Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department plans to take to help ensure that all Job Centre Plus sites are accessible to people with hearing loss.
Answered by Chloe Smith
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is committed to making its services accessible for all its customers together with those who may have additional communication needs including hearing loss.
Deaf and hard of hearing customers visiting Jobcentres are able to access different support based on how hearing loss affects their communication needs. Job Centres are equipped and currently provide mainly portable, but also some fixed hearing loops across the network, for those customers with hearing loss. There is a new initiative to improve our environments for disabled customers and those with health conditions which will include people with hearing loss. This work is due to start in October.
For those customers who are deaf or hard of hearing and attending a prearranged appointment with DWP, staff will already be aware of the customer’s communication needs from DWP’s computer systems and have access to a language services contract to pre-book an interpreter to support face to face contact. The interpreter will be skilled in providing non-spoken language support including British Sign Language (BSL).
Furthermore, a Disability Employment Adviser (DEA) is assigned to each Jobcentre site. The DEA is skilled in understanding the needs of disabled customers, including those who with hearing loss. The DEA provides support to Work Coaches to ensure that Work Coaches are able to increase their awareness and empathy when dealing with customers who have hearing loss.
The Employer and Partnerships role within DWP forms effective networks with a variety of local stakeholders, including organisations and charities that support customers with hearing loss. These relationships are vital to ensure that DWP is able to provide consistent and effective support to its customers.
On a national level, DWP has established a range of networks with its stakeholders to provide a voice for the customer. The Taskforce for Accessible Information, the Reasonable Adjustments Forum and the Operational Stakeholder Engagement Forum all regularly meet with a cross section of groups representing disabilities including those with hearing loss. The purpose of these forums are to ensure that DWP elicits feedback and insight into how its services are being used by those with additional communication needs and to seek continuous improvement.
Following the expansion of Video Relay Service last year, whereby deaf customers are now able to make an inbound telephone call to DWP via a British Sign Language interpreter using a video connection, DWP is currently exploring how this technology can be adapted to support video remote interpreting. This will increase the flexibility for DWP to conduct face to face and telephony based contact with deaf and hard of hearing customers.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Neston)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average answering time was for all her Department's phone lines for each month since March 2019.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The average call waiting time (Average Speed of Answer) for calls to DWP Service Lines (excluding Debt) in each month from March 2019 to August 2021 is shown in the table below in the format of hours:minutes:seconds.
Year | Month | Average Speed of Answer |
2018 -2019 | March | 00:05:22 |
|
|
|
2019 - 2020 | April | 00:06:20 |
| May | 00:06:44 |
| June | 00:06:26 |
| July | 00:07:14 |
| August | 00:07:11 |
| September | 00:07:11 |
| October | 00:06:31 |
| November | 00:07:07 |
| December | 00:07:01 |
| January | 00:05:19 |
| February | 00:05:50 |
| March | 00:14:02 |
|
|
|
2020 - 2021 | April | 00:21:26 |
| May | 00:10:58 |
| June | 00:06:24 |
| July | 00:08:33 |
| August | 00:08:24 |
| September | 00:07:50 |
| October | 00:06:52 |
| November | 00:06:47 |
| December | 00:07:15 |
| January | 00:08:32 |
| February | 00:07:36 |
| March | 00:07:15 |
|
|
|
2021 – 2022 | April | 00:13:44 |
| May | 00:13:06 |
| June | 00:09:40 |
| July | 00:10:37 |
| August | 00:11:25 |
Data Source: BT - Historical Management Information (GI2 – HMI) Serco, Capita, G4S
Average Speed of Answer is the average customer wait time from the point of entering a queue to connection to an agent.
The data supplied does not include Debt lines but includes outsourced lines and CMS calls from April 2020 onwards.
The data supplied is derived from unpublished management information which was collected for internal Departmental use only and has not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standard. The data should therefore be treated with caution.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
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 reduce phone call waiting times for service users trying to contact her Department's services.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department prioritises resource to our telephony services according to forecast demand. In periods of unexpected high demand (such as experienced through the pandemic) waiting times may vary while the Department rebalances across services, or secures external resource. The Department also continues to progress automation of services for those citizens able to self-serve to reduce demand and therefore wait times.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to introduce an employment support scheme for recent university graduates.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The government recognises that a number of graduates will face particular challenges gaining employment due to the ongoing, adverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the UK labour market and economy.
