Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government for how many universal credit claimants the calculation of earnings includes a work allowance, broken down by (1) gender of claimant, (2) whether it is a single or joint claim, and (3) whether the claimant has children or not.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The table below provides the number of Universal Credit claimants in October 2024 where the calculation of earnings includes a work allowance, broken down by gender of claimant, whether it is a single or joint claim, and whether the claimant has children or not.
Single or joint claim | Gender | Children | Volumes |
Single | Female | Yes | 1,004,000 |
No | 57,000 | ||
Male | Yes | 107,000 | |
No | 39,000 | ||
Couple | Female | Yes | 620,000 |
No | 57,000 | ||
Male | Yes | 610,000 | |
No | 56,000 |
Note: the data in the table above is from Universal Credit administrative data from October 2024 and subject to retrospective changes. The volumes are of people who were in payment of UC in October 2024 and those with positive earnings recorded in their award calculation. The figures have been rounded to 2 significant figures. Those with missing values have been excluded from the figures above. We have defined single status and couple status according to their standard allowance amount.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many Universal Credit claimants receive the lower rate of the standard allowance due to being below the age of 25, broken down by (1) gender of claimant, (2) whether it is a single or joint claim, and (3) whether the claimant has children or not.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The table below provides the number of Universal Credit claimants who receive the lower rate of standard allowance due to being below the age of 25. The data is for October 2024 and broken down by gender of claimant, whether it is a single or joint claim, and whether the claimant has children or not
Single or joint claim | Gender | Children | Volumes |
Single and under 25 | Female | Yes | 110,000 |
No | 180,000 | ||
Male | Yes | 4,200 | |
No | 270,000 | ||
Joint claim and both under 25 | Female | Yes | 12,000 |
No | 5,400 | ||
Male | Yes | 11,000 | |
No | 4,600 |
Note: the data in the table above is from Universal Credit administrative data from October 2024 and subject to retrospective changes. The volumes are of people who were in payment of UC in October 2024. The figures have been rounded to 2 significant figures. Those with missing values have been excluded from the figure above. We have defined single status and couple status according to their standard allowance amount.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what statistics have been published regarding the gender of the bank account holder for Universal Credit since the 2019 publication Universal Credit Statistical Ad Hoc: Gender of bank account holder on Universal Credit; and what information is available, broken down by gender, of the person nominated as the lead carer in couples with children.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
There have been no further publications since 2019 on the gender of the bank account holder for UC.
A flag was developed to identify lead carers in our administrative data in July 2023, to enable us to monitor the rollout of the 2023 changes to lead carer conditionality. Based on data from October 2024, there were around 825,000 lead carers in receipt of UC with a couple claim: 87% are female, 13% are male. The tables below provide a breakdown of some further characteristics:
Characteristics of lead carers who are part of a couple claim on Universal Credit, October 2024
Age group | Under 25 | 25-34 | 35-44 | 45-49 | 50-54 | 55+ |
Female | 4% | 33% | 46% | 11% | 4% | 1% |
Male | 1% | 16% | 40% | 19% | 13% | 11% |
Employed | No | Yes |
Female | 57% | 43% |
Male | 44% | 56% |
Age of youngest child | 0-4 | 5-10 | 11-15 | 16-19 |
Female | 45% | 35% | 19% | 0% |
Male | 33% | 39% | 27% | 1% |
Number of children | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5+ |
Female | 33% | 39% | 19% | 7% | 2% | 3% |
Male | 37% | 37% | 17% | 6% | 2% | 2% |
Note: totals may not sum to 100% due to rounding. These figures are from DWP administrative data.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following the National Literacy Trust’s findings on the long-term impact of improved literacy, what assessment they have made of the economic and social benefits of investing in primary school libraries.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Education)
School libraries complement public libraries by giving pupils access to a range of books and other kinds of texts, both in and out of school. The national curriculum states that teachers are expected to encourage pupils to develop the habit of reading widely and often, for both pleasure and information. There are a number of strong links between reading for pleasure and attainment. For example, the 2021 progress in reading literacy study report found a 34 point difference in reading performance between pupils in England who ‘very much’ liked reading and pupils who ‘do not’ like reading. Additionally, the 2022 Programme for International Student Assessment study found that enjoyment of reading links to pupils’ reading engagement, that reading engagement was strongly positively correlated with reading performance and that reading engagement mediated effects of gender or socio-economic status on performance. There is also a strong evidence base linking reading for pleasure to other positive effects, such as improved text comprehension and grammar, increased general knowledge and character development.
It is for individual schools to decide how best to provide and maintain a library service for their pupils, including whether to employ a qualified librarian. Headteachers have autonomy to decide how best to spend the core schools funding that is allocated to them by the department. The Autumn Budget 2024 announced an additional £2.3 billion for schools for the 2025/26 financial year compared to 2024/25, bringing the total core schools budget to almost £63.9 billion in 2025/26.
Given this autonomy, the department does not collect information on the number of school libraries or school librarians.
