Asked by: Lord German (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Household Support Fund can be used to assist individuals with a 'no recourse to public funds' condition.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The guidance for the current Household Support Fund (HSF) scheme, running from 1 October 2024 until 31 March 2025, was published on Gov.uk and can be found here: 1 October 2024 to 31 March 2025: Household Support Fund guidance for county councils and unitary authorities in England - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). The guidance clarifies the circumstances in which funding from the HSF can be used to provide support to those with No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF).
It is for Local Authorities (LAs) to determine what support they can lawfully provide to a person with NRPF based upon an individual assessment of their status, circumstances, and support needs. When carrying out this assessment, LAs will wish to consider their discretionary powers and statutory duties.
This includes providing basic safety net support if it is established that there is a genuine care need that does not arise solely from destitution, for example, where there are community care needs, migrants with serious health problems or family cases where the wellbeing of a child is in question.
Asked by: Lord German (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will place in the Library of the House a copy of the letter they received from the government of Brazil in 2011 that sought a reciprocal social security agreement with the UK, and a copy of their response to that letter.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Shadow Minister (Work and Pensions)
The Department for Work and Pensions received diplomatic correspondence from the Brazilian government in 2011 and DWP officials met with officials at the Brazilian Embassy in London to discuss the request. There was no further action.
We do not publish another country’s diplomatic correspondence or the content of negotiations without their consent.
Asked by: Lord German (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have expanded the capacity of the Department of Work and Pensions to provide local support to refugees who, as a consequence of the backlog of applications being cleared, have recently been given asylum.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Shadow Minister (Work and Pensions)
Work Coaches have access to information on a range of services and support available in their local area for vulnerable claimants, including refugees. We also have access to a range of translation services to assist, should a claimant need support to overcome any language barriers.
Work Coaches receive training to help them build supportive relationships with claimants, including refugees, encouraging them to openly discuss any barriers, concerns, or problems as they emerge.
Work Coaches will provide tailored employment support to meet their customer’s needs. They utilise a wide range of tools to ensure that we are providing intensive employment support to these customers. This includes the use of Flexible Support Fund, Sector based work academy programme, English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL), Jobs Fairs, collaboration with local partners and Group Information Sessions.
Claimants can also give permission to share their UC account journal with support workers. The opportunity to combine face to face contact with on-line support has helped alleviate some of the communication barriers within legacy benefits which were traditionally more reliant on telephone and written forms of communications. Work Coaches can also use the on-line account to remind claimants of any information needed in order to ensure that their claim is processed smoothly.
More generally, we are increasing capacity in our Decision Making teams, during both this and the next quarter, to help meet demand for benefit decisions.
Asked by: Lord German (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have expanded the capacity of the Department of Work and Pensions to provide local support to refugees who have been given asylum recently as a result of the backlog of applications being cleared.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Shadow Minister (Work and Pensions)
Work Coaches have access to information on a range of services and support available in their local area for vulnerable claimants, including refugees. We also have access to a range of translation services to assist, should a claimant need support to overcome any language barriers.
Work Coaches receive training to help them build supportive relationships with claimants, including refugees, encouraging them to openly discuss any barriers, concerns, or problems as they emerge.
Work Coaches will provide tailored employment support to meet their customer’s needs. They utilise a wide range of tools to ensure that we are providing intensive employment support to these customers. This includes the use of Flexible Support Fund, Sector based work academy programme, English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL), Jobs Fairs, collaboration with local partners and Group Information Sessions.
Claimants can also give permission to share their UC account journal with support workers. The opportunity to combine face to face contact with on-line support has helped alleviate some of the communication barriers within legacy benefits which were traditionally more reliant on telephone and written forms of communications. Work Coaches can also use the on-line account to remind claimants of any information needed in order to ensure that their claim is processed smoothly.
More generally, we are increasing capacity in our Decision Making teams, during both this and the next quarter, to help meet demand for benefit decisions.