The Department has sent a copy of the memorandum of 2 May 2019 to the House’s Library. We have been advised by the Library that it is currently processing the deposit of this document.

The information used in the ‘Universal Credit Uncovered’ Metro campaign was sourced by Departmental officials. The campaign graphics were designed by Metro’s in-house design team as part of the Department’s media partnership with them.

We went to great lengths to ensure the factual accuracy of the campaign through extensive consultation within the Department, including the Government Legal Department. We also consulted with the Advertising Standards Authority Copy Advice Team prior to the launch and continued to do so throughout the campaign lifetime.

The Metro partnership was designed to increase understanding of Universal Credit and ensure people have the right factual information they need to make a claim and understand their potential entitlement.

The Department has no plans to change the list of medical exemptions from prescription charges. Extensive arrangements are already in place to help people access National Health Service prescriptions. These include a broad range of NHS prescription charge exemptions for which someone with asthma may qualify.

People on a low income, who do not qualify for an exemption, may be eligible for full or partial help with prescription charges through application to the NHS Low Income Scheme.

To support those with the greatest need who do not qualify for an exemption, the cost of the prescription pre-payment certificates has been frozen for another year. A holder of a 12-month certificate can get all the prescriptions they need for just £2 per week.

The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

We have commenced our Move to Universal Credit pilot, as scheduled, in the area served by Harrogate Jobcentre. The goal of the pilot is to learn as much as possible, and to increase numbers as slowly and gradually as necessary.

Testing the system and our processes will allow us to make sure we can provide the best possible service to those claimants who move to Universal Credit from their legacy claims.

The Department has already committed to updating the House when appropriate progress has been made.

Universal Credit is now the main system of working age welfare support across the country. It is available in every Jobcentre, with a caseload of over 2.5 million claimants, growing every month, now able to access the additional support and flexibilities it offers.

Around 60 per cent of new claims take up an advance. Subject to some fluctuation, this rate of advance take-up has been broadly consistent over the last 12 months. As the overall Universal Credit caseload grows, we expect the volume and value of advance payments to change in correlation. This shows that claimants are being made aware of advances and are using it where they need this help.

Information surrounding the amount spent on Universal Credit advances each month since they were introduced is shown in the table below:

Notes:

1. Figures are rounded to the nearest £1000.
2. Figures go up to May 2019 in line with published statistics relating to households on Universal Credit.
3. Figures include all types of advances.
4. Figures prior to April 2019 include hardship payments made under Universal Credit live service.

While Serious Shortage Protocols (SSP) in England have the scope to cover all medicines and appliances that are on a National Health Service prescription in primary care, including immunosuppressant medicines, it is clear that an SSP for therapeutic or generic equivalents will not necessarily be suitable for all medicines and patients. For example, where medicines need to be prescribed by brand for clinical reasons, which may be the case for certain immunosuppressant medicines. In these cases, patients would always be referred back to the prescriber for any decision about their treatment before any alternative is supplied.

Any protocol would however only be introduced if clinicians with expertise in the relevant area think it is appropriate. So, if an SSP for an immunosuppressant medicine was under consideration, this would be agreed with, for example, transplant specialists or other relevant clinicians. Pharmacists will have to use their professional judgment as to whether supplying against the protocol rather than the prescription is appropriate or the patient should be referred to their prescriber.

We are committed to improving accessibility at rail stations, and have recently extended the Access for All programme with £300m to provide accessibility improvements at even more stations. This is in addition to improvements required whenever infrastructure work is carried out at a station by the industry.

We are committed to improving accessibility at rail stations, and have recently extended the Access for All programme with £300m to provide accessibility improvements at even more stations. This is in addition to improvements required whenever infrastructure work is carried out at a station by the industry.

We are the biggest Government Department with a day to day operation on which around 22 million citizens depend. The Department has a responsibility to communicate policy and essential information to claimants and other key audiences.

The Metro partnership was designed to increase understanding of Universal Credit and ensure people have the right factual information they need to make a claim and understand their potential entitlement.

We went to great lengths to ensure the factual accuracy of the campaign through extensive consultation within the Department, including the Government Legal Department. We also consulted with the Advertising Standards Authority Copy Advice Team prior to the launch and continued to do so throughout the campaign lifetime.

The letter of 31 July 2019 placed in the House of Commons Library disclosed the full cost of the Department’s partnership with Associated Newspapers. There were no advertising agencies, consultancy or additional costs associated with the campaign and detailed planning was taken forward by Departmental officials.

