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  • Carol Monaghan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Carol Monaghan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Carol Monaghan on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make it his policy to amend the three month rule for the habitual residence test to allow access to income based jobseeker’s allowance for UK nationals returning to the UK after a period away who have retained financial commitments at home.

    Priti Patel

    It has always been the case that any UK national who returns to this country after an extended period must demonstrate they are habitually resident to be eligible for income-related benefits. Since 1 January 2014, most jobseekers must also have been living in the UK for three months before any consideration can be given to whether they are habitually resident to be eligible to receive income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance.

    Regulations were amended from 9 November 2014 to exempt from the three month residence requirement members of the Armed Forces and Crown servants who were serving abroad and others who had paid certain types of UK national insurance contributions during their absence abroad. We have no plans to introduce further exemptions from the three month requirement.

  • 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 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what criteria his Department has set for referral to (a) Community Work Placements and (b) Daily Work Search Review once a claimant has joined the Help to Work scheme.

    Priti Patel

    Under Help to Work Jobcentre Plus Work Coaches have the flexibility to decide which of the three options that are part of the programme, Mandatory Intervention Regime, Community Work Placements or Daily Work Search Reviews, would best suit each individual jobseeker. They base their decisions on an exit report from their Work Programme provider and discussions with the jobseeker about the particular barriers still stopping them from getting work.

  • Barry Sheerman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Barry Sheerman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what his policy is on people who receive disability benefits being able to volunteer without it affecting their entitlement to those benefits.

    Justin Tomlinson

    Claimants of Attendance Allowance, Disability Living Allowance or Personal Independence Payment are free to do paid or unpaid work or volunteering without losing entitlement to their benefit, so long as they continue to meet the entitlement conditions.

  • 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 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of people referred to the Work Programme since 2011 who had no classable qualifications at the time of their referral achieved a job outcome at any stage during their time on the Work Programme.

    Priti Patel

    The information requested, in the above three questions, is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

  • Fiona Bruce – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Fiona Bruce – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of people with alcohol-related problems who would be affected by the Government’s proposals to withhold sickness benefits from people who refuse treatment.

    Priti Patel

    The Government has commissioned Professor Dame Carol Black to undertake an independent review into how best to support benefit claimants who are addicted to drugs or alcohol, or who are obese, back into work or to remain in work. The review will consider the case for linking benefit entitlements to take up of appropriate treatment or support.

    We will give full consideration to any recommendations made by the Review and, if accepted by the Government, the decision and financial implications would be published in the usual way. The review is due to report in early 2016.

  • 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 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of people referred to Help to Work scheme since April 2014 have left the scheme after a job outcome fee was paid to the relevant provider.

    Priti Patel

    From April 2014 to the end of June 2015 there were 25,340 participants who started a Community Work Placement. These would all have triggered a start fee to the relevant provider.

    The department intends to publish further information on Community Work Placements on the 22 December 2015. This release will cover the number of Short placement completion, Long placement completion and Job Outcome fees paid to providers.

  • 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 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of people referred to Help to Work since April 2014 have left the scheme after opening a claim for working tax credit.

    Priti Patel

    The information as requested is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

    The information that is available on Help to Work, on the number of programme referrals and Community Work Placement starts can be found at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/help-to-work-quarterly-statistics

    The latest published information on Help to Work covers the period from April 2014 to June 2015 inclusive.

    “

  • 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 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of people referred to Help to Work since April 2014 who have participated in (a) Community Work Placements and (b) Daily Work Search Review have subsequently been referred to the Mandatory Intervention Regime.

    Priti Patel

    The information is in the table below:

    Period April 2014 to June 2015

    1 Number of People Referred to Help to Work

    2 Number of People Subsequently Referred to the Mandatory Intervention Regime

    Proportion of People Subsequently Referred to the Mandatory Intervention Regime

    Community Work Placement

    51,430

    5,706

    11%

    Daily Work Search Review

    40,060

    15,230

    38%

    1. Source of Information: The Help to Work quarterly statistics provides Official statistics to June 2015 on the numbers of people joining the Help to Work Scheme. This information can be found on the Gov.UK website.

    https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/help-to-work-quarterly-statistics

    1. Source of Information: This management information does not form part of any official statistics and is intended for DWP internal use only.

    “

  • 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 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of people referred to the Work Programme since 2011 who had no classifiable qualifications at the time of their referral achieved a qualification before leaving that programme.

    Priti Patel

    The information requested, in the above three questions, is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

  • 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 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of (a) referrals to the Work Programme since 2011 and (b) current participants in the Work Programme had no classifiable qualifications at the time of their referral.

    Priti Patel

    The information requested, in the above three questions, is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.