Asked by: Baroness King of Bow (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Freud on 21 July 2015 (HL1153), whether they will now provide an estimate of how many, and what proportion of, households affected by the proposed reduction of the benefit cap to £23,000 per year receive (1) Employment and Support Allowance, (2) Income Support, and (3) Jobseeker's Allowance.
Answered by Lord Freud
We will publish an impact assessment in due course.
Asked by: Baroness King of Bow (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many pensioners received Attendance Allowance in (1) London, and (2) the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, in each year since 2012, broken down between (a) the higher, and (b) the lower, rate.
Answered by Baroness Altmann
The numbers of claimants receiving higher or lower rate Attendance Allowance in (1) London and (2) the London Borough of Tower Hamlets are detailed below:
| Nov - 2012 | Nov - 2013 | Nov - 2014 | Nov - 2015 |
London Total | 138,710 | 133,470 | 131,930 | 130,760 |
Higher | 80,690 | 78,510 | 78,790 | 79,800 |
Lower | 58,050 | 54,950 | 53,120 | 51,000 |
Tower Hamlets Total | 3,420 | 3,310 | 3,380 | 3,460 |
Higher | 2,030 | 2,020 | 2,100 | 2,200 |
Lower | 1,380 | 1,290 | 1,290 | 1,260 |
Source: DWP Tab Tool (Cases in Payment)
Note: Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10.
Figures may not sum due to rounding.
Asked by: Baroness King of Bow (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they will publish details of their plans to devolve responsibility for Attendance Allowance to local authorities.
Answered by Baroness Altmann
The Government has announced that by the end of the Parliament local government will retain 100% of local business rates and new responsibilities will be devolved alongside this. As part of this, the government will consider giving councils in England more responsibility to support older people with care needs. Any change would not affect existing Attendance Allowance claimants, and any new responsibilities would be matched by the transfer of equivalent spending power. The Government intends to consult on this in due course.
Asked by: Baroness King of Bow (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to instruct local authorities to ensure that Discretionary Housing Payments are awarded to full-time carers affected by the benefit cap until their exemptions are implemented.
Answered by Lord Freud
It is important that local authorities are allowed to use their discretion to ensure Discretionary Housing Payments are awarded to those who most require assistance based on local circumstances. We have, however, amended the Discretionary Housing Payments Local Authority Good Practice Guide to reflect that those entitled to Carer’s Allowance or Universal Credit including the carer element should be considered as a priority group for whom Discretionary Housing Payments are specifically aimed.
Asked by: Baroness King of Bow (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have notified full-time carers affected by the benefit cap of their decision to exempt such claimants following the High Court judgment against the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions.
Answered by Lord Freud
We will be writing to claimants potentially affected by the planned changes to the benefit cap in the coming months, ahead of the launch of the new benefit cap levels from the Autumn. These notifications will include details of the forthcoming exemptions. We are also working with stakeholder organisations to support them to share information with affected carers.
Asked by: Baroness King of Bow (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, under the provisions of the Welfare Reform and Work Bill, a claimant receiving Employment and Support Allowance prior to April 2017 who had to re-apply after April 2017 due to a change in their condition would have their benefit reduced to the level of Jobseeker's Allowance if they were found to be entitled to the work-related activity component.
Answered by Lord Freud
The changes as introduced to the House of Commons on 9th July 2015 would mean that existing claimants, whether in the work-related activity group or the support group, who undergo a work capability assessment after April 2017 and are placed in, or remain in, the work-related activity group, will continue to receive the work-related activity component.
Asked by: Baroness King of Bow (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, under the provisions of the Welfare Reform and Work Bill, a claimant receiving Employment and Support Allowance support component prior to April 2017 who is reassessed after April 2017 and moved to the work-related activity group would have their benefit reduced to the level of Jobseeker's Allowance.
Answered by Lord Freud
The changes as introduced to the House of Commons on 9th July 2015 would mean that existing claimants, whether in the work-related activity group or the support group, who undergo a work capability assessment after April 2017 and are placed in, or remain in, the work-related activity group, will continue to receive the work-related activity component.
Asked by: Baroness King of Bow (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, under the provisions of the Welfare Reform and Work Bill, a claimant receiving Employment and Support Allowance work-related activity component prior to April 2017 who is reassessed after April 2017 but still found to be entitled to the work-related activity component would have their benefit reduced to the level of Jobseeker's Allowance.
Answered by Lord Freud
The changes as introduced to the House of Commons on 9th July 2015 would mean that existing claimants, whether in the work-related activity group or the support group, who undergo a work capability assessment after April 2017 and are placed in, or remain in, the work-related activity group, will continue to receive the work-related activity component.
Asked by: Baroness King of Bow (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many people in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets currently receive Universal Credit.
Answered by Lord Freud
The latest published statistics show that, as at December 2015, there were 1,409 Universal Credit claimants in Tower Hamlets.
Asked by: Baroness King of Bow (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Freud on 8 December 2015 (HL3997), what has been identified as the cause of the overpayment of housing benefit to those claimants migrated onto Universal Credit, and how many claimants in Tower Hamlets have been affected.
Answered by Lord Freud
We have safeguards in place to ensure an effective transition and avoid impacts on overlapping benefits.