Asked by: Ann Davies (Plaid Cymru - Caerfyrddin)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the rate of child benefit by £20 per week for each child.
Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
All working-age benefits (including Child Benefit, the child element of Universal Credit, and Child Tax Credit) were uprated in full from April 2024, by September 2023 CPI of 6.7%. Beyond the receipt of benefits, the Government is committed to supporting children and families. At the King’s Speech, the Government set out plans to introduce free breakfast clubs in every primary school, to bring down costs for parents. Growth is our number one mission, which will help families by boosting wages and putting more money in people’s pockets.
To give every child the very best start at life, the Government is also prioritising work to develop an ambitious and comprehensive strategy to reduce child poverty through the Ministerial taskforce on Child Poverty.
Asked by: Ann Davies (Plaid Cymru - Caerfyrddin)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate has she made of the number of households in Wales affected by the change to Winter Fuel Payments.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
An estimated 400,000 households in Wales will be affected by the change to Winter Fuel Payments. This is the number of households that will no longer receive Winter Fuel Payment as they do not claim Pension Credit.
This estimation is calculated by subtracting the number of Pension Credit recipients in Wales from the number of Winter Fuel Payment recipients in Wales (using the latest statistics, sources shown below).
Please note that the above does not take into account any potential increase in Pension Credit take-up we might see as a result of the policy.
Sources used: winter-fuel-payments-household-2022-to-2023.ods (live.com)
Stat-Xplore - Home (dwp.gov.uk)
Asked by: Ann Davies (Plaid Cymru - Caerfyrddin)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has had discussions with press (a) agencies and (b) publishers on the potential merits of launching the second part of the Leveson inquiry into press standards.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Ministers and officials working in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport regularly engage with press stakeholders on a range of issues.
The Government clearly laid out its priorities in the manifesto and in the King’s Speech.