Asked by: Lord Bishop of Lincoln (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the report by the Children's Commissioner, Growing up in a low-income family: Children’s experiences, published on 8 July; and (2) the recommendation that children in low-income households be prioritised for access to new homes under the Affordable Homes Programme.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Child Poverty Taskforce, co-chaired by the Work and Pensions and Education Secretaries, is committed to listening to the voices of children and families and embed the voices of these families directly into their work.
The Office of the Children’s Commissioner’s report, Growing up in a low-income family: Children‘s experiences, was commissioned by the Child Poverty Taskforce to provide evidence on children’s lived experience of poverty to support the development of an ambitious child poverty strategy. The findings of the report make for uncomfortable reading, but it is vital that we face up to the reality of what children in poverty are feeling so we can develop a Strategy that is fit for purpose and truly responds to the needs of children as they set out from their perspective. This valuable research forms part of the Taskforce’s ongoing wider work to ensure those voices are a central part of developing a strategy.
The Child Poverty Unit, based in the Cabinet Office, worked closely with the Office of the Children’s Commissioner on the report, including at research design and reporting stages, and the findings have already been considered as part of strategy development.
The Minister for School Standards is planning to meet with the Children‘s Commissioner for England to discuss the report in detail and a Children’s Commissioners roundtable, co-chaired by the Minister for Employment and the Minister for School Standards, will be held in September to bring together all four Children’s Commissioners for a broader discussion on child poverty.
The Taskforce is considering the report’s recommendations in advance of publication of the strategy in the autumn.
Given the priority this government accords to social rented housing, at least 60% of homes delivered through the new Social and Affordable Homes programme will be for Social Rent.
The programme will not set numerical targets for particular types of homes other than Social Rent but will be designed with the flexibility necessary to support a greater diversity of social and affordable supply including council, supported, community-led and rural housing.
We will set initial targets for Homes England and the GLA after receiving bids from Registered Providers and will review these targets across the lifetime of the programme to maximise delivery. It is our intention to publish a full prospectus for the new Social and Affordable Homes Programme in autumn 2025 and open it for bids in the winter.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to promote savings, particularly in pensions.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Automatic Enrolment has succeeded in transforming pension saving with over 22 million employees participating in saving in 2023, an increase of over 10 million since its roll out in 2012. However, there is more to be done to build on this success as many people are still not saving enough for a financially secure retirement. This is why the government have relaunched the Pensions Commission which will explore how to improve retirement outcomes, especially for those at the greatest risk of under saving.
In addition to supporting pension saving, the government is committed to supporting people of all income levels and at all stages of life to save for their future goals and build greater financial resilience. This includes saving via Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs), which allow individuals to save up to £20,000 each year, and any savings income and gains within an ISA is tax free. Separately, the Help to Save scheme also aims to promote financial resilience among working households on low incomes. The existing Help to Save scheme has been extended until April 2027 and in April 2025 eligibility was extended to all Universal Credit claimants who are in work.
Through its MoneyHelper service, the Money and Pensions Service also offers practical tools such as savings calculators and budget planners to support people in developing regular saving habits, alongside specialist pensions guidance on how to grow their retirement pot. In addition, the government is working with the Financial Conduct Authority to roll out targeted support for consumers by early next year. This represents the biggest reform of the financial advice and guidance landscape in more than a decade and will represent a step change in the support that consumers receive to invest.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the proposal to remove eligibility for the Limited Capability for Work and Work-Related Activity group from people who are under the age of 22 will affect those in specialist education colleges.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Universal Credit Bill makes no change to the eligibility of young people under 22 for the Universal Credit Health element. The proposal to restrict access to the element was the subject of a consultation which closed on 30 June. The responses to the consultation are now being reviewed, and the Government’s conclusion will be announced in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Browning (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they will take to support disabled people with complex needs who are not eligible for the Youth Guarantee.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
As set out in the Get Britain Working White Paper, we will launch a new Youth Guarantee for all young people aged 18-21 in England to ensure that they can access quality training opportunities, an apprenticeship or help to find work.
We recognise, however, that for a small minority of young people, work may never be a realistic goal. We acknowledge that we would need to include special provisions for this group and are working through how they can be best identified and supported.
The current benefit system categorises too many young people as unable to work, often leaving them without meaningful engagement or support. For most disabled young people and young people with a health condition working at some point in the near future must be a credible ambition.
The Pathways to Work Green Paper set out proposals to create a distinct and active youth phase for people aged 18 to 21 in the health and disability benefit system. The consultation closed on 30 June, and we are now carefully reviewing all responses as we develop the new support offer and our expectations of engagement.
