Asked by: Beth Winter (Labour - Cynon Valley)
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 introducing (a) periods of amnesty and (b) lower repayment plans to help tackle fraud in the welfare system.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Fraud and error is £8.3bn and the Department has a duty to the taxpayer to protect public funds and recover overpayments when they occur.
The Department’s priority is to negotiate affordable and sustainable repayment plans that do not cause undue financial hardship. We remain committed to working with anyone who is struggling with their repayment terms and encourage customers to contact DWP Debt Management. Debt Management will work with individuals to review their financial circumstances and, in most instances, a temporary reduction in their rate of repayment can also be agreed.
No assessment has been carried out on the potential merits of introducing amnesties.
Asked by: Angela Eagle (Labour - Wallasey)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many appeals for all types of benefit case (a) are awaiting a hearing and (b) were awaiting a hearing on 22 April 2010 (i) nationally, (ii) by region, (iii) by Tribunal Office and (iv) by hearing venue.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The table below sets out the number of appeals for all types of benefit awaiting a hearing (i) nationally, (ii) by region, and (iv) by hearing venue as at end of December 2023 (the latest period for which data are available). There is no separate data collated at (iii) Tribunal office level.
Data for 22 April 2010 could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
All SSCS Benefits at December 231 | |||
Region / Venue | Total Open Caseload | Ready To List | Listed For Hearing |
London | 11785 | 6166 | 1401 |
Bexleyheath | 6 | 3 | 0 |
East London | 2715 | 1443 | 349 |
Enfield | 46 | 20 | 4 |
Fox Court | 5765 | 2996 | 670 |
Hatton Cross | 436 | 170 | 96 |
Romford | 844 | 516 | 112 |
Sutton | 1973 | 1018 | 170 |
Midlands | 14569 | 7979 | 2084 |
Birmingham | 3275 | 1668 | 603 |
Boston | 299 | 196 | 33 |
Chesterfield | 649 | 359 | 84 |
Coventry | 1146 | 725 | 102 |
Derby | 1047 | 618 | 142 |
Hereford | 162 | 81 | 25 |
Kidderminster | 193 | 93 | 37 |
Leicester | 1305 | 700 | 160 |
Lincoln | 693 | 422 | 71 |
Northampton | 736 | 476 | 87 |
Nottingham | 1666 | 906 | 256 |
Nuneaton | 123 | 72 | 13 |
Shrewsbury | 518 | 283 | 67 |
Stoke | 681 | 379 | 78 |
Walsall | 493 | 226 | 86 |
Wellingborough | 280 | 169 | 31 |
Wolverhampton | 1058 | 462 | 180 |
Worcester | 245 | 144 | 29 |
North East (Leeds) | 6382 | 2903 | 1205 |
Barnsley | 314 | 126 | 67 |
Bradford | 1055 | 542 | 178 |
Doncaster | 448 | 191 | 75 |
Grimsby | 300 | 138 | 57 |
Huddersfield | 36 | 11 | 8 |
Hull | 615 | 327 | 97 |
Leeds | 957 | 341 | 193 |
Scarborough | 241 | 111 | 53 |
Sheffield | 1182 | 554 | 214 |
Wakefield | 982 | 473 | 187 |
York | 252 | 89 | 76 |
North East (Newcastle) | 4775 | 2480 | 807 |
Bedlington | 234 | 95 | 65 |
Berwick | 20 | 9 | 4 |
Darlington | 502 | 251 | 77 |
Durham | 425 | 212 | 95 |
Gateshead | 116 | 49 | 32 |
Newcastle | 751 | 284 | 176 |
North Shields | 208 | 56 | 63 |
South Shields | 361 | 176 | 72 |
Sunderland | 792 | 488 | 80 |
Teesside | 1366 | 860 | 143 |
