Scotland Act 2016 (Social Security) (Adult Disability Payment and Child Disability Payment) (Amendment) Regulations 2022

Baroness Stedman-Scott Excerpts

Thursday 10th March 2022 Grand Committee

Moved by

[Baroness Stedman-Scott]

That the Grand Committee do consider the Scotland Act 2016 (Social Security) (Adult Disability Payment and Child Disability Payment) (Amendment) Regulations 2022.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and Department for Work and Pensions (Baroness Stedman-Scott) (Con)]

My Lords, I beg to move that the draft Scotland Act 2016 (Social Security) (Adult Disability Payment and Child Disability Payment) (Amendment) Regulations 2022, laid before the House on 24 January 2022, be approved. I am pleased to introduce this instrument. Subject to approval, it will make some necessary legislative changes to prevent overlapping entitlements of the soon-to-be-introduced Scottish adult disability payment, with UK disability benefits.

In consequence of the Scottish Government’s child disability payment, very similar regulations were made in July 2021. As these regulations mirror, in relation to adult disability payment, much of the policy intent and technical application of the previous instrument, I hope that noble Lords will forgive me if I repeat much of what was said during the debate on those previous regulations. My honourable colleague the Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work brought this instrument before the other place on Monday, so there is little new to outline in my opening remarks. I am satisfied that the Scotland Act 2016 (Social Security) (Adult Disability Payment and Child Disability Payment) (Amendment) Regulations 2022 are compatible with the European Convention on Human Rights.

The UK Government are committed to making devolution work and to ensuring the transition of powers to the Scottish Government under the Scotland Act 2016. This is a long-standing commitment. As a result of the devolution of social security powers to the Scottish Parliament under this Act, the Department for Work and Pensions will need to update its legislation from time to time to reflect the introduction of the Scottish Government’s replacement benefits. Section 71 of this Act allows for the necessary legislative amendments, in this case as a result of benefits introduced under the Social Security (Scotland) Act 2018.

I am grateful for the opportunity to debate these regulations today. They will effect some purely technical, administrative changes. They will prevent overlapping payment of the Scottish adult disability payment and UK disability benefits such as the personal independence payment and Armed Forces independence payment. The instrument also includes some time-limited overlapping provisions for Northern Ireland.

Noble Lords will be aware that the Social Security (Scotland) Act 2018 established the legislative framework for the Scottish Government to introduce new forms of assistance using the social security powers devolved under Section 22 of the Scotland Act 2016. Specifically, Section 31 of the 2018 Act allows the Scottish Government to introduce legislation to provide financial support through its disability assistance for people in Scotland with long-term additional health needs.

The Scottish Government recently legislated to provide for its disability assistance for working-age people, which will be introduced from the 21st of this month. They are calling this “adult disability payment” and I will refer to this as ADP from now on. If the regulations are passed today, they will ensure that there are clear boundaries between entitlement to ADP and entitlement to a relevant UK Government benefit to ensure that there is no overlapping provision of payments. It will do that by making it clear that a Scottish resident cannot be entitled to a relevant UK Government benefit and that in the case of those who move cross-border, a DWP payment will not start until the day after payment of ADP has ended. This will not only protect the public purse by avoiding double payment to the same claimant for the same need but help prevent the need for complicated overpayment calculations and recovery. Furthermore, it is also in the best interests of the claimant, who will have clear expectations of which Government are responsible for paying their benefits at which point in their claim or award.

As just noted, as part of the offer, although ADP has residency-based conditions attached, the Scottish Government will continue to pay ADP for a period of 13 weeks after a claimant has left Scotland and moved to another part of the UK. This will allow claimants time to sort out new benefit arrangements, should they wish to, and the instrument sets out that a successful claim to a UK Government benefit will start the day after the end of that 13-week period.

Our intention is to offer later this year a similar facility for those moving to Scotland, and this is not the subject of these regulations brought before this Committee today. What are needed now are modest but necessary legislative amendments to avoid overlapping payments in order to both support the devolution agenda and strengthen a union that works together in the best interests of our shared citizens. The instrument also includes provisions on behalf of the Ministry of Defence to ensure that Armed Forces independence payments will similarly not overlap with ADP.

Finally, provisions have been included to prevent overlapping entitlement when a claimant moves to Northern Ireland and is in receipt of the 13-week run-on payment from the Scottish Government. I commend this instrument to the Committee.

[Baroness Sherlock (Lab)]

My Lords, I thank the Minister for introducing these regulations. As we have heard, following devolution of responsibility for certain social security benefits, the Scottish Government are introducing ADP for applicants ordinarily resident in Scotland. It will start to replace personal independence payment, PIP, in Scotland from this month.

The primary purpose of these regulations, as the Minister has explained, is to prevent overlapping payments of attendance allowance, DLA, PIP or Armed Forces independence payment when a claimant is getting ADP. We support the instrument and are pleased to see the Scottish Government using the powers transferred to them under the 2016 Act and subsequent legislation—although I express a bit of disappointment that it has taken such a long time for this to happen. It is critical that the rollout of ADP goes well, and that the transition from the current regime is smooth. Since these regulations are part of that process, we want to see them succeed and are pleased to support them.

The Minister mentioned that ADP will carry on being paid for a period of 13 weeks following a move from Scotland to England or Wales or Northern Ireland, to allow the claimant time to make a claim for the relevant benefit. When the Social Security (Scotland) Act (Disability Assistance and Information-Sharing) (Consequential Provision and Modifications) Order 2022 was discussed in the other place on 2 March, the Minister Iain Stewart said:

“At its introduction, adult disability payment will operate in broadly the same way and for broadly the same group of people as personal independence payment.”—[Official Report, Commons, Delegated Legislation Committee, 2/3/22; col. 3.]


So can the Minister tell the Committee whether the conditions for eligibility for ADP are the same as they are for PIP, or will someone moving from Scotland to another part of the UK have to undergo a fresh assessment to get PIP? If they do have to be assessed, is that classed as an assessment or a reassessment? There is a distinction in terms of time, as the Minister will know, and priority for processing a claim.

The Minister Iain Stewart also said:

“The 13 weeks is a safety net, and applications can be made in advance. It is there to ensure that payments can continue if there is some delay, so that no one is disadvantaged.”—[Official Report, Commons, Delegated Legislation Committee, 2/3/22; col. 8.]


The intention clearly is that there should not be a gap in payment between somebody moving from Scotland on ADP and coming to England, say, and claiming PIP. So can the Minister tell the Committee how long it takes to process a claim for PIP? Is she confident that 13 weeks will be long enough to ensure that there is no break in payment?

I dug out what I think are the latest official statistics, which were for last October, and which showed that clearance times for normal-rules new claims were 24 weeks from registration to a decision being made—and that is assuming the claimant was not one of the millions who end up having to go for mandatory reconsideration to get their benefit established in the first place. That adds another 11 weeks to the process. So can the Minister tell the Committee whether this means that, if someone moves from Scotland to England—just across the border, say, to Berwick—then makes a claim, and it takes either 24 or potentially 35 weeks, they will still get only 13 weeks’ run-on? What happens to them during those remaining weeks when they are still waiting for their claim to be processed? Also, does the comment by Iain Stewart about applications being made in advance mean that someone preparing to move from Scotland to England or Wales could make a claim for PIP while they were still living in Scotland in advance, as they prepared for their move to England—again, to avoid any gap in payments? That might deal with the problem that it takes longer than 13 weeks to process a claim.

I understand that applications for ADP will open at different times in different parts of Scotland. I think it will be piloted in some parts. Does the Minister know when it will be fully rolled out? If somebody were to move now from England and they happened to land in the bit of Scotland where it is being piloted, presumably they would have to make a fresh application for ADP. The Minister mentioned that the intention of the Government was to arrange this so that the run-on is a two-way street—so that, in due course, if you move from England to Scotland, you will get a 13-week run-on of PIP while you make an application for ADP. In fact, Iain Stewart said in the Commons that

“the situation does apply both ways. If a person in England claims PIP or one of the other benefits and moves to Scotland, the DWP would look to ensure they had an equivalent transition period.”—[Official Report, Commons, Delegated Legislation Committee, 2/3/22; cols. 7-8.]

But if somebody on 1 April were to move to Scotland and happened to be in an area where they had started doing ADP, would they get a run-on or no run-on? Would they suddenly find that their PIP stopped immediately and they had no benefits at all until their ADP was processed?

