Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Prevention of Future Deaths Reports have related to (a) universal credit and (b) other benefits in each of the last five years.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department has received 6 Prevention of Future Death (PFD) reports in the last five years to date. 1 report did not relate to a customer who was in receipt of benefits. The breakdown of the reports by year and the benefit claimed is provided in the table below:
Number of PFD reports received in the last 5 years | Universal Credit (UC) | Personal Independence Payment (PIP) | Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) and PIP | Not in Receipt of Benefits |
2020 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2021 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1* |
2022 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2023 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
2024 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
* This report related to Child Maintenance.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 25 March 2024 to Question 19031 on Universal Credit: Housing, for what reason there are different qualifying criteria for (a) Support for Mortgage Interest and (b) support that homeowners receive in respect of service charges.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI) and help with service charges cover different costs and different eligibility criteria apply.
SMI is paid at a rate that the lending industry generally accept as sufficient to avert the threat of repossession. This help is often significantly less than the homeowner’s contractual liability, although eligibility was recently extended to assist homeowners with rising interest rates. While SMI provides support at the point of need, this help is in the form of an interest-bearing loan that is recoverable from equity when the property is sold.
Eligible service charges are met in full and this help is in the form of a non-recoverable benefit.
Given these differences the Department see no compelling argument for aligning entitlement rules.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to help encourage individuals out of work to undertake (a) digital and (b) IT qualifications.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Jobcentre Plus Work Coaches will engage with customers to better understand the steps needed to support their work search ambitions. Where digital skills are identified as a barrier to securing or progressing in employment, customers can be referred to available local provision. For customers in England, we have ongoing collaboration at a national and local level with the Department for Education who fund adult education provision via the Adult Education Budget (AEB). Learning providers, many of which are Further Education colleges, deliver training to address claimant skills needs in line with Labour Market demand. As skills is a devolved matter, similar discussions take place with key stakeholders in the Scottish and Welsh Governments to help ensure the employment and skills support offered to customers in the devolved nations is aligned.
In addition, Work Coaches in England can use the additional flexibility available through DWP Train and Progress to signpost claimants to the Department for Education’s Digital Skills Bootcamps, which can last up to 16 weeks.
For digitally excluded working age out-of-work and in-work Universal Credit customers, Work Coaches can also use the Flexible Support Fund (FSF) to procure devices, dongle, talk time, and 6 months superfast broadband in the home where the Work Coach believes this will support Labour Market progression. DWP has also ensured that all operational staff in Jobcentres, Universal Credit service centres, Pension Centres, and partnership managers who engage with customers and stakeholders are able to signpost to information promoting broadband social tariffs made accessible to claimants through DWP’s Application Programme Interface.
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 steps his Department is taking to reduce the number of active personnel on Universal Credit.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Serving armed forces personnel can claim Universal Credit in exactly the same way as any other citizen. Any entitlement will depend on a number of factors, including earnings and any other income; capital; constitution of household; and housing costs.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to help individuals out of work improve their (a) numeracy and (b) literacy skills.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Jobcentre Plus Work Coaches engage with customers to better understand the steps needed to support their work search. Where essential skills needs are identified as a barrier to securing or progressing in employment, customers can be referred to available local provision which can include essential maths and numeracy training available through Multiply, English (literacy and English as a Second Language, ESOL) and digital skills, as well as other key vocational focussed opportunities.
Through DWP Train and Progress the length of time Universal Credit (UC) customers can undertake work-focused training has been extended. UC claimants are now able to attend full-time work-related training for up to 16 weeks.
For customers in England, we have ongoing collaboration at a national and local level with the Department for Education who fund adult education through the Adult Education Budget (AEB). Learning providers, many of which are Further Education colleges, deliver training to address customer skills needs in line with labour market demand. As skills is a devolved matter, similar discussions take place with key stakeholders in the Scottish and Welsh Governments to help ensure the employment and skills support offered to claimants in the devolved nations is aligned.
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 make an assessment of the potential merits of collecting data on the number of veterans living in garrison towns that claim (a) PIP and (b) Universal Credit.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
As the hon. Member is aware, the department already collects information on those members of the armed forces community, including veterans, receiving Universal Credit. This information is not required and is provided voluntarily by the claimants.
On Personal Independence Payment, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 13 March 2024 to question UIN 16600.
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, if he will publish any assessment his Department has made of the accessibility for neurodiverse claimants of the online portal used by claimants to access their universal credit accounts.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Universal Credit system is regularly tested to ensure it meets the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), and all issues logged are resolved. This is outlined in our Accessibility Statement on GOV.UK found here.
Furthermore, the Department continuously tests the usability of the Universal Credit system and includes participants who are neurodiverse in that testing. It does not publish assessments made on the accessibility of the system for these customers.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the total revenue accrued by the Exchequer since the introduction of the benefit cap; and how many and what proportion of households are impacted in (i) England, (ii) Scotland, (iii) Wales, (iv) Northern Ireland and (v) each parliamentary constituency in the latest period for which data is available.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Since the introduction of the benefit cap in April 2013 to November 2023 (the latest data available) an estimated £2.2 billion has been accrued in Housing Benefit (HB) and Universal Credit (UC) expenditure in Great Britain due to the benefit cap.
Official statistics on the number and proportion of working-age households in receipt of UC and HB who are capped up to November 2023 are available on Stat-Xplore for the requested geographies. Official Statistics on the total number of households in Great Britain on HB or UC for the same geographies are also available on Stat-Xplore up to November 2023. You can log in or access Stat-Xplore as a guest user and, if needed, you can access guidance on how to extract the information required.
Benefit cap statistics for Northern Ireland are published by the Department for Communities.
Notes:
Source: Benefit Cap Official Statistics up to Nov-23 published in Mar-24
Asked by: Ellie Reeves (Labour - Lewisham West and Penge)
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 adequacy of the eligibility criteria for people with long covid to access (a) Universal Credit and (b) Employment and Support Allowance.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
No assessment has been made.
People living with a condition arising from exposure to the Covid-19 virus can access the financial support that is available through Statutory Sick Pay, Universal Credit, New Style ESA or Pension Credit depending on individual circumstances.
Disability benefits such as Personal Independence Payment or Attendance Allowance do not include or exclude by condition, instead they look at the needs arising from a long-term health condition or disability. Therefore people living with a condition arising from exposure to the Covid-19 virus are also able to access these benefits in the same way as other people with long-term conditions or disabilities.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question
To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, whether the Commissioners have had discussions with the Department of Work and Pensions on the potential impact of the migration of claimants of Child Tax Credit to Universal Credit on the financial position of members of the clergy.
Answered by Andrew Selous - Second Church Estates Commissioner
The Ministry Development Team of the Archbishops’ Council estimates that around 1,800 clergy families are currently in receipt of child tax credits. As has been reported, some of these may stand to lose up to £10,000 a year as a result of the planned migration to Universal Credit.
Representations have been made to the Department of Work and Pensions about the impact on clergy who have savings or property for retirement, of the ineligibility for Universal Credit for those with assets or savings over the £16,000 threshold. A key concern is that this will not only affect living standards for clergy families reliant on stipendiary income but will have an adverse effect on all people in tied accommodation seeking to make adequate provisions for their retirement.
The Ministry Development Team also estimates that around 400 of the 1,800 clergy families receiving child tax credits have more than two children and are therefore also likely to be affected by the two-child cap on Universal Credit.