North West | 10686 | 5704 | 1635 |
Barrow | 108 | 65 | 12 |
Birkenhead | 440 | 264 | 57 |
Blackburn | 401 | 225 | 69 |
Blackpool | 545 | 238 | 105 |
Bolton | 613 | 303 | 108 |
Burnley | 374 | 200 | 46 |
Bury | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Carlisle | 254 | 125 | 42 |
Chester | 627 | 358 | 81 |
Lancaster | 157 | 94 | 7 |
Liverpool | 1640 | 778 | 234 |
Manchester | 2159 | 1258 | 331 |
Preston | 317 | 143 | 70 |
Rochdale | 636 | 279 | 127 |
Runcorn | 1 | 0 | 0 |
St Helens | 676 | 373 | 99 |
Stockport | 977 | 581 | 129 |
Wigan | 581 | 327 | 82 |
Workington | 179 | 93 | 36 |
Scotland | 1557 | 411 | 508 |
Aberdeen | 89 | 24 | 27 |
Ayr | 101 | 20 | 40 |
Campbeltown Centre | 2 | 0 | 0 |
Dumfries (Cairndale) | 26 | 2 | 13 |
Dundee | 88 | 18 | 22 |
Dunfermline | 27 | 7 | 6 |
Edinburgh | 315 | 92 | 114 |
Galashiels | 28 | 9 | 8 |
Glasgow | 489 | 143 | 155 |
Greenock | 46 | 10 | 15 |
Hamilton | 130 | 26 | 34 |
Inverness | 63 | 9 | 24 |
Kilmarnock | 7 | 2 | 2 |
Kirkcaldy | 59 | 22 | 19 |
Kirkwall | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Lerwick | 3 | 0 | 1 |
Lewis | 3 | 0 | 2 |
Oban | 6 | 2 | 3 |
Stirling | 65 | 22 | 19 |
Stranraer | 4 | 2 | 1 |
Wick | 5 | 1 | 2 |
South East | 12225 | 7369 | 1200 |
Ashford | 930 | 533 | 102 |
Basildon | 399 | 200 | 75 |
Bedford | 365 | 243 | 33 |
Brighton | 1250 | 733 | 109 |
Cambridge | 456 | 244 | 61 |
Chatham | 616 | 434 | 60 |
Chelmsford | 700 | 434 | 64 |
Eastbourne | 135 | 88 | 11 |
Hastings | 317 | 221 | 23 |
High Wycombe | 509 | 291 | 55 |
Ipswich | 619 | 409 | 37 |
Kings Lynn | 269 | 136 | 33 |
Luton | 605 | 365 | 46 |
Margate | 322 | 197 | 29 |
Milton Keynes | 309 | 172 | 38 |
Norwich | 990 | 657 | 87 |
Oxford | 551 | 351 | 58 |
Peterborough | 467 | 243 | 56 |
Reading | 593 | 352 | 53 |
Southend | 220 | 109 | 42 |
Stevenage | 239 | 137 | 19 |
Watford | 1364 | 820 | 109 |
South West | 9782 | 5401 | 823 |
Unallocated 2 | 247 | 156 | 18 |
Aldershot | 555 | 309 | 52 |
Barnstaple | 122 | 60 | 9 |
Bournemouth | 12 | 0 | 1 |
Bristol | 1922 | 1090 | 163 |
Exeter | 385 | 132 | 55 |
Gloucester | 715 | 421 | 54 |
Havant | 1058 | 684 | 63 |
Newport IOW | 319 | 225 | 20 |
Newton Abbot | 383 | 190 | 37 |
Plymouth | 623 | 303 | 62 |
Poole | 801 | 417 | 67 |
Salisbury | 73 | 20 | 12 |
Southampton | 982 | 594 | 58 |
Swindon | 532 | 322 | 35 |
Taunton | 410 | 215 | 32 |
Truro | 435 | 156 | 69 |
Weymouth and Dorchester | 2 | 0 | 0 |
Worle | 206 | 107 | 16 |
Wales | 6471 | 3470 | 675 |
Aberystwyth | 82 | 41 | 10 |
Caernarfon | 179 | 64 | 26 |
Cardiff | 2668 | 1455 | 310 |
Carmarthen | 107 | 36 | 20 |
Haverfordwest | 153 | 68 | 20 |
Langstone, Newport | 1181 | 703 | 91 |
Llandrindod Wells | 37 | 21 | 8 |
Llanelli | 2 | 0 | 0 |
Llangefni | 284 | 180 | 25 |
Port Talbot | 531 | 232 | 45 |
Prestatyn | 411 | 247 | 31 |
Swansea | 317 | 140 | 34 |
Welshpool | 81 | 46 | 14 |
Wrexham | 438 | 237 | 41 |
SSCS Regional Centre Not Known | 29 | 4 | 2 |
Grand Total | 78261 | 41887 | 10340 |
From April 2023 the SSCS Tribunal started to list cases using a new Scheduling and Listing solution. This, alongside HMCTS migrating to a new Strategic Data Platform, has resulted in some cases heard and decided using this new listing solution not currently being included in the data above.
