Asked by: Lord Hylton (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by the Trussell Trust Hunger in the UK, published in June; whether they intend to publish a response; and if so, when.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department for Work and Pensions has no plans to publish a response to the report by the Trussell Trust on Hunger in the UK. However, we continue to monitor new research and evidence produced by external organisations.
Government takes the issue of food security seriously, which is why we added internationally used food security questions to the Family Resources Survey in 2019/20. These questions remain in the survey and will allow us to track food security over time
Building on the food insecurity data which this Government first published in 2019/20, we have published official estimates of foodbank use for the first time. These will, alongside the broad suite of poverty data, help the Government to understand more about the characteristics of people most in need and help shape future policy considerations.
We will continue to work across Government to support the most vulnerable.
Asked by: Lord Hylton (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of parents who have been denied Universal Credit or Child Tax Credit since 2013 as a result of the two-child limit; and how many exemptions from this limit have been granted since 6 April 2017.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Families are able to claim support for up to two children, and there may be further entitlement for other children if they were born before 6 April 2017 or if an exception applies.
The latest available statistics related to the policy to provide support for a maximum of two children was published in July 2022 and can be accessed at Universal Credit and Child Tax Credit claimants: statistics related to the policy to provide support for a maximum of 2 children, April 2022 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Asked by: Lord Hylton (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Benyon on 27 October (HL2481), which countries have been notified by the Health and Safety Executive of the risks connected with exports of the chemical herbicide Paraquat.
Answered by Baroness Stedman-Scott
The export of paraquat from Great Britain (GB) is regulated under the GB Prior Informed Consent (GB PIC) regulatory regime for the export and import of listed hazardous chemicals. Companies intending to export any of these chemicals from GB must notify the importing country via the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), the Designated National Authority. GB PIC requires all exports of listed chemicals to be labelled appropriately and accompanied by a safety data sheet (SDS) containing information on the intrinsic hazards of the chemical and on safe storage and use. Where possible, the information on the label and on the SDS must be given in an official language, or in one or more of the principal languages, of the country of destination.
In 2021, paraquat was exported from GB to Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, India, Japan, Mexico, Singapore, South Africa and the USA.
Asked by: Lord Hylton (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many individuals out of the target of 500,000 have been helped into paid work through the "Way to Work" campaign, up to the end of June.
Answered by Baroness Stedman-Scott
During the Way to Work Campaign between 31 January and the end of 30 June 2022 we estimate that at least 520,400 unemployed Universal Credit claimants and Job Seekers Allowance (JSA) claimants have moved into work.
This total figure is composed of our into work measure to the end of May (over 386,000) and our internal management information up to 26 June (58,900). We are now also able to include JSA claimants who have moved into work between 31 January and 9 June 2022 (35,100) into our total. Furthermore, we have also included those claimants with a sanction in place that moved into work during the period of the campaign up to 26 June (25,400). Figures are rounded to the nearest 100.
The management information presented here has not been subjected to the usual standard of quality assurance associated with official statistics but is provided in the interests of transparency and timeliness.
Asked by: Lord Hylton (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by the Trussell Trust on 27 April that over 2 million people in the UK relied on food parcels in 2021/22 in order to prevent hunger and malnutrition; and whether they are developing policies to meet both short-term and long-term food needs.
Answered by Baroness Stedman-Scott
No such assessment has been made.
Foodbanks are independent, charitable organisations and the Department for Work and Pensions does not have any role in their operation. There is no consistent and accurate measure of food bank usage at a constituency or national level.
Asked by: Lord Hylton (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have plans to provide grants to those food banks that are providing advice services to persons needing their help.
Answered by Baroness Stedman-Scott
Foodbanks are independent, charitable organisations and the Department for Work and Pensions does not have any role in their operation or funding.
Asked by: Lord Hylton (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to publicise and promote the Alternative Payment Arrangements for Universal Credit.
Answered by Baroness Stedman-Scott
The Department for Work and Pensions recognises that vulnerable claimants may need additional support managing their money. Alternative Payment Arrangements (APAs) are available to help Universal Credit (UC) claimants have their award paid differently. This can involve housing costs being paid directly to a claimant’s landlord, receiving twice monthly instead of monthly payments and/or having the UC award split between two members of a couple.
APAs can be considered at any point during the UC claim. Crucially, these arrangements are intended only for vulnerable claimants who need targeted, additional support in managing their money – for example, claimants with dependency issues, learning difficulties, significant debts and/or victims of domestic abuse.
The Department already publicises APAs. UC work coaches have clear guidance to help them identify when an APA may be appropriate and will always consider any APA that would best support the claimant. Identifying vulnerabilities is a key element of the work coach role and allows the Department to tailor the support it offers to each claimant. In addition, landlords and support organisations are aware of this provision and can request an APA be considered at any time for claimants they are supporting. GOV.UK also includes APAs as part of the additional financial support available to UC claimants
Asked by: Lord Hylton (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to extend the £20 per week increase in the standard rate of Universal Credit to people remaining on legacy benefits such as Jobseeker's Allowance and Income Support.
Answered by Baroness Stedman-Scott
The Government introduced a package of temporary welfare measures worth around £9.3 billion this year to help with the financial consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. This included the £20 weekly increase to the Universal Credit Standard Allowance rates as a temporary measure for the 20/21 tax year.
We are continuing to work with the Treasury on the best ways to support those receiving benefits.
Asked by: Lord Hylton (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to replace Universal Credit Advance Payment loans with grants or 'starter payments' to reduce applicants' accrual of debt during the five-week waiting period.
Answered by Baroness Stedman-Scott
We have no plans to do this. Our focus remains firmly on ensuring that millions of new and existing claimants continue to receive their payments on time, and that we do everything possible to support people back into work where it is right to do so.
Nobody has to wait for five weeks for a Universal Credit (UC) payment. New Claims Advances are available which allow claimants to receive up to 100 per cent of their estimated UC payment upfront so that new claimants will receive their annual award over 13 payments during their first year, instead of 12. These advances are not loans.
The Department has announced that from October 2021, the maximum recovery period is increasing from 12 to 24 months for new claim and benefit transfer advances and that we are reducing the normal maximum level of deductions from a claimant’s UC Standard Allowance to 25 per cent, down from 30 per cent.
Asked by: Lord Hylton (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the case for increasing the (1) scope, and (2) total amount, of housing benefit, including any resulting savings on temporary accommodation and other costs.
Answered by Baroness Stedman-Scott
No assessment has been made of the case for increasing the scope of housing support. Housing support in the private rented sector is based on the Local Housing Allowance and decisions on the uprating of Local Housing Allowance from April 2020 will form part of the discussions in support fiscal events later this year.