Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Stedman-Scott on 11 November (HL3461), what assessment they have made of the number of disabled households living in poverty following the end of the Universal Credit uplift; what assessment they have made of the impact of increasing inflation and cost of living on disabled households; and what plans they have to support disabled people who are unable to work.

No assessment has been made. Official poverty statistics for individuals living in disabled families, covering the period 2020/21, will be published in March 2022, as part of the Department’s Households Below Average Income publication, subject to the usual checks on data quality. This is an annual publication.

As well as receiving support through ESA or UC Health, disabled people may be eligible for Personal Independence Payment, which helps towards some of the extra costs arising from having a long-term health condition or disability. Spending on benefits for disabled people and people with long-term ill health has never been higher and is set to increase further. In 2021/22 we are forecast to spend £59 billion.

Vulnerable households in most need of support will also benefit from the £421m Household Support Fund (HSF), a new grant made by DWP to upper tier Local Authorities across England. The Devolved Administrations will receive £80m through the Barnett Formula.

We are reviewing responses to the Health and Disability Green Paper and intend to publish a White Paper next year, setting out changes to the benefits system that will better meet the needs of claimants now and in the future by improving claimant experience of our services, enabling independent living and improving employment outcomes.