Finally, the Minister said something about the regulations also introducing some time-limited overlapping provisions for Northern Ireland. Can she tell us what they are, because I could not figure it out? I apologise for that and look forward to her reply.

[Baroness Stedman-Scott (Con)]

My Lords, I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Sherlock, for the points she has made. I shall try to deal with them.

I turn first to what happens to a person if they move now. While DWP is administering the existing disability benefits on behalf of the Scottish Government under agency agreements, any customer moving to Scotland will be handled as a routine change of circumstances. This means that these cases will continue in payment on the same benefits as now and form part of the Scottish caseload administered on behalf of the Scottish Government. DWP will continue to manage their claim until they are transferred to Social Security Scotland. The case transfer process has been agreed with the Scottish Government and claimants will not see any disruption to their payments.

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[Baroness Sherlock (Lab)]

I am grateful for the considerable information that the Minister has given me. In fact, I was not asking or generally complaining about PIP being slow, which is what she said. I do think that it is too slow, but that was not my point; my point is that everything about the description of ADP suggests that the intention is that there will not be a break in payment. The Minister in reply to me has just said that the 13-week run-on will reduce the risk of a break in payment, but it is the claimants’ responsibility to apply quickly. As she seems to be suggesting that a claim cannot be made until the claimant has actually moved to England, and if there is only a 13-week run-on, and even if she applies on day one, it takes 24 weeks to process the claim, even if she discharges her responsibility with impressive speed, it seems impossible to avoid there being a break. That is what I am interested in. What are the Government going to do about that?

[Baroness Stedman-Scott (Con)]

I think that I was trying to make the point, although I accept that I made it badly, that on the specific point that the noble Baroness has just raised I want to go back to the officials to get more detail, because this must have crossed their desks as a risk. If the noble Baroness will allow me, I shall write to confirm.

As I have said, the UK Government are working collaboratively with the Scottish Government to ensure that the two systems of social security will operate effectively alongside each other, and the required legislation that underpins them is delivered successfully for the people of Scotland and, where relevant, claimants in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The order highlights the importance that the UK Government place on the effective functioning of devolution. I commend the order to the House.

Motion agreed.

Women: Cost of Living

Baroness Stedman-Scott Excerpts

Thursday 10th March 2022 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Crawley]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to mitigate the impact on women of the rising cost of living; and in particular, the impact on single mothers in poorer households.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and Department for Work and Pensions (Baroness Stedman-Scott) (Con)]

My Lords, the Government are acting to support families with the challenge of rising living costs by providing £12 billion of support for this financial year and next, increasing the national living wage and cutting the universal credit taper. Through our Way to Work programme and a new network of specialist progression champions, we are helping people to get a job, get a better job and build their career, which we believe is the best route to managing living costs. In everything through Way to Work, we are cognisant of single parents’ issues.

[Baroness Crawley (Lab)]

My Lords, I am glad that the Government see the need for some intervention in response to this tsunami of rising household costs, but I have to say to the Minister, for whom I have a lot of respect, that it does not go nearly far enough, especially for lone parents, 90% of whom are women and 43% of whom live in poverty according to the Women’s Budget Group. Will the Government increase all benefits by 7%, in line with inflation? Will they reintroduce the £20 increase in universal credit and working tax credit equivalent, as well as paying the childcare element of universal credit up front instead of in arrears to make it easier for lone parents to re-enter the workplace? Women should not be shouldering this cost of living catastrophe.

[Baroness Stedman-Scott (Con)]

I thank the noble Baroness for her intervention. I say again that we are cognisant of and understand the issues faced by lone parents, not least in respect of childcare and the barriers that stop them getting into work. That is why our work coaches are there. I shall pass to the Treasury the exam question that the noble Baroness has given me; she will forgive me if I cannot answer it.

[Baroness Fookes (Con)]

My Lords, I hope I am right in assuming there will be some extra benefits for households subject to the benefit cap. If so, can my noble friend say what they are and, just as important, how easy or difficult it will be to access them?

[Baroness Stedman-Scott (Con)]

Claimants can apply to their local authority for a discretionary housing payment if they need help to meet rental costs. We have the flexible support fund to help people as well, and we have given help with energy costs, which are rising exponentially. Of course, I have not tried to claim those benefits myself, but I know from somebody who has that it is reasonably straightforward, and I am not aware of any backlog in dealing with those claims when they have gone in.

[Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Lab)]

My Lords, as the main managers and shock absorbers of poverty and inadequate social security benefits, women are bearing the brunt of not just the benefit cap but the two-child limit. When will the Government take the advice of the former Minister, the noble Lord, Lord Freud, and scrap these poverty-creating policies?

[Baroness Stedman-Scott (Con)]

I understand the passion with which the noble Baroness makes her points. All I can say, and I have said it time and again, is that I will take the representation back to the department and make it known, but I am not able to give the response.

[Lord Forsyth of Drumlean (Con)]

Will my noble friend look again at the report of the Economic Affairs Committee on universal credit and in particular reconsider the decision to take away £20 a week from the poorest families in the country? I understand that it is very expensive—it costs £6 billion—but that is because it affects 6 million people: 6 million people who are going to have to cope with these astonishing increases in bills, not just energy bills but bills across the piece. Surely, in the name of humanity if not in the interest of politics, we should look at this again, given that the Chancellor is getting increased revenue from the rising costs of petrol and other energy sources.

[Baroness Stedman-Scott (Con)]

Many noble Lords have made the point about the £20 uplift. To be absolutely straightforward and open, there is nothing I can say about it, other than that for those on universal credit the taper rate compensated for some of the withdrawal. There are moments when I wish I was Chancellor.

[Baroness Sherlock (Lab)]

My Lords, let me spell out what this is going to do. Inflation is running at record rates. The Bank of England forecasts that, next month, it will go up to 7.25%. That forecast was made before the war in Ukraine. Benefits are going to go up by 3%. Next month, the energy price cap will go up to £2,000. People are currently being offered £3,500 fixed-price tariffs. To put that in context, that is £67 a week. We give an adult on universal credit or JSA £75 a week to live on. How are they possibly meant to manage?

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[Baroness Stedman-Scott (Con)]

The noble Baroness’s explanation of the metrics is absolutely accurate. Inflation is gathering momentum, mainly because of pressures from rising energy prices and disruptions to global supply chains. We understand about the higher cost of living, but at the risk of repeating myself—I have no desire to annoy noble Lords—there is no comment I can make about what the Government may or may not do about the situation.

[Baroness Pinnock (LD)]

My Lords, here is a simple action the Government can take that will help the poorest households, many of which are forced on to prepayment meters for their energy bills. The cost they have to pay per unit of energy is hugely more than the average household has to pay. First, does the Minister agree that it is scandalous that we are asking the poor to pay the most? Secondly, will she force change on to the energy companies so that the poorest pay the least—the cheapest rate possible?

[Baroness Stedman-Scott (Con)]

In our debate yesterday the noble Lord, Lord Shipley, raised the issue of the higher energy costs due to the method of payment that many people face. I have agreed to take that back to the department, and I will do so. Again, I can make no promises. As for forcing change, I will have a good go.

[Baroness Meacher (CB)]

My Lords, yesterday evening, believe it or not, I hosted a dinner for those in the bailiff industry, as I call it, and they are expecting a veritable explosion in debt, because people on benefits simply cannot pay council tax and all the other things they have to pay. Does the DWP have an estimate of that huge explosion in debt? If not, will it please get that information, because it will need it? This can be resolved only by the Treasury, and the DWP needs its ammunition.

[Baroness Stedman-Scott (Con)]

I am not aware that the information the noble Baroness suggests we should have is there. She makes a good point, and again, I shall go back, talk to my colleagues and try to get that information.

[Baroness Altmann (Con)]

My Lords, many single women are older—including mothers—and in poorer health, and they are also at greater risk of long-term unemployment. What are the Government doing to address that issue?

[Baroness Stedman-Scott (Con)]

The Government are doing an awful lot in this area. Despite the unacceptable rise in the cost of living and all the impacts on people, we are working morning, noon and night to get people back to work—into a job, a better job and a career, so that they can be self-sufficient. The Restart programme really helps them to do that. It is intensive tailored support, which I am sure will have great benefits for some people.

[Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Lab)]

My Lords, the Spring Statement is due on 23 March, so will the Minister talk directly to Chancellor of the Exchequer to ensure that there is a one-off windfall tax on energy prices? They have risen exponentially in the last two weeks, therefore disproportionately impacting on women, households and, in particular, single parents.

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[Baroness Stedman-Scott (Con)]

Again, we have another question that is very Treasury driven. I have no doubt—indeed, I know it for a fact—that the Chancellor is well aware of the points that the noble Lord, Lord Sikka, has been making on this subject.

[Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (GP)]

My Lords, the 15 years from 2007 to 2022 are forecast to be the worst on record for household incomes. Is the term “cost of living crisis” really adequate for the situation we are in now? What we are really seeing is a long-term collapse in the financial stability of British lives; this is not just a crisis of the moment. Do we not need to take a different approach to offer people true security, particularly, as the noble Baroness, Lady Lister, said, single parents—overwhelmingly women—who are bearing the greatest weight? Do we not need a universal basic income?

[Baroness Stedman-Scott (Con)]

We have spoken many times about universal basic income, and I have heard nothing on the airwaves to suggest that it is being considered. I will finish this Question by saying that it is a difficult time, and that we understand the great challenges people face. Please do not think this Government do not care—because they do.

Guaranteed Minimum Pensions Increase Order 2022

Baroness Stedman-Scott Excerpts

Wednesday 9th March 2022 Grand Committee

Moved by

[Baroness Stedman-Scott]

That the Grand Committee do consider the Guaranteed Minimum Pensions Increase Order 2022.

Motion agreed.

Social Security Benefits Up-rating Order 2022

Baroness Stedman-Scott Excerpts

Wednesday 9th March 2022 Grand Committee

Moved by

[Baroness Stedman-Scott]

That the Grand Committee do consider the Social Security Benefits Up-rating Order 2022.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and Department for Work and Pensions (Baroness Stedman-Scott) (Con)]

My Lords, I am required to confirm that the draft Social Security Benefits Up-rating Order 2022 and the draft Guaranteed Minimum Pensions Increase Order 2022 are compatible with the European Convention on Human Rights and I am happy so to do.

The Social Security Benefits Up-rating Order increases state pensions and benefits by 3.1% from April 2022, in line with the increase in the consumer prices index in the year to September 2021. This represents an additional £4 billion of expenditure on benefits for pensioners and £2.6 billion on benefits for people below state pension age in 2022-23. In November 2021, Parliament passed the Social Security (Up-rating of Benefits) Act, which made amendments to the Social Security Administration Act 1992, setting aside the earnings link in the state pension triple lock for the year 2022-23. This was in response to exceptional circumstances caused by the distorting effects of the pandemic on the earnings statistics used in the triple lock formula. Setting aside the earnings element is temporary, only for one year. We are committed to reapplying the triple lock in the usual way from next year and for the remainder of the Parliament.

From April 2022, the basic state pension will rise to £141.85 a week for a single person. This means that the basic state pension will be over £2,300 per year higher in cash terms than in April 2010. The full rate of the new state pension will increase to £185.15 a week and additional state pensions and protected payments in the new state pension will also increase by 3.1%. The pension credit standard minimum guarantee for a single pensioner will rise to £182.60 a week and the rate for a couple will rise to £278.70 a week. The personal and standard allowances in jobseeker’s allowance, employment and support allowance, income support and universal credit will increase by 3.1%. Certain elements linked to tax credits and child benefit will be increased in line with those payments. The monthly amounts of universal credit work allowances will also increase in April to £344 and £573.

Benefits for unpaid carers and those who have additional costs as a result of a disability or health condition will increase by 3.1%. These benefits include disability living allowance; attendance allowance; carer’s allowance; incapacity benefit; personal independence payment; the carer and disability-related amounts in pension credit and other means-tested benefits; the employment and support allowance support group component; and the limited capability for work and work-related activity element of universal credit.

I am aware that the noble Lord, Lord Davies of Brixton, has tabled a regret Motion against the uprating order and I respect his position on the matter. The regret Motion will be debated at a later date, but today we must agree the uprating order to ensure that my department can introduce the new rates of benefits and pensions from 11 April.

The Guaranteed Minimum Pensions Increase Order provides a degree of inflation protection for members of formerly contracted-out defined benefit occupational pension schemes. It requires schemes to increase guaranteed minimum pensions built up from April 1988 to April 1997. As set out in primary legislation, a guaranteed minimum pension in payment must be increased in line with the increase in the general level of prices as at September 2021, which was 3.1%, or 3%, whichever is less.

To conclude, with the Social Security Benefits Up-rating Order, the Government propose to spend an extra £6.6 million in 2022-23 on increasing benefit and pension rates. Furthermore, the Guaranteed Minimum Pensions Increase Order increases the guaranteed minimum pension by 3% in line with primary legislation. I beg to move.

[Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Lab)]

My Lords, it was tempting to do no more than recite the contributions from the Conservative MPs who spoke on the social security order in the Commons, as they said much of what needs saying about this shamefully low increase in social security benefits in the face of forecast inflation of 6% to 7.25% this April, which will go even higher later this year following the horrifying assault on Ukraine. It does not take a mathematician to work out how a 3.1% increase will mean a significant cut in benefits’ real value, without even taking account of the differential impact of inflation on people on low incomes, who spend a disproportionate amount of their income on the basics of fuel and food.

The Government’s answer to the cost-of-living crisis has been widely criticised as inadequate and poorly targeted towards those who will suffer most, including by the Conservative MP Peter Aldous in the Commons debate on the order. A huge increase in fuel poverty is now predicted, despite the measures taken. Why have the Government ignored the calls from a wide range of organisations, including the Institute for Fiscal Studies, the Resolution Foundation, Citizens Advice and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, to raise benefits by 6%, 7% or even 8% in line with the anticipated inflation rate? At the relaunch of the book by the noble Lord, Lord Freud, Neil Couling of the DWP said that it would be technically feasible to do so for universal credit. Even if it is not possible to do this for other benefits immediately, recipients could presumably be given a delayed uprating or a lump sum grant in lieu.

Had the Government listened to us in the autumn when we debated the triple lock Bill, this would of course have been less of an issue, though at that point we had not anticipated inflation going quite so high. It is clear that the current uprating mechanism, based on inflation around half a year earlier, is not fit for purpose, as the Resolution Foundation, the IFS and Nigel Mills MP, in the Commons debate, have argued. Will the Minister undertake to take back the message that there needs to be a review of the uprating procedure?

To return to the immediate crisis, in order to understand just how damaging this uprating will be, we need to put it into context, as the noble Lord, Lord Freud, made clear in the debates on the triple lock Bill. It is a context in which benefits have been cut or frozen for much of the period since 2010. Families with children have been particularly badly hit, thanks to the two-child limit and benefit cap, described by the noble Lord as “excrescences” that should be got rid of. It is worth noting here that, according to the Child Poverty Action Group, of which I am honorary president, 180,000 families will see no benefit increase next month because of the cap, which has not been uprated at all since it was set in 2016.

Moreover, the withdrawal of the welcome £20 uplift means that the Government will have been responsible for two cuts in the real value of benefits in under six months, as pointed out by the JRF. It estimates that 400,000 people could be pulled into poverty by the April cut. However, the underlying issue is the inadequacy of benefits to meet people’s needs. I quote the Tory MP, Nigel Mills, who is a member of the Work and Pensions Committee:

“I genuinely fear that many of the benefits we have are now lower than people need, so a lower than inflation rise for benefits that are already too low leaves people in an impossible position … It should not be a big challenge or a contentious point of debate to want to ensure that the benefits we are giving the poorest in society are enough for them to live on”.—[Official Report, Commons, 7/2/22; cols. 723-24.]


There is plenty of research that shows that all too often they are not. It was a recurrent theme in the Covid Realities research, conducted by a number of universities in association with the CPAG. It underlined that inadequate benefits contribute to the insecurity that many people living on benefits feel. One participant, when asked how she felt about the withdrawal of the £20, answered that she was “terrified”. She explained:

“We only started to claim universal credit in the middle of the pandemic due to my husband being made redundant, so up until recently I had no idea we were in receipt of any ‘uplift’ … To be told that now all of a sudden £86 per month will be taken is horrifying.”


