Asked by: Alex Easton (Independent - North Down)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the two-child limit on recent trends in the level of child poverty; and whether the Government has made an assessment of the potential merits of ending the policy via the child poverty strategy.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We published the framework ‘Tackling Child Poverty: Developing Our Strategy’ on 23 October and will explore all available levers to deliver an enduring reduction in child poverty in this parliament, as part of a 10-year strategy for lasting change.
The Child Poverty Strategy will look at levers across four key themes of increasing incomes, which includes considering social security reforms, reducing essential costs, increasing financial resilience, and better local support especially in the early years. This will build on the reform plans underway across government and work underway in Devolved Governments.
The Child Poverty Taskforce continues its urgent work to publish the Strategy in Spring 2025.
Asked by: Alex Easton (Independent - North Down)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that planned reforms to the disability benefit system provide adequate (a) security and (b) support for (i) seriously ill and (ii) disabled people while enabling those who are able to work to access appropriate opportunities.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
This government believes there is a strong case to change the system of health and disability benefits across Great Britain so that it better enables people to enter and remain in work, and to respond to the complex and fluctuating nature of the health conditions many people live with. The system must also work to reduce poverty for disabled people and those with health conditions and support disabled people to live independently.
We want to engage with disabled people, and others with expertise and experience on these issues, to consider how to address these challenges and build a better system. We will be working to develop proposals for reform in the months ahead and will set them out for consultation and engagement in a Green Paper in spring 2025. This government is committed to putting the views and voices of disabled people at the heart of all that we do, so we will consult on these proposals with disabled people and representative organisations.
Asked by: Alex Easton (Independent - North Down)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she will make an assessment of the potential impact of classifying military compensation as income in means tested benefits assessments on veterans; and if she will take steps to ensure that military compensation is exempt from means testing in line with the principles of the Armed Forces Covenant.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The receipt of War Pensions and Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS) awards is already fully ignored when calculating eligibility for Universal Credit.
The first £10 per week of a War Pension or AFCS award is disregarded in: income-related Employment and Support allowance; income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance; and Income Support. Armed Forces Independence Payments are fully disregarded in these benefits and can also allow the recipient to qualify for an additional disability amount. This contrasts with a benefit like Industrial Injuries Disablement benefit where there is no weekly disregard. Furthermore, these are legacy benefits, in the process of being replaced by Universal Credit, in which War Pensions and AFCS are ignored.
By default, the first £10 per week of a War Pension or Armed Forces Compensation Scheme is disregarded in Housing Benefit. Furthermore, a discretionary scheme allows local authorities to fully disregard them.
In relation to Pension Credit, the first £10 of any War Pension payments or AFCS award made due to injury or disablement is disregarded. Four additions to the War Disablement Pension are completely disregarded: Constant Attendance Allowance; Mobility Supplement; Severe Disablement Occupational Allowance; and dependency increases for anyone other than the applicant or her/his partner.
War Pensions and AFCS awards are a qualifying income for the Savings Credit element of Pension Credit, which is available to those who reached State Pension age before April 2016. Armed Forces Independence Payments are fully disregarded in Pension Credit and can also allow the recipient to qualify for an additional disability amount. There are no plans to change the ways in which War Pensions and Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS) awards interact with means tested benefits.
Social security in Northern Ireland is a transferred matter. The Department for Communities is responsible for how compensation payments are treated in means-tested benefits in Northern Ireland.
Asked by: Alex Easton (Independent - North Down)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to help support the parents of (a) twins and (b) other multiple births; if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing additional maternity pay to those parents; and if she will hold discussions with Twins Trust on steps to support such families.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The DWP wants new mothers to be able to take time away from work in the interests of their own and their baby’s health and wellbeing.
That is why maternity pay is primarily a health and safety provision for pregnant working women and is paid for each pregnancy, not in respect of each child. Maternity pay is not and has never been intended to replace a woman's earnings completely nor is it intended to help with the cost of having a baby; rather, it provides a measure of financial security to help pregnant working women to take time off work in the later stages of their pregnancy and in the months following childbirth.
There are two types of maternity pay available to pregnant working women
Additional financial support is available depending on individual circumstances, such as Universal Credit and Child Benefit. The Sure Start Maternity Grant (a lump sum payment of £500) may also be available. For more information about benefits and financial support available to pregnant women and their families can be found on www.gov.uk via the Childcare and Parenting link on the home page.
In terms of wider support for parents, the Government committed in its manifesto to review parental leave to ensure that it best supports working families. This is an opportunity to engage with stakeholders on this issue. Further details of the review will be announced in due course.
It’s worth noting that maternity pay is devolved to Northern Ireland and is therefore governed by its own set of legislation. The responsibility for maternity pay policy in Northern Ireland sits with the Department for Communities.
Asked by: Alex Easton (Independent - North Down)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she is taking steps to reform the disability benefits system for people living with multiple sclerosis.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
This government is committed to breaking down the barriers to opportunity for disabled people and people with health conditions, including people with multiple sclerosis, improving our employment and health support offer and tackling rising levels of economic inactivity.
We will be considering our own approach to social security in due course and welcome the opportunity to work in partnership with disabled people and the people that represent them to address some of the most challenging issues under this new government.
More disabled people and people with health conditions will be supported to enter and stay in work, by devolving more power to local areas so they can shape a joined-up work, health, and skills offer that suits the needs of the people they serve.
These plans to reform the system are central to our missions of kickstarting economic growth and breaking down barriers to opportunity.
Asked by: Alex Easton (Independent - North Down)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the consultation entitled Modernising support for independent living: the health and disability green paper, published on 29 April 2024, what her policy is on the use of (a) cash payments and (b) vouchers to people in receipt of the Personal Independence Payment; and if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of replacing cash payments with vouchers on disabled people.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The consultation entitled Modernising Support for Independent Living: the health and disability green paper ran for 12 weeks and closed on Monday 22 July. We received over 16,000 responses, demonstrating the depth of feeling about this important policy area. The consultation explored a range of policy proposals developed by the previous Government, including options for alternatives to cash support.
We will be considering our own plans for social security in due course. As we develop proposals, we will consider the potential impacts of reform on disabled people. This government is committed to championing the rights of disabled people and people with health conditions, and to the principle of working with disabled people so that their views and voices are at the heart of all that we do.
Asked by: Alex Easton (Independent - North Down)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she is taking steps to incorporate the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in (a) policy and (b) legislation.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The rights of disabled people under this Convention are largely reflected in domestic policies and legislation, including the Equality Act 2010 in England, Scotland and Wales, and the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 in Northern Ireland.
We are committed to championing the rights of disabled people. Our Equality (Race and Disability) Bill will enshrine in law the full right to equal pay for disabled people, including disability pay gap reporting for large employers. Additionally our Employment Rights Bill will support people - including disabled people - to access flexible working and break down barriers to opportunity.