Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has made an assessment of the impact of changes in the level of social security benefits on people living in unsuitable housing.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department for Work and Pensions spends around £30bn a year on housing support for renters in both the private and social rented sectors. Benefit rates and the Local Housing Allowance (LHA) are reviewed annually.
From April this year the Government is investing £1.2 billion increasing LHA rates to the 30th percentile of local market rents. This significant investment ensures 1.6 million private renters in receipt of Housing Benefit or Universal Credit gain on average, nearly £800 in additional help towards their rental costs in 2024/25.
LHA provides a reasonable level of housing support towards rental costs in the private rented sector. LHA rates are not intended to cover all rents in all areas.
The Department works closely with other government departments, stakeholders, jobcentres, and local authorities to understand the impact of its policies.
For those who face a shortfall in meeting their housing costs and need further support Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) are available from local authorities. Since 2011 the Government has provided nearly £1.7 billion in DHP funding to local authorities.
Asked by: Angela Eagle (Labour - Wallasey)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average number of Work Coaches was per Jobcentre in the latest period for which data is available; and what the average caseload was of a Work Coach in the same period.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Average number of Work Coaches per Jobcentre
Jobcentres across the DWP estate vary significantly in size and capacity, the average number of Work Coaches per Jobcentre does not reflect this variation and is not a metric used by the Department.
At the end of March 24, the number of full time equivalent (FTE) UC, JSA and ESA Work Coaches across Great Britain was 16,480 and the number of Jobcentres was 634, giving an average number of Work Coaches per Jobcentre of approximately 26.
Notes on the figures:
Average caseload of a Work Coach
The table below shows the average number of Universal Credit customers in the Intensive Work Search regime per Universal Credit work coach FTE across Great Britain in March 24.
| March 24 |
People on UC (Intensive Work Search only) | 1,495,380 |
Number of UC work coaches (FTE) | 15,290 |
Intensive Work Search customers per UC work coach (FTE) | 100 |
Data sources: Work coach FTE - DWP’s internal Activity Based Model, People on UC - Stat-Xplore (https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk)
Please note, the Department does not use caseload per Work Coach to estimate the number of Work Coaches required nationally or locally. Not all UC claimants have a Work Coach, but we have provided the number of Intensive Work Search customers per UC Work Coach as most of this group do. The Department has complex models to estimate the resource required in Jobcentres at a national level. These models cover activities across all DWP customer groups and job roles.
The Department continually impacts and assesses the service being offered to customers. Staff numbers, including the number of Work Coaches, and demand for Jobcentre services are reviewed on an ongoing basis, in line with the latest economic and benefit forecasts.
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Notes on the figures:
All figures have been rounded to the nearest 10 and cover Great Britain
People on UC
FTE
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 many veterans have been identified as Universal Credit claimants since the introduction of the new DWP marker.
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. At first only new claimants were asked about their Armed Forces status. From June 2021 onwards, other UC claimants reporting changes in their work and earnings have also been able to report their status. 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.
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”.
By 14th March 2024, an armed forces status of “served in the past” had been recorded for approximately 110,000 claimants with UC claims for which a statement had been generated. This figure includes some people who are no longer on the UC caseload, some who had a nil payment claim and some who subsequently reported a different armed forces status, e.g. “currently serving”. It should be noted that the available data does not allow a comprehensive estimate of the total number of UC claimants who are, or have been, veterans.
Notes:
1. The figure provided is for Great Britain. Data is not collected on the Armed Forces status of UC claimants in Northern Ireland.
2. The figure provided has been rounded to the nearest ten thousand.
Asked by: Douglas Chapman (Scottish National Party - Dunfermline and West Fife)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of adjusting the minimum income floor for Universal Credit for (a) farmers and (b) other people whose income and expenditure varies during the year.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department does not intend to assess the potential merits of adjusting the Minimum Income Floor (MIF). Relaxing or removing the MIF risks trapping customers indefinitely in very low-earning self-employment and dependency on the welfare system - a situation that is unfair to the taxpayer, and unhelpful for customers and their families.
