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 potential impact of proposed welfare reforms on the capacity of the Household Support Fund.

Information on the impacts of the Pathways to Work Green Paper has been published here Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper. A further programme of analysis to support development of the proposals in the Green Paper will be developed and undertaken in the coming months.

The Government has extended the Household Support Fund by a further year, from 1 April 2025 until 31 March 2026. This will ensure vulnerable households in the most need can continue to access support towards the cost of essentials, such as energy, water and food. No decision has been made at this stage on funding beyond the end of March 2026. As with all other government programmes, any such funding will be considered in the round at Phase 2 of the Spending Review.