Asked by: Baroness Redfern (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government, in considering options for future welfare reform, what steps they are taking to ensure that their policies on welfare, employment support and health services are aligned.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
At the heart of our reforms is the principle that those who can work should work. If you need help into work the government should support you and those who can’t work should be supported to live with dignity.
The Pathways to Work Green Paper set out reforms to both benefits and employment support. Underpinning the changes to benefits, such as rebalancing Universal Credit rates, is our new guarantee of Pathways to Work employment, health and skills support for disabled people and those with health conditions. This brings our total investment for this group to £3.8 billion over this Parliament.
We understand that welfare, employment and health are connected – and that is why we are taking a cross-government approach as we deliver and develop our Plan for Change.
The Department for Work and Pensions and the Department of Health and Social Care have worked together on the 10 Year Health Plan. The 10 Year Health Plan will ensure a better health service for everyone, by setting out the vision for what good joined-up care looks like for people with a combination of health and care needs, including for disabled people. Furthermore, it outlines how the neighbourhood health service will join up support from across the work, health and skills systems to help address the multiple complex challenges that often stop people finding and staying in work.
We will continue to work closely with the Department of Health and Social Care, alongside other departments, as we develop our package of reforms in further detail and to ensure policies are aligned.
Asked by: Baroness Redfern (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to extend the Household Support Fund beyond 31 March.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Shadow Minister (Work and Pensions)
The current Household Support Fund runs from April 2023 until the end of March 2024, and the government continues to keep all its existing programmes under review in the usual way.
The Government has provided over £2 billion in funding for the Household Support Fund since October 2021.
The Government is committed to reducing poverty and supporting low-income households. Our approach to tackling poverty is based on clear evidence that employment, particularly where its full time, reduces the risk of poverty. In 2021/22, working age adults living in workless households were seven times more likely to be in absolute poverty after housing costs than working age adults in households where all adults work.
The Government is putting significant additional support in place for those on the lowest incomes from April. Subject to Parliamentary approval, working age benefits will rise by 6.7% while the Basic and New State Pensions will be uprated by 8.5% in line with earnings, as part of the ‘triple lock”.
To further support low-income households with increasing rent costs, the Government will raise Local Housing Allowance rates to the 30th percentile of local market rents, benefitting 1.6 million low-income households by on average £800 a year in 24/25. Additionally, the Government will increase the National Living Wage for workers aged 21 years and over by 9.8% to £11.44 representing an increase of over £1,800 to the gross annual earnings of a full-time worker on the National Living Wage.
Asked by: Baroness Redfern (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the efficacy of their measures to reduce long-term unemployment, and how many people previously classified as long-term unemployed have entered work since 2010, (1) nationally, and (2) in North Lincolnshire.
Answered by Lord Freud
Since 2010 long term unemployment has fallen by over a quarter of a million in the UK, and since the Work Programme began in June 2011, it has helped 459,370 long term unemployed people find sustained work. In North Lincolnshire alone, 1,550 long term unemployed people have found sustained work through the Work Programme.
The Department is continuing to modernise the way Jobcentre Plus delivers its services and has given responsibility to Jobcentre Plus Work Coaches – trusting them to assess the individual needs of people and offer the support and advice they think is best to get them back into work.