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 impact of the policies announced in the Autumn Statement 2022 on parents of children who have Fetal Valproate Spectrum Disorder who receive Carers Benefit and Income support.

This Government recognises and values the vital contribution made by carers, in supporting some of the most vulnerable in society, including children and adults with disabilities.

Where a child with Fetal Valproate Spectrum Disorder is entitled to Disability Living Allowance or Personal Independence Payment (or Child Disability Payment or Adult Disability Payment in Scotland), the parents may be entitled to additional support through the benefit system.

The Secretary of State announced the outcome of his statutory annual up-rating review on 17 November. All relevant benefit rates for working age households and disabled people will increase by 10.1% from next April, subject to parliamentary approval, in line with the Consumer Prices Index in the year to September 2022. This includes the rates of Income Support, Disability Living Allowance, Personal Independence Payment, Universal Credit and Carer’s Allowance, and the additional amounts for carers in Income Support and Universal Credit. For those benefits which are devolved to the Scottish Parliament, but which are currently being delivered by DWP on behalf of Scottish Ministers under agency agreements, equivalent up-rating provision will be brought forward by the Scottish Government. This includes Disability Living Allowance, Personal Independence Payment and Carer’s Allowance.

In addition, to ensure stability and certainty for households, the Autumn Statement announced £26 billion in cost of living support for 2023/24. This includes further Cost of Living Payments for disabled people and people in receipt of certain means-tested benefits, as well as pensioners, in addition to those being made in the current financial year. In 2023/24, households on eligible means-tested benefits will get up to a further £900 in Cost of Living Payments. A £300 payment will be made to pensioner households and individuals in receipt of eligible disability benefits will receive a £150 payment. This is in addition to the support provided by the amended Energy Price Guarantee, which will save the average UK household £500 in 2023-24.

For those who require extra support, the Government is providing an additional £1 billion of funding, including Barnett impact, to enable the extension of the Household Support Fund in England in the next financial year. This is on top of what it has already provided since October 2021, bringing total funding 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.

The Government does not intend to conduct a specific assessment of the impact of these measures with reference to the parents of children with Fetal Valproate Spectrum Disorder.