Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee Central)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many applications for Pension Credit were received between (a) 29 July 2024 and 30 November 2024, (b) 29 July 2023 and 30 November 2023 and (c) 29 July 2022 and 30 November 2022.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
On 28 November we published Pension Credit applications and award statistics. This publication provides application volumes up to 17 November 2024. Pension Credit applications and awards: November 2024 - GOV.UK, which is the nearest available data to the 30 November.
This information is updated quarterly and the next update, which will include end of November data is due around the end of February 2025. This release will cover data up to week commencing 10 February 2024.
Please note, the figures presented are from DWP’s Pension Credit system which has previously been collected for internal departmental operations use only and has not been quality assured to Official Statistics publication standards.
Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee Central)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department plans to implement the proposals outlined in the consultation entitled Modernising support for independent living: the health and disability green paper, published in April 2024.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The consultation on Modernising support for independent living: the health and disability green paper ran for 12 weeks and closed on Monday 22 July.
The Department received over 16,000 responses to the consultation. This demonstrates the depth of feeling about the previous Government’s proposals. I thank the British public, as well as the numerous charities and organisations who responded on behalf of their members, for the time and effort taken to share their thoughts and views.
Whilst engaging with responses, I can confirm that responses to the set of proposals on the reform of Personal Independence Payments was mixed and for some proposals consistently negative.
We will be setting out our own plans for social security in due course and will fulfil our continued commitment to work with disabled people so that their views and voices are at the heart of all that we do.
Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee Central)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department plans to take to help ensure that people with multiple sclerosis are (a) treated fairly and (b) supported at work.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government has ambitious plans relating to employment, including disability employment, and we will be setting this out through a forthcoming White Paper, the Employment Rights Bill and the Equality (Race and Disability) Bill. We know that there is more to do to address the labour market challenges of today and tomorrow.
Appropriate work is generally good for health and wellbeing, so we want everyone to get work and get on in work, whoever they are and wherever they live. We want people to avoid poverty, and for this to happen we must ensure that disabled people with health conditions, including multiple sclerosis, have the opportunity to work and save for as long as they wish and are able to.
A fully inclusive labour market that enables disabled people and people with health conditions to have access to the same opportunities as everyone else to the benefits of work is crucial to meeting our ambition for an 80% employment rate. As part of the Get Britain Working Plan, more disabled people and those 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.
Employers play a key role in increasing employment opportunities and supporting disabled people and people with health conditions, including multiple sclerosis, to thrive as part of the workforce. Our support to employers includes increasing access to Occupational Health, a digital information service for employers and the Disability Confident scheme.
Under the Equality Act 2010, protection is available where a worker or job applicant’s condition fits the definition of a disability set out in section 6 of the Act. Where a person meets the Act’s definition of a disabled person, the employment provisions in the Act make it unlawful for an employer to discriminate against disabled employees and applicants. As with all provisions under the Act, it is for the person who believes they have been discriminated against in the provision of services to personally seek advice or redress. Should they wish to do so, they can begin this process by contacting the Equality Advisory and Support Service, which provides free bespoke advice to individuals with discrimination concerns.
Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee Central)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Labour Party's publication entitled Labour’s plan to make work pay: Delivering a new deal for working people, published in May 2024, whether she plans to incorporate (a) that plan and (b) the proposed changes to statutory sick pay outlined in that plan into the Employment Rights Bill.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
This Government is committed to delivering the Plan to Make Work Pay in full and updating Britain's employment protections, so they are fit for our modern economy and the future of work. As set out in the Plan to Make to Work Pay we are committed to strengthen Statutory Sick Pay (SSP), so it provides a safety net for those who need it most. We will remove the Lower Earnings Limit to make it available to all employees and remove the waiting period so that SSP is paid from the first day of sickness absence. Ministers are identifying the most appropriate delivery mechanisms for the commitments in the Plan, including an Employment Rights Bill that will be introduced to Parliament within 100 days of taking office.
Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee Central)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to (a) ensure regular and adequate uprating of benefits and (b) mitigate the risk of families falling into poverty.
Answered by Mims Davies - Shadow Minister (Women)
The Government is committed to reducing poverty and supporting low-income families. We will spend around £276bn through the welfare system in Great Britain in 2023/24 including around £124bn on people of working age and children, and around £152 billion on pensioners. Of this, around £79 billion will be spent on benefits to support disabled people and people with health conditions.
With respect to up-rating, the Social Security Administration Act 1992 places an obligation on the Secretary of State to review increases in prices and earnings each tax year, and to increase certain State pensions, additional-needs disability benefits and carers benefits at least in line with the relevant index. In the case of the new and basic State Pensions, the Government is committed to increasing these in line with the triple lock for the remainder of this Parliament. This is the highest of the increase in prices, the increase in earnings, or 2.5%.
