Tag: Owen Smith

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Owen Smith on 2016-04-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate his Department has made of the number of people who will be affected by proposed changes to debt repayment arrangements under universal credit.

Justin Tomlinson

Analysis undertaken by DWP has identified a large number of variables that will affect debt repayments from individuals claiming Universal Credit.

This includes, but is not limited to; the number of people claiming Universal Credit, the level of Universal Credit award they receive, the amount of debt they have (across DWP, HMRC and Local Authorities), the approach for recovering debt from Universal Credit and the approach for recovering debt by deduction from earnings.

Considering this, it is likely that most Universal Credit claimants with existing debts or debt repayment arrangements will be affected to some degree. At present there is insufficient data to predict the effects of these variables accurately.

Given the scale of the change, the likely confidence interval for forecasts for any time after 2016-17 is too large to give a meaningful or indicative answer at this time.

However, as Universal Credit rolls out, DWP will continue to analyse all available data to give a wider view on any changes to debt repayment agreements that are being seen under Universal Credit.

In addition, DWP will continue to work with HMRC and Local Authorities in developing forecasting models to show the changes that people with debt will see as their benefit payments move to Universal Credit.

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

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, when he plans to publish an equality assessment of the Government’s changes to tax credits.

Damian Hinds

As the Chancellor has made clear, the Government will set out at Autumn Statement how we plan to achieve the same goal of reforming tax credits, saving the money we need to save to secure our economy, while at the same time helping in the transition.

The Government carefully considers all relevant legal obligations – including the equalities duty – when formulating welfare policy.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Owen Smith on 2015-11-06.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the change in tax revenue as a result of the introduction of new pension freedoms.

Harriett Baldwin

The expected impact over the forecast period of the changes made to private pensions taxation as announced at Budget 2014 can be found in Table 2.1 (p.56) of the Budget 2014 document here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/293759/37630_Budget_2014_Web_Accessible.pdf

Following a consultation period the Chancellor made subsequent announcements relating to this measure. The Exchequer impact of these can be found in Table 2.1 (p.65) of the Autumn Statement 2014 document here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/382327/44695_Accessible.pdf

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans he has to increase application charges to join the 2012 child maintenance scheme.

Priti Patel

The level of the application charge and collection charges for parents with care and non-resident parents will be included in the statutory 30 month review of charging, which is due to be completed by December 2016. There are no current plans to increase the application fee or collection charges.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Owen Smith on 2016-02-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what amount of direct pay arrears has accrued on the 2012 Child Maintenance Scheme; and to how many case groups those arrears relate.

Priti Patel

A case is classed as ‘Direct Pay’ when the maintenance calculation has been derived by the Child Maintenance Service (after assessment of the case) and the Paying Parent pays child maintenance directly to the Receiving Parent. These cases are assumed to be fully meeting their current liability since clients can come back to the CMS if there is a default on their payment or to request a revised calculation.

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 cost has been of establishing and running the Fit for Work programme to date.

Justin Tomlinson

The cost to the end of March 2016 of establishing and running Fit for Work is £25.8m. A further £1m was spent with PricewaterhouseCoopers on the independent audit function.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Owen Smith on 2016-04-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 18 April 2016 to Question 33700, what steps his Department is taking to monitor levels of funeral poverty.

Justin Tomlinson

The Government recognises that some families on low incomes can struggle to meet the costs of a funeral, this is why the Social Fund Funeral Expenses Payments covers specified necessary costs and provides a significant contribution of up to £700 towards the fee levied by funeral directors for all other funeral expenses.

My Department continues to look at the effectiveness of the scheme so that it provides effective support and will keep on monitoring its effectiveness and liaising with stakeholders and interested groups so that it maintains its aim of providing a contribution towards the cost of a funeral.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Owen Smith on 2015-10-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps his Department is taking to improve rates of pay for people aged under 25.

Nick Boles

The priority for younger workers is to gain skills and experience and to secure work. This is already reflected in the National Minimum Wage rate structure, where the youth rate is currently £1.40 lower than the adult rate. This reflects that wages tend to increase through the early 20s, as workers gain more experience. Youth unemployment is higher compared to those over 25.

The wages of younger workers will continue to be underpinned by the National Minimum Wage as recommended by the Low Pay Commission at the highest possible level without affecting employment.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Owen Smith on 2015-10-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much was spent on housing benefit between 2010 and 2015.

Justin Tomlinson

Housing Benefit expenditure information is available in our Benefit Expenditure tables which can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/benefit-expenditure-and-caseload-tables-2015

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Owen Smith on 2015-10-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many pensioners will lose money as a result of changing the Support for Mortgage Interest scheme from a benefit to an interest-bearing loan; and what the average annual loss will be for such pensioners.

Justin Tomlinson

All SMI claimants, including pensioners, will continue to receive the same level of support as now towards their mortgage interest when it becomes a loan. As a result no claimants, including pensioners, will receive less in SMI payments than they would now.