers Service, Public Health England and Money and Pensions Service are freely available to anyone considering a change in career.
People who are not in receipt of any benefits can still access support on-line. Find a Job is the Government’s official job matching service for those looking for work, employers looking to recruit and recruitment agencies who recruit on their behalf. In addition, the DWP launched the JobHelp website, which provides useful guidance and tools for jobseekers including hints and tips, job search advice, information about recruiting sectors and signposts to job vacancies to help people successfully find work.
Asked by: Yvette Cooper (Labour - Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent estimate she has made of the number of unemployed people aged over 60 who are unable to claim universal credit but (a) have not reached the state pension age and (b) have a low household income.
Answered by Will Quince
No such estimate has been made.
Asked by: Yvette Cooper (Labour - Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she has reviewed the eligibility criteria for Support for Mortgage Interest payments during the covid-19 pandemic.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department has not reviewed the eligibility criteria for Support for Mortgage Interest payments during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Asked by: Yvette Cooper (Labour - Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment her Department has made of (a) trends in unemployment among people aged over 60 and (b) the effect of that matter on their household incomes if they have not yet reached the state pension age and are ineligible for welfare benefit payments.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The unemployment rate for 60-64 year olds in the year to September 2020 was 3.5% (or 75,800 people), an increase from 3.1% (or 67,100 people) in the year to September 2019. This remains a lower rate than the year to September 2010 when it was 3.8%.
No assessment has been made as to the effect of that matter on their household incomes if they have not yet reached the State Pension age and are ineligible for welfare benefit payments.
Official statistics on household income, including households containing pensioners, are available from the Family Resources Survey (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/family-resources-survey--2
Asked by: Yvette Cooper (Labour - Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many job centres have closed in each constituency in each year between 2010 and the most recent year for which figures are available.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Staff and service delivery have, where possible, been relocated to alternative DWP buildings or partner organisation’s buildings in order to maintain delivery of services to customers. Since 1st February 2010 through to 3rd October 2019, 219 buildings through which Jobcentre Plus services were delivered have been closed. On occasions jobcentres were closed to merge with other, bigger jobcentres or to accommodate co-location needs.
Our DWP estate announcement on 5 July 2017 confirmed that some smaller jobcentres would merge with larger ones, and others would be co-located in local government premises. Merging our staff and services from some smaller or underutilised jobcentres, into larger jobcentres nearby, makes better use of space and reduces costs to the taxpayer while still maintaining the same excellent level of customer service.
This has enabled the Department to offer a more efficient service, while delivering good value for the taxpayer.
We are committed to retaining a Jobcentre Plus network and continuing to serve throughout GB to make sure they can continue to access the Jobcentre Plus services they need.
Asked by: Yvette Cooper (Labour - Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when the Government plans to publish its report into the factors driving the use of food banks.
Answered by Will Quince
The Department is currently working on the literature review and a release date is yet to be determined.
Asked by: Yvette Cooper (Labour - Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many job centres have closed in each constituency in each year between 2010 and 2018.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
In March 2018, the 20-year contract covering the majority of DWPs current estate of over 900 sites came to an end. This presented an opportunity to re-evaluate what we needed from our estate. The increased use of our online services in recent years, coupled with reductions in unemployment and improved efficiency, meant that 20% of the rent being paid by DWP was going toward space we were not using.
Given this, it is right that we reconfigure our Jobcentre estate and make the jobcentres fit for the 21st century. This is not about reducing services, but about taking the opportunity to stop spending money on empty space so we can spend more on supporting those in need.
On 5 July 2017, the Department for Work and Pensions confirmed that some smaller jobcentres would merge with larger ones, and others would be co-located in local government premises. Merging our staff and services from some smaller or underutilised jobcentres, into larger jobcentres nearby, makes better use of space and reduces costs to the taxpayer while still maintaining the same excellent level of customer service.
We are committed to retaining a jobcentre network and continuing to serve people in all areas of the UK to make sure they can continue to access the tailored services they need.
The attached list contains the information requested.