Once he has completed his review of the increase in prices, he must also decide whether to up-rate other benefit rates, and if so by how much. In the up-rating for the tax year 2023/24, all relevant State pension and benefit rates were increased by 10.1%, in line with the increase in the Consumer Prices Index in the year to September 2022.
With 1.05 million job vacancies across the UK, our focus remains firmly on supporting individuals, including parents, to move into, and progress in work, an approach which is based on clear evidence about the importance of employment - particularly where it is full-time - in substantially reducing the risks of poverty. The latest statistics show that in 2021/22 working age adults living in workless families were 7 times more likely to be in absolute poverty after housing costs than working age adults in families where all adults work.
To support those who are in work, from 1 April 2023, the National Living Wage (NLW) increased by 9.7% to £10.42 an hour for workers aged 23 and over - the largest ever cash increase for the NLW.
At the Spring Budget, the Chancellor announced an ambitious package of measures designed to support people wherever they live in the UK to enter work, increase their working hours and extend their working lives.
The Government recognises that high childcare costs can affect parents’ decisions to take up paid work or increase their working hours which is why, from 28 June, the changes to the Universal Credit (UC) childcare element announced in Spring Budget 2023 will provide generous additional financial support to parents moving into paid work and/or increasing their working hours.
This government understands the pressures people are facing with the cost of living which is why we are providing total support of over £94bn over 2022-23 and 2023-24 to help households and individuals with the rising bills.
Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee Central)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will increase Local Housing Allowance to reflect the housing market.
Answered by Mims Davies - Shadow Minister (Women)
The Local Housing Allowance (LHA) determines the maximum housing support for tenants in the private rented sector.
In 2020 we spent almost £1 billion increasing LHA rates to the 30th percentile of market rents. This significant investment has been maintained ensuring that everyone who benefited continues to do so. The level of LHA rates is reviewed annually by the Secretary of State usually in the Autumn.
For those who require additional support with housing costs, Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) may be available. Since April 2017, DHPs have been fully devolved to Scotland who are responsible for the allocation and payment to Scottish local authorities.
We recognise that rents are increasing. However, the challenging fiscal environment means that difficult decisions have been necessary to ensure support is targeted effectively.
Over 2022-23 and 2023- 24 the Government is providing support in excess of £94 billion to help households and individuals with the rising cost of living.
Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee Central)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what fiscal steps he is taking to (a) tackle the impact of the benefit cap on low-income families and (b) help prevent increases in child poverty.
Answered by Guy Opperman
The Government is committed to reducing child poverty and supporting low-income families. We will spend around £276bn through the welfare system in Great Britain in 2023/24 including around £124bn on people of working age and their children.
The Secretary of State reviewed the benefit cap levels in November 2022 and decided they should be increased from April 2023. The Secretary of State has a statutory obligation to review the benefit cap levels at least once every five years.
With 1.05 million job vacancies across the UK, our focus remains firmly on supporting individuals, including parents, to move into, and progress in work, an approach which is based on clear evidence about the importance of 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. The latest statistics show that in 2021/22 children living in workless households were around 5 times more likely to be in absolute poverty after housing costs than those where all adults work.
To support those who are in work, from 1 April 2023, the National Living Wage (NLW) increased by 9.7% to £10.42 an hour for workers aged 23 and over - the largest ever cash increase for the NLW.
At the Spring Budget, the Chancellor announced an ambitious package of measures designed to support people wherever they live in the UK to enter work, increase their working hours and extend their working lives.
The Government recognises that high childcare costs can affect parents’ decisions to take up paid work or increase their working hours which is why, from 28 June, the changes to the Universal Credit (UC) childcare element announced in Spring Budget 2023 will provide generous additional financial support to parents moving into paid work and/or increasing their working hours.
This government understands the pressures people are facing with the cost of living which is why we are providing total support of over £94bn over 2022-23 and 2023-24 to help households and individuals with the rising bills.
Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee Central)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of care-experienced people aged 18 to 25 claim Universal Credit.
Answered by Guy Opperman
The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee Central)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of people aged 18 to 25 claim Universal Credit.
Answered by Guy Opperman
Statistics on the number of people in receipt of Universal Credit are published every month. The latest statistics are available by age, to December 2022, on Stat-Xplore.
Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee Central)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the rate was of successful applications for pension credit in each year from 2015 to 2019 inclusive.
Answered by Guy Opperman
The Department does not hold this information.