We are working with the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) to ensure a smooth transition from the old legacy benefits to Universal Credit, as well as providing transitional protection when applicable.
Asked by: Angela Eagle (Labour - Wallasey)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much his Department has (a) spent on and (b) reduced its expenditure due to the expansion of targeted case reviews.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Targeted Case Review (TCR) is currently scaling at pace to strengthen the department’s response to fraud and error within Universal Credit.
We are investing £443 million to save £6.6 billion by March 2028.
Investment in TCR for 2022-23 was £19.6 million. As set out in the DWP Annual Report and Accounts (ARA) 2022-23, TCR delivered DWP £39 million of savings, of which £14 million related to 2022-23 expenditure.
We expect the majority of savings to occur in the final years of the project when Targeted Case Review is fully operational.
The Annual Report and Accounts for the financial year 23/24 is expected to be published Summer 2024. This will include Targeted Case Review spend and expenditure. The Fraud and Error National Statistics will be published on 16 May 2024.
Asked by: Tahir Ali (Labour - Birmingham, Hall Green)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to help people claim each benefit to which they are entitled.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
GOV.UK (www.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. There are videos on the DWP YouTube channel that provide further information on a range of benefits including Personal Independence Payment, Universal Credit, Winter Fuel Payment, Pension Credit and DLA for Children and these explain how to claim and what to expect once a claim has been made.
Guidance on GOV.UK (www.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.
Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has undertaken an impact assessment on the roll out of Universal Credit to Tax Credit claimants including those that are farmers.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Universal Credit (UC) was legislated for in 2012. We continue to learn and iterate our approach as we progress our Move to UC activity and remain committed to ensuring that the transition to UC works as smoothly as possible for all individuals. Latest findings of the Move to UC process were published here: Move to Universal Credit – insight on Tax Credit migrations and initial Discovery activity for wider benefit cohorts - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)”
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent estimate his Department has made of the number of people affected by (a) respiratory and (b) fatigue conditions who may have their Universal Credit awards changed under the recently announced Work Capability Assessment reforms.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
In November last year we announced changes to the Work Capability Assessment (WCA) criteria, to deliver the right outcomes and reflect changes in work since the criteria were last comprehensively reviewed in 2011.
Changes to the WCA activities and descriptors will be implemented nationally no earlier than 2025. The majority of existing Universal Credit or Employment and Support Allowance claimants will not be affected by the WCA changes if they have already been assessed as having limited capability for work and work-related activity.
With these changes to the WCA criteria, 424,000* fewer people will be assessed as having limited capability for work and work-related activity by 2028-29 and will receive personalised support to help them move closer to employment. A further 33,000* individuals will be found fit for work by 2028-2029 and will receive more intensive support to search for and secure work than would be the case under the current WCA rules.
Estimates are not based on specific conditions because the WCA considers the impact that a person’s disability or health condition has on their ability to work, not the condition itself.
We will publish an Impact Assessment in due course.
Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what guidance his Department provides to work coaches on the flexible work fund; and what steps he is taking to promote uptake of that funding.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department provides comprehensive guidance which is regularly updated to support our Work Coaches use of the Flexible Support Fund (FSF). We are currently reviewing our guidance to increase both usage and clarity of FSF.
We have recently promoted the availability of FSF on Gov.uk specifically in relation to Upfront Child Care costs Universal Credit childcare costs - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has made an estimate of how many people entitled to the Employment and Support Allowance did not claim it in (a) 2018, (b) 2019, (c) 2020 and (d) 2021.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Estimates for the number of entitled non-recipients and caseload take-up are available for income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) and Income Support (IS) up to financial year 2018/19. These can be found here. Figures for 2018/19 were affected by no new claims for income-related ESA and IS from December 2018 as a result of Universal Credit rollout. No figures have been published for ESA/IS since 2018/19 due to the roll out of Universal Credit.
No estimates of the volume of entitled non-recipients of New Style (contributory) ESA have been made.