Another participant commented:

“I’d like people to think about why it was necessary to introduce a £20 uplift … Surely this is an acknowledgement in itself that the support given to low-income households just isn’t enough for them to live on.”


Evidence about the inadequacy of the benefits received by disabled people can be found in the NatCen report on the uses of health and disability benefits that the DWP tried to suppress but which was eventually published in an unprecedented move by an exasperated Work and Pensions Committee, although a whistleblower revealed that some references to “unmet need” had already been excised following pressure from the department. While overall the ability to meet needs depended on the extent to which recipients had other sources of income, those of limited financial resources reported often not being able to meet not only health-related needs but also essential day-to-day living needs such as heating their house or buying food.

The Minister in the Commons, Chloe Smith, disputed such a reading of the research, arguing that it showed that

“health and disability benefits … help to meet almost all identified areas of additional need.”—[Official Report, Commons, 7/2/22; col. 666.]

But helping to meet needs is not the same as being sufficient to meet them. The health and disability Green Paper made no mention of the question of benefits adequacy. As Minister with responsibility for research in the DWP, will the noble Baroness give us an assurance that the White Paper will do so, taking account of this research which was commissioned by the DWP? Will she take back the message that we need a proper review of the adequacy of social security benefits more generally?

In conclusion, the Minister in the Commons tried to reassure MPs that there was nothing to worry about because of the smoothing effect, which meant that this April’s inflation rate would be reflected in next year’s uprating. However, Torsten Bell of the Resolution Foundation dubbed it more of a “rollercoaster” on yesterday’s “Today” programme—anything but smooth. The Minister demonstrated his complete lack of understanding of what it is like to struggle on a low income. If you are already facing difficulties feeding your children adequately and keeping your home warm, it is no help or comfort to know that today’s rocketing inflation rate will be smoothed out in benefit rates in a year’s time. Indeed, some of those affected might not even be claiming some of those benefits in a year’s time, so they will, in effect, have been cheated of what is arguably rightfully theirs. I urge the Minister not to use the smoothing argument in her response because, frankly, it is cruel when parents and others on benefits are worried sick about how they are going to manage and she is not a cruel woman.

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The Opposition will not oppose this order, of course, but the Government are offering no solution to the severity of our cost of living crisis. Many people are now desperate; I hope the Minister will tell us what more the Government will do to help them.

[Baroness Stedman-Scott (Con)]

My Lords, I start with an apology. In my opening comments, I said the Government propose to spend an extra £6.6 million in the uprating order; it is actually £6.6 billion. Forgive me.

I thank all noble Lords who took part in today’s debate. I am not a bit surprised by the points that have been raised and completely agree with all noble Lords that we are in a difficult position. People are struggling and it is not nice to see.

The noble Baroness, Lady Lister, gave me my homework to take back to the department. I give her my word that I will take back every issue and make sure that people understand the sense of injustice that the noble Baroness and others feel. She and other noble Lords mentioned the cost of living. We have begun our recovery from the pandemic, but things have been exacerbated by the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, which is putting an additional strain on households. We are coming out of the pandemic and trying to work on that but have been further hammered by that position.

We have taken steps to ease financial pressures. The noble Baronesses, and the noble Lords, Lord Jones and Lord Shipley, will tell me that we have not done enough, but we have not done nothing. We have raised the national living wage, reduced the universal credit taper rate, increased work allowances and provided £140 million a year in discretionary housing payments and cold weather payments of £25 a week to up to 4 million people. These will have made a difference, but there is clearly more to do in the current situation.

The noble Baroness, Lady Lister, raised the point about the justification for using the September CPI figure. The Secretary of State undertakes an annual review of benefits and pensions, and the consumer prices index for the year to September is the latest figure the Secretary of State can use to allow sufficient time for the required legislative and operational changes before new rates can be introduced at the start of the next financial year. All benefit uprating since April 1987 has been based on the increase in the relevant price inflation index in the 12 months to the previous September.

As noble Lords have already said, uprating affects over 20 million customers and there are interdependencies across government. The DWP needs all benefit rates to be confirmed by the end of November, plus all the subcomponents of those benefits, so that the first IT system can be uprated in December. Any deviation will have significant implications for citizens, potentially resulting in underpayments or no payments being made. Given the volumes involved, the technical and legislative requirements and the interdependencies across government, it is not possible to undertake the uprating exercise any later than currently timetabled.

[Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Lab)]

If that is the case, how come it was possible to add £20 to universal credit at such short notice? If such a long lead-in time is needed, and I recognise that a longer time is needed for legacy benefits—but not necessarily that long—how come it was possible to uprate universal credit by £20 in a matter of weeks during the pandemic? As I said, according to Mr Couling of the DWP, universal credit can be uprated at very short notice. As my noble friend said, that is supposed to be part of its agility. There is growing pressure on the department to look again. I quite understand that it has been like this for X number of years, but we now have more powerful computers and so forth. I really think that the DWP should look at it and see what might be possible, because we may well be going into a longer period of volatile inflation.

[Baroness Stedman-Scott (Con)]

I think that the noble Baroness appreciates that the UC system is more modern and able to do things, but her point about the £20 uplift is already on my list to take back to the department. I will write to the noble Baroness and place a copy of the response in the Library.

The noble Baroness, Lady Lister, the noble Lord, Lord Shipley, and others raised the issue of inflation and anticipating peaks. Benefits are paid over the course of the year and looking at the peak alone is a little misleading. Any move to implement a mechanism to anticipate peaks would require a mechanism to do the same to account for troughs. DWP believes that this kind of complex adjustment mechanism is not appropriate. For shorter-term shocks such as the current energy price increases, the Government have other responses which do not permanently commit the taxpayer to fund higher benefits.

The noble Baroness, Lady Lister, mentioned disability benefits. The department is considering contributions to the Green Paper and it would not be right for me to prejudge now what might be in the White Paper later this year. I shall talk to the Minister for Disabled People, Chloe Smith, and pass on the points.

The noble Lord, Lord Jones, as ever, took us on focused journey to Wales. It is a wonderful country—I am sure that my noble friend Lady Bloomfield, who is no longer in her place, would agree. I would get myself into a lot of trouble, which I know the noble Lord would not want, if I started talking about devolution and what might happen.

[Lord Jones (Lab)]

So as to avoid trouble, would the Minister undertake to write as best she might on the points that I have raised, having put on the record not only points about devolution?

[Baroness Stedman-Scott (Con)]

I shall certainly write about the points raised by the noble Lord in relation to the uprating order, but I shall also try to do a little better and write to DLUHC and ask it to answer those points, if that is all right with him.

The noble Lord, Lord Jones, made a valid point about people not getting by. While I cannot promise anything—I can promise only to talk to colleagues—I am absolutely confident that the Secretary of State and others realise the difficulties that people are in. More than that I cannot say because I do not know, but the point will be made.

I say to the noble Lord, Lord Shipley, that the impact assessment refers to direct costs to charities and private sector organisations as employers. The order brings direct costs to the Exchequer but not to employers. The noble Lord spoke about people who use meters, the keys and how much more expensive that system is. I know that people are fully aware of that. It is not ideal.

--- Later in debate ---

[Baroness Sherlock (Lab)]

I thank the Minister; I definitely have not had that answer before. In her mind, then, what is the point of this debate?

[Baroness Stedman-Scott (Con)]

The point of the debate is to approve the order. Here we go.

[Baroness Sherlock (Lab)]

Perhaps the Lord Chairman will allow me a little licence. I understand why the Minister said that, but I want to get to the bottom of what it is we think we are doing here. So the computers are changed in December and, if either House rejects this order, the increase goes ahead anyway; it just does not have any legal underpinning. Perhaps I have been spoiled, but I am accustomed to thinking that, when the House is asked to take a decision, that has a consequence: if we say yes, something happens; if we say no, something does not happen. This is the first time that I have been aware of being asked to take a decision and being told that, if we said no, it would not make any difference. Does the Minister not think that that is a little unusual?

[Baroness Stedman-Scott (Con)]

Further information: if the House votes the order down, that is a sign that the Government must change the process.

[Baroness Sherlock (Lab)]

May I suggest a pay rise for whichever member of the cavalry sent a note in her direction? To be clear, we will not oppose the order. I just wanted that point to be clear and I thank her very much.

[Baroness Stedman-Scott (Con)]

I am not giving pay rises, I can assure the noble Baroness.

