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  • Ian C. Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Ian C. Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian C. Lucas on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many cases of benefit fraud that led to convictions were prosecuted in (a) Wales and (b) Wrexham in each of the last five years.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The table below represents the number of successful convictions in Wales since April 2012.

    Year

    No of Convictions

    2012 – 2013

    1616

    2013 – 2014

    1512

    2014 – 2015

    992

    The data held for the number of convictions prior to 2012 is not available for publication.

    The information requested for Wrexham is not readily available. This is because the data is not collated in a format for Wrexham only. This information could only be provided by examining individual investigation files. This could only be conducted at disproportionate time and cost.

  • Chi Onwurah – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Chi Onwurah – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of the use of alternative currencies for benefits payments.

    Priti Patel

    Customers living abroad and in receipt of payments delivered by the Department for Work and Pensions can have their payments made either:

    • Direct into a UK bank or building society account in sterling; or
    • Direct into an overseas account in the local currency;

    All payments made to overseas customers, whether in sterling or local currency, are subject to fluctuating exchange rates. However, for payments made directly to overseas accounts in the relevant local currency, the Department has negotiated a competitive exchange rate which is more favourable that that available on the open Market.

  • Rachel Reeves – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Rachel Reeves – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rachel Reeves on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the potential effect on the income of a family with one earner and three children that starts a new claim for universal credit and is not migrating from a legacy benefit of the proposed reforms to universal credit in the Summer Budget 2015 in (a) 2016-17, (b) 2017-18, (c) 2018-19 and (d) 2019-10.

    Priti Patel

    The information requested is not collated centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost

  • Rachel Reeves – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Rachel Reeves – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rachel Reeves on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the potential effect on the income of a family with one earner and two children that starts a claim for universal credit and is not migrating from a legacy benefit of the proposed reforms to universal credit in the Summer Budget 2015 in (a) 2016-17, (b) 2017-18, (c) 2018-19 and (d) 2019-10.

    Priti Patel

    The information requested is not collated centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost

  • Stephen Timms – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Stephen Timms – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will establish a team in his Department to champion the interests of universal credit claimants as recommended in the report entitled Waiting for Credit: the delivery of universal credit experienced by Citizens Advice Bureau claimants in England and Wales.

    Priti Patel

    We are committed to ensuring all claimants receive the best possible support. All policies are kept under review to ensure this is the case.

  • Stephen Timms – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Stephen Timms – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether it is his policy that a claimant of employment and support allowance (ESA) in the Support Group who transfers to the Work Related Activity Group will receive the current rate of ESA, as an existing claimant, or the reduced rate of ESA proposed in the Welfare Reform and Work Bill.

    Priti Patel

    Existing claimants, whether in the work-related activity group or the support group, who undergo a work capability assessment after April 2017 and are placed in, or remain in, the work-related activity group, will continue to receive the work-related activity component.

  • Stephen Timms – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Stephen Timms – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what progress he has made on pensions auto-enrolment to small and micro businesses; and if he plans to complete that auto-enrolment for those businesses by 2018.

    Justin Tomlinson

    Automatic enrolment has been a great success to date, with 5.57 million people automatically enrolled into a workplace pension by 67,892 employers.

    From June 2015 onwards, small and micro employers with 49 or less workers began enrolling all eligible workers into a qualifying workplace pension scheme.

    We remain on track to complete the roll out of automatic enrolment to all employers from 2012 to 2018.

  • Stephen Timms – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Stephen Timms – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what procedure his Department has for responding to whistle-blowing reports from staff at Jobcentre Plus.

    Justin Tomlinson

    DWP operates the standard Civil Service whistleblowing policy, but the Department’s procedures go further by also enabling staff to raise concerns via a dedicated hotline operated by an Internal Investigations team.

    DWP is committed to ensuring high standards of conduct in all that it does. For civil servants, these standards are reinforced by the Civil Service Code and the Department’s Standards of Behaviour.

  • Nicola Blackwood – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Nicola Blackwood – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicola Blackwood on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much of his Department’s funding allocated in the Spending Review 2015 will be for research and development expenditure up to 2020.

    Justin Tomlinson

    Spending Review 2015 set out settlements for departments and showed how the government will deliver on its priorities, eliminate the deficit, and deliver security and opportunity for working people.

    Final decisions on internal departmental funding allocations for future years, including for research and development, have not yet been made.

  • Nicola Blackwood – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    Nicola Blackwood – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicola Blackwood on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, how much of the Government Equalities Office’s funding allocated in the Spending Review 2015 will be for research and development expenditure up to 2020.

    Caroline Dinenage

    The Spending Review set out settlements for departments and showed how the government will deliver on its priorities, eliminate the deficit, and deliver security and opportunity for working people.

    Final decisions on internal departmental funding allocations for future years, including for research and development, have not yet been made.