The government’s reading framework offers non-statutory guidance for teachers and school leaders, including helpful guidance for schools on how to organise their school library, book corner or book stock to make reading accessible and attractive to readers.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the merits of extending the Financial Conduct Authority's remit so that it can tackle poor or misleading debt advice delivered by insolvency practitioners and individual voluntary arrangement firms.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government recognises the importance of individuals receiving accurate and reliable information when they are considering an Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA). When administered well, IVAs provide a debt solution to people who are not eligible for a Debt Relief Order, or who want an alternative to bankruptcy. However, if an IVA is unsuitable, it can leave people in debt for longer and result in further financial difficulty. Oversight of Insolvency Practitioners, who administer IVAs, is provided through standards applied by one of three Recognised Professional Bodies and overseen by the Insolvency Service.
The Insolvency Service is taking action to address concerns about the debt solutions market and expects to see swift action from volume IVA firms to eliminate poor practice. To support this, the Insolvency Service are also working with the sector to publish a new simplified IVA Protocol and key facts document to help consumers understand what they are signing up for. New guidance is also being published for Insolvency Practitioners on their control of cases. This is further to the 2023 publication of a new Standard for Insolvency Practitioners (SIP 3.1), making clear their responsibility to ensure consumers have received an explanation of all potential debt relief solutions so that they can make an informed judgement. The Insolvency Service continues to work to address poor practices through its ongoing review of the personal insolvency framework and continued collaboration with other regulators.
Debt advice providers, and debt packager firms which may refer individuals to IVA providers and other debt solutions, are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). In 2023, the FCA banned referral fees for debt packager firms to remove incentives to recommend debt solutions which may not be in the consumer’s best interest.
The ongoing collaboration between the FCA, the Insolvency Service, and other stakeholders reflects a concerted effort to enhance consumer protection in the debt advice and insolvency sectors. The Government will continue to monitor the effectiveness of existing regulatory frameworks.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will announce funding for a multi-year extension to the holiday activities and food programme to allow for more strategic planning by local authorities.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Education)
The department’s budget for 2025/26 will be confirmed in due course, including the exact funding available for this type of support for children, young people and families during the holidays. The current spending review is for one year, and a multi-year spending review will take place later this year.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many (1) disabled, and (2) older people, charged by their local authority for statutory non-residential social care and support have cut back or withdrawn from their care package since 2020–21; and what data they hold on the reasons for care package reduction and withdrawal.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Where local authorities decide to charge for the provision of care and support, they must follow the Care Act 2014 and the Care and Support (Charging and Assessment of Resources) Regulations 2014, and they must act under the Care and Support Statutory Guidance. The responsibility for interpreting and applying the law and the guidance rests with local authorities. The information requested is not held by the Government.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what information they hold, if any, on (1) which local authorities in England use external civil enforcement for the recovery of social care charge-related debt in cases other than in claims against estates and cases of convicted fraud, and (2) which local authorities in England disregard higher-rate disability benefits as chargeable income in the financial assessment of residents for non-residential social care contributions.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Where local authorities decide to charge for the provision of care and support, they must follow the Care Act 2014 and the Care and Support (Charging and Assessment of Resources) Regulations 2014, and they must act under the Care and Support Statutory Guidance. The responsibility for interpreting and applying the law and the guidance rests with local authorities. The information requested is not held by the Government.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what percentage of non-residential social care contributions income raised in 2023–24 by each local authority in England with responsibility for social care provision was collected.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Where local authorities decide to charge for the provision of care and support, they must follow the Care Act 2014 and the Care and Support (Charging and Assessment of Resources) Regulations 2014, and they must act under the Care and Support Statutory Guidance. The responsibility for interpreting and applying the law and the guidance rests with local authorities. The information requested is not held by the Government.
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 support local authorities to provide sufficient school places and support services for migrant children entering the education system.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Education)
All children of compulsory school age in England, including migrant children, must receive a suitable full-time education. Any parent, including parents of migrant children, can, at any time, apply for a place for their child at any school through the relevant admission authority. Where a parent is struggling to secure a school place in-year, they can contact their local authority for support.
Paragraph 3.14 of the Schools Admissions Code requires every local authority to have a Fair Access Protocol in place. This ensures that vulnerable children, including refugees and asylum seekers, and those who are having difficulty securing a school place in-year, are allocated a school place as quickly as possible, minimising the time the child is out of school.
Guidance on school applications for foreign national children is available to schools, local authorities and parents. This guidance can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/schools-admissions-applications-from-overseas-children.
As set out in the Kings Speech, in the Children’s Wellbeing Bill, the department is planning to legislate on requiring all schools to cooperate with the local authority on school admissions and place planning matters, and to ensure admissions decisions account for the needs of communities.
Local authorities also have legal duties to ensure sufficient school places. The department provides capital funding through the Basic Need grant to support local authorities in providing additional school places. We carefully target funding at areas with need, based upon data supplied by local authorities themselves, reflecting their local knowledge of all the drivers of pupil numbers in their areas, such as birth rates, housing developments and inward andoutward migration both from within the UK and overseas.
Nearly £1.5 billion of Basic Need capital allocations have been confirmed to support local authorities to create school places needed over the current and following two academic years, up to and including the academic year starting in September 2026. Local authorities’ allocations are in the attachment and published here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/basic-need-allocations.
The department’s Pupil Place Planning Advisor team also engages with councils on a regular basis to review their plans for creating additional places and to consider alternatives where necessary. When local authorities are experiencing difficulties, we support them to find solutions as quickly as possible. Where local authorities are failing in their duty, the government will intervene.