Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 23 July 2024 to Question 706 on Unemployment, what the headline level of economic inactivity was in (a) March-May 2010 and (b) the latest period for which data is available.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The headline UK economic inactivity level was 9.433 million in March-May 2010 (based on people aged between 16 and 64). In March-May 2024 (the latest month for which figures are available) the UK economic inactivity level was 9.383 million.
The headline UK economic inactivity rate was 23.4% in March-May 2010 (this is also estimated on a 16-64 basis). In March-May 2024 (the latest month for which figures are available) the UK economic inactivity rate was 22.1%.
The UK has experienced a rise in economic inactivity since the pandemic. The economic inactivity level has risen by 833,000 since the pre-pandemic level, with economic inactivity due to long-term sickness rising to 2.8m. The UK remains the only nation in the G7 with an economic inactivity rate higher than before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many (a) people, (b) children and (c) pensioners were in absolute poverty in (i) May 2010 and (ii) the last month for which figures are available.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Statistics on the total number of people living in relative and absolute poverty both before and after housing costs are published annually in the Households Below Average Income statistics Households below average income (HBAI) statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Figures are produced on an annual basis and available for the breakdowns requested.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of working age people were unemployed in (a) May 2010 and (b) the last month for which figures are available.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The UK has experienced a recent rise in unemployment. It has also seen a rise in economic inactivity since the pandemic of 833,000 with long-term sickness rising to 2.8m. The UK remains the only nation in the G7 with an employment rate lower than before the COVID-19 pandemic.
The headline UK unemployment level was 2.508 million in March-May 2010 (based on people aged 16 and over). In March-May 2024 (the latest month for which figures are available) the UK unemployment level was 1.528 million.
The headline UK unemployment rate was 7.9% in March-May 2010 (this is also estimated on a 16+ basis). In March-May 2024 (the latest month for which figures are available) the UK unemployment rate was 4.4%.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make it her policy that people receiving contributory-based (a) Employment and Support Allowance and (b) other benefits should be eligible for (i) the Cost-of-living Payment and (ii) other financial support for increases in the cost of living.
Answered by Victoria Prentis
The Cost of Living Payment is rightly being targeted at low income households who are in receipt of a means-tested income replacement benefit. Non-means tested benefits are not qualifying benefits for the Cost of Living Payment in their own right because people receiving these benefits may have other financial resources available to them. We have no plans to change the current eligibility criteria.
Cost of Living Payment, 6 million disabled people who receive an eligible non-means tested disability benefit, including Personal Independence Payments, have received a one-off Disability Cost of Living Payment of £150.
These payments are part of the Government’s £15bn package of support and sit alongside
The guidance with the full list of support can be found at:
Overall government support for the cost of living: factsheet - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the potential change has been in the number of (a) people, (b) children and (c) pensioners living in absolute poverty since 2010.
Answered by David Rutley
In 2020/21, there were 1.2m fewer people, 200,000 fewer children and 400,000 fewer pensioners in absolute poverty (before housing costs) in the UK than in 2009/10.
Latest statistics for the number of people, children and pensioners who are in absolute poverty in the UK can be found at: Households below average income: for financial years ending 1995 to 2021 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
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 support young people on the Kickstart scheme to progress to apprenticeships and further education to up-skill them.
Answered by Mims Davies - Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities
The Department for Work and Pensions’ (DWP) Kickstart Scheme was a job creation programme established to ensure that 16-24 year olds in receipt of Universal Credit would have access to fully-funded six-month job opportunities. Our work with employers has seen over 162,600 jobs having been started by young people, who were most at risk of suffering the scarring effects of long-term unemployment as a result of the pandemic.
Employers participating in the Kickstart Scheme are required to provide employability support to young people to allow them to build their skills in the workplace. This support is intended to improve their chances of progressing to find long-term sustainable work. DWP provided additional grant funding to employers of £1,500 for each young person to support with this.
Young people returning to Universal Credit following the end of a Kickstart job will be given bespoke support appropriate to their circumstances by their Jobcentre Plus Work Coach. This may include coaching or guidance towards other provision or support options if appropriate. Work coaches also promote apprenticeship opportunities to claimants of all ages as a first step in a career as part of their regular interventions. In addition to this, DWP secured an agreement with the Department for Education that Kickstart jobs would not count as previous employment with that employer for the purposes of the apprenticeship incentive. This was intended to encourage employers to actively consider transitioning on a young person into an apprenticeship after their Kickstart job.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when her Department reviewed the (a) thresholds for and (b) amount of pension tax credit in each of the last five years; and what changes were made to those (i) thresholds and (ii) amounts at each of those reviews.
Answered by Guy Opperman
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
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 difference in financial support provided from (a) universal credit and (b) legacy benefits for an average family with two children aged six and eight with one parent working full time on the minimum wage and one working 16 hours a week.
Answered by David Rutley
No estimate has been made of the difference between UC and legacy for an average family and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
We have not looked at all families with 2 children aged 6 and 8 with these earnings and established the difference. The average difference would be impacted by other UC elements that they might be eligible for, including for example if claiming housing costs or not.
This information is held across a number of data sets therefore would incur disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
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 amount of income tax relief that would fall on the 18 to 21 age group in the event that the auto-enrolment of pensions was extended to that age group.
Answered by Guy Opperman
The findings from the 2017 Review of Automatic Enrolment estimated preliminary analysis of the policy option and showed that a reduction of the lower age limit to 18 would have increased income tax relief for those aged 18-21 by £113m upon its full introduction. A full and published impact assessment on the policy options will be completed at a time when legislation is brought forward.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if her Department will make an assessment of the increase in tax relief for part-time workers that would result from auto enrolment being extended to those earning under £10,000 a year; and what proportion of that amount would benefit (a) women and (b) men.
Answered by Guy Opperman
Under the Pensions Act 2008, the Secretary of State is required to conduct an annual review of the automatic enrolment earnings trigger, as well as the upper and lower limits of the qualifying earnings band (the automatic enrolment thresholds).
The review for the 2022/23 thresholds was published on 8 February 2021, here Automatic enrolment: review of the earnings trigger and qualifying earnings band for 2022/23 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). The earnings trigger, by remaining at £10,000, will bring in an additional 17,000 savers into pension savings, striking a necessary balance between bringing in those most likely to benefit from pension saving with affordability for those individuals and employers.
The review estimates that a reduction in the earnings trigger to £6,396 (the National Insurance lower earnings limit) would bring in 214,000 additional workers and increase contributions by £124m in 2022/23, compared to increasing the trigger by average earnings growth. Of this, around £8m would be via increased income tax relief. Of the additional contributions; a) 78% would benefit women and (b) 22% would benefit men.