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 steps her Department is taking to ensure the safe transfer of data from legacy systems to the universal credit system as part of the managed migration process.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
When undertaking the managed migration of claimants to Universal Credit, we will not migrate data from legacy systems to Universal Credit, but we will require the claimants or their respective appointee to make a new claim to UC.
Appropriate Data Sharing agreements are in place with other Government Departments (HMRC) to ensure data is shared securely for processing Migration Notices and calculating the correct awards (including Transitional Protection).
Within DWP, Data Protection Impact Assessments have been conducted by our Data Protection Team to ensure solutions in place are secure by design to adequately protect claimants’ data before, during and post processing.
The claimant’s data will be stored in line with the DWP’s Data Retention Policy
The Department is also developing mechanisms to securely automate the transfer of data from legacy systems for use in the managed migration process.
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, in the context of the judicial review judgment handed down on 21 January 2022, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that claimants in receipt of enhanced disability payments will not be adversely affected by managed migration to universal credit.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The government is aware of what the court has said, however, the Secretary of State has sought permission to appeal the judgment and therefore we are unable to comment any further at this stage.
At the point of moving over to Universal Credit by managed migration, all claimants will be assessed for transitional protection and paid where appropriate. The vast majority will either be better off, or no worse off.
The aim of this temporary payment is to allow claimants time to adjust to the new benefit system.
Transitional Protection will gradually reduce as other elements of the Universal Credit award, other than the Childcare Costs Element, increase to align the claimant’s entitlement with those claimants who have made a claim to Universal Credit without the managed migration process, and are in the same circumstances.
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 (a) steps her Department is taking and (b) protocols her Department is putting in place to ensure the safe transfer of data from legacy systems to the universal credit system as part of the managed migration process.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
When undertaking the managed migration of claimants to Universal Credit, we will not migrate data from legacy systems to Universal Credit, but we will require the claimants or their respective appointee to make a new claim to UC.
Appropriate Data Sharing agreements are in place with other Government Departments (HMRC) to ensure data is shared securely for processing Migration Notices and calculating the correct awards (including Transitional Protection).
Within DWP, Data Protection Impact Assessments have been conducted by our Data Protection Team to ensure solutions in place are secure by design to adequately protect claimants’ data before, during and post processing.
The claimant’s data will be stored in line with the DWP’s Data Retention Policy
The Department is also developing mechanisms to securely automate the transfer of data from legacy systems for use in the managed migration process.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what progress her Department has made on supporting young people into high-skilled jobs in Hendon constituency.
Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Through Jobcentre Plus, DWP is helping young people to find the right support, education or training that will ultimately lead to sustained employment opportunities and career progression.
The Plan for Jobs provides a comprehensive package of support for young people, including the DWP Youth Offer. We have extended the DWP Youth Offer to 2025 and expanded eligibility to include 16 and 17-year-olds, in addition to 18 to 24-year olds, who are claiming Universal Credit and searching for work.
Both Hendon Jobcentres support young people through the DWP Youth Offer, which includes intensive Work Coach support, Youth Employability Coaches for those with additional barriers, and access to the Youth Hub in the Grahame Park area.
Core skills are fundamental in securing, retaining, and progressing in work. This Government has invested in apprenticeships, traineeships, vocational and basic skills training, alongside careers advice and Sector-based Work Academy Programmes (SWAPs).
SWAP opportunities link skills/employability training with guaranteed interviews and real vacancies – providing a routeway into work for young people. Whilst many opportunities are entry level, they often offer good career pathways and in work progression. Springboard has recently offered SWAP opportunities in the hospitality sector in each of the four London Districts and are available to young claimants in Hendon. The jobcentre team are also working with No1 Fitness Academy, who are running a 6-week employability programme for young people in Hendon.
Employers from a range of sectors recruit on site daily and we deliver a Job Club to support with applications and interview techniques. Across North London, we hold regular recruitment events with multiple employers offering jobs with a range of entry levels.
The local jobcentre team work collaboratively with Barnet Council and various partners to support Hendon’s young people, developing skills provision and routeways into higher skilled jobs in sectors including construction, computer programming and fitness instruction.
We work closely with the GLA, London Councils and our College Principles. We are working collaboratively to develop Skills Bootcamps in line with priority sectors and we also support the mayor’s priorities around Good Work for Londoners.
