Asked by: Baroness Smith of Llanfaes (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the rates of poverty among people who are assessed as having limited capability for work and work-related activity, and who are under 22 years old.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
No estimate has been made because the sample sizes in DWP’s Family Resources Survey and Households Below Average Income are too small to provide robust poverty estimates for this group of people.
Asked by: Baroness Smith of Llanfaes (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the financial impact for disabled people under the age of 22 of the proposal to remove their eligibility for being assessed as having limited capability for work and work-related activity.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
As part of the Pathways to Work Green Paper consultation, the Government invited views on the proposal to raise the minimum age for accessing the Universal Credit (UC) health element to 22. The consultation closed on 30 June, and we are now considering responses.
No final policy decisions have been taken and full impacting will take place before any policy changes are made.
Asked by: Baroness Smith of Llanfaes (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the devolved administrations will be represented on the Pensions Commission.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Pensions Commission has been revived to examine the pensions system as a whole and look at what is required to build a future-proof pensions system that is strong, fair and sustainable. The Turner Commission achieved success through its national approach, which this Commission aims to replicate by ensuring the regular and timely involvement of the devolved administrations in Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland.
Asked by: Baroness Smith of Llanfaes (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what information-sharing arrangements exist between the Health and Safety Executive and other regulatory bodies regarding workplace sexual harassment; and what records are maintained of such information.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 (HSWA) sections 2 and 3 could apply to harassment offences in the workplace, but the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) does not apply HSWA where:
HSE’s long standing policy position is that it will not seek to regulate or apply health and safety at work legislation where another regulator has specific responsibility or there is more directly applicable legislation. As a result, HSE has not established any procedures to address workplace sexual harassment under HSWA.
Since sexual harassment in the workplace is not part of HSE’s remit, it does not maintain records of instances of workplace sexual harassment.
A specific purpose of The Equality Act 2000 is to tackle sexual harassment in the workplace and from 26 October 2024, employers are under a new legal duty to take reasonable steps to prevent the sexual harassment of staff at work.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission and the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service have published extensive guidance on sexual harassment in the workplace, provide advice to individuals and organisations, and will help individual people with their legal cases in seeking civil remedies to instances of sexual harassment. HSE works closely with other regulators to promote co-operation, share intelligence and where appropriate, co-ordinate on joint regulatory activities.
Asked by: Baroness Smith of Llanfaes (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what procedures the Health and Safety Executive has established to identify addressing workplace sexual harassment as part of employers' duties under sections 2 and 3 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 (HSWA) sections 2 and 3 could apply to harassment offences in the workplace, but the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) does not apply HSWA where:
HSE’s long standing policy position is that it will not seek to regulate or apply health and safety at work legislation where another regulator has specific responsibility or there is more directly applicable legislation. As a result, HSE has not established any procedures to address workplace sexual harassment under HSWA.
Since sexual harassment in the workplace is not part of HSE’s remit, it does not maintain records of instances of workplace sexual harassment.
A specific purpose of The Equality Act 2000 is to tackle sexual harassment in the workplace and from 26 October 2024, employers are under a new legal duty to take reasonable steps to prevent the sexual harassment of staff at work.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission and the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service have published extensive guidance on sexual harassment in the workplace, provide advice to individuals and organisations, and will help individual people with their legal cases in seeking civil remedies to instances of sexual harassment. HSE works closely with other regulators to promote co-operation, share intelligence and where appropriate, co-ordinate on joint regulatory activities.
Asked by: Baroness Smith of Llanfaes (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the rate of Universal Credit for young adults living in supported accommodation.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
People on a low income living in supported or temporary accommodation can claim Universal Credit for help with their daily living costs and Housing Benefit for help with their housing costs.
Universal Credit awards are formed of a standard allowance, paid according to age and household unit, plus help with eligible housing costs, which can then be supplemented with additional elements and premiums for groups recognised as having additional needs, such as parents, disabled people, and carers.
Under the Social Security Administration Act 1992 the Secretary of State is required by law to review State Pension and benefit rates each year to see if they have retained their value in relation to the general level of prices or earnings. Benefit rates are reviewed each year, increasing by 6.7% in April 2024 and by a further 1.7% from April 2025, in line with inflation. Around 5.7 million Universal Credit families are forecast to benefit from uprating in financial year 2025 to 2026, with an average annual gain for a family estimated to be £150. The Government has committed to reviewing Universal Credit and we will set out further details in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Smith of Llanfaes (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have closed the Welsh language provision of the Department for Work and Pensions bereavement service; and, if so, when and why.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Shadow Minister (Work and Pensions)
The Welsh language provision of DWP’s Bereavement Service has not been closed down.
The Bereavement Service includes:
Bereavement teams within Regional Pension Centres (RPCs) provide this service. A Welsh team in Swansea Pension Centre supports the Welsh language service. This can be accessed by calling 0800 731 0453.
Those reporting a death, who have a Tell Us Once Reference Number, provided by the Registrar, can report a death on-line through the Tell Us Once service, which is also available in Welsh [Beth i'w wneud ar ôl i rywun farw: Dywedwch Wrthym Unwaith -GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)] or by calling 0800 085 7308 and selecting option 1 to speak to someone in Welsh. For those without a Tell Us Once Reference Number, the death can be reported by calling the Welsh Bereavement Service helpline on 0800 731 0453.
The Bereavement Support Payment can also be claimed online in Welsh [Taliad Cymorth Profedigaeth: Sut i wneud cais - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)].
Information relating to Bereavement can be found on GOV.UK in both Welsh and English.