Asked by: Karen Buck (Labour - Westminster North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of reintroducing Local Housing Allowance Targeted Affordability Funding where rents have fallen the furthest below the 30th percentile of average market rents since 2021.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Following an investment of £1b in 2020/21 to take Local Housing Allowance rates to the 30th percentile, they will be maintained at the elevated levels for financial year 2023/24 as assumed in the OBR baseline costings and therefore no savings are realised to re-invest in targeted funding.
We recognise rents are increasing but the challenging fiscal environment means that difficult decisions were necessary to ensure support is targeted effectively. The Chancellor announced at Autumn Statement a package of support worth £26 billion.
In 2023/24 around 8 million households on eligible means-tested benefits will get up to a further £900 in Cost of Living Payments. The benefit cap will be increased by CPI to ensure that households will see an increase in their benefits following uprating.
For those who require extra support, the government is extending the Household Support Fund providing an additional £1bn to help with the cost of household essentials, for the 2023-24 financial year, on top of what we have already provided since October 2021, bringing total funding for this support to £2.5 billion. In England this will be delivered through an extension to the Household Support Fund backed by £842 million, running from 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024, which local authorities use to help households with the cost of essentials. It will be for the devolved administrations to decide how to allocate their additional Barnett funding.
For those who face a shortfall in meeting their housing costs and need further support. Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) are available from local authorities. Since 2011 the Government has provided almost £1.5 billion in DHP funding to local authorities.
Asked by: Karen Buck (Labour - Westminster North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will place in the House of Commons Library a copy of the equality impact assessment carried out on the decision to maintain Local Housing Allowance rates of Housing Benefit at existing levels for tenants in the private rented sector.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
An Equality Analysis has been undertaken for the decision to maintain LHA rates at their current level and will be published in due course.
Asked by: Karen Buck (Labour - Westminster North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether local authorities will be allowed to roll over unspent Discretionary Housing Payment funding from 2022-23 to 2023-24 rather than return the sums to the Department.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) are DEL funded and therefore in line with HM Treasury guidance, the DHP funding for a specific year is unable to be carried forward.
Asked by: Karen Buck (Labour - Westminster North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will place in the Library a copy of the equality analysis referred to in the letter of 6 September 2022 from the Permanent Secretary of his Department to the Chair of the Public Accounts Committee.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
This document contains information that could be used to defraud the benefit system and adversely impact the public purse, it is therefore not in the public interest to publish this. Our equality analyses are detailed live documents and change each time our models and projects change, which provides assurance that we are considering bias and balance at each stage of development of these initiatives.
Asked by: Karen Buck (Labour - Westminster North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if it remains his Department's policy to not publish the evaluation of the lowered Benefit Cap completed in Spring 2019.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Secretary of State's initial priorities have included very urgent decisions relating to the recent Autumn Statement. The Secretary of State will be receiving further advice regarding the evaluation of the lowered Benefit Cap, and he will make decisions about its publication in due course.
Asked by: Karen Buck (Labour - Westminster North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has taken recent steps to help reduce the number of errors made by his officials in the administration of the benefits system.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The Department maintains vigorous control of Official Error via its Quality Assurance Framework, which provides an assurance that the necessary quality controls are in place.
Asked by: Karen Buck (Labour - Westminster North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent steps his Department has taken to improve the process of explicit consent used in Universal Credit.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department keeps the process under review.
Asked by: Karen Buck (Labour - Westminster North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent progress his Department has made on establishing a National Advocacy Service.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
In Shaping Future Support: The Health and Disability Green Paper, we set out our intention to test providing extra support for claimants who find it difficult to navigate the benefits system. We will provide an update on our progress in a White Paper which we will publish in the coming months.
Asked by: Karen Buck (Labour - Westminster North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, If he will take steps to implement the recommendations of the Social Security Advisory Committee in its report of 26 May 2022 on improving the transparency and external oversight of the managed migration phase of Universal Credit.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government response to SSAC’s recommendations was published, on 4th July 2022, when the regulations were laid in parliament. The Department thanked the committee and noted all their recommendations. The letter reassured the committee that we have comprehensive governance and external engagement arrangements in place.
Asked by: Karen Buck (Labour - Westminster North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the decision of the Information Commissioner of 28 September 2022 on the publication of the Prime Minister’s Implementation Unit report in 2019 on the experiences of vulnerable people claiming Universal Credit, reference IC-145903-X8D9, if she will place copies of the (a) agendas and (b) minutes of the (i) Universal Credit Programme Delivery Executive and (ii) Move to UC Programme Delivery Executive Sub-group from the period since January 2018 in the House of Commons Library.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
The Department is currently reviewing the Information Commissioner’s decision.