Asked by: Lord Pendry (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the report by the All-Party Parliamentary Group Child of the North Child Poverty and the Cost of Living Crisis, published on 23 January, what steps they are taking to help mitigate the effects of the increased cost of living for families in areas with the highest levels of child poverty.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government is committed to reducing child poverty and supporting low-income families. We will spend over £245bn through the welfare system in 2022/23 including £111bn on people of working age.
In 2023/24, subject to parliamentary approval, we are uprating all benefit rates and State Pensions by 10.1%. In order to increase the number of households who can benefit from these uprating decisions the benefit cap levels are also increasing by the same amount.
The Government understands the pressures people are facing with the cost of living this winter and is taking action to help. The Government's Energy Price Guarantee will save a typical British household around £900 this winter, based on what energy prices would have been under the current price cap - reducing bills by roughly a third. This is in addition to the £400 non-repayable discount to eligible households provided through the Energy Bills Support Scheme.
For those who require additional support the current Household Support Fund, running in England from 1 October 2022 to 31 March 2023, is providing £421 million of funding. The devolved administrations have been allocated £79 million through the Barnett formula. The Household Support Fund will continue until March 2024. This year long extension allows Local Authorities in England to continue to provide discretionary support to those most in need to help with the significantly rising cost of living. The Devolved Administrations will receive consequential funding as usual to spend at their discretion.
In addition, for 2023/24, households on eligible means-tested benefits will get up to £900 in Cost of Living Payments. This will be split into three payments of around £300 each across the 2023/24 financial year. A separate £300 payment will be made to pensioner households on top of their Winter Fuel Payments and individuals in receipt of eligible disability benefits will receive a £150 payment. Further to this, the amended Energy Price Guarantee will save the average UK household £500 in 2023/24.
With 1.16 million job vacancies across the UK, our focus remains firmly on supporting parents to move into, and progress in work, an approach which is based on clear evidence about the importance of employment - particularly where it is full-time - in substantially reducing the risks of child poverty and in improving long-term outcomes for families and children. To further support those who are in work, from 1 April 2023 subject to parliamentary approval, the National Living Wage (NLW) will increase by 9.7% to £10.42 an hour for workers aged 23 and over - the largest ever cash increase for the NLW.
Asked by: Lord Pendry (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to increase Universal Credit in line with inflation.
Answered by Baroness Stedman-Scott
The Secretary of State has a statutory annual obligation to review state pensions and benefits including Universal Credit. His review will commence following the publication of the relevant indices by the Office for National Statistics and his decisions will be announced to Parliament shortly.
Asked by: Lord Pendry (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to address the number of job vacancies in the (1) care, and (2) hospitality, sectors.
Answered by Baroness Stedman-Scott
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is continuing to work with the Department for Health and Social Care, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Devolved Authorities in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland as well as other Government Departments to fill vacancies in adult social care, hospitality and other sectors, offering training for those who need it, and securing jobs directly for those ready to move into roles.
Two websites, JobHelp and Employer Help, were launched last year by the Department in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. JobHelp offers job search advice, showcases recruiting sectors, including adult social care and hospitality, and signposts to job vacancies to help people successfully find work.
The Department is continuing to deliver the Plan for Jobs, which is focused on providing a skills and employment offer which allows people to adapt and pivot into the job roles that employers need to fill. This includes targeted provision such as Sector-based Work Academy Programmes (SWAPs) (in England and Scotland), which comprise training, work experience and a guaranteed interview for a real job.
Launched in September 2020, the DWP Kickstart Scheme is a £2 billion scheme to create thousands of 6-month jobs for 16 – 24 year-olds on Universal Credit, who have been hardest hit by the economic impact of the pandemic. As part of Plan for Jobs, Job Entry: Targeted Support (JETS) is now live across England, Wales and Scotland. JETS provides light touch employment support for participants who are claiming either Universal Credit or New Style Jobseeker’s Allowance, for up to 6 months within the first year of unemployment.
We have also just launched the Restart Scheme which will provide intensive, tailored employment support to help over 1 million Universal Credit claimants back towards sustained employment.
The Department is working with trade bodies from England (Skills for Care), Wales (Social Care Wales) and Scotland (Scottish Social Services Council) to actively promote opportunities in the care sector and with key Hospitality sector employers and trade associations such as UK Hospitality and the British Beer and Pub Association to promote opportunities in the hospitality sector.
Asked by: Lord Pendry (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that (1) scientists, (2) care workers, and (3) volunteers, working with vaccines are kept safe while undertaking their duties.
Answered by Baroness Stedman-Scott
Employers, including those involved in scientific activities such as the development, manufacture and testing of vaccines, are required to risk assess the activities they plan to undertake and implement controls to mitigate identified risks. Activities with certain types of vaccines (e.g. genetically modified organisms or biological agents), may require notification to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) in advance of the work, providing details of the activity, and a summary of the risk assessment and key controls. Notifications are assessed by HSE before permission is granted.
HSE may carry out inspections of facilities involved in the development, manufacture or testing of vaccines to ensure that necessary controls are in place and workers, including scientists, are not put at risk while undertaking their duties. Inspections cover a range of topics including engineering controls, procedural controls, training and competence of workers and management of health and safety. If breaches of health and safety legislation are identified there are a range of enforcement tools (from verbal instruction to enforcement notices) available to help achieve compliance.