[Lord Shipley (LD)]

Before the Minister sits down, she raised two matters in response to what I said. Perhaps she would arrange to write about the high cost of meters. That might be able to be adjusted in the interests of those who are paying higher costs. It is the kind of thing that would sit very nicely in the Spring Statement. Secondly, I take up the issue of the impact on businesses, charities and voluntary bodies. Paragraph 12.1 of the Explanatory Memorandum states that it is negligible, but of course all those organisations will have to employ more staff to deal with the huge rise in queries that they will get.

[Baroness Stedman-Scott (Con)]

As I said, I fully appreciate the issue of people who use keys to pay their energy costs, which are higher. Let me take that back as a special project. I will speak to the Secretary of State, who I will see tomorrow, and she may well have a thought on that. When it comes to the Spring Statement, all noble Lords tell me to speak to the Treasury. I have nothing to tell your Lordships about the Spring Statement; we will have to wait to see what, if anything, comes out in relation to this. I take the point of the noble Lord, Lord Shipley, about charities, but that is an indirect effect, if it happens. I cannot add more than that at this stage.

The noble Baroness, Lady Sherlock, talked about poverty, a subject that we have discussed many times. The Government are committed to a sustainable long-term approach to tackling poverty, and to supporting people on lower incomes. We will spend £110 billion on welfare support for people of working age in 2021-22. With around 1.29 million vacancies across the UK, our focus is firmly to support people to progress into work as the best way to substantially reduce the risks of poverty.

I know that there are people who cannot work, and I know the passion with which the noble Baronesses, Lady Lister and Lady Sherlock, and others talk about us wanting to help that group. Our multi-billion-pound plan for jobs, which has been expanded by £500 million, is helping people across the country into work. I know that our new Way to Work programme has raised some issues. As I have said before, when I opened the jobcentre in Hastings, the staff were alive with the freedom that it would give them to do more, and in more detail, to help people at the lowest point of their lives. I trust those work coaches implicitly to do what they can and, more importantly, to feed back if something is not working so that we can fix it.

The noble Baroness, Lady Sherlock, asked whether I still believed a Statement that I made. Perhaps she can write to me, as I did not quite catch the context. I will be very happy to write back.

[Baroness Sherlock (Lab)]

If the Minister reads Hansard, that might cut out a stage.

--- Later in debate ---

[Baroness Stedman-Scott (Con)]

I shall do so. The noble Baroness also raised the benefit cap not being increased. Again, there is a statutory duty to review the levels of the cap at least once in each Parliament. I am advised that this will happen at the appropriate time.

[Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Lab)]

Given that we have asked about the benefit cap a few times during this Parliament, can the Minister tell us what the “appropriate time” will be?

[Baroness Stedman-Scott (Con)]

I am afraid that I cannot. I am sorry.

On support for people affected by the benefit cap, as I have said, our work coaches are cognisant of all these things, and I am sure they will try to find people work that helps them and alleviates some of the impact of the cap. Claimants can also apply to their local authority for a discretionary housing payment if they need help to meet rental costs.

The noble Baroness, Lady Sherlock, talked about the Private Member’s Bill. The Government continue to support this Bill and hope that it achieves Royal Assent in due course. I thank all noble Lords for their contributions.

Motion agreed.

Older Workers: Job Market Opportunities

Baroness Stedman-Scott Excerpts

Thursday 3rd March 2022 Grand Committee

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and Department for Work and Pensions (Baroness Stedman-Scott) (Con)]

I thank all noble Lords for their contributions. They have saved the best debate until the end of the day. It has been one of quality and challenge, which is a good thing.

I congratulate my noble friend Lady Altmann on securing this debate. She has been a tireless champion for older people, before and after entering this House, and speaks with great knowledge on the area of older workers, resulting in positive action. Her work as Pensions Minister is well known, but before taking up that post, she had already set the agenda for older workers as their first business champion. Her report A New Vision for Older Workers: Retain, Retrain, Recruit laid the groundwork for the Department of Work and Pensions’ 2017 strategy Fuller Working Lives, which we are still delivering through the 50Plus Choices team. I am delighted to respond to her question today and to provide details of the new and continuing work which the Government are undertaking on behalf of this incredibly important group.

To quote the noble Baroness, Lady Blake, I will run out of time. I am sure she will be happy at that point but, where I have not answered a question, I undertake to write to all noble Lords and place a copy in the Library.

As noble Lords have said, older workers are vital to our economy. The proportion of the population aged 50 and over is projected to increase from 42% in 2010 to nearly 50% by 2035, or 29 million people, so it is essential that the Government and employers make every effort to help and encourage this group with enthusiasm, experience and expertise to enter, stay in and return to work.

Firms with fewer older workers are missing out on the improved productivity, which all noble Lords have talked about, generated by social mixing and a transfer of knowledge between generations. When I ran my charity, I was always delighted when we had more mature members of the workforce with experience because when the younger ones were finding their feet and having those junior moments, rather than senior moments, it was great to be able to get the experienced ones to mentor them. I remember so well that some of them got into pretty deep water and the people with life experience helped them out of it. It kept them in the workforce, so I do understand that.

Dismissing older workers as being past it and allowing them to underestimate themselves is not just damaging to the individuals who are denied access to opportunities to grow, develop and earn. These attitudes are also damaging to individual businesses and to our economy—that was a very important point made by the noble Baroness, Lady Blake. We know that age diversity in the workforce is not just the right thing to do but that it can bring benefits to business, and many employers value the experience and loyalty that older workers can bring, as well as broader advantages such as fresh perspectives, knowledge-sharing and improved problem solving. I remember so many times when we had difficulties—which I am sure will resonate with some noble Lords—and someone would pipe up to explain what was done 10 years ago, which was really helpful.

I know that the pandemic caused catastrophe to some people’s employment but it has created particular challenges for the over-50s. Older workers took longer to come off furlough than their younger counterparts, and some of those who left have not returned to the labour market at all. Even before the pandemic, job-seeking presented particular challenges for older people. Evidence shows that those in this age group who lose their jobs are at greater risk of becoming long-term unemployed, and once they return to work, they are likely to earn substantially less than in their previous job. Data suggests that people aged over 50 who lose their jobs are twice as likely as other age groups to be unemployed for at least two years, which can mean that older workers are forced into early retirement that they may not want or are unable to afford. That comes to the point that my noble friend Lady Altmann made about people using their pensions to get them through that period.

I say to the noble Lord, Lord Davies, that I will find that TUC report. We will read it and see what we can learn from it.

The Government’s older workers agenda, which, as I have mentioned, was influenced and informed by my noble friend Lady Altmann, had been making steady progress in addressing these issues. Pre-pandemic employment levels for older workers were at a record high of 10.7 million and the employment gap between over-50s and the 35 to 49 age group was narrower than ever before. However, the pandemic has sadly reversed this positive momentum and we have seen encouraging trends slip into reverse. The Government are watching the data carefully and are determined not to allow this setback to become a backward slide.

Labour market support and demand is there. We have huge numbers of vacancies and I am sure that, around the country, among our more mature population, there are people who could ably fill them. We must help them to believe that and apply for those jobs. That is why I am delighted that the Chancellor announced a £500 million boost for the Plan for Jobs to ensure that more people of all ages, including those aged 50 and over, get tailored Jobcentre Plus support to help them find work and build the skills they need to get into work.

As part of this, the new Way to Work programme will ensure a laser focus on securing work for every customer. It requires us to use every interaction, every employer relationship and all the work provision we have available to help people achieve their potential by finding a job, and in doing so support our country’s recovery.

I know that there was concern that we were going to use that as a sanctions bonanza. Nothing is further from the truth. All the jobcentres that I have visited have welcomed this programme as a real opportunity to provide tailored support to all ages. I can assure noble Lords that nobody is rubbing their hands together saying, “How many sanctions can I do today?” They are saying, “How many people can we get into work today?” The package will provide more intensive, tailored support for older jobseekers in the first nine months of their UC claim. This extra time will allow work coaches to spend longer with customers, developing strategies to overcome any barriers to work that they might be facing.

My noble friend Lord Leicester mentioned employer engagement, which was of course identified in my noble friend’s report in 2015. If we are to help people enter or re-enter the labour market, our relationship with employers is absolutely critical. They are the ones who create jobs and know the skills they want, and we have to be really good at matching them up and supporting people not just to get a job but to stay in it. I always found that getting someone into work was good, but keeping them there was the best.

