Asked by: Lord Bishop of Durham (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Stedman-Scott on 8 November (HL2809), what support is available to individuals subject to No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) conditions as part of their total cost of living package of £37 billion this year, but excluding the Energy Bills Support Scheme.
Answered by Baroness Stedman-Scott
In addition to the Government supporting those in receipt of public fund benefits with cost-of-living payments, the package also includes a range of measures that those with no recourse to public funds could also benefit from, if they meet the eligibility criteria.
This would include an increase to the National Living Wage (NLW) by 9.7% to £10.42 an hour for workers aged 23 and over, from 1 April 2023 for those individuals who have a right to work. In addition, the Government’s commitment to the triple lock will see an increase from April 2023 of 10.1% to their State Pension.
For those who require extra support, the government is providing an additional £1bn to help with the cost of household essentials, for the 2023-24 financial year, on top of what we have already provided since October 2021, bringing total funding for this support to £2.5 billion.
In England this includes an extension to the Household Support Fund backed by £842m, running from 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024. Guidance and individual Local Authority indicative allocations for this further extension will be announced in due course. Devolved administrations will receive £158 million through the Barnett formula.
Local Authorities can provide a basic safety net support to an individual, regardless of their immigration status, if there is a genuine care need that does not arise solely from destitution, for example if:
Local Authorities must use their judgement to decide what legal powers and funding can be used to support individuals who are ineligible for public funds or statutory housing assistance.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Durham (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many individuals with No Recourse to Public Funds, who have made the necessary national insurance contributions, are in receipt of contributory benefits including (1) contribution-based Jobseekers Allowance, (2) statutory sick pay, and (3) state pension.
Answered by Baroness Stedman-Scott
The Department does not hold the requested information.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Durham (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what support individuals with No Recourse to Public Funds will be able to access this winter as part of (1) the £11.7 billion Energy Bills Support Scheme, and (2) the wider £37 billion cost of living assistance package for consumers.
Answered by Baroness Stedman-Scott
The cost-of-living package is in addition to the over £22bn announced previously, with government support for the cost of living now totalling over £37bn this year. This means that eight million low-income households will get £1,200 of one-off support in total this year to help with the cost of living, with all domestic electricity customers receiving at least £400 through the Energy Bills Support Scheme. The Energy Price Guarantee is supporting millions of households with rising energy costs, and the Chancellor made clear it will continue to do so from now until April next year.
The Energy Bills Support Scheme is open to all domestic electricity customers, with additional support to eight million low-income households, irrespective of their No Recourse to Public Funds condition.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Durham (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what support they are providing to Universal Credit claimants who are in debt to become debt free.
Answered by Baroness Stedman-Scott
DWP staff provide benefit and employment support across Great Britain through our national network of Jobcentres, who work in partnership with a variety of organisations that offer local budgeting and debt advice support.
The Government is keen to ensure that everyone accesses the benefits they are entitled to, which is why we have just launched an eligibility checker that can be found on the GOV.UK website. DWP also funds the Money and Pensions Service that provides additional support to help people, particularly those most in need to improve their financial wellbeing. It provides access to high-quality money and debt advice through its Money Helper services and signposting to third party organisations best placed to help.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Durham (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effect of government debt deductions on Universal Credit recipients’ ability to afford essential items; and what steps they are taking to prevent debt deductions contributing to destitution as the cost of living increases.
Answered by Baroness Stedman-Scott
The Department has not made an assessment. However, DWP takes every care to recover benefit debt without causing undue financial hardship.
To that end we have lowered the standard cap on deductions from Universal Credit twice over recent years, firstly from 40% to 30% in October 2019 and then to 25% in April 2021.
We also ensure that any deductions are taken in priority order, which effectively means that higher priority deductions, such as utilities payments, are taken first, with debt only taking up the balance of the overall cap.
Where a person feels they cannot afford the proposed rate of recovery, and the debt has not arisen as a result of fraud, they are encouraged to contact us. When they do, we work with them, reviewing their financial circumstances and in most instances, agreeing a temporary reduction in their rate of repayment. We have recently extended the time period for any reduced repayment of this type to remain in place.
In exceptional circumstances, the Department does have discretion to waive recovery of debt. Guidance on this can be found in full at Chapter 8 of the Benefit overpayment recovery guide, on the GOV.UK website, which was updated in 2022 to ensure that all appropriate factors are taken into account when a case is being considered for waiver.
In recognition of the financial pressures people are currently facing the Government is providing over £15bn in further support, targeted particularly on those with the greatest need. This
package is in addition to the over £22bn announced previously, with Government support for the cost of living now totalling over £37bn this year.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Durham (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the adequacy of the Local Housing Allowance for families in its frozen state.
Answered by Baroness Stedman-Scott
It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Durham (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effect the Local Housing Allowance being frozen will have in the northeast of England.
Answered by Baroness Stedman-Scott
It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Durham (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effect the Local Housing Allowance being frozen will have on families with children.
Answered by Baroness Stedman-Scott
It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Durham (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the rising cost of living, what plans they have, if any, to unfreeze Local Housing Allowance.
Answered by Baroness Stedman-Scott
The Local Housing Allowance (LHA) determines the maximum housing support for tenants in the private rented sector. The level of LHA rates is reviewed annually by the Secretary of State.
In 2020-21, in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, we invested almost £1 billion in the LHA which meant 1.5 million households received an average increase of £600 more than they would otherwise have received.
LHA rates have been maintained at their increased levels rather than reverting to previous rates which were much less generous.
Those who need further financial help with their housing costs can seek assistance via the Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) scheme. DHPs can be paid to those in receipt of qualifying housing support who face a shortfall in meeting their rental housing costs.
These payments are entirely at the discretion of the local authority and since 2011 the Government has provided almost £1.5 billion to local authorities for households who need additional support with their housing costs.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Durham (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they applied the Family Test to the Universal Credit two child limit when the policy was introduced; and whether they intend to do so on the policy’s fifth anniversary.
Answered by Baroness Stedman-Scott
When developing the policy to provide support to a maximum of two children, the Department considered its obligations under the Public Sector Equality Duty which included some impacts on families where members are protected under the Equality Act 2010.
Specific consideration was given to the impact on claimants with protected characteristics who would be affected by the introduction of the policy, including but not limited to, the gender and age of claimants in receipt of the child element of Universal Credit, ethnic minority households and households who are in receipt of disability related benefits.
The Family Test should be considered in the process of policy development. There are currently no plans to apply the test now.