1. Data pulled 24/4/2024
2. Unallocated relates to appeals that have not yet been allocated to a venue.
Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that the data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when data are used.
Management information reflects the data held on the case management system, which is subject to change, and can differ from the quality-assured MOJ official statistics, which form the agreed definitive position.
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 held discussions with organisations representing disabled people on the announcements made in the Prime Minister’s speech on welfare of 19 April 2024.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Secretary of State, and ministers, regularly meet with organisations representing disabled people, regarding a range of issues, including welfare. Details of ministerial meetings are published quarterly on gov.uk in line with transparency data releases and can be found here: DWP ministerial gifts, hospitality, travel and meetings, - GOV.UK
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 many Targeted Case Review agents there are as of 25 April 2024.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
As of the 31st of March, our Targeted Case Review team currently has 3,100 Full Time equivalent agents reviewing Universal Credit claims.
This is the most recent date for which data is available.
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 discussions he has had with (a) mental health professionals and (b) welfare recipients on the treatment of individuals with mental health issues.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department routinely engages with expert stakeholders to inform policy development. For example, to support development of the proposals in the ‘Transforming Support: The Health and Disability White Paper’, officials met and continue to meet with interested stakeholders and welfare recipients with health conditions and disabilities.
Officials meet regularly with clinical stakeholders from a range of specialties, including those with a mental health background from national representative organisations. When undertaking work on mental health specific polices the engagement increases in intensity to ensure the professional voice is heard and advice is taken in the best interests of our claimants.
The Department has an ongoing health and disability benefits research programme including studies with claimants which often look specifically at the treatment of claimants with mental health issues. For example, we will shortly be publishing the Barriers to Accessing Health Support research, which found valuable insight into the health support needs of disability benefit claimants with mental health conditions. Other research has also been designed to include fluctuating mental health conditions, such as anxiety disorders or depression, and cognitive conditions, such as Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.
Asked by: Lord Rooker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many benefit claimants with an address in Ludlow have been sanctioned for failing to keep appointments at the Jobcentre in Leominster in 2024.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The specific information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
Monthly Universal Credit sanction statistics showing the number of adverse sanction decisions made are published every three months on Stat-Xplore, and are available by Jobcentre Plus office and referral reason, and are currently available to October 2023. Statistics to January 2024 are scheduled to be published on 14 May 2024.
Users can log in or access Stat-Xplore as a guest and, if needed, can access guidance on how to extract the information required.
Asked by: Angela Eagle (Labour - Wallasey)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to page 10 of the NAO's Report on Accounts 2022-2023, when his Department plans to report to Parliament on the impact of data analytics on protected groups and vulnerable claimants.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department will include its first assessment in its Report and Accounts 2023-24.
Asked by: Beth Winter (Labour - Cynon Valley)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he Department has made of the potential impact of financial (a) hardship and (b) abuse on trends in the levels of women prosecuted for benefit fraud in the last 12 months.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
DWP has not assessed or analysed the impact on any groups over the last 12 month. We have robust processes around managing our prosecutions and apply our policies consistently across all groups.
Asked by: Andrew Western (Labour - Stretford and Urmston)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of claimants applying for the Domestic Violence Easement extend the initial unevidenced four week easement to (a) 13 and (b) 26 weeks.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
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 total annual cost of his Department’s use of machine learning algorithms to identify fraudulent benefit claims is.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department does not record this information.