We have already shared a copy of the memo of 2 May 2019 from the Director General of Universal Credit and Director of Communications to DWP staff with the Work and Pensions Select Committee but can also commit to placing a copy in the House of Commons Library.

We are the biggest Government Department with a day to day operation on which around 22 million citizens depend. The Department has a responsibility to communicate policy and essential information to claimants and other key audiences.

The Metro partnership was designed to increase understanding of Universal Credit and ensure people have the right factual information they need to make a claim and understand their potential entitlement.

We went to great lengths to ensure the factual accuracy of the campaign through extensive consultation within the Department, including the Government Legal Department. We also consulted with the Advertising Standards Authority Copy Advice Team prior to the launch and continued to do so throughout the campaign lifetime.

The letter of 31 July 2019 placed in the House of Commons Library disclosed the full cost of the Department’s partnership with Associated Newspapers. There were no advertising agencies, consultancy or additional costs associated with the campaign and detailed planning was taken forward by Departmental officials.

We have already shared a copy of the memo of 2 May 2019 from the Director General of Universal Credit and Director of Communications to DWP staff with the Work and Pensions Select Committee but can also commit to placing a copy in the House of Commons Library.

We are the biggest Government Department with a day to day operation on which around 22 million citizens depend. The Department has a responsibility to communicate policy and essential information to claimants and other key audiences.

The Metro partnership was designed to increase understanding of Universal Credit and ensure people have the right factual information they need to make a claim and understand their potential entitlement.

We went to great lengths to ensure the factual accuracy of the campaign through extensive consultation within the Department, including the Government Legal Department. We also consulted with the Advertising Standards Authority Copy Advice Team prior to the launch and continued to do so throughout the campaign lifetime.

The letter of 31 July 2019 placed in the House of Commons Library disclosed the full cost of the Department’s partnership with Associated Newspapers. There were no advertising agencies, consultancy or additional costs associated with the campaign and detailed planning was taken forward by Departmental officials.

We have already shared a copy of the memo of 2 May 2019 from the Director General of Universal Credit and Director of Communications to DWP staff with the Work and Pensions Select Committee but can also commit to placing a copy in the House of Commons Library.

The United Kingdom Government has proposed to all Member States that we should maintain existing reciprocal healthcare arrangements until 31 December 2020 if the UK leaves the European Union without a deal. This includes the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) which can support UK residents with long term conditions travelling to the EU who may require needs arising treatment.

The Government understands the concerns of patients with long term conditions and is working to secure the continuation of reciprocal healthcare arrangements, so UK and EU nationals have access to medical treatment in the same way they do now.

Guidance for travelling to the EU after EU exit is available on gov.uk, available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/uk-residents-visiting-the-eueea-and-switzerland-healthcare

The UK Government is advising people with pre-existing or long term medical conditions to also check the Money and Pensions Advice Service which has information on their website for people about their options for purchasing travel insurance. Further information is available at the following link:

www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en/articles/travel-insurance-for-over-65s-and-medical-conditions

The Department is doing everything appropriate to prepare for leaving the European Union. We want to reassure patients that our plans should ensure the uninterrupted supply of medicines and medical products once we have left the EU.

The Department, as part of our EU exit preparations, continues to implement a multi-layered approach to mitigate potential disruption to supply, which includes medicines and consumables needed for dialysis or transplantation. This approach consists of stockpiling where possible, securing freight capacity, changing or clarifying regulatory requirements, procuring additional warehousing, working closely with industry to improve trader readiness and putting in place the National Supply Disruption Response to manage potential shortages. Further details can be found at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/medicines-and-medical-products-supply-government-updates-no-deal-brexit-plans

The new process for advances and identification introduced on the 18 September 2019 mean that the level of UC advances fraud will be mitigated. Where an individual is a victim of fraud and received no money personally, no claim will be made against them. However, it is often not possible to ascertain the facts without an Interview Under Caution. The powers for an Interview Under Caution are under the Social Security Administration Act 1992, Part VI, governs this process and has been followed by successive governments of different political persuasions.

DWP will ask, and allow the individual to have the opportunity to respond to any evidence in a voluntary Interview Under Caution.

DWP follows the guidance laid down in the Criminal Procedures and Investigations Act 1996 and the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (Code C 2014) to afford the claimant all appropriate protection in law.

The information you requested could only be provided by manually examining a substantial number of individual cases. The Department estimates that this would incur disproportionate costs.

The information requested on capital bids received by the Department and NHS England and NHS Improvement for capital spending are not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

There have been a multitude of capital funds in the last five years varying in value, complexity and outcome objective and NHS England and NHS Improvement are in on-going discussions with trusts about their capital needs and plans.