Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department has made an assessment of the implications for her policies of the report entitled, Coronavirus and personal debt: a financial recovery strategy for households published by Stepchange in June 2020; and if she will make a statement.

The Government notes this report and contents. It has introduced a suite of measures that can be quickly and effectively operationalised which benefit those facing the most financial disruption during the COVID-19 pandemic. These changes, part of an injection to welfare worth over £6.5bn, include:

• making it easier to access benefits. Those applying for Contributory Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) who may have coronavirus, are self-isolating, or caring for a child (or qualifying young person) who falls into either of those categories, or individuals who have been advised to ’shield’ because they are at high risk of severe illness, will be entitled from day 1 of their claim – as opposed to day 8 - and we have removed the need for face-to-face assessment. Both Universal Credit (UC) and ESA can now be claimed by phone or online;
• increasing the standard allowance of UC by up to £1,040 this year;
• temporarily relaxing the application of the Minimum Income Floor for all self-employed claimants;
• making Statutory Sick Pay available from day 1 – as opposed to day 4 - where an eligible individual is sick or self-isolating; and
• increasing in the Local Housing Allowance rates for UC and Housing Benefit claimants so that it covers the lowest 30% of local market rents – which is on average £600 in people’s pockets.

These measures, along with the other job and business support programmes announced by the Chancellor, represent one of the most comprehensive packages of support by an advanced economy.