Baroness Parminter
Main Page: Baroness Parminter (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)Department Debates - View all Baroness Parminter's debates with the Department for Work and Pensions
(11 years, 5 months ago)
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Lord Freud
My Lords, as I said, food banks are not part of the welfare system. We have designed our welfare system to support people with advances of benefit where they require it. It is not the job of the DWP to monitor this provision, which is done on a charitable basis.
Baroness Parminter
My Lords, the refusal of crisis loans is one of the reasons why people are turning to food banks. Do this Government intend to scrutinise the provision of crisis loans, given that the funding for them has recently transferred to local authorities and devolved Administrations?
Lord Freud
My Lords, I can assure my noble friend that the DWP is retaining advances of benefit within the core benefit system. The crisis elements of the Social Fund—the community grants—are going towards local welfare provision by local authorities. This happened in April. My information is that that transfer has landed well.