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 steps her Department is taking to ensure that reasonable adjustments are put in place for universal credit claimants with mental health problems.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
We are committed to fully complying with the Public Sector Equality Duty as we proceed with managed migration and will be regularly reviewing and updating our equality analysis as we progress through the discovery phase and iterate our approach.
We have considered additional needs for those with heath conditions including those with mental health conditions and the current support consists of:
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Wansbeck)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he has made recent representations to Cabinet colleagues on the potential merits of allocating funding to ensure that children and young people have free internet access in households on universal credit.
Answered by Robin Walker - Minister of State (Education)
The department is supportive of the work done by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport to promote access to social tariffs for households on universal credit. Social tariffs offer low-cost landline and broadband services for those on certain means-tested benefits. In April 2022, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport wrote to providers asking them to do more to promote their social tariffs to ensure low-income households know about the support available. The government will continue to engage industry in increasing awareness of the social tariffs available moving forward. In September 2021, the government partnered with industry leaders to launch the Digital Inclusion Impact Group to tackle digital exclusion. One of the pilot programmes is Dell Donate to Educate, which supports children with the right access to technology at school and at home.
Asked by: Virginia Crosbie (Conservative - Ynys Môn)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to support (a) people with disabilities and (b) people with mental health issues with the managed migration to universal credit; and what assessment she has made of the potential merits of automatically migrating people who are disabled or who have mental health issues to universal credit.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department believes it will be crucial that new claims are made to Universal Credit because we need to ensure data is as accurate and as up-to-date as possible when claimants move to Universal Credit. This will ensure that any errors will not be migrated from the existing benefit system to Universal Credit. In addition, as Universal Credit replaces legacy six different existing benefits, the Department may not have sufficient information to determine the full Universal Credit entitlement because some of this information is not available from the existing benefit data. For example, no information on capital or other benefits received is held in respect of tax credit claims.
Universal Credit is a different regime so the Department cannot simply assume that all existing claimants will want to make a claim, some form of consent from each claimant would be required. Requiring a claim to be made will provide that and it will be important that claimants understand the new Universal Credit regime into which they are moving and the corresponding responsibilities this will bring. This is especially important for vulnerable groups.”
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 recent estimate she has made of the average change in income per person that transfers from legacy benefits to university credit.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Around 1.4 million people currently on older ‘legacy’ benefits would see their entitlement increase by an average of £220 a month on moving to Universal Credit and another 300,000 see no change. For the minority of eligible claimants who have a higher entitlement on legacy benefits than on Universal Credit, transitional protection will top up their Universal Credit when they move over.
Asked by: Lilian Greenwood (Labour - Nottingham South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will extend the Free School Meal entitlement to children whose families earn less than £20,000 per annum, as recommended in the National Food Strategy’s final report.
Answered by Will Quince - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The provision of free school meals (FSM) to children from out of work families or those on low incomes is of the utmost importance to this government. Under the benefits related criteria the department provides a free healthy meal to around 1.7 million children, ensuring they are well nourished and can concentrate, learn and achieve in the classroom.
Under this government, eligibility for FSM has been extended several times and to more groups of children than any other government over the past half a century, including the introduction of universal infant FSM, and further education FSM. Generous protections in place ensure that no child will lose their eligibility during the roll out of universal credit
In addition to this, the temporary extension of FSM eligibility to some groups with no recourse to public funds that has been in place since 2020 was extended to all groups and made permanent, subject to income thresholds.
The government will fully consider all the evidence and recommendations of the National Food Strategy review and will respond formally in due course.
Asked by: Katherine Fletcher (Conservative - South Ribble)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate her Department has made of the number of people who have started a new job as a result of the Way to Work campaign.
Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
As of the end of April, we estimate that at least 283,300 unemployed Universal Credit claimants have moved into work during the Way to Work Campaign between 31 January and the end of April 2022. Furthermore, during March 2022 we have seen the highest number of into work movements on record for any March – over 99,800.
This total figure is composed of our into work measure to the end of March (over 192,600) and our internal management information for April (90,700). Figures are rounded to the nearest 100.
The management information presented here has not been subjected to the usual standard of quality assurance associated with official statistics but is provided in the interests of transparency and timeliness