The Government send this message out loudly and clearly to employers, including through the current business champion for ageing society and older workers—I am sure that we can come up with a better title than that; I do not know what kind of brand that gives us—Andy Briggs, CEO of the Phoenix Group. The business champion does incredible work in promoting suitable employment practices and measures to support those with disabilities or health conditions to stay in, progress in or remain close to the labour market.

The noble Baronesses, Lady Barker and Lady Blake, both raised cross-government co-ordination. I am delighted to say that the DWP works closely with other government departments to bring together and advance the full range of projects that could promote better employment outcomes for older people. We collaborate closely on the mid-life MOT—I know that my noble friend Lady Altmann will be pleased about this—with the Money and Pensions Service, the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities and the National Careers Service. This helps people plan ahead to prevent health, skills and pension challenges for a fulfilling later working life, with information on pensions, skills and health. We work with the Department for Education to highlight the interests of older people in relation to the Government’s lifetime skills guarantee, which provides free courses for jobs and £375 million of funding for new skills boot camps, made available through the national skills fund.

I will answer as many of the questions as I can, but I hope that noble Lords will forgive me if I do not address them all. My noble friend Lady Altmann asked whether the Government would consider incentives for employers to create programmes. On that, I say: please do not just sit in this House if you have a good idea—let us have it. We will write to my noble friend with any other information we have on that.

My noble friend also asked whether the Government would consider ensuring that ageism in the recruitment process is not tacitly accepted, as appears to be the case now. When our work coaches work with over-50s, they sometimes take them to interviews—they do not let them go on their own sometimes—and do the sales pitch. So we are doing everything we can to make sure that age does not prevent people getting where they need to.

My noble friend asked whether the Government would consider a career-changer scheme. If noble Lords have any suggestions on that, we would love to hear them. I cannot answer all the questions on that. I know that my noble friend has encouraged me to ask the Treasury to do some research about taking money out of pensions. This is in my portfolio as the Minister responsible for research, so I will go back and talk to the team about that to see what we can do.

The noble Lord, Lord Davies, talked about the number of people who have left work: 41% of the people aged 50 to 65 who have come out of the workforce since the pandemic were using a private pension, savings or investments to fund their retirement, but they decided that retirement was now for them. Some of that is really sad.

My noble friend Lord Leicester, who is a very successful businessman, made the point that older workers are reliable and have a broad range of experience and maturity. As I have said, they also have a good influence on the younger workforce. I am in the bottom class for IT—my Private Secretary will endorse that—but I have found that more mature people are pretty good at it, to be honest. We should not make too many judgments that they are not. They can help young people.

The noble Lord, Lord Davies, talked about the mid-life MOT. It is a forward-planning exercise that is helpful to the people we are trying to help.

On the Plan for Jobs 50-plus programme, the offer, which my noble friend Lord Leicester raised, will ensure that older jobseekers receive more intensive tailored support, as I said. They will get the support from the work coach that they need in a flexible way. I know that Kickstart was raised in terms of putting more resources into it. I should be happy to have a meeting with my noble friend to learn more about that because we want to learn how it could be enhanced. We have that many programmes that we want to make sure that they have the best resource possible.

I will mention the noble Baroness, Lady Greengross, who is a noble friend to us all. What an outstanding career she has had in supporting older people. She has made the House richer for her membership and participation. I agree that we should treat everybody and not put them in little silos. I will now get a message saying that I have overrun. Do not worry. We have a national employer team who I meet on a monthly basis. The focus of our next meeting will be older workers. I will try and get back to noble Lords to tell you what the team is doing. There is no place for age discrimination. I just say to the noble Baroness, Lady Barker, that apprenticeships for older people are working well. I am pleased about that.

I finish by saying that the noble Baroness, Lady Blake, absolutely summed it up. Getting people into work is better for the economy and their health, and we must make sure that people are talking about their destiny in the workforce, not what perhaps might have happened. With that, I thank all noble Lords for their contributions.

Committee adjourned at 5.12 pm.

International Women’s Day

Baroness Stedman-Scott Excerpts

Thursday 3rd March 2022 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Anelay of St Johns]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they plan to mark International Women’s Day on 8 March.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and Department for Work and Pensions (Baroness Stedman-Scott) (Con)]

This year’s International Women’s Day global theme is “Break the Bias”, which encourages everyone to call out bias, smash stereotypes, break inequality and reject discrimination. The UK Government will showcase our leadership in supporting women and girls in the UK and around the world. Our key moment will be the launch of a new programme to support adolescent girls overseas with 21st-century skills to give them the knowledge and qualifications they need for employment and enterprise. The Government will also make an announcement on focusing on improving the workplace for women.

[Baroness Anelay of St Johns (Con)]

My Lords, in welcoming the way forward that my noble friend the Minister has laid out, I ask her to consider the importance of breaking the bias in places such as Afghanistan, where up to 12 million women and girls currently face the risk of severe malnutrition, particularly lactating mothers. For example, 100% of the households headed by women simply choose not to eat to make sure their children can. Can my noble friend update the House on what we are doing through our overseas aid to ensure that humanitarian relief reaches them and not the male members of the Taliban?

[Baroness Stedman-Scott (Con)]

The UK’s aid of £286 million for 2021-22 provides live-saving support to the most vulnerable. The UK is pressing the World Bank and its shareholders to allocate the remainder of the £1.2 billion that is in the Afghan reconstruction trust fund. This includes the release of £280 million in December, which helped to ensure that health services are accessible and available for women and girls and supported households to access food.

[Baroness Northover (LD)]

My Lords, does the Minister agree that a good start for International Women’s Day would be for the United Kingdom to be as open as the EU to women and girls fleeing extreme violence in Ukraine?

--- Later in debate ---

[Baroness Stedman-Scott (Con)]

I am sure that all of us support the point that the noble Baroness makes. I am sure that our Government are in dialogue with the EU to ensure that we fulfil all our obligations to help young girls in this terrible situation.

[Baroness Gale (Lab)]

Is the Minister aware—I am sure that she is—that there will be nothing on 8 March to mark International Women’s Day in your Lordships’ House, which goes against all our traditions over many years? Can she explain why the debate marking it will be held in Grand Committee nine days later on 17 March, by which time I think it will have become a little irrelevant? Can she ensure that this never happens again and that we have the debate in this Chamber? Could we also have Oral Questions relating to women on International Women’s Day, which again has been done for many years but which, because of the luck of the draw now that we have ballots, has become even more difficult? Would she be willing to work with me to work out a system whereby we can ensure that we have Questions relating to women in the Chamber on International Women’s Day?

[Baroness Stedman-Scott (Con)]

I will try to answer the noble Baroness’s questions. On the debate being on 17 March, I am sure—and I refer to my noble friend the Leader—that it is to do with parliamentary timetabling. I know that the noble Baroness and others are disappointed and I am even more sorry that the ballot has not gone the way that the noble Baroness wanted it to. In relation to 17 March, I am going to the United Nations on 14 March to attend the Commission on the Status of Women and the noble Baroness will be pleased to know that when I get off the aeroplane at 6.30 am on Thursday I will be heading straight back to the Chamber to share what has happened with everybody. I will make sure that I have further dialogue with the noble Baroness; I cannot promise for this never to happen again but let us talk.

[Lord Alton of Liverpool (CB)]

My Lords, the Minister will be aware from the debate in your Lordships’ House last night that there are still thousands of Yazidi women and girls who have been abducted, many of them having been raped in the process. She will know that a letter was delivered to Downing Street last September. That still awaits a reply. To mark International Women’s Day, will she ensure that the Government respond and say what they are doing to ensure that those still many missing girls will be brought to freedom and those responsible for the crimes will be brought to justice?

[Baroness Stedman-Scott (Con)]

The situation that the noble Lord describes is truly shocking. I can confirm that the UK advocated strongly for the passage through Parliament of the Yazidi survivors’ law, which formally recognises the terrible crimes that the Daesh community has committed against humanity. We have established a general directorate for Yazidi survivors’ affairs, which is responsible for searching for survivors who are still missing and for co-ordinating with judicial and investigative bodies. I will try to find out when the noble Lord is going to get a reply to that letter and will get straight back to him.

