Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Universal Credit Recipients

Monday 23 January 2023 · 3 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 2 Not answered 0

Key points

  • The Government is creating in-work progression support to help over 1.6 million universal credit claimants access work support.
  • Essex is pioneering a new initiative for in-work progression, and the Government is working with local skills providers to ensure appropriate training for claimants.
  • The Department for Work and Pensions plans to hold jobs fairs and local recruitment drives to address staffing issues in under-resourced areas.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Vicky Ford Con
Benefits & Welfare
Context

The question addresses initiatives to help people on universal credit increase their income and access work coach appointments.

Question

What steps are being taken to support people in receipt of universal credit with increasing both their level of pay and access to one-on-one appointments with a work coach?

Answer from Guy Opperman

We want people to work more, and ideally come off benefits—as we all know, UC progression means that work always pays more. To enable that, we have created in-work progression support that provides over 1.6 million more claimants with access to work support.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The answer does not specify additional out-of-hours training or discretionary spending mentioned by the questioner.

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Q2 Vicky Ford Con
Employment Benefits & Welfare
Context

The initiative in Essex to support working people on universal credit is highlighted, including increased skills and hourly pay rate for participants.

Question

In Chelmsford and across Essex, job coaches have been running a new initiative to support working people on universal credit to gain more income; many have seen an increase in their hourly pay rate or hours worked. The questioner urges the Government to provide out-of-hours training, offer more discretionary spending for courses, and help roll out these lessons nationwide.

Answer from Guy Opperman

It is true that Essex is a pioneer of our in-work progression offer; I spoke to one of the job coaches doing that in Essex only this morning. We are recruiting senior district progression leads who will work with local skills providers to ensure that there is appropriate training for in-work claimants. Bluntly, the Essex profile, along with the other volunteer organisations, will be going out to the entire country by the end of March 2023.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The answer does not mention additional out-of-hours training or discretionary funding as requested by the questioner.

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Q3 Margaret Ferrier SNP
Employment Benefits & Welfare Standards & Ethics
Context

There is concern over the Department for Work and Pensions' ability to recruit in under-resourced areas, coupled with high voluntary redundancy rates.

Question

With DWP struggling to recruit in under-resourced areas such as personal independence payments and child maintenance services, along with a significant number of staff taking voluntary redundancy, how will Ministers ensure that the Department can continue to effectively support its public responsibilities?

Answer from Guy Opperman

It is our intention to have jobs fairs, sector-based work academies and local recruitment on an ongoing basis. I am happy to discuss with the hon. Lady, whom I have worked with many times in the past, how we can do things in her patch.

Not addressed: The answer does not provide specific measures addressing recruitment challenges and high redundancies.

How: Discussing Previous Collaboration Without Addressing Current Issues

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