Our economic priority is to protect jobs and livelihoods, which is why the government has put unprecedented measures in place to protect businesses and jobs. Our extensive support through the furlough scheme, which has been extended to September 2021, the Jobs Support Scheme, grants, loans, and tax cuts has protected thousands of businesses and millions of people.
The government is doing all it can to help people who are at the start of their career journey. As part of the government’s skills recovery package ‘Plan for Jobs’, we are investing an additional £32 million in the National Careers Service up to March 2022. By the end of financial year 2021-22, this investment will support delivery of individual careers advice for over 500,000 people whose jobs or education have been affected by the pandemic. This represents an increase of 22%. The Service has introduced a range of new initiatives to continue to support all customers, working with a wide range of partners to offer careers guidance activities designed to support employers, furloughed workers, graduates, students, those who have recently lost their jobs, and anyone whose career path has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Content on the National Careers Service website to support graduates includes information on graduate schemes and internships, sector-specific work experience, virtual work experience, virtual recruitment fairs, volunteering, developing soft skills, finding job vacancies, writing a CV and application form, telephone and video interviews, psychometric testing, using LinkedIn, gap years, and considering further study. On 29 September 2020, we added additional courses to the Skills Toolkit, covering digital, numeracy, and employability skills. The new content includes a range of courses to develop ‘work readiness’ skills that employers value in their new recruits.
The Department for Work and Pensions is aiming to have a nationwide network of 27,000 Work Coaches in place by the end of March 2021 to support jobseekers and match them with employers who are recruiting.
Many higher education providers have developed new and innovative ways to support students and graduates who are looking to continue their studies or to prepare for employment. The Department for Education is working with Universities UK, the Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services, the Institute of Student Employers, the Office for Students, and the sector to understand what more we can do to support graduates who are looking to enter the labour market or continue their studies at this challenging time.
Asked by: Karen Buck (Labour - Westminster North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Universal Credit Programme Board minutes, Paper 1, deposited in the Library on 15 April 2021, if she will publish an update on (a) the work of the Universal Credit Complex Needs Steering Group and (b) alternative access to claiming and managing universal credit for people with learning disabilities.
Answered by Will Quince
The Universal Credit Programme Board papers deposited in the Library relate to meetings held between October 2018 and March 2019.
The Universal Credit application process is deliberately designed to be as quick and easy as possible, so that claimants receive money at the earliest opportunity. It has been designed to be a predominantly digital service, ensuring we make best use of technology to deliver a modern and effective working-age welfare system, allowing our staff to concentrate on those people who require additional support. The value of this approach has been clearly demonstrated as the Universal Credit caseload doubled, very rapidly, in the months following the outbreak of the pandemic. Where an individual has difficulties using or accessing our online service, help is available through our Freephone Helpline.
Despite the challenges presented by the pandemic, Jobcentre Plus offices across the country remained open to support the most vulnerable claimants, including those with complex needs and learning disabilities. The Department strives to identify individuals who have complex user needs and/or require additional support to enable them to access our services, ensuring we make necessary adjustments for them to be effectively supported by Universal Credit.
In addition, the Department has continued its Help to Claim funding for 2021/22. This service, delivered through Citizens Advice and Citizens Advice Scotland, was already a multi-channel offer prior to the outbreak of COVID-19, capable of supporting people through the entire Universal Credit claim through various channels including by telephone and web chat, up to receiving their first full correct payment on time.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment she has made of the effect of the level of digital exclusion experienced by disabled people accessing (a) universal credit, (b) personal independence payments, (c) attendance allowance, (d) disability living allowance for children and (e) new employment support allowance.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
DWP is continually reviewing and improving services and many of these are now ‘digital-first’, ensuring we make best use of technology to deliver a modern and effective welfare system which enables citizens to access services quickly and flexibly. This allows our colleagues to concentrate on those people who require additional support.
Although the Department offers support for claimants to use our digital services, we recognise that there are occasions where people are unable to access services online, for a range of reasons. As a result, we ensure that they can do so through alternative channels, such as by telephone or face-to-face in offices as well as providing documents in accessible format when requested. Throughout the pandemic, Jobcentre Plus offices have also remained open to support the most vulnerable claimants.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, on what basis are banks permitted to close customers’ bank accounts.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
In most circumstances, the provision of a bank’s services is a commercial decision for the bank and the Government does not intervene in these decisions. The terms and conditions of the contract between the two parties govern the termination of that contract, and although the Treasury sets the legal framework for the regulation of financial services it does not have investigative or prosecuting powers of its own and is not able to intervene in account closures.
