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  • Owen Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Owen Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Owen Smith on 2016-04-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many staff are employed in delivering the Fit for Work programme in (a) Sheffield, (b) Nantgarw and (c) the UK.

    Justin Tomlinson

    As at 31 March 2016, Health Management Limited (HML), which delivers in England and Wales, employs 83.93 staff at its Sheffield office, 18 staff at its Nantgarw office and a further 19.6 staff elsewhere in England and Wales. Fit for Work Scotland employs 46.4 staff in Scotland. The total for the UK is therefore 167.9.

    (Staffing numbers are given in full-time-equivalent figures)

  • Owen Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Owen Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Owen Smith on 2016-04-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many staff employed in delivering the Fit for Work programme are (a) registered as disabled or in receipt of disabled people’s benefits and (b) returning to work after serious illness or injury.

    Justin Tomlinson

    Health Management Ltd (HML), responsible for delivering Fit for Work in England and Wales, does not hold records of staff members who are disabled or who are in receipt of disabled person’s benefits although the company does provide the opportunity for people to self-declare a disability should they wish to do so.

    Since Fit for Work was launched, seven members of staff have returned to work following a serious illness or injury. ‘Serious illness or injury’ is here considered to mean an absence of four weeks or more.

    For Scottish Government, which is responsible for delivering Fit for Work in Scotland, does not collect this information centrally.

  • Kate Green – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Kate Green – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Green on 2016-04-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when he expects to lay before Parliament the results of the 30-month review required under Section 141 of the Welfare Reform Act 2012 of the effect of the Child Support Fees Regulations 2014.

    Priti Patel

    The department has a statutory obligation to complete the 30 month review of the impacts of charging by 31 December 2016.

    Outcomes of the review are expected to be published in spring 2017.

  • Owen Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Owen Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Owen Smith on 2016-04-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much has been spent advertising the Fit for Work programme since that programme went live.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The cumulative cost of marketing and advertising to Health Management Ltd (HML), which delivers Fit for Work in England and Wales, has been £1,865,414 since the programme went live. The Scottish Government is responsible for delivering Fit for Work in Scotland, and has spent £27,708 on marketing activities and a further £187,679 on its website.

  • Kate Green – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Kate Green – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Green on 2016-04-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will place in the Library a copy of the Policy, Law and Decision Making Guidance used by Child Maintenance Service caseworkers when making decisions on the application of Section 137(2)(b) of the Welfare Reform Act 2012 and the unlikely to be paid test.

    Priti Patel

    The Department is currently revising the Policy Law and Decision Making Guidance, so it is not appropriate to make it publicly available at this time.

  • Owen Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Owen Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Owen Smith on 2016-04-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the total cost to the public purse is of the Maximus/HML contract for delivery of the Fit for Work programme.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The original agreed contract value with HML was £132.9m. This is for the whole life of the contract and was awarded on 25 July 2014 for a period of 5 years.

  • Kate Green – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Kate Green – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Green on 2016-04-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much of the £31 million of child maintenance arrears written off in 2014-15 was written off under each of the ground in the Child Support Management of Payment and Arrears (Amendment) Regulations 2012.

    Priti Patel

    The circumstances of the £31 million of child maintenance arrears written off in 2014-15 is shown in the table below:

    Circumstance

    2014/15 write off (£m)

    The person with care has requested that the Secretary of State ceases to act in respect of the arrears

    6.5

    A child in Scotland has requested that the Secretary of State ceases to act in respect of the arrears

    0.0

    The person with care, or (in Scotland) the child, has died

    3.0

    The non-resident parent died before 25 January 2010 or there is no further action that can be taken with regard to recovery of the arrears from the non-resident parent’s estate

    19.8

    The arrears relate to liability for child support maintenance for any period in respect of which an interim maintenance assessment was in force between 5 April 1993 and 18 April 1995

    0.1

    The non-resident parent has been informed by the Secretary of State that no further action would ever be taken to recover those arrears

    0.2

    Other

    1.3

    Notes

    1. The figures have been rounded to the nearest hundred thousand.
    2. The circumstance ‘Other’ includes amounts written off following Secretary of State and client part payment, £0.5m, arrears written off which were due to the Secretary of State, £0.2m and adjustments to arrears balances which have transitioned to the 2012 Child Maintenance system, £0.6m.
  • Owen Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Owen Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Owen Smith on 2016-04-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what duration for the Fit for Work programme was agreed in his Department’s contract with Maximus/HML.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The contract was awarded on the 25th July 2014 for a period of 5 years.

  • Owen Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Owen Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Owen Smith on 2016-04-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department’s contract with Maximus/HML for provision of the Fit for Work programme contains provision for penalties in the event of early termination or truncation of that programme.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The contract does not contain specific provision for penalties in the event of early termination.

  • Owen Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Owen Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Owen Smith on 2016-04-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people his Department has written to regarding changes to the work allowance element of universal credit.

    Priti Patel

    We have contacted around 59,000 people, purposefully casting the net wide to ensure that no one is missed. The actual number of claimants affected is expected to be significantly lower.