Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they have taken since the Impact Assessment on Converting Support for Mortgage Interest from a benefit into a loan, published in June 2017, identified limited data on disabled claimants using the Support for Mortgage Interest loan scheme; and what measures they have taken to address the impact assessment's conclusion that the scheme was likely to have a disproportionate impact on disabled claimants.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI) transitioned from a benefit to a loan in April 2018. Support was provided at the same level as before, ensuring the same degree of protection against repossession.
SMI loans are not repayable until the property is sold and then, only to the extent that there is any available equity.
Since SMI converted to a loan, the Department has regularly reviewed the impact of the policy on its recipients, including on people with disabilities. In March 2021, loan ‘porting’ was introduced to allow SMI recipients to transfer their loan to a new property rather than repay. The primary purpose of this change was to enable disabled recipients to move home due to changes in their disability requirements. Further changes were introduced in April 2023 which extended eligibility to in-work Universal Credit recipients and support was provided after three months instead of nine.
Two separate research projects related to SMI have been conducted and published, in March 2022 and May 2025. Both are publicly available, and a copy will be deposited of both publications in the House of Lords library.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether Universal Credit should be increased for those aged under 25 who are living independently, in line with payments to those aged over 25.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
There are no plans to change the under 25 standard allowance rate.
This government is committed to rebuild opportunities for young people, so that every young person can fulfil their potential, and we are taking significant steps to support people to do so including through our Get Britain Working reforms. The under 25 standard allowance rate maintains the incentive for young people to find, and progress in work and the Department for Work and Pensions provides a range of support to help people into employment.
For those who live independently or have additional living costs, Universal Credit includes separate elements to support all eligible customers with these, including elements for housing, children, childcare costs, disabled people, and carers.
We continue to work in close partnership with other government departments to ensure that care leavers can access the right skills, opportunities and wider support, to move towards sustained employment and career progression. The Department provides a range of targeted additional support for care leavers including access to the higher one-bedroom Local Housing Allowance rate up to the age of 25, as well as tailored support through Jobcentre Plus. We review this regularly.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have considered piloting changes to Universal Credit taper rates for young people in supported housing; and what options they are considering to assist people living in supported housing to take on more paid work.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
People on a low income living in Supported Housing or Temporary Accommodation, receive Universal Credit for help with their daily living costs and Housing Benefit for help with their housing costs. Customers living in Supported Housing are also able to access higher levels of housing support through Housing Benefit.
The Department for Work and Pensions acknowledges there is a challenge presented by the interaction between Universal Credit and Housing Benefit for those living in Supported and Temporary Accommodation and receiving their housing support through Housing Benefit.
We are considering options to improve work incentives for residents of supported housing and temporary accommodation, while taking into account the views of stakeholders. Any future decisions on housing support will be made in the round, prioritising measures that best meet Government objectives within the current fiscal environment.
It remains the department’s priority to ensure that those who can work are supported to enter the labour market and to sustain employment.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to act on the findings of the Impact Assessment of Support for Mortgage Interest Loans, published in May 2025, including those relating to the experiences and outcomes of disabled claimants and other protected groups.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Since its introduction in April 2018, my Department has kept the Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI) loan scheme under review. As a result of this, improvements to the scheme were introduced in 2021 and in 2023. The first of these allowed loans to be ‘ported’ to a new property rather than be repaid. This was primarily aimed at disabled recipients who may need to move home due to changes in their disability requirements.
The research published in May 2025 concluded SMI had the intended impact on recipients, to reduce arrears and repossessions. There are no current plans to introduce further changes.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that specialist citizenship teachers are recruited and retained, and whether they will extend bursaries to that subject in line with other shortage areas.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Recruiting and retaining expert teachers is critical to the government’s mission to break down the barriers to opportunity for every child and delivery is already under way. The government agreed a 5.5% pay award for 2024/25 and a 4% pay award for 2025/26, meaning teachers and leaders will see an increase of almost 10% over two years.
We are already seeing improvement. The workforce has grown by 2,346 full time equivalent between 2023/24 and 2024/25, and this year has one of the lowest leaver rates since 2010.
Recruitment to citizenship initial teacher training (ITT) courses is unrestricted, allowing ITT providers and schools to recruit the specialist citizenship teachers they need. Citizenship trainee teachers are eligible for a tuition fee loan, maintenance loan and additional funding depending on individual circumstances, such as the Childcare Grant.
The department reviews bursaries annually before announcing the offer for those applying for ITT courses to ensure bursaries are focused on subjects experiencing teacher shortages.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure that citizenship is treated equally with other statutory national curriculum subjects in Ofsted's inspection framework, and that Ofsted inspections and public reporting reflect schools' statutory obligations to delivery citizenship education.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
This is a matter for His Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Sir Martyn Oliver. I have asked him to write to my noble Friend directly and a copy of his reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they plan to start the consultation on the proposed changes to the rules governing indefinite leave to remain set out in the White Paper Restoring Control over the Immigration System, published on 12 May (CP 1326).
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
We will be consulting on the new settlement rules later this year.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by Citizens Advice The real cost of hidden deals, published on 26 September, in particular the finding that people experiencing financial difficulty are paying more for comparable mobile contracts than the average consumer.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government was concerned that the Citizens Advice report found that people experiencing financial difficulty and those experiencing mental health problems were more likely to find negotiating their fixed telecoms deal more difficult. Officials have met Citizens Advice to understand the report’s findings in more detail.
We are committed to delivering a telecoms market which works for consumers, including clear and transparent pricing. Ofcom, the independent regulator for telecoms, has introduced requirements to make it easier for people to switch provider if they want to. Ofcom also accredits price comparison websites that meet high standards for accessibility, accuracy, and transparency.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the advisory opinion by the International Court of Justice published on 24 July 2024, what steps, if any, they are taking to prevent trade or investment relations that "assist in the maintenance of the illegal situation created by Israel in Palestine".
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
There is already guidance on gov.uk setting out the clear risks related to economic and financial activities in the settlements, and we do not encourage or offer support to such activity. Goods originating from illegal Israeli settlements are not entitled to tariff and trade preferences under either the existing agreement between the UK and Israel or in our agreement with the Palestinian Authority.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Lord Hanson of Flinton 4 September (HL Deb col. 918), what is their estimate of the proportion of newly recognised refugees who are single applicants and of working age.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office publishes data on grants of protection and other leave by age at initial decision in table Asy_D02 of the 'Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release' on GOV.UK. The latest data relates to the year ending June 2025.
In the year ending June 2025, 80% (41,574 people) of grants of protection and other leave at initial decision were to people aged between 18 and 69.
A breakdown by single applicant or family group is not available from published statistics, and the relevant data could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.