Tag: Owen Smith

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Owen Smith on 2015-11-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many disabled people have been helped back to work by the Access to Work scheme in each of the last five years.

Justin Tomlinson

The table below lists annual totals for people who have been helped by Access to Work in each of the last five years.

Customer Type	2010-11	2011-12	2012-13	2013-14	2014-15
Existing customer	22,480	20,760	20,670	22,850	24,730
New customer helped	13,330	10,010	10,830	12,720	12,080
Total	35,810	30,780	31,500	35,560	36,820

Access to Work is not an exclusively back-to-work scheme and the department’s data do not distinguish between those helped into new employment opportunities and those helped to retain existing work. The data quoted here are for total numbers helped by Access to Work.
These figures are taken from the latest statistics for Access to Work, which show figures for people helped by the scheme going back to 2007 and are published quarterly here: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/468889/access-to-work-statistics-apr-jun-2015.pdf

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Owen Smith on 2016-01-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if his Department will publish an impact assessment in respect of the Universal Credit (Work Allowance) Amendment Regulations 2015.

Priti Patel

The impact of the work allowance change cannot be considered in isolation – it is part of a broader package of measures announced at the Summer Budget, such as the increase to the personal tax allowance and introduction of the national living wage.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Owen Smith on 2016-02-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of tax credit recipients who are likely to be migrated onto universal credit in each year of this Parliament.

Priti Patel

The number of people on benefits is driven by a range of factors. Because of this, the programme measures progress by the successful achievement of milestones of its delivery plan rather than targets for numbers of claimants.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Owen Smith on 2016-03-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department has taken to prepare for the administration of changes to migrant benefits proposed under the planned emergency brake on in-work benefits for EU citizens in employment in the UK.

Priti Patel

These details are a matter for the implementation of the proposal, and further announcements will be made in due course.

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)

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Owen Smith on 2016-04-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to his oral contribution of 21 March 2016, Official Report, column 1269, whether his Department plans to proceed with the removal of housing benefit for people aged between 18 and 21 years old.

Justin Tomlinson

The Government will be taking forward its plans to remove the automatic entitlement to housing support for new claims in Universal Credit for 18-21 year olds who are out of work from April 2017; as announced in the 2015 Summer Budget. The planned changes will ensure that vulnerable young people who are in need of support for their housing needs continue to receive it whilst maintaining a system that is fair to the taxpayer

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Owen Smith on 2015-11-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when he plans to respond to the Fourth Report from the Work and Pensions Committee, on Support for housing costs in the reformed welfare system, Session 2013-14, HC 720, published on 2 April 2014.

Justin Tomlinson

I refer my Hon Member to the answer I gave on 15 October 2015 to Question UIN 11314.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Owen Smith on 2016-01-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when her Department plans to respond to the recommendations in the Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission’s 2015 State of the Nation Annual Report.

Mr Sam Gyimah

The government is grateful to the Commission for its wide-ranging and comprehensive report and will study the findings and recommendations very carefully. As the Prime Minister announced on 11 January, we are committed to publishing a Life Chances Strategy in the Spring.The Strategy will set out a comprehensive plan to fight disadvantage and extend opportunity, including a wider set of non-statutory measures on root causes of child poverty such as family breakdown, problem debt, and drug and alcohol dependency. The government looks forward to working with the new Social Mobility Commission, which will continue to play a very important role in the drive to promote and increase social mobility in the years to come.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Owen Smith on 2016-02-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what funding his Department has allocated to the Flexible Support Fund for each year of the present Parliament.

Priti Patel

The allocation for FSF for 2015/16 is £69.0m. The allocation for FSF for the rest of this parliament has not been agreed.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Owen Smith on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the Lifetime ISA will be included in assessments of savings under universal credit.

Priti Patel

Further details about how the Lifetime ISA will work will be announced in the autumn. Following this the Government will confirm how it will be treated for Universal Credit purposes.