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  • Baroness Hamwee – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Baroness Hamwee – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hamwee on 2015-11-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will publish the responses to their consultation on reforming support for failed asylum seekers and other illegal migrants.

    Lord Bates

    We will not publish the individual responses to the consultation on reforming support for failed asylum seekers and other illegal migrants. This is consistent with the confidentiality statement on page 12 of the consultation document published on 4 August.

  • Lord Grocott – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord Grocott – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Grocott on 2015-11-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Stowell of Beeston on 12 November (HL3120), on which occasions since 2010 the House has withheld its agreement to an affirmative instrument.

    Baroness Stowell of Beeston

    The House of Lords has withheld its agreement to an affirmative instrument on two occasions since 2010: on 3 December 2012 (Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (Amendment of Schedule 1) Order 2012) and on 26 October 2015 (Tax Credits (Income Thresholds and Determination of Rates) Regulations 2015).

    Prior to 2010, the House had withheld its agreement to an affirmative instrument on three occasions since World War II.

  • Frank Field – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Frank Field – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2015-11-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Jobcentre Plus offices host work clubs and service academies.

    Priti Patel

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

  • Frank Field – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Frank Field – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2015-11-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Jobcentre Plus offices have space in their building that is available for use by voluntary groups, social enterprises and mutuals to help equip claimants with the skills they need to use the internet.

    Priti Patel

    The Department for Work and Pensions occupies the majority of its estate under a Private Finance Initiative (PFI) known as the PRIME Contract. Under this PFI, the Department leases fully serviced accommodation from its private sector partner Telereal Trillium. The Department pays an inclusive unitary price for the space occupied. The Department does not own any of the buildings that it occupies.

    The Department constantly reviews its estate to ensure the effective use of space. Jobcentre Plus works closely with local partners and providers across our network and we have a wide range of stakeholders in our buildings including local authority colleagues, employers, service providers and voluntary organisations. We also work from a wide range of partners’ premises, for example community hubs, libraries as well as co-locating our services in local authority sites.

    The Department has provided public internet access devices across our Jobcentre Plus offices, and deploys staff to support those claimants who may need assistance in building the skills they need to make claims on-line and with job search.

  • Frank Field – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Frank Field – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2015-11-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people making a new benefit claim in the last 12 months were offered training on IT literacy.

    Priti Patel

    The information requested is not available.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-11-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many working households in receipt of (a) working tax credit and (b) universal credit have marginal deduction rates of (i) less than 70, (ii) between 70 and 80, (iii) between 80 and 90 and (iv) more than 90 per cent on earned income above the level of the applicable disregard.

    Priti Patel

    In 2010 we estimated that in the existing system half a million people had marginal deduction rates of 80% or above. See page 55 of Universal Credit: Welfare that Works report, below:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/48897/universal-credit-full-document.pdf

    Further information is not available as we have not updated these estimates.

    “

  • Frank Field – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Frank Field – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2015-11-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of jobseeker’s allowance claimants have used Universal Jobmatch in the last 12 months.

    Priti Patel

    Universal Jobmatch is open to anyone to use in order to look for work, whether they are claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance or not. We do not differentiate between different types of users and are not able to provide statistics on the numbers of each.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-11-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of households in receipt of universal credit who receive support for housing costs are also subject to all work-related requirements.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The information you have requested is not currently available. The Department published its strategy for releasing official statistics on Universal Credit (UC) in September 2013. As outlined in the strategy, officials are currently quality assuring data for UC therefore it is not yet possible to give a definitive list of what statistics will be provided in the future. These statistics however will be published in accordance with the relevant protocols in the Code of Practice for official statistics.

    The latest official experimental statistics on UC and the Departments release strategy can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/universal-credit-statistics.

    “

  • Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-11-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of new claims for housing benefit in the private rented sector in each of the last 10 years were made by people who were in work at the time they made their claim.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The information requested is not held.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-11-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans the Government has to improve employment support for people with disabilities who are in receipt of the support component of employment and support allowance.

    Priti Patel

    In the Autumn Statement on Wednesday 25 November, the Chancellor announced a real terms increase in funding to help people with health conditions and disabilities including those in receipt of the support component of Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), return to, and remain in, work.

    Government will be launching a new ‘Work and Health Programme’ – restructuring our current provision so that it provides the best possible support for people with health conditions or disabilities, including those classed as economically inactive due to long term sickness or disability.

    At least £115m of funding will go to the Work and Health Unit, including a work and health innovation fund to test new ways to join up health and employment to help people with disabilities and health conditions to return to and stay in work.

    Government will publish a White Paper in the New Year that will set out further reforms to improve support for people with health conditions and disabilities and further reduce the disability employment gap.