Personal Independence Payments

Debate between Lord Freud and Lord Bishop of Leicester

Tuesday 10th March 2015 Lords Chamber

[Lord Freud]

People who are terminally ill are fast-tracked through the process and the median end-to-end clearance time is now, as of this January, seven working days compared with 11 days in January last year.

[The Lord Bishop of Leicester]

My Lords, can the Minister tell us how many 16 and 17 year-olds are awaiting reassessment? What action do the Government propose to take to meet the additional needs of that group, including providing support for them through the reassessment process?

[Lord Freud]

I will have to write to the right reverend Prelate on that matter. I do not have the data on 16 and 17 year-olds so I shall write to him.

Housing Benefit

Debate between Lord Freud and Lord Bishop of Leicester

Monday 4th March 2013 Lords Chamber

[Lord Freud]

My Lords, that is exactly the kind of case that the discretionary housing payments are intended for. Where there are genuine problems of that nature, we would expect those payments to be made to support that particular family in its accommodation.

[The Lord Bishop of Leicester]

My Lords, is the Minister aware of the pressure on the private rented sector? Many landlords operate a “no benefit claimants” policy, which causes significant problems in night shelters. Is the Minister aware of these problems caused by the shared accommodation rate and what are the Government doing to ensure that people moving on from a night shelter have somewhere to go?

[Lord Freud]

My Lords, there were concerns ahead of our changes to the local housing allowance that private rented accommodation would not be available. I was pleased to learn that that in contradiction to this, in the key London area, where some of the pressures have been greatest, availability in the private rental sector for benefit recipients has actually gone up 5% since we introduced the LHA changes.

Unemployment: Young People

Debate between Lord Freud and Lord Bishop of Leicester

Wednesday 24th October 2012 Lords Chamber

[Lord Freud]

The noble Baroness is absolutely right. Apprenticeships are a vital route for youngsters to get into the workforce. We have put a lot of extra funding into apprenticeships, and the numbers are going up pretty steeply.

[The Lord Bishop of Leicester]

My Lords, could the Minister tell us what the Government are doing to ensure that the most vulnerable young people who enter the Work Programme are not simply parked by contractors because it is not financially viable to invest the resources needed to support them into work?

[Lord Freud]

Well, my Lords, the structure of the Work Programme is designed to make sure that no one is parked in that way. There are specific measures to prevent that happening. The main way in which to get the people who are the most difficult to get into work is by pricing; we price those people more highly than people who are simpler to get into work. We have also, as noble Lords will be aware, introduced a subsidy programme to encourage employers to take youngsters who are NEET into the workforce.