Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government, in light of statistics on statistics on child poverty published by UNICEF showing that over half of children in poverty in the UK live in families with a child under five, why babies and young children are not identified as a specific vulnerable group in the Tackling Child Poverty – Monitoring and Evaluation Baseline Report, published on 9 July.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government's monitoring and evaluation framework, and baseline report, commit to assessing how child poverty trends and experiences vary across different family types and demographic groups. Children aged under five are an important group of interest, as set out in the Strategy’s evidence pack, and will continue to be considered within the Government's ongoing monitoring and analysis of child poverty outcomes.
The Government recognises the importance of the early years in shaping children's outcomes and life chances. This is why supporting children to have the best start in life is central to the Government's approach to tackling child poverty.
Our wider support for families with young children includes investing over £900 million in Best Start Family Hubs and Healthy Babies, bringing together health, parenting support and early years services in a more connected, place-based model of support for families. Best Start Family Hubs focus on pregnancy and the early years, including the critical 1,001 days from conception to age two, helping ensure that babies, young children and their parents can access support at the earliest opportunity.
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 the impact on the employment of disabled people of reduced Access to Work support packages in the last 12 months.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
No such assessment has been undertaken. The support that a customer will receive from Access to Work is dependent upon their needs and circumstances at the time they make an application. Case Managers undertake a comprehensive assessment of the customer’s individual disability related requirements to ensure that the support provided is appropriate, proportionate, and aligned with the guidance and principles of the Access to Work scheme. This is also the case with any renewal applications which are also subject to a full review, including in cases where customers indicate that there have been no changes to their support needs. We are committed to ensuring that each case is considered carefully and fairly, with due regard to each individual customer’s needs and circumstances.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the latest visa and asylum statistics relating to (1) Cameroon, (2) Afghanistan, (3) Myanmar, and (4) Sudan.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The latest public immigration statistics show that visa applications and asylum claims for the affected routes and nationalities in Q2 2026 have on average fallen by over 90% and 70%, respectively, compared to Q4 2025.
The visa brake for Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar and Sudan will be reviewed by the Home Office after 18 months after imposition. This principally involves an assessment of the risk of future visa-linked asylum claims. It does not mean the visa brake will necessarily be lifted. The brake will only be lifted once the government assesses it appropriate to do so and it is clear that there has been a reduction in the risk of high proportions of visa-linked asylum claims recommencing on these routes from these nationalities.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government when the next review of the visa brake for Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar and Sudan is scheduled to take place; and what criteria and evidence will be used when undertaking it.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The latest public immigration statistics show that visa applications and asylum claims for the affected routes and nationalities in Q2 2026 have on average fallen by over 90% and 70%, respectively, compared to Q4 2025.
The visa brake for Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar and Sudan will be reviewed by the Home Office after 18 months after imposition. This principally involves an assessment of the risk of future visa-linked asylum claims. It does not mean the visa brake will necessarily be lifted. The brake will only be lifted once the government assesses it appropriate to do so and it is clear that there has been a reduction in the risk of high proportions of visa-linked asylum claims recommencing on these routes from these nationalities.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what their intended timeline is for the application of the planned reduction of the income tolerance from 25 per cent to 15 per cent for child maintenance calculations.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Changing the income tolerance from 25 to 15 per cent will require amendments to legislation that will be subject to Parliamentary approval. The Department is currently developing an implementation plan considering plans to bring forward the changes as Parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what impact, if any, the introduction of quarterly income tax updates as part of Making Tax Digital has had on the way the Child Maintenance Service assesses the income of self-employed paying parents.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The introduction of quarterly reporting under Making Tax Digital (MTD) has not changed the way that the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) currently assesses the income of self-employed paying parents.
The CMS continues to use HMRC income information for the latest completed tax year and does not currently use quarterly MTD updates as evidence of self-employed income.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Smith of Malvern on 17 July (HL1821), how they will inform stakeholders and parliamentarians of changes to Universal Credit as a result of the Universal Credit Review.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Universal Credit Review has been designed as an ongoing flexible programme of engagement, evidence gathering and policy development rather than a single review culminating in a final report. This approach has allowed the Department to respond to evidence as it emerges and take forward improvements where appropriate.
Any future changes to Universal Credit arising from the Review will be announced in line with established Government and Parliamentary processes.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether transitional protection will be considered for those affected by the 2022 changes to the long residence policy and current proposed changes to indefinite leave to remain.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The government’s proposals for settlement reform were set out in the Command Paper ‘A Fairer Pathway to Settlement’ (CP1448) and were the subject of a public consultation between 20 November 2025 and 12 February 2026. The Command Paper proposed there would no longer be a separate long residence route.
We received over 200,000 responses from the public and organisations and are now considering all responses received. This will help inform the development of the final earned settlement model.
Once the final model has been decided, the Government will communicate the outcome, including any transitional measures publicly. This will also include both economic and equality impact assessments.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the White Paper Restoring Control over the Immigration System (CP 1326), published in May 2025, what steps they intend to take to secure the status of children entering adulthood, including care leavers and children who have been in care; and what plans they have to secure those young people’s citizenship rights.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Secretary set out in the Immigration White Paper published on 12 May 2025 that the Home Office will ensure children who have been in the UK for some time, turn 18 and discover they do not have status, are fully supported and able to regularise their status and settle. This also included a clear pathway for those children in care without status.
In light of this commitment, we are considering the specific position of migrant children in care who reach adulthood without having secured immigration status and the support currently available to help them regularise their status. We are considering appropriate safeguards for these children, through our ‘children in care’ policy, recognising that many of these children may have been unaware of their unlawful status.
A range of reforms are underway across the immigration and asylum system, and the development of a pathway to settlement for children in care without status must be considered alongside these changes.
No formal consultation will take place. Instead, we will undertake targeted engagement with external stakeholders to help us to understand the challenges in this area and develop a policy solution which supports children in care without status while upholding the need to have a robust and coherent migration system.
Any changes for this cohort will complement the existing work already undertaken by our Public Protection Specialist Safeguarding Team in relation to nationality issues.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to A Fairer Pathway to Settlement: statement and accompanying consultation on earned settlement (CP1448), published November 2025, whether they have conducted the separate and targeted consultation for children in care and care leavers; and if so, with whom did they consult.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Secretary set out in the Immigration White Paper published on 12 May 2025 that the Home Office will ensure children who have been in the UK for some time, turn 18 and discover they do not have status, are fully supported and able to regularise their status and settle. This also included a clear pathway for those children in care without status.
In light of this commitment, we are considering the specific position of migrant children in care who reach adulthood without having secured immigration status and the support currently available to help them regularise their status. We are considering appropriate safeguards for these children, through our ‘children in care’ policy, recognising that many of these children may have been unaware of their unlawful status.
A range of reforms are underway across the immigration and asylum system, and the development of a pathway to settlement for children in care without status must be considered alongside these changes.
No formal consultation will take place. Instead, we will undertake targeted engagement with external stakeholders to help us to understand the challenges in this area and develop a policy solution which supports children in care without status while upholding the need to have a robust and coherent migration system.
Any changes for this cohort will complement the existing work already undertaken by our Public Protection Specialist Safeguarding Team in relation to nationality issues.