Asked by: Lord Bishop of Southwark (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to revise (1) the limits on earnings and the number of hours that can be worked, and (2) the rate at which earnings above those limits can be reclaimed, for those in receipt of Carer’s Allowance.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government recognises the challenges unpaid carers are facing and is determined to provide them with the help and support they need and deserve. It is looking closely at how the benefit system currently does this.
Universal Credit provides support to carers on low incomes, whether they are in paid employment or not. Carer’s Allowance, by contrast, is available to all unpaid carers, provided they are not in ‘gainful employment’. This is currently defined as having earnings not exceeding £151 a week net of allowable expenses. This level is reviewed annually alongside the Secretary of State’s statutory review of State pension and benefit rates. Many Carer’s Allowance recipients are in households also receiving Universal Credit, where the structure of tapers and work allowances (where applicable) effectively takes precedence over ‘gainful employment’ test in Carer’s Allowance.
With respect to overpayments of Carer’s Allowance due to the interaction with earnings, the Government is moving quickly to understand exactly what has gone wrong so that it can set out its plan to put things right.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Southwark (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report, Carer’s Allowance Overpayments, published by Carer’s UK on 26 July.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government recognises the invaluable service provided by the millions of unpaid carers across the country who provide care and continuity of support for vulnerable people every day. It recognises the challenges they face and is determined to provide them with the support they deserve.
The Government welcomes the report published by Carers UK, and is considering its findings. Ministers were pleased to meet with the organisation, and with carers, to discuss the issues raised shortly after publication of the report.
More broadly, in respect of overpayments of Carer’s Allowance, the Government is moving quickly to understand exactly what has gone wrong so that it can set out its plan to put things right.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Southwark (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to undertake an impact assessment of the closure of the Work and Health Programme this autumn and the impact of this on enabling disabled people to enter the job market.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Shadow Minister (Work and Pensions)
As part of the government’s Back to Work Plan we have launched and plan to deliver a range of other support which will put in place an offer to a broader range of disabled people, for example, Universal Support will support up to 100,000 disabled people, people with health conditions and people with additional barriers to employment per year, once fully rolled out, helping them to find, enter, and remain in work.
The Work and Health Programme (WHP) has supported 300k people since it was introduced in 2017 to the end of November 2023, of whom over 130k have entered employment in this time. More recently WHP Pioneer, which is part of the first phase of Universal Support, aims to support up to 25k people through DWP contracts. The next publication of WHP Statistics on Gov.UK is due at the end of May 2024.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Southwark (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the transfer to Universal Credit of those with a long-term disability which inhibits them from entering the job market.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Shadow Minister (Work and Pensions)
DWP continue to learn and iterate our approach as we progress our Move to Universal Credit activity. We remain committed to ensuring that the transition to Universal Credit works as smoothly as possible for all customers, including enhanced customer support for vulnerable customers.
Our latest insight publication is available on GOV.UK - Move to Universal Credit – insight on Tax Credit migrations and initial Discovery activity for wider benefit cohorts.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Southwark (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the Poverty Strategy Commission’s interim report A New Framework for Tackling Poverty, published on 5 September, and in particular the recommendations that a net rise in benefit awards by 5 per cent would reduce numbers in poverty by 725,000 and a net rise in earnings wound reduce poverty by 515,000.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Shadow Minister (Work and Pensions)
The Department for Work and Pensions has not undertaken any specific assessment but notes that the analysis included in the report is based on the Social Metric Commission’s (SMC) measure of poverty.
The Government accepts that the SMC’s approach offers a more expansive view of inescapable costs, and alternative income sources will add new insight to the understanding of poverty. In March 2023, the Department for Work and Pensions announced plans to resume work developing an experimental measure of poverty based on the SMC’s innovative work. The Government already publishes national statistics on low income using a range of measures.
The Government’s focus is firmly on supporting people into and to progress in work. Our approach is based on clear evidence about the importance of employment, particularly where it is full-time, in substantially reducing the risks of poverty. The latest statistics show that working age adults living in workless households were over 7 times more likely to be in absolute poverty after housing costs than working age adults in households where all adults work. To help people into work our core Jobcentre offer provides a range of options, including face-to-face time with work coaches and interview assistance. We are also addressing progression barriers through our comprehensive package of childcare support, our in work progression offer, and changes to the administrative earnings threshold which ensure that more claimants can benefit from work coach support.
