Asked by: Lord Browne of Belmont (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to prevent the long-term loss of labour market participation among people under the age of 40 as COVID-19 restrictions are eased.
Answered by Baroness Stedman-Scott
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is committed to supporting everyone who has been affected by the unprecedented impact of COVID-19 on the economy and the labour market. We want everyone to be able to find a job, progress in work and thrive in the labour market.
Through the Plan for Jobs, the government invested £33 billion in measures to create, support and protect jobs.
The Plan for Jobs package includes the Kickstart Scheme, aimed at creating new, fully subsidised jobs for young people aged 16 to 24 on Universal Credit. This is further supported by the DWP Youth Offer (18 to 24 year olds making a Universal Credit claim), so every young person, whatever their background or challenge, gets the chance to shape their own future.
Most recently, the Restart Scheme started in June, will support all age groups, who have been unemployed for over 12 months, providing intensive and tailored support to help their entry into work. We know from experience that tailored provision can have a real impact on supporting people after an extended period out of work.
Asked by: Lord Browne of Belmont (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many Universal Credit applications there have been since 21 March 2020.
Answered by Baroness Stedman-Scott
The total number of new Universal Credit claims made between 21 March 2020 and the latest published date available, 14 January 2021, was 4,242,453. A small minority of people submitted more than one claim and therefore the number of unique individuals who have made a new claim to Universal Credit during the same time period was 4,063,276.
These statistics are published, by day of claim, every three months on Stat-Xplore and the next publication on 18 May 2021 should include daily claims data to 8 April 2021.
Asked by: Lord Browne of Belmont (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people with epilepsy they have supported into employment since October 2016.
Answered by Baroness Stedman-Scott
No assessment has been made of the number of people with epilepsy who have been supported into work by the Government since October 2016.
The Government is committed to reducing the disability employment gap and seeing a million more disabled people in work by 2027. We support disabled people, including people with epilepsy, to return to work through programmes such as the Work and Health Programme, Access to Work and the new Intensive Personalised Employment Support Programme. We will publish a National Strategy for Disabled People before the end of 2020. This will look at ways to improve the benefits system, opportunities and access for disabled people in terms of housing, education, transport and jobs.
Asked by: Lord Browne of Belmont (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many UK pensioners whose pensions are frozen because they live overseas have moved back to the UK in the last 12 months for which figures are available.
Answered by Lord Freud
There were 2,190 recipients of the UK State Pension who were resident overseas with non-uprated State Pensions on 31st May 2015 and who were resident in the UK on 31st May 2016.
Source: DWP Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study 100% data.
Notes:
Asked by: Lord Browne of Belmont (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what opportunities are available through the European Social Fund for young people who are not in education, employment or training to study for additional qualifications.
Answered by Lord Freud
Young people who are not in education, employment or training are a priority in the 2014-20 European Social Fund programme in England. This programme was agreed by the European Commission in September, and sets aside €340m specifically to help this group. The most disadvantaged young people will also be helped through the €650m provided for activities to address social exclusion.
The Managing Authority, based in DWP, launched calls for applications in March 2015 and expects operations to begin in 2016. Final bids are currently being appraised.