HM Treasury sometimes receives representations from consumers with questions or concerns about their banking. However, any dispute arising between a bank and its customers is usually best resolved by the parties involved. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) rules require the banks to properly investigate all complaints and, through ongoing supervision, it continues to monitor the banks’ complaint handling processes. If customers are unable to resolve the issue with their bank, they will be eligible for further review by the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). The FOS provides a free, independent dispute resolution service for bank customers.
Customers who are experiencing financial difficulty following a bank account closure may wish to contact the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS), an arms-length body of the Department for Work and Pensions. MaPS was established to support consumers with comprehensive, consistent, guidance for every stage of their financial lives. It offers free and impartial information on money matters, available to all online, face-to-face or via telephone. This includes an impartial Debt Advice Locator Tool for those needing debt advice immediately.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what financial support is available to people who have had their bank account closed but are unavailable to access funds from that account.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
In most circumstances, the provision of a bank’s services is a commercial decision for the bank and the Government does not intervene in these decisions. The terms and conditions of the contract between the two parties govern the termination of that contract, and although the Treasury sets the legal framework for the regulation of financial services it does not have investigative or prosecuting powers of its own and is not able to intervene in account closures.
HM Treasury sometimes receives representations from consumers with questions or concerns about their banking. However, any dispute arising between a bank and its customers is usually best resolved by the parties involved. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) rules require the banks to properly investigate all complaints and, through ongoing supervision, it continues to monitor the banks’ complaint handling processes. If customers are unable to resolve the issue with their bank, they will be eligible for further review by the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). The FOS provides a free, independent dispute resolution service for bank customers.
Customers who are experiencing financial difficulty following a bank account closure may wish to contact the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS), an arms-length body of the Department for Work and Pensions. MaPS was established to support consumers with comprehensive, consistent, guidance for every stage of their financial lives. It offers free and impartial information on money matters, available to all online, face-to-face or via telephone. This includes an impartial Debt Advice Locator Tool for those needing debt advice immediately.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what representations he has received of cases of NatWest closing customer accounts without explanation.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
In most circumstances, the provision of a bank’s services is a commercial decision for the bank and the Government does not intervene in these decisions. The terms and conditions of the contract between the two parties govern the termination of that contract, and although the Treasury sets the legal framework for the regulation of financial services it does not have investigative or prosecuting powers of its own and is not able to intervene in account closures.
HM Treasury sometimes receives representations from consumers with questions or concerns about their banking. However, any dispute arising between a bank and its customers is usually best resolved by the parties involved. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) rules require the banks to properly investigate all complaints and, through ongoing supervision, it continues to monitor the banks’ complaint handling processes. If customers are unable to resolve the issue with their bank, they will be eligible for further review by the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). The FOS provides a free, independent dispute resolution service for bank customers.
Customers who are experiencing financial difficulty following a bank account closure may wish to contact the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS), an arms-length body of the Department for Work and Pensions. MaPS was established to support consumers with comprehensive, consistent, guidance for every stage of their financial lives. It offers free and impartial information on money matters, available to all online, face-to-face or via telephone. This includes an impartial Debt Advice Locator Tool for those needing debt advice immediately.
Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the letter of 15 January 2021 from the Permanent Secretary to the Work and Pensions Committee, how her Department defines the acceptable service level for its telephone lines for (a) attendance allowance, (b) the Child Maintenance Service, (c) personal independence payment and (d) state pension; and in each month from August 2020 to December 2020 what service level was provided on each of those lines.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
An acceptable level of service for all of the department’s telephony lines is defined as 80% of calls answered (a common industry standard). This service level indicates that customers are being quickly connected to team members and getting their problems resolved in a timely manner.
A reduced service may be necessary for a period where the balancing of resource (as experienced during this Pandemic) are of high priority within a particular business area.
Table below shows performance for Attendance Allowance (AA), Child Maintenance Service (CMS), Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and State Pension (SP) telephony lines for the period August 2020 to December 2020.
% Calls Answered (PCA) | Aug-20 | Sep-20 | Oct-20 | Nov-20 | Dec-20 |
AA | 61.10% | 60.20% | 64.40% | 62.00% | 64.00% |
CMS | 78.90% | 75.60% | 74.80% | 74.30% | 68.40% |
PIP | 70.60% | 70.60% | 63.30% | 69.60% | 69.20% |
SP | 60.60% | 57.90% | 52.10% | 55.20% | 60.30% |