[Baroness Boycott (CB)]

My Lords, 50 years ago, when we founded Spare Rib and the first women’s refuge was set up in Chiswick High Street by Erin Pizzey, 1.6 women a week were killed by their partner or previous partner in England and Wales; the figure today is two a week. Can anyone imagine 104 women all on Parliament Square all being killed at the same time? This is a huge crime that goes largely unremarked on. What are the Government doing this year to support these women, to change some of the culture in the police and to take domestic violence more seriously? Let us not be looking at higher figure in 50 years’ time.

[Baroness Stedman-Scott (Con)]

Domestic violence is a subject that is near to everybody’s heart and we are doing all we can to support people to ensure that we do not have the situation described by the noble Baroness. I cannot answer for what the police are doing but I will go back to my noble friend Lady Williams and ask her to reply directly to the noble Baroness’s question.

[Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean (Lab)]

My Lords, I voice my concerns, as my noble friend has done, that this House is not celebrating International Women’s Day on International Women’s Day. It seems quite extraordinary. Can the Minister address the continuing ghastly practice of female genital mutilation, which is still very widely practised around the world? Can she say what active steps are being taken by Her Majesty’s Government to deal with that? There are two points: one, it seems extraordinary that a parliamentary session should not celebrate such an important day and, two, what are we doing about FGM?

[Baroness Stedman-Scott (Con)]

The message has been received from both noble Baronesses about celebrating on the day. As I say, I believe it is about parliamentary timetabling. I am sorry, I can tell the noble Baroness only what I understand but I will come back to her and confirm that. FGM is a detestable activity and the Government significantly strengthened the law on it in 2015. We introduced a new offence of failing to protect girls, extended the reach of extraterritorial offences and introduced life-long immunity for victims of FGM. Ministry of Justice data shows that almost 700 FGM protection orders have been issued since their introduction.

[Baroness Fookes (Con)]

My Lords, are the Government sufficiently aware of the problems faced by women already living in this country who do not speak English—and the many who will come in as refugees in a similar position—which handicaps all of them in terms of their rights and their career opportunities? Are the Government doing anything practical to help this situation?

[Baroness Stedman-Scott (Con)]

I am very pleased to say that we recognise that the ability to speak English is key to helping refugees integrate into life in England. It is absolutely fundamental to them being able to work and to have a productive life. That is why the Home Office is working closely with other departments to ensure that mainstream English language provision meets the needs of refugees. The Home Office provides £850 for each individual resettled in the country to help them develop their English.

[Baroness Wilcox of Newport (Lab)]

My Lords, the Association of British Insurers has reported that on this International Women’s Day there remain key areas where action can and should be taken to ensure gender parity in the world of work by reducing gender pay and seniority gaps, and in society by addressing gender pensions gaps and inequality. Can the Minister tell us how the Government, through their policies and legislation, intend to plug these serious gaps for women in work and in our wider society?

[Baroness Stedman-Scott (Con)]

The noble Baroness raises a really important point. I point out that the gender pay gap has fallen significantly under this Government, there are 1.9 million more women in work since 2010, and a higher percentage of women are on FTSE 350 company boards than ever before. In my role as Minister for Women I have been working with the Women’s Business Council—this issue is very important to it—and the Alison Rose review. I would be very happy to have a meeting with the noble Baroness and share more details.

Mesothelioma Lump Sum Payments (Conditions and Amounts) (Amendment) Regulations 2022

Baroness Stedman-Scott Excerpts

Wednesday 2nd March 2022 Lords Chamber

Moved by

[Baroness Stedman-Scott]

That the draft Regulations laid before the House on 13 January be approved.

Considered in Grand Committee on 23 February.

Motions agreed.

Occupational Pension Schemes (Collective Money Purchase Schemes) Regulations 2022

Baroness Stedman-Scott Excerpts

Wednesday 2nd March 2022 Lords Chamber

Moved by

[Baroness Stedman-Scott]

That the draft Regulations laid before the House on 17 January be approved.

Relevant document: 28th Report from the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee. Considered in Grand Committee on 23 February.

Motion agreed.

Pneumoconiosis etc. (Workers’ Compensation) (Payment of Claims) (Amendment) Regulations 2022

Baroness Stedman-Scott Excerpts

Wednesday 23rd February 2022 Grand Committee

Moved by

[Baroness Stedman-Scott]

That the Grand Committee do consider the Pneumoconiosis etc. (Workers’ Compensation) (Payment of Claims) (Amendment) Regulations 2022.

Motion agreed.

Mesothelioma Lump Sum Payments (Conditions and Amounts) (Amendment) Regulations 2022

Baroness Stedman-Scott Excerpts

Wednesday 23rd February 2022 Grand Committee

Moved by

[Baroness Stedman-Scott]

That the Grand Committee do consider the Mesothelioma Lump Sum Payments (Conditions and Amounts) (Amendment) Regulations 2022.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and Department for Work and Pensions (Baroness Stedman-Scott) (Con)]

My Lords, these statutory instruments will increase the value of lump sum awards payable under the Pneumoconiosis etc. (Workers’ Compensation) Act 1979 and the diffuse mesothelioma payment scheme, which was established by the Child Maintenance and Other Payments Act 2008.

These two schemes stand apart from the main social security benefits uprating procedure. However, through these statutory instruments, we will increase the amounts payable by the September 2021 consumer prices index of 3.1%. This is the same rate that is being applied to industrial injuries disablement benefit and other disability benefits under the main social security uprating provisions. These new amounts will be paid to those who satisfy the conditions of entitlement for the first time on or after 1 April 2022.

The Government recognise the tremendous suffering of individuals and their families caused by the serious and often fatal diseases resulting from exposure to asbestos or other listed agents. The individuals affected, and their families, may not be able to bring a successful claim for civil damages in relation to their disease. This is mainly due to the long latency period of their condition and the fact that their former employer may no longer exist. They can, however, still claim compensation through these schemes.

These schemes also aim, where possible, to ensure that people with prescribed diseases receive compensation in their lifetime while they themselves can still benefit from it, without first having to await the outcome of civil litigation, which can take a long time. While improvements in health and safety procedures have restricted the use of asbestos and provided a safer environment for its handling, the legacy of its widespread use is still with us. That is why we are ensuring that financial compensation from these schemes is available to those affected.

I will briefly summarise the specific purpose of the two compensation schemes. The Pneumoconiosis etc. (Workers’ Compensation) Act 1979 scheme—which for simplicity I shall refer to as the 1979 Act scheme—provides a lump sum compensation payment to individuals who have one of five dust-related respiratory diseases covered by the scheme, who are unable to claim damages from employers because they have gone out of business and who have not brought any action against another party for damages. The five diseases covered by the 1979 Act scheme are diffuse mesothelioma, bilateral diffuse pleural thickening, pneumoconiosis, byssinosis and primary carcinoma of the lung, if accompanied by asbestosis or bilateral diffuse pleural thickening.

The 2008 mesothelioma lump-sum payments scheme, which I will refer to as the 2008 scheme, was introduced to provide compensation to people who contracted diffuse mesothelioma but who were unable to claim compensation under the 1979 Act because, for example, they were self-employed or their exposure to asbestos was not due to their work. The 2008 scheme allows payments to be made quickly to people with diffuse mesothelioma at their time of greatest need. Under each scheme, a claim can be made by a dependant if the person with the disease has died before being able to make a claim.

The rates payable under the 1979 Act scheme are based on the level of the disablement assessment and the age of the person with the prescribed disease at the time the disease is diagnosed. The highest amounts are paid to those diagnosed at an early age and with the highest level of disablement. All payments for diffuse mesothelioma under the 1979 Act scheme are automatically made at the 100% disablement rate, the highest rate of payment, reflecting the serious nature of the disease. Similarly, all payments for this condition under the 2008 scheme are made at the 100% disablement rate and based on age, with the highest payments going to the youngest people with the disease. In the last full year for which data is available, April 2020 to March 2021, 2,270 awards were paid under the 1979 Act, totalling £34.4 million, and 400 people received payments under the 2008 Act, totalling £8 million. Overall, 2,670 awards were made across both schemes in 2020-21 and expenditure was £42.4 million.

As noble Lords will be aware, the Covid-19 pandemic has presented unprecedented challenges across government. I am particularly mindful of the tremendous impact it has had on many of our most vulnerable customers. I would like to share some actions we have taken to try and maintain services for customers during this time.

