Asked by: Alan Brown (Scottish National Party - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the total value was of maternity allowance payments for people resident in (a) Scotland and (b) rest of the UK in each year since 2010.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
This information has been published and can be found here:
Benefit expenditure and caseload tables 2021 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Asked by: Alan Brown (Scottish National Party - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, which nations requested reciprocal social security agreements; and on what dates those requests were made between 1970 and 2022.
Answered by Chloe Smith
Requests for social security agreements may be raised in formal and informal meetings and in correspondence at both ministerial and official level. The Department for Work and Pensions does not, as a matter of routine, maintain full records of such requests
Asked by: Alan Brown (Scottish National Party - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the total value was of contribution-based Employment and Support Allowance payments made to people resident in (a) Scotland and (b) the rest of the UK in each year since 2000.
Answered by Chloe Smith
The available information is partially detailed in the table below.
£millions |
| 2008/09 | 2009/10 | 2010/11 | 2011/12 | 2012/13 | 2013/14 | 2014/15 | 2015/16 | 2016/17 | 2017/18 | 2018/19 | 2019/20 | 2020/21 |
ESA (contributory & IB) | GB | 127 | 1,267 | 2,232 | 3,554 | 6,780 | 10,437 | 12,827 | 14,272 | 14,830 | 15,353 | 15,098 | 13,851 | 13,382 |
ESA (contributory & IB) | Sco | 14 | 130 | 224 | 381 | 753 | 1,210 | 1,433 | 1,583 | 1,664 | 1,732 | 1,726 | 1,603 | 1,556 |
ESA (contributory) | GB | 64 | 581 | 955 | 1,399 | 2,305 | 3,539 | 4,101 | 4,457 | 4,687 | 4,711 | 4,563 | 4,512 | 4,567 |
The table above includes total Contributory and Income Based ESA for GB and Scotland. A breakdown of the value of Contribution-based Employment and Support Allowance payments made to people resident in Scotland is not currently available.
ESA started as a benefit in 2008/09.
This information has been published and can be found via links below:
Benefit expenditure and caseload tables 2021 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Asked by: Alan Brown (Scottish National Party - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman asked for further information on the ongoing case regarding communication of changes to state pensions; when her Department was asked to supply additional information; on what date her Department plans to submit that information; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
It would not be appropriate to comment whilst the investigation is ongoing; and section 7(2) of the Parliamentary Commissioner Act 1967 states that Ombudsman investigations “shall be conducted in private”.
Asked by: Alan Brown (Scottish National Party - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the total value was of contribution-based Jobseeker’s Allowance payments made to people resident in (a) Scotland and (b) the rest of the UK in each year since 2000.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Information on Contributory and Income Based JSA for England and Scotland is available here. A breakdown of the value of Contribution-based Jobseeker’s Allowance payments made to people resident in Scotland is not currently available.
Asked by: Alan Brown (Scottish National Party - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made on the potential effect of not uprating benefits in line with current rates of inflation on levels of child poverty in Kilmarnock and Loudoun constituency.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
No such assessment has been made. The Government is up-rating benefits in line with inflation. The Secretary of State undertakes an annual review of benefits and pensions with reference to the Consumer Prices Index (CPI). All benefit up-rating since April 1987 has been based on the increase in the relevant price inflation index in the 12 months to the previous September. The relevant benefits are increasing by 3.1% from April.
The latest statistics on the number and proportion of children who are in low income families by local area, covering the six years, 2014/15 to 2019/20, can be found in the annual publication: Children in low income families: local area statistics 2014 to 2020 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)(opens in a new tab).
This Government is committed to reducing poverty and supporting low-income families, and believes work is the best route out of poverty. Our approach is based on clear evidence about the importance of parental 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.
Asked by: Alan Brown (Scottish National Party - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment the Government has made of the impact of rising inflation and cost of living on low-income families with children.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government is providing £12 billion of support to ease cost of living pressures, with help targeted at working families, low-income households and the most vulnerable. A further £9 billion has been announced to protect against the impact of rising global energy prices.
Asked by: Alan Brown (Scottish National Party - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the Government has made an assessment of the potential merits of reinstating the cross-departmental Child Poverty Unit, that was jointly sponsored by her Department, HM Treasury and the Department for Education, and was abolished in 2017.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
A key function of the previous Child Poverty Unit was to support the delivery of the child poverty targets that we abolished in 2016, which we have no plans to reintroduce. We believe that an approach to tackling child poverty focused primarily on meeting income-based targets can drive action that focuses primarily on moving the incomes for those ‘just in poverty’ just above a ‘poverty line’ whilst doing nothing to help those on the very lowest incomes or to improve children’s future prospects.
Ministers and officials engage extensively across Government to ensure a coordinated approach to tackling poverty and we will we continue to do so in the future.
Asked by: Alan Brown (Scottish National Party - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment the Government has made of the effect of increasing benefits in line with living costs on levels of child poverty.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Secretary of State undertakes an annual review of benefits and pensions based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which measures inflation in the year to September, as has been the case since April 1987.
This Government is committed to reducing poverty and supporting low-income families, and believes work is the best route out of poverty. Our approach is based on clear evidence about the importance of parental 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. In 2019/20, children in households where all adults were in work, were around six times less likely to be in absolute poverty (before housing costs) than children in a household where nobody works. Compared with 2010, there were almost 1 million fewer workless households and almost 580,000 fewer children living in workless households in the UK in September 2021.
We are giving the lowest earners a pay rise by increasing the National Living Wage by 6.6% to £9.50 from April 2022, and making permanent changes to Universal Credit, worth £1000 a year on average, to two million in-work claimants.
With Our multi-billion-pound Plan for Jobs, which has been expanded by £500 million and the new 'Way to Work’ campaign is a national drive to get half a million people who are out of work into jobs in the next five months.
We recognise that some people require extra support over the winter, which is why vulnerable households across the country are now able to access a £500 million support fund to help them with essentials. The Household Support Fund provides £421 million to help vulnerable people in England with the cost of food, utilities and wider essentials. The Barnett Formula applies in the usual way, with the devolved administrations receiving almost £80 million. The Barnett Formula will apply in the usual way, with the devolved administrations receiving almost £80 million (£41m for the Scottish Government, £25m for the Welsh Government and £14m for the NI Executive), for a total of £500 million.
To support low income families further, we have increased the value of Healthy Start Food Vouchers to £4.25, helping eligible low income households buy basic foods like milk, fruit and vitamins. We are also investing over £200m a year from 2022, to continue our Holiday Activities and Food programme which is already providing enriching activities and healthy meals to children in all English Local Authorities.
Asked by: Alan Brown (Scottish National Party - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues about the potential merits of creating a dedicated Minister for tackling child poverty.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We have not made any specific assessment of the implications of the findings of Action for Children’s report on the Department’s policies.
This Government is committed to a sustainable, long-term approach to tackling child poverty and the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions continues to lead cross-Government action to ensure a co-ordinated approach to supporting low-income households. DWP’s published Outcome Delivery Plan, places addressing poverty through enabling progression in the workforce and increasing financial resilience at the heart of its mission.