The Government understands the pressures people are facing with the cost of living and is taking action to help. Overall, we are providing total support of over £94bn over 2022-23 and 2023-24 to help households and individuals with the rising cost of bills. From April 2023, everyone who receives a state benefit or pension will have seen their benefit rates increase by 10.1%.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Southwark (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they have received from, or on behalf of the governments of (1) Canada, (2) Australia, and (3) New Zealand, in the past 12 months on the subject of UK state pensions paid to individuals resident in their territories, and their annual uprating in line with those paid in the United Kingdom; and what representations have they received from non-governmental groups on the same subject.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Shadow Minister (Work and Pensions)
The government does not have a policy to increase the number of countries with which the UK has reciprocal agreements on state pensions. The government has no plans to change its social security relationship with these countries on state pensions.
Requests for social security agreements may be raised in formal and informal meetings and in correspondence at both ministerial and official level. The Department for Work and Pensions does not, as a matter of routine, maintain full records of such requests. The department can, however, confirm that a response was provided to the government of Canada in August 2022 on its request to conclude a reciprocal agreement to include state pension uprating, where the department outlined its longstanding position as stated above.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Southwark (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what stage they have reached in negotiations with (1) the government of Canada, (2) the government of Australia, and (3) the government of New Zealand, on the annual uprating and payment of the UK state pension to beneficiaries resident in those countries.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Shadow Minister (Work and Pensions)
The government does not have a policy to increase the number of countries with which the UK has reciprocal agreements on state pensions. The government has no plans to change its social security relationship with these countries on state pensions.
Requests for social security agreements may be raised in formal and informal meetings and in correspondence at both ministerial and official level. The Department for Work and Pensions does not, as a matter of routine, maintain full records of such requests. The department can, however, confirm that a response was provided to the government of Canada in August 2022 on its request to conclude a reciprocal agreement to include state pension uprating, where the department outlined its longstanding position as stated above.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Southwark (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the annual cost of uprating the UK basic state pension to UK pensioners living abroad, regardless of any reciprocal agreements on pensions uprating.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Shadow Minister (Work and Pensions)
UK State Pensions are payable worldwide and up-rated overseas where there is a legal requirement to do so. The policy on up-rating UK State Pensions overseas is long-standing and has been supported by successive post-war Governments for over 70 years.
No recent assessment has been made of the annual cost of up-rating the UK basic State Pension to UK pensioners living abroad, regardless of any reciprocal agreements on pensions up-rating.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Southwark (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what research they have undertaken of the impact of their decision not to uprate the UK state pension upon (1) British citizens resident in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, and (2) Commonwealth citizens who have retired to a country in the Caribbean with a UK state pension entitlement.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Shadow Minister (Work and Pensions)
The Department has not undertaken such research. The UK State Pension is payable worldwide to those who meet the qualifying conditions. Entitlement is based on an individual’s national insurance record. The policy on up-rating UK State Pensions overseas is long-standing and has been supported by successive post-war Governments for over 70 years. We continue to up-rate UK State Pensions abroad where there is a legal requirement to do so – for example where there is a reciprocal agreement that provides for up-rating. There are no plans to change this policy.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Southwark (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to annually uprate the UK basic state pension to qualifying individuals on the same basis regardless of the state or territory in which they are currently resident; and what reciprocal agreements they have made, if any, with other countries in respect of pension uprating.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Shadow Minister (Work and Pensions)
UK State Pensions are payable worldwide and up-rated overseas where there is a legal requirement to do so – for example where there is a reciprocal agreement in place that allows for up-rating. The policy on up-rating is longstanding and has been supported by successive Governments for over 70 years. The Government has no plans to change this policy.
The UK has reciprocal social security agreements, which provide State Pension up-rating, with the following authorities:
The UK also has agreements in place with the European Economic Area and Switzerland which provide for State Pension up-rating.