The below Parliamentary question was asked by Owen Smith on 2015-11-03.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what preparatory work his Department has undertaken in advance of sending letters to tax credit recipients on changes to tax credits.
Damian Hinds
HM Revenue and Customs will be ready to notify tax credit claimants of their 2016/17 tax credit award in good time.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Owen Smith on 2015-11-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the age-standardised mortality rate of people declared fit for work by his Department since December 2011.
Priti Patel
The information as requested is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Owen Smith on 2016-01-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the number of people in work who will be in receipt of universal credit in (a) 2016-17, (b) 2017-18, (c) 2018-19 and (d) 2019-20.
Priti Patel
The number of people on benefits is driven by a range of factors. Because of this, the Universal Credit programme measures progress by the successful achievement of its delivery plan, rather than numbers of claimants.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Owen Smith on 2016-03-08.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many self-employed people claimed (a) child and (b) working tax credits in (i) 2013-14 and (ii) 2014-15.
Damian Hinds
The latest information for 2013-14 recipients can be obtained from the ‘Child and Working Tax Credits statistics: finalised annual awards – 2013 to 2014’ publication. It is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/child-and-working-tax-credits-statistics-finalised-annual-awards-2013-to-2014
The equivalent information for 2014-15 will not be available until May 2016.
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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.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Owen Smith on 2016-04-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the personal details of universal credit claimants are stored safely.
Priti Patel
The security of claimant information is a crucial part of the way that data is managed in the department. The personal details of Universal Credit claimants are securely stored and access to this data is strictly controlled. A range of controls are present within the Universal Credit service to protect the confidentiality and integrity of claimant personal data and there are regular tests against these controls to ensure that they meet Government and international security standards.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Owen Smith on 2015-11-03.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, when he plans to reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Pontypridd of 9 October 2015 on the cumulative effect on working families of his reforms to tax credits and benefits.
Damian Hinds
I have replied to the hon member.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Owen Smith on 2015-11-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many voluntary redundancies there have been in his Department in 2015.
Justin Tomlinson
To date in 2015 there have been no voluntary redundancies in the Department for Work and Pensions.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Owen Smith on 2016-02-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what his Department’s legal costs were in the case Susan Rutherford, Paul Rutherford and Warren Todd and Appellant A v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions.
Justin Tomlinson
The Government has incurred approximately £50,626 in legal costs in the Court of Appeal proceedings in the case of Rutherford and others v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and A v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions [2016] EWCA CIV 29.
It should be noted that this figure includes VAT where this is payable (e.g. on Counsel’s fees) but does not include costs attributable to the time spent by Government advisory lawyers on this case, as time spent by such advisory lawyers is not recorded in a manner that allows it to be attributed to individual cases.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Owen Smith on 2016-03-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what his Department’s legal costs were in the Supreme Court cases UKSC 2016/0029 and UKSC 2016/0025.
Justin Tomlinson
The Government has incurred approximately £52,299 to date on legal costs in the joined cases of MA, A & Rutherford v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions at the Supreme Court (UKSC 2014/0129, UKSC 2014/0139, UKSC 2016/0029 and UKSC 2016/0025). Due to the way in which the cases are billed, it is not possible to provide a separate figure for UKSC 2016/0029 and UKSC 2016/0025.
It should be noted that this figure includes VAT where this is payable (e.g. on Counsel’s fees) and disbursements but does not include costs attributable to the time spent by Government advisory lawyers, as time spent by such advisory lawyers is not recorded in a manner that allows it to be attributed to individual cases.
It should also be noted that this figure does not include all of Counsel’s fees incurred in relation to proceedings during February and March which have not yet been billed.