Care workers and volunteers are not involved in the administration of vaccines.
Asked by: Lord Pendry (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to introduce a new income support cash benefit for low-income families for which the job retention scheme and universal credit are not sufficient to prevent them from falling into poverty.
Answered by Baroness Stedman-Scott
In response to COVID-19, the Government has announced an unprecedented package of measures to protect millions of people’s jobs and incomes. This includes over £6.5 billion of extra support through the welfare system. It is one of the most generous business and welfare packages by any government so far in response to COVID-19.
This includes widening the scope of Statutory Sick Pay and making accessing benefits easier for those affected by COVID-19.
The Government has introduced further measures to support those on low-incomes, including:
Asked by: Lord Pendry (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the increased demand for emergency food parcels from low-income families; and what plans they have to suspend (1) the two-child limit on benefits, and (2) the benefits cap.
Answered by Baroness Stedman-Scott
No assessment has been made of the number of emergency food parcels issued.
The Government has recently announced up to £16 million to provide food for those who are struggling as a result of coronavirus. The programme will provide over 20 million meals over the next 12 weeks and be delivered through non-profit organisations including FareShare and WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme).
The Government has quickly and effectively introduced over £6.5 billion of measures that benefit those facing the most financial disruption, including an increase to the Universal Credit standard allowance by £86.67 per month (equivalent to £20 per week) on top of the planned annual uprating. This additional increase means claimants will be up to £1040 better off.
Currently there are no plans to change either the benefit cap or the two child policies.
Asked by: Lord Pendry (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether citizens with pre-settled status will be entitled to Universal Credit during the COVID-19 pandemic; and what steps they have taken to support such citizens who have (1) faced discrimination, and (2) are unable to find a job.
Answered by Baroness Stedman-Scott
Those granted pre-settled status have the same access to benefits as they did prior to the introduction of the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS). EEA citizens with pre-settled status are eligible to claim DWP income-related benefits such as Universal Credit if they are exercising a qualifying EU Treaty Right. This includes those with a worker or self-employed status and EEA workers with retained worker status who have lost their jobs through no fault of their own.
Government measures to support workers and their families through Covid-19 are also available for EEA citizens with pre-settled status under the EUSS who meet the eligibility criteria. This includes the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, the Self-employed Income Support Scheme and Statutory Sick Pay.
EEA citizens with pre-settled status can also claim contributory benefits providing they meet eligibility criteria.
Asked by: Lord Pendry (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
Her Majesty's Government whether they are considering a review of Carers Allowance to ensure that it is sufficient to meet the financial support needs of carers.
Answered by Baroness Buscombe
This Government recognises and appreciates the valuable support that carers provide to those with care needs.
Since 2010 the rate of Carer’s Allowance has increased from £53.90 to £62.70 a week, meaning an additional £450 a year for carers. Carer’s Allowance is excluded from the benefit freeze and is uprated annually in line with the Consumer Prices Index.
Carers on low incomes can access other financial support through income-related benefits. Income Support, Housing Benefit and Pension Credit include an additional carer’s premium of £34.95 a week. Universal Credit includes a carer’s element of £151.89 per monthly assessment period. People entitled to Carer’s Allowance or the carer’s element in Universal Credit are not subject to the benefit cap.
As society ages and care needs increase, it is important that carers are able to combine caring with paid employment, or return to paid work when their caring duties allow. The Government’s Fuller Working Lives Strategy, published in February 2017, sets out proposals to help carers combine work and care or prepare for returning to the labour market. In addition, earned income up to £116 net a week is ignored for the purposes of Carer’s Allowance. Means-tested benefits and Universal Credit also provide for care to be combined with earnings.
Asked by: Lord Pendry (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
Her Majesty's Government what action they are taking to support boxers and footballers with dementia pugilistica who currently rely on financial assistance from various charities.
Answered by Baroness Buscombe
The Industrial Injuries Advisory Council’s (IIAC) 2005 review of Dementia in boxers and footballers concluded that there was insufficient evidence to recommend an addition to the list of Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit (available to employed earners) prescribed diseases. In 2014 IIAC sought high quality research evidence about the risks of neurodegenerative diseases in professional sportspersons. The IIAC response in May 2016 concluded that despite the passage of time, epidemiological evidence on risk of dementia pugilistica in boxers relative to other workers remains elusive, and that there was no new important evidence to change the previous appraisal of prescription in respect of soccer players. As in 2005, there remains insufficient evidence to indicate a more than doubled risk of a dementia in boxers.
IIAC has no plans at present to revisit this, but would likely reconsider should new evidence emerge. However the department provides a range of benefits to support with extra costs of disability, which individuals may be entitled to depending on their circumstances.
Asked by: Lord Pendry (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of their commitment to treat mental health as seriously as physical health, what assessment they have made of the findings of MIND that over 160,000 people with mental health problems would be affected by their proposed changes to the Personal Independence Payment.
Answered by Lord Henley
Personal Independence Payment (PIP) ensures parity of treatment between mental and physical conditions by looking at the overall needs of an individual, not which conditions they have. However, recent legal cases have broadened the way the PIP assessment criteria are interpreted. The Government has, therefore, made drafting changes to the PIP regulations to help ensure that PIP is being delivered in line with its original intent. The changes to the regulations will not result in any claimants seeing a reduction in the amount of PIP previously awarded by the Department for Work and Pensions.