In March 2020 we temporarily suspended all face-to-face assessments to protect the health of claimants and staff. In order to qualify for payment under the 1979 Act, customers must have an entitlement to IIDB, so some customers will have been impacted by the suspension of face-to-face assessments. We have continued to process IIDB claims for people with fast-track prescribed diseases within average processing times, as those claims can be assessed on paper without the need for a face-to-face assessment.

To minimise disruption to our most vulnerable customers, we also introduced changes to the pre-pandemic processes of both DWP and our assessment provider, CHDA. These changes enabled DWP to undertake in-house reviews and enabled CHDA to increase paper-based assessments for some respiratory disease cases and undertake small volumes of video assessments for customers with specific claims and conditions.

Face-to-face IIDB assessments resumed for most customers in April 2021. However, we are continuing to assess some people on paper evidence wherever possible. Journey times for some claimants will have been increased because of this increase in paper-based assessments. Our healthcare providers are having to submit more requests for supporting medical evidence from the NHS, such as new X-rays and scans. This process can take some time in normal circumstances, but with the additional pressures on the healthcare sector it is taking longer than usual.

While a paper-based scheme and a limited number of video assessments will continue to be appropriate for some of our claimants, they will not be suitable for all. Face-to-face examinations are usually required for IIDB to confirm the nature and severity of disablement an individual may have. For example, disablement may need to be confirmed by testing lung function. These assessments can often be made only with the claimant present and can involve spending an hour, sometimes longer, in an enclosed private space with a healthcare professional. For this reason, some of the respiratory disease claims that cannot be assessed by paper continued to be suspended until earlier this year due to the additional risks in undertaking these assessments. They have now resumed with extra safety measures in place.

As a result of delays, some customers making claims for the lump-sum schemes will have had a birthday while waiting for an assessment, meaning that their award was at a lower rate. To ensure that no customer was unfairly disadvantaged as a result, from 19 August we began to award one-off special payments to put these claimants back into the position they would have been in had they not been affected by the suspension of services.

I turn now to lung health more generally. While we expect the number of people diagnosed with mesothelioma to begin to fall in the coming years, this Government are well aware that there will still be many people who develop this and other debilitating respiratory diseases in the coming years. That is why we are committed to working with our agencies and arm’s-length bodies to improve the lives of people with respiratory diseases.

The Covid-19 pandemic has presented major challenges for all healthcare systems. The NHS published a Cancer Services Recovery Plan, which was developed with the Cancer Recovery Taskforce. The plan aims to prioritise long-term plan commitments, which identified respiratory disease as a clinical priority, and will support recovery, including the delivery of targeted lung health checks.

We remain committed to returning the number of people waiting over 62 days to start treatment to pre-pandemic levels, as per the 2022-23 planning guidance, and to continuing to increase referrals by encouraging patients to come forward. Additional funding of £1.5 billion has been confirmed for expanding treatment capacity across all elective care next year, and £2.3 billion for diagnostics over the next three years. The plan makes it clear that cancer will be a priority for that funding. We need to work together to make sure that this happens. There is a focus on personalised stratified follow-up as part of out-patient transformation. Cancer has been identified as leading the way on patient-initiated follow-up, and the strategy sets out plans for all specialities to develop this.

The 2021/22 Priorities and Operational Planning Guidance, published by the NHS in March 2021, includes plans for tackling the backlog of non-urgent treatment, such as services for lung disease patients, as well as plans that aim to stabilise total waiting lists and eliminate waiting times of two years or more. The Department of Health and Social Care has made available £1.5 billion to assist local teams to increase their capacity and invest in other measures to achieve these priorities. The spending review 2021 announced £2.3 billion to increase the volume of diagnostic activity and open community diagnostic centres to provide more clinical tests for patients, including those with lung diseases.

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[Baroness Wilcox of Newport (Lab)]

My Lords, I thank the Minister for introducing these regulations to the Committee and I am pleased to hear her references to additional support for people during the Covid-19 pandemic, which may otherwise have left them severely disadvantaged. However, more can always be done.

We have heard that the Government have decided to increase the amounts set out in the mesothelioma lump sum payments regulations by 3.1%, the rate of inflation as measured in September 2021 by the CPI. I will not repeat the figures quoted by the noble Baroness, Lady Janke, but I concur with her points regarding the gaps between this uprating and the exponential increases in the cost of living. This is an extremely vulnerable group of people in our society. I urge the Minister to look again.

Current high death rates among males aged 70 and above reflect the fact that this generation had the greatest potential for asbestos exposure in younger working life during the period of peak asbestos use in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. Death rates among those under 65 have now been falling for some time. The most recent deaths in this younger age group are among the generation who started working life during the 1970s or later, when asbestos exposures were starting to be much more tightly controlled.

These kinds of diseases are a result of our industrial past and today I am proud to put in the official record the name of one south Wales miner who toiled underground man and boy to bring wealth and prosperity to the whole UK from the 1950s to the 1980s, until the year-long miners’ strike put paid to future employment for him and many like him. He was my dear late stepfather, Terrence John Howells, who luckily escaped the wrath of lung disease but was taken early by ischemic heart disease after a lifetime of working hard in the harshest of conditions underground, his face and hands covered in blue scars that were the permanent reminders of the toll that that industry left upon its workers.

Pneumoconiosis, in particular—also known as dust or black lung—was another industrial disease known as a silent killer, clogging and destroying the tissue of lungs and robbing thousands of men in particular of their futures. It was more prevalent in south Wales than anywhere else in the UK because of the young age at which mining was embarked on there. It ensured that families would see their fathers, husbands, brothers and sons fade through slow and painful illness. These compensation measures we are discussing must never be spoken about without remembering the context of the suffering of so many families and the consequences of these dreadful industrial diseases.

As well as reflecting on our industrial past and what people gave and endured in working in heavy industry, we must also reflect on the negligence towards health and safety matters. We need a strong Health and Safety Executive, but the number of health and safety inspectors has dropped by a third under this Government. There were 1,495 inspectors with the Health and Safety Executive in 2009-10, but just 978 in 2017-18, after falling every year in a row. Funding was slashed from £239 million to £136 million over the same period. Can the Minister tell us how confident she is that the HSE is sufficiently well resourced both to manage the risks to employees as we move out of the pandemic and to be mindful of the health risks we may encounter in the future, so that future generations will be better protected than my dear stepfather and his comrades were in their working lives?

In her speech on this matter last year my noble friend Lady Sherlock raised several important issues with the Minister that remain unaddressed a year later, so I will reiterate them on her behalf. There is a lack of parity between the levels of compensation being offered to sufferers and to their dependants, and we look forward to hearing a restatement of the Government’s rationale for this decision. Similarly, will she address the impact of disparity on women, who are often the dependants? Is there a cost estimate of providing equal payments? I look forward to the Minister’s response to these questions.

[Baroness Stedman-Scott (Con)]

My Lords, as the noble Baroness, Lady Wilcox, reminded us of her relative, I start by saying that this is about people—people who contracted the disease through no fault of their own. We must be mindful of that. I remember that Lord Kirkwood, from the Liberal Benches, lost his dear wife to this. We must remember that this is about people.

The noble Baroness, Lady Janke, asked whether the 3.1% increase was adequate. The CPI in the year to September is the latest figure that the Secretary of State can use for the uprating review to allow her to meet the DWP’s hard IT deadlines. Using a consistent period for uprating each year means that, over time, the index balances out. As to whether it is adequate, certain disability benefits, including the industrial injuries benefits, are being uprated by the rate of the consumer prices index in September, which was 3.1%. This increase matches the increasing industrial injuries disablement benefit, to which the 1979 Act scheme is linked, as the lump-sum schemes we are debating today provide compensation payments to people who have become disabled through these debilitating diseases. We believe that it is appropriate to uprate the payments in line with other disability benefits.

Both noble Baronesses asked what the Government are doing to help with the cost of living. We have raised the national living wage, given nearly 2 million families an extra £1,000 a year through our cut to the universal credit taper and increased work allowances, frozen fuel duty for the 12th year running and invested £200 million in successful holiday activity, and will maintain the energy price cap to at least the end of 2022 to protect millions of people and ensure they pay a fair price for their energy—in spite of the rising cost of wholesale energy.