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  • Roger Mullin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Roger Mullin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Mullin on 2016-09-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of making the National Agreement for the Engineering Construction Industry legally-binding upon employers in the construction industry.

    Jesse Norman

    The Government has no plans to intervene in the National Agreements used in the engineering construction industry. These agreements are voluntary between employer trade associations and trade unions.

  • Natalie McGarry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Natalie McGarry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Natalie McGarry on 2016-09-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, which reports commissioned by his Department from external bodies between 1 January 2015 and 31 August 2016 have not yet been published; when each report was commissioned for research; what the nature of the research commissioned was; from which external body or individual person the research was commissioned; what the value was of each such piece of research commissioned; on what date each report was received by his Department; for what reasons the research has not yet been published; and when he plans to publish each report.

    Caroline Nokes

    During this period the Department has commissioned a significant number of research reports. Of these, most are either still in progress, or have been completed and published on GOV.UK in line with our standard process. Two publications are currently with the Department awaiting publication. Both comply with the Department’s research publication protocol in accordance with Government Social Research Service guidance. To collate the requested information on all reports commissioned during this period that are yet to be published would incur disproportionate cost.

  • Madeleine Moon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Madeleine Moon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Madeleine Moon on 2016-09-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many staff are employed by his Department to investigate claims from HM Revenue and Customs that an unreported adult is living in the home of a tax credit claimant; and if he will make a statement.

    Caroline Nokes

    Investigations of HM Revenue and Customs Tax Credit, Living Together fraud allegations are investigated by Local Service Investigation Team (LSI) and the Central Criminal Intelligence Investigations team (CCIIS) as appropriate within the Fraud and Error Service (FES).

    There are currently 1430 employed by the Department. FES investigators are employed to look at all types of welfare fraud from all sources of referral. None are employed specifically to look at individual types of welfare fraud referred from specific sources.

  • Stewart Malcolm McDonald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Stewart Malcolm McDonald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stewart Malcolm McDonald on 2016-09-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make it his policy to amend the eligibility criteria for pension credit so that all men and women aged 60 and above can access that credit.

    Richard Harrington

    Pension Credit is an income-related benefit paid out of general taxation which targets help at the poorest pensioners. It is a condition of entitlement for Pension Credit that a person has attained the “qualifying age”, which is linked to the women’s State Pension age. This is the same age at which entitlement to Universal Credit ceases.

    Changing the eligibility criteria would mean displacing Universal Credit with Pension Credit. Universal Credit has much better work incentives than Pension Credit, and ensures that work always pays. Universal Credit also disregards pension pots in the means test, encouraging further saving, whereas Pension Credit takes pension pots into account and therefore provides no incentive to increase their size.

    For those with disability and care needs, the welfare system already makes provision through benefits and services based on needs assessment. This includes provision for those whose health condition means that it is difficult for them to remain in employment. The Government will be publishing a Green Paper on Work and Health later this year which will consider this issue.

  • Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-09-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, by what date he expects the full roll-out of universal credit to be completed.

    Damian Hinds

    The next stages of the delivery of Universal Credit were set out by the Work and Pensions Secretary in a Written Statement to Parliament on 20 July which can be found at:

    http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Lords/2016-07-20/HLWS98/

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  • Debbie Abrahams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Debbie Abrahams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Debbie Abrahams on 2016-09-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people affected by the closure of SSI Redcar have been supported back into employment through the Rapid Response Service.

    Damian Hinds

    Around 9 in 10 (1,990) of the 2,150 SSI and other workers who made an initial claim for benefits have since ended that claim.

  • Madeleine Moon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Madeleine Moon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Madeleine Moon on 2016-09-12.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many letters his Department has sent to recipients of tax credits cancelling payments because of claims by HM Revenue and Customs that an unreported adult is living at the claimant’s property in the last year; and if he will make a statement.

    Jane Ellison

    Between 1 September 2015 and 31 August 2016 HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) stopped 57,961 tax credit awards following a decision that the claimant was living with an undeclared partner. Where HMRC identifies an undeclared partner, the single tax credits claim is ended. The customer is able to reclaim in the correct joint capacity if entitlement exists.

  • Debbie Abrahams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Debbie Abrahams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Debbie Abrahams on 2016-09-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much funding has been provided to the Rapid Response Service to support those affected by the closure of SSI Redcar in 2015.

    Damian Hinds

    The Department’s Rapid Response Service formed part of the SSI Task force set up to provide support to former SSI and supply chain workers.

    The Rapid Response Service spend of £2.1M formed part of the overall package of £46m Government funding made available to help people back to work through a range of support measures.

  • Angela Crawley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Angela Crawley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angela Crawley on 2016-09-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many recipients of child maintenance have received an exemption from the application fee on the grounds of domestic abuse since June 2014.

    Caroline Nokes

    This information is only available from December 2014, and is routinely published in the Child Maintenance 2012 Scheme – Experimental Statistics. The latest publication includes information up to May 2016, and is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-on-the-2012-statutory-child-maintenance-scheme

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  • Charlotte Leslie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Charlotte Leslie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charlotte Leslie on 2016-09-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 18 April 2016 to Question 32920, what processes his Department uses to collect information on allegations of fraudulent benefit claims; and what assessment has been made of the effectiveness of those processes.

    Caroline Nokes

    There are a variety of ways that allegations of Benefit Fraud are collected and received by the DWP including telephone calls to the National Benefit Fraud Hotline, online and Letter and Data matching. Once an allegation has been received and, if it meets the required criteria containing enough information, a Fraud Referral Form is completed which is then entered into the internal Fraud Referral and Information Management System.

    The effectiveness of these processes is measured by statistics produced and published in May each year and made available in the public domain. These statistics are used to evaluate, develop and support fraud and error policy, strategy and operational decisions.