Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what are the current annual savings to the Exchequer provided by (1) the benefit cap, and (2) the two-child limit on social security payments.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The saving to the Exchequer provided by the benefit cap in 2021/22 – the latest year for which data are available - was £400m.
For the policy that provides support for a maximum of 2 children in Universal Credit (UC) and Child Tax Credits, it is not possible to provide a current annual savings measure and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
In our previously published analysis on the cost of ending the policy that provides support for a maximum of 2 children in Universal Credit (UC) and Child Tax Credits over the period 19/20-23/24 we estimated that the cost of ending this policy to be around £5bn up to 23/24.
The Government’s view is that providing support for a maximum of two children or qualifying young persons in Universal Credit and Child Tax Credit ensures fairness between claimants on the one hand and, on the other, those taxpayers who support themselves solely through work. Where they are able to, Individuals should consider whether they are financially prepared to support a new child without relying on benefits.
We recognise that some claimants are not able to make the same choices about the number of children in their family, which is why exceptions have been put in place to protect certain groups. On migration to Universal Credit families’ existing entitlement will be protected, so long as they remain responsible for the same children and entitled to benefit.
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, if any, they have to review the eligibility for Carer’s Allowance for young adult carers in England who are studying for more than 21 hours each week, to support them to stay in full-time education while managing their caring responsibilities.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Carer's Allowance was introduced principally to provide a measure of financial support and recognition for people who forgo the opportunity of full-time work in order to care for a severely disabled person for at least 35 hours a week.
The Government thinks it is right that people in full-time education should be supported by the educational maintenance system, via its range of loans and grants, and not the social security benefit system. That is why, as a general principle, full-time students are usually precluded from entitlement to income-related and income-maintenance benefits.
There are currently no plans to change the full-time education rules for Carer’s Allowance, but carers are able to undertake part-time education and still receive Carer’s Allowance.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact that living more than 20 miles from home has on (1) the mental health and wellbeing, and (2) educational outcomes, of children in the care system in England.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Local authorities have a statutory duty set out in Section 22(3) of the Children’s Act 1989 to make sure that there is sufficient provision in their area to meet the needs of children in their care.
The department recognises that there are not enough of the right homes in the right places for children in care to live in. The way that local authorities currently plan for, commission and provide homes for children is at times not sufficient. This can result in some children living far from where they consider home and can have a negative impact on their wellbeing and outcomes. We want to reduce out of area placements, but sometimes circumstances mean it is the right decision for a child to be placed outside their home authority.
Information on placements, distance from the home placement and the location of the placement can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoptions/2022.
In response to the urgent calls from the Competition and Markets Authority and the Care Review to transform the way care is provided to children, the government is working to drive forward improvements at a national, regional and local level to increase sufficiency and improve standards of care and regulations.
By 2027, we will see an increase in the availability of high-quality, stable and loving homes for every child in care local to where they are from. To achieve this, the department is supporting local authorities to increase care placements and ensure they meet children’s needs, with £259 million of capital funding for secure and open children’s homes. We will also review legislation, regulations and standards of care to ensure the needs of all children in care are met.
We are also investing £10 million to develop Regional Care Co-operatives (RCCs) to plan, commission and deliver children’s social care placements. Through operating on a larger scale and developing specialist capabilities, the RCCs will be able to develop a wide range of places to better meet children’s needs. This, in turn, should lead to improved placement stability and fewer out of area placements.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what measures they intend to take to prevent the transmission of malaria to asylum seekers who are removed to Rwanda.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
All individuals relocated to Rwanda are offered malaria prophylaxis treatment in the UK. Malaria medication will be provided via individual prescription to each individual, even if they refuse to engage with Immigration Removal Centre healthcare staff, which will include an additional 7 days' supply for use on arrival in Rwanda.
Upon relocation to Rwanda, individuals will be provided with the healthcare and other support needed to ensure their health, security, and wellbeing.
When in Rwanda, appropriate medication will be available to relocated individuals where needed, free of charge. Mosquito nets and insect repellents are also available and accessible to relocated individuals in initial reception accommodation.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support newly recognised refugees; and what plans they have to reconsider extending the move-on period from 28 to 56 days in line with the prevention duty contained in section 195 of the 1996 Housing Act.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
If an asylum seeker is granted refugee status, they gain immediate access to the labour market and receive advice to help them transition to the mainstream benefit system if they still require support.
We offer support through Migrant Help or their partner organisations. This includes providing advice on accessing the labour market through the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), providing advice on applying for Universal Credit and signposting to local authorities for assistance with housing. In some circumstances, Migrant Help may also book appointments for newly recognised refugees with the DWP to apply for Universal Credit.
Newly recognised refugees are entitled to housing assistance from their local authority and are treated as a priority need if they have children or are considered vulnerable.
The asylum accommodation estate is under huge strain and increasing the ‘move on’ period would exacerbate these pressures. There are no current plans to change the time period (of 28 days) for how long individuals remain on asylum support once they have had a grant of asylum.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Johnson of Lainston on 4 April (HL6685), how many previously unpaid Employment Tribunal awards have been recovered for claimants under the section 150 penalty regime since April 2016; and what is the total value of those awards.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Lainston - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
As stated in the answer to HL6685, data held on Employment Tribunal Penalties is derived from a live case management system used for internal purposes which has not been subject to sufficient validation that would be required for us to release this to Parliament at this time.
We will consider what data we may be able to publish on this subject in the future.
Linked to this, the Government is also currently reviewing at what point it is appropriate to start to use the powers that we have to name employers who do not pay relevant awards.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of employers who have been named under the Employment Tribunal naming scheme established in December 2018.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Lainston - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
As stated in the answer to HL6685, data held on Employment Tribunal Penalties is derived from a live case management system used for internal purposes which has not been subject to sufficient validation that would be required for us to release this to Parliament at this time.
We will consider what data we may be able to publish on this subject in the future.
Linked to this, the Government is also currently reviewing at what point it is appropriate to start to use the powers that we have to name employers who do not pay relevant awards.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Murray of Blidworth on 22 March (HL6242), what were the figures for each year from 2013 to 2022.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
Between 2013 and 2022, 30,055 people have been resettled to the UK through UNHCR resettlement routes. The UK ranks 3rd highest of European countries over this period.
The Home Office publishes data on resettlement in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on refugees resettled in the UK by scheme can be found in table Asy_D02 of the ‘asylum and resettlement detailed datasets’. Information on how to use the datasets can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbooks. The latest data relate to the year ending December 2022.
UNHCR resettlement routes include the Gateway Protection Programme, Mandate Scheme, Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme (VPRS), Vulnerable Children Resettlement Scheme (VCRS), UK Resettlement Scheme (UKRS), Community Sponsorship Scheme and the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme Pathway 2.
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 (1) the report by Women for Refugee Women See Us, Believe Us, Stand with Us, published on 2 March, and (2) the implications of their Illegal Migration Bill on the experiences of lesbian and bisexual women seeking asylum in the UK.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
An equalities impact assessment will be published for the Illegal Migration Bill in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they intend to take to ensure that young people do not lose track of their investments in Child Trust Funds.
Answered by Baroness Penn - Minister on Leave (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State)
HMRC has worked closely with Child Trust Fund (CTF) providers, the wider industry and the Money and Pensions Service to ensure that young people are aware of, and can access, their CTFs.
HMRC has:
Children with maturing CTFs also receive a significant amount of written information pertaining to their account directly from their account provider.
The government is committed to helping people access the savings and money they are entitled to and continues to explore new routes to reunite young people with their Child Trust Funds.