This will build on the many interventions already, or soon to be, in place to support disabled people and people with a health condition, more broadly. This includes our new voluntary Supported Employment programme, Connect to Work, which is rolling out across England and Wales throughout 2025 and provides bespoke employment support to help people get into, and stay in, sustainable work.
Asked by: Baroness Scott of Needham Market (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential impact on young disabled people and their families of the removal of eligibility of those under 22 years of age for the limited capability for work and work-related activity element of Universal Credit.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
As part of the Pathways to Work Green Paper consultation, the Government invited views on the proposal to raise the minimum age for accessing the Universal Credit (UC) health element to 22. The consultation closed on 30 June, and we are now considering responses. The Government’s conclusion will be announced in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Penn (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government when the threshold for qualifying for Small Employers' Relief was last up-rated, and from what level.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Small employers (those who have gross Class 1 National Insurance contributions liability of £45,000 or less in the previous tax year) can claim what is known as Small Employers Relief and can recover 100 percent of Statutory Maternity Pay they have paid out plus an additional compensation payment. This additional compensation payment is known as Small Employers’ Compensation and seeks to support small employers with the associated costs of having an employee on maternity leave which are not thought to affect large employers in the same way, such as the employer’s share of National Insurance contributions that might be payable, as well as administration and recruitment costs.
The same reimbursement arrangements apply to Statutory Paternity Pay, Statutory Shared Parental Pay, Statutory Adoption Pay, Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay and Statutory Neonatal Care Pay.
The threshold for qualifying as a small employer was increased in April 2004 from £40,000 to £45,000 (or less) of gross Class 1 National Insurance contributions liability in the previous tax year.
Asked by: Lord Roberts of Llandudno (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure homeless people can access benefits.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
I refer the noble Lord to the answer I gave to question HL9238 on 17 July.
The Government has committed to a cross-government strategy to get the country back on track to ending homelessness. We have already taken the first steps, making a £1 billion investment in homelessness and rough sleeping services in 2025/26, a £233 million increase on the previous year, to prevent rises in the number of families in temporary accommodation and to help prevent rough sleeping
My department is committed to ensuring people experiencing homelessness receive the benefits and support they need. Support is in place to help people experiencing homelessness claim and receive benefits, including:
Jobcentres provide outreach in community and homelessness settings in areas with high levels of homelessness and organise referrals to local authority housing teams under ‘Duty to Refer’ legislation. There are single points of contact in every jobcentre to support work coaches with complex homelessness cases, along with training to better understand and support vulnerable customers. Our advanced customer support senior leaders and vulnerable customer champions review our processes to ensure we are effectively safeguarding such customers
The Government’s plans to get Britain working include the new Jobs and Careers Service, which will provide individualised support to those with the greatest barriers to work, while Connect to Work will provide support to people with disabilities, health conditions and complex barriers, including those experiencing homelessness.
Asked by: Baroness Browning (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend for the proposal to remove eligibility for the limited capability for work and work-related activity group from those under the age of 22 to apply to disabled adults receiving residential care.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
As part of the Pathways to Work Green Paper consultation, the Government invited views on the proposal to raise the minimum age for accessing the Universal Credit (UC) health element to 22. The consultation closed on 30 June, and we are now considering responses. The Government’s conclusion will be announced in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Scott of Needham Market (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government, in regard to the Pathways to Work Green Paper published on 23 July, what steps they have taken to engage with the families of young disabled people who may be affected by the proposal to removal eligibility of those under 22 years of age for the limited capability for work and work-related activity element of Universal Credit.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Pathways to Work Green Paper was published on 18 March 2025 and closed on 30 June 2025, setting out plans and proposals to reform health and disability benefits and employment support.
We ran a programme of consultation events to hear from disabled people and people with health conditions directly, including 7 virtual events and 11 in-person events across England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.
As part of the consultation, we welcomed views on raising the age someone can access the Universal Credit Health Element to 22. This consultation received over 45,000 responses and we are considering responses; we will set out our plans in due course.
If we proceed with this change, we will consider what special provisions need to be put in place for those young people where engagement with the Youth Guarantee is not a realistic prospect.
Asked by: Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many migrants are claiming Universal Credit in the UK at present, and how many did so for each of the past three years.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department recently published Universal Credit Immigration status and nationality summary statistics on GOV.UK and this shows that 96.0% of UC claimants are either citizens or have been living and contributing to the UK for a very long time.