Asked by: Carolyn Harris (Labour - Swansea East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department plans to review the two-child benefit cap.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
The policy to provide additional Universal Credit support for a maximum of two children encourages families who receive benefits to make the same financial decisions as those families who support themselves solely through work.
Exceptions are an important part of the policy and we have always been clear they will be delivered in the most effective, compassionate way, with the right safeguards in place.
We continue to monitor the impact of the policy. Written Statement HCWS653 on 27 April outlined a recent change to the policy
It is worth noting that Child Benefit continues to be paid for all children plus an additional amount for any disabled children. Additional help for eligible childcare costs are also available regardless of the total number of children in the household.
Asked by: Carolyn Harris (Labour - Swansea East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether training on domestic abuse will be provided for people working on the application and administration of universal credit.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
In supporting victims of domestic violence, DWP offers a range of support open to survivors and those still experiencing domestic abuse.
Jobcentre staff delivering Universal Credit undergo a comprehensive learning journey designed to equip them with the tools, skills and behaviours required to provide a high quality service to all claimants. Specific training and guidance is provided for working with different vulnerable groups, including people who have been the victims of domestic violence.
This can include signposting claimants to national and local organisations that provide specialist support. Work coaches can also apply a domestic violence easement, switching off a claimant’s all work-related requirements for a period of time.
Asked by: Carolyn Harris (Labour - Swansea East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether it is still a principle of the Government that an individual should spend on average up to one third of their adult life above state pension age.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Pensions Act 2014 requires the Government to regularly review State Pension age and report the outcome of that review to Parliament. This process helps to ensure the costs of increasing longevity are shared fairly between the generations and also provides greater clarity for people around how State Pension age will change in the future.
The Government announced in 2013 that people can expect to spend on average up to one third of their adult life in receipt of the State Pension to reflect the experience of recent generations.
The first review of State Pension age by John Cridland was published in 2017 and proposed increasing State Pension age to age 68 between 2037 and 2039, bringing it forward from its current legislated date of 2044-46. This is consistent with the up to one third principle and means everyone born on or before 5 April 1970 will see no change to their State Pension age.
We will carry out a further review before legislating to bring forward the rise in State Pension age to 68, to enable consideration of the latest life expectancy projections and to allow us to evaluate the increase in State Pension age from 65 to 66.