Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Sherlock on 24 July (HL300), what is their most recent estimate of the cost of abolishing the two-child limit; and how this compares with the external estimates referred to.

Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

No estimates have been published.

While we cannot commit to changing the two child policy at this time, tackling child poverty is at the heart of the Government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and improve the life chances of every child. This is why the child poverty taskforce will look at all available levers to reduce child poverty, including social security reforms, before publishing a strategy in Spring 2025.

The taskforce will engage external experts throughout the strategy development process including through a rolling programme of meetings, with sessions built thematically to bring together a broad range of experts on specific topics.

The Government also recognises the importance of capturing the experiences of those living in poverty which is why the taskforce will also draw on findings from wider external engagement events in all regions and nations of the UK. These events will convene a broader range of voices, including bringing in the perspectives of families and children themselves.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the findings of the papers (1) Capped and trapped: how the benefit cap makes it almost impossible to find affordable housing, and (2) An impossible move?, by CASE, published in July.

Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

No assessment has been made.

Our Back to Work Plan will provide further support and help to improve the lives of working people. People who are working and earning money are much less likely to be affected by the benefit cap.

Customers can apply to their local authority to be considered for additional financial support through Discretionary Housing Payments or the Household Support Fund.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government when they will announce their decision on the extension of the Household Support Fund beyond 20 September; what assessment they have made of how the current uncertainty over its continuation will affect local authorities' delivery of the fund, should it be continued; and what assessment they have made of the calls from charities and local authorities for a longer-term statutory local crisis support scheme in place of the fund in addition to local welfare assistance schemes.

Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Government has announced funding to extend the Household Support Fund (HSF) for a further 6 months, from 1 October 2024 until 31 March 2025.

An additional £421 million will be provided to enable the extension of the HSF in England, plus funding for the Devolved Governments through the Barnett formula to be spent at their discretion, as usual.

As with previous HSF schemes, the Fund will be made available to County Councils and Unitary Authorities in England to provide discretionary support to those most in need.

The HSF scheme guidance and individual Local Authority funding allocations for the forthcoming extension will be announced as soon as possible ahead of the scheme beginning on 1 October 2024.

DWP is conducting an evaluation of the fourth iteration of the Household Support Fund. This includes research with a selection of representative Local Authority case study areas, consisting of interviews with Local Authority officials and their delivery partners, and surveys and interviews with recipients of the HSF. This evaluation will provide key evidence on how Local Authorities are delivering the scheme, and their experiences of doing so, as well as the effectiveness of the funding for recipients.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that children with rights to British citizenship can secure their citizenship rights where hostile British or settled fathers are unwilling to support their child's registration or passport applications.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office regularly engages with local authorities to support them in ensuring that children in local authority care, who are not already British citizens, can make an appropriate application for registration for citizenship. Children in local authority care are not required to pay an application fee when applying for registration as a British citizen.

In most cases, local authorities have access to the information needed to establish the citizenship rights and apply for registration for children in their care. Where there are evidence gaps, the Home Office will assist any applicant by checking information held in its records to confirm a claim.

Following the implementation of the British Nationality Act 1981, a range of explanatory material was prepared to support those affected by changes made by the Act. This material has been maintained and now forms part of the content of the relevant GOV.UK pages. The Home Office maintains published customer guidance for every British citizenship and nationality route, and also provides a British nationality status confirmation service.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to fulfil the commitments made to Parliament at the time of the creation of British citizenship under the British Nationality Act 1981 that information would be made available to affected individuals.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office regularly engages with local authorities to support them in ensuring that children in local authority care, who are not already British citizens, can make an appropriate application for registration for citizenship. Children in local authority care are not required to pay an application fee when applying for registration as a British citizen.

In most cases, local authorities have access to the information needed to establish the citizenship rights and apply for registration for children in their care. Where there are evidence gaps, the Home Office will assist any applicant by checking information held in its records to confirm a claim.

Following the implementation of the British Nationality Act 1981, a range of explanatory material was prepared to support those affected by changes made by the Act. This material has been maintained and now forms part of the content of the relevant GOV.UK pages. The Home Office maintains published customer guidance for every British citizenship and nationality route, and also provides a British nationality status confirmation service.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to encourage and support local authorities to ensure that children in their care with rights to British citizenship have their citizenship rights confirmed or registered, including where necessary by confirming relevant information from records held by the Home Office.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office regularly engages with local authorities to support them in ensuring that children in local authority care, who are not already British citizens, can make an appropriate application for registration for citizenship. Children in local authority care are not required to pay an application fee when applying for registration as a British citizen.

In most cases, local authorities have access to the information needed to establish the citizenship rights and apply for registration for children in their care. Where there are evidence gaps, the Home Office will assist any applicant by checking information held in its records to confirm a claim.

Following the implementation of the British Nationality Act 1981, a range of explanatory material was prepared to support those affected by changes made by the Act. This material has been maintained and now forms part of the content of the relevant GOV.UK pages. The Home Office maintains published customer guidance for every British citizenship and nationality route, and also provides a British nationality status confirmation service.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of any disparities in Universal Credit sanctioning between ethnic groups between April 2023 and April 2024, and the reasons for such disparities.

Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

Statistics on the ethnic group of those who have received a Universal Credit (UC) adverse sanction decision from April 2023 to April 2024, are available in section 4.2 of the latest release of the Benefit Sanction Statistics publication and in table 7.1 on the latest data tables on the GOV.UK website.

However, these statistics are descriptive and as such do not facilitate consideration of disparities. To measure any disparities would require analysis of the sanction rate, which is calculated by dividing the number of claimants undergoing a sanction by the number of UC claimants who are in conditionality regimes where sanctions can be applied, at a point in time.

The level of ethnicity declarations for those claimants included within the sanction rate measure, which would be needed to assess any disparities, has not reached the minimum level of 70% in any month. The Department will continue to monitor the level of ethnicity declarations in relation to the sanction rate with the goal of publishing statistics on sanction rate and ethnicity once the 70% threshold is reached.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to improve investment in tennis facilities across the United Kingdom, particularly in deprived areas, in recognition of the achievements of Sir Andy Murray following his recent retirement.

Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

Sir Andy Murray has contributed a huge amount to British sport throughout his long career, both on and off the court. We know how important access to facilities is as part of the legacy of our sporting heroes, so people can try the sports they see on screen. The Government has committed to continue to support grassroots facilities across the UK.

As part of the Park Tennis Court Programme, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Lawn Tennis Association are investing over £30 million between 2022-2024 to deliver improvements to over 3,000 park tennis courts across Great Britain. The renovation works include the installation of digital access gates, court nets, fencing, re-surfacing, and re-painting - all of which aim to improve access and increase participation in tennis, whilst prioritising the courts in the most deprived communities.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they will take to ensure that the right to British citizenship under the British Nationality Act 1981 is not confused or conflated with the powers and discretion delegated to the Home Secretary to manage the immigration system including naturalisation of adult migrants.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

In line with the duties introduced by the Equality Act 2010, the Home Office undertakes an equality impact assessment whenever decisions are taken on policy relating to registering statutory rights to British citizenship. Most recently, equality impact assessments were undertaken when changes were made to Section 3(1) British Nationality Act 1981 and on the introduction of the Nationality and Borders Act 2022.

There are various provisions within the British Nationality Act 1981 that allow for children born in the UK to register as British citizens. The Home Office has published clear and easy to follow guidance for applications under each of these sections. Home Office caseworkers are trained to carry out their duties to ensure that those who apply and meet the statutory requirements are granted citizenship.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure that statutory rights to be registered as a British citizen under the British Nationality Act 1981 are exercised so that all children who are born, and have grown up, in the UK are recognised as citizens.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

In line with the duties introduced by the Equality Act 2010, the Home Office undertakes an equality impact assessment whenever decisions are taken on policy relating to registering statutory rights to British citizenship. Most recently, equality impact assessments were undertaken when changes were made to Section 3(1) British Nationality Act 1981 and on the introduction of the Nationality and Borders Act 2022.

There are various provisions within the British Nationality Act 1981 that allow for children born in the UK to register as British citizens. The Home Office has published clear and easy to follow guidance for applications under each of these sections. Home Office caseworkers are trained to carry out their duties to ensure that those who apply and meet the statutory requirements are granted citizenship.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what, if any, race equality impact assessment has been made of policy and practice relating to registering statutory rights to British citizenship.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

In line with the duties introduced by the Equality Act 2010, the Home Office undertakes an equality impact assessment whenever decisions are taken on policy relating to registering statutory rights to British citizenship. Most recently, equality impact assessments were undertaken when changes were made to Section 3(1) British Nationality Act 1981 and on the introduction of the Nationality and Borders Act 2022.

There are various provisions within the British Nationality Act 1981 that allow for children born in the UK to register as British citizens. The Home Office has published clear and easy to follow guidance for applications under each of these sections. Home Office caseworkers are trained to carry out their duties to ensure that those who apply and meet the statutory requirements are granted citizenship.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to increasing the number of black and minority ethnic families sampled as part of the Family Resources Survey to improve the available data on poverty among different ethnic groups.

Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

In the latest year [2022-23] of the Family Resources Survey approximately 11% of adults were black or minority ethnic individuals. This sample is large enough to provide income and poverty data breakdowns by ethnicity.

The Family Resources Survey sample is drawn by address with stratification of postcode areas by economic standing, such that the achieved sample is representative by economic status. The FRS sample is not drawn by any family characteristic, protected or otherwise, because only the address is known at the point of draw; the address’ occupants are unknown until the later stage of interview. Thus, there is no direct mechanism to alter the issued sample to increase the number of black or minority ethnic families.

We already publish accredited official statistics, including poverty data broken down by ethnicity, in the annual Family Resources Survey-based Households below average income (HBAI) statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)(opens in a new tab).

In addition, we use the Family Resources Survey data to publish additional low income data by ethnicity in the Ethnicity Facts and Figures portal - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk_ (opens in new tab).