Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Independent - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of paying carers allowance beyond State Pension age.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
I refer the honourable member to the answer I gave on 14 October 2024 to question UIN 6904.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Independent - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of taking into account Carers allowance in the calculation of state pensions.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The new State Pension was introduced in 2016 and improves State Pension outcomes for many people, including carers. When in receipt of Carer’s Allowance, a person also receives a National Insurance credit, which counts towards a person's State Pension entitlement.
Carers who do not get Carer's Allowance are able to apply for Carer's Credits if they are caring for one or more disabled people for at least 20 hours a week. Carer’s Credits also count towards a person’s State Pension entitlement.
Under the new State Pension, National Insurance Contributions and National Insurance Credits have equal value, providing access to the same level of entitlement for all.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Independent - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an estimate of the number of people that were (a) eligible for and (b) not in receipt of Pension Credit in Runcorn and Helsby constituency on 13 January 2025.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The department does not hold this data.
Information relating to Pension Credit eligibility is only available via take-up statistics. The latest available Pension Credit take-up statistics for Great Britain cover the financial year 2021 to 2022 and are available at: Income-related benefits: estimates of take-up: financial year ending 2022 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). However, these statistics are only available at Great Britain level and cannot be broken down to smaller geographical areas.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Independent - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of an annual state pension increase for British pensioners living outside the UK.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
No assessment is planned.
The UK's policy on the up-rating of the UK State Pension for recipients living overseas is a longstanding one. The UK state pension is payable worldwide without regard to nationality and is uprated abroad where we have a legal requirement to do so.
Up-rating is based on levels of earnings growth and price inflation in the UK which has no direct relevance where the pensioner is resident overseas.
Over many years, priority is given to those living in the United Kingdom when drawing up expenditure plans for additional pensioner benefits.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Independent - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to (a) support and (b) reduce the number of young people aged 16 - 20 not in employment, education or training.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The ‘Get Britain Working’ White Paper sets out this government’s plan to Get Britain Working and includes a new Department for Work and Pensions and Department for Education led Youth Guarantee for all young people aged 18-21.
Our approach to the Youth Guarantee is to help all young people earn or learn. We will work in partnership with organisations at the national and local level to offer exciting and engaging opportunities to young people. This could include apprenticeships, work experience, training courses or employability programmes.
We will act to prevent young people losing touch with education or employment before the age of 18, with a guaranteed place in education and training for all 16 and 17-year-olds, an expansion of work experience and careers advice, action to tackle school attendance, and steps to improve access to mental health services for young people.
Work is underway on the design and delivery of the new Youth Guarantee. Starting in spring 2025, eight mayoral authorities in England will pilot the Youth Guarantee trailblazers.
The Youth Guarantee will work alongside and complement the services offered to young people through a more seamless offer that provides young people a clear pathway to transition from education into employment.
Young people will continue to have access to the current core national offer and entitlements for employment support for people aged 16-24. This includes a mix of national and localised initiatives and provisions designed to improve skills, employability, and access to job opportunities.
Key elements include: the DWP Youth Offer, Apprenticeships, Sector-Based Work Academy Programmes, the National Careers Service, Skills Bootcamps, and the Flexible Support Fund.
Opportunities for all young people will be expanded by transforming the Apprenticeship Levy into a more flexible Growth and Skills Levy. As a first step, we will create new foundation and shorter apprenticeship opportunities for young people in key sectors.
These programs collectively provide young people with pathways to employment, focusing on addressing local labour market needs and individual barriers to work.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Independent - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 15 October 2024 to Question 7943 on State Retirement Pensions: Women, what her planned timeframe is for considering the views that have been expressed.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
We have made it clear that we are actively considering this complex matter and aim to resolve it as soon as possible.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Independent - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to support people in receipt of Local Housing Allowance with housing costs.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
In April 2024, Local Housing Allowance (LHA) increased to the 30th percentile of local market rents for one year at a cost of £7bn over 5 years.
For those in receipt of LHA who need further support with housing costs, Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) are available from local authorities. DHPs can be paid to those entitled to Housing Benefit or Universal Credit and can be used to support with a rent deposit, rent in advance, a shortfall in rent, and other associated costs with housing need such as moving costs.
We also appreciate the importance of increasing availability of affordable housing. The Government will publish a Long-Term Housing Strategy in the Spring which will set out a plan to reform the housing market so that it works better for communities, to build 1.5m high-quality homes, and delivers the biggest increase in affordable housing for a generation.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Independent - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the uptake of Pension Credit since the Winter Fuel Allowance reforms became live (a) nationally, (b) in the North West and (c) in Runcorn and Helsby constituency.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The latest available take-up estimates for Income-related benefits is available on Gov.uk: Income-related benefits: estimates of take-up - GOV.UK and covers the financial year 2022/2023.
Data on how many Pension Credit applications made between 1 April 2024 and 22 September 2024 was recently published on gov.uk, Weekly Pension Credit claims received from 1 April 2024 to 22 September 2024 - GOV.UK.
On 28 October 2024, The Department announced updated Pension Credit applications and award statistics will be published on 28 November 2024. This publication will provide application volumes up to 17 November 2024.
Please note, we do not currently hold this information at Regional or Constituency level.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Independent - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to improve employment rates for adults with Down’s syndrome.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government is committed to supporting disabled people and people with health conditions, including Down’s syndrome, with their employment journey.
The Government has ambitious plans around employment, including disability employment, set out in the Get Britain Working White Paper, published this week, and the forthcoming 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.
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.
There are a number of initiatives to support individuals to stay in work and get back into work, these include support from Work Coaches and Disability Employment Advisers in Jobcentres, Access to Work grants and the Work and Health Programme, as well as joining up health and employment support around the individual through Employment Advisors in NHS Talking Therapies and Individual Placement and Support in Primary Care.
Employers play a key role in increasing employment opportunities and supporting disabled people and people with health conditions, 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. As part of the Get Britain Working plans the Government is launching Keep Britain Working, an independent review into the role of UK employers in reducing health-related inactivity and to promote healthy and inclusive workplaces.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Independent - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the current threshold for pension credit.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The rates of Pension Credit are reviewed annually as part of the Secretary of State’s statutory review of State pension and benefit rates. The review for 2025/26 has been completed and its conclusions announced to Parliament. Subject to Parliamentary approval, the Standard Minimum Guarantee in Pension Credit will increase from £218.15 to £227.10 a week for a single pensioner and from £332.95 to £346.60 a week for a pensioner couple. The new rates will take effect from 7 April 2025.