Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate his Department has made of the number of people in employment that are living in poverty in (a) Coventry North East constituency and (b) Coventry; and what recent estimate his Department has made of the effect of the rising cost of living on the levels of in-work poverty in those areas.

Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

National Statistics on the number and percentage of people in poverty, including regional-level data, is published annually in the “Households Below Average Income” publication. This can be found here. Statistics are not available at the constituency level.

The latest available statistics show that full-time work substantially reduces the chances of poverty – the absolute poverty rate (after housing costs) of children in households where both parents work was 10%, compared to 53% for children living in workless households.

This Government is committed to action that helps to alleviate levels of in-work poverty and understands the pressures people are facing with the cost of living. This is why we are providing support totalling over £94bn over 2022-23 and 2023-24 to help households and individuals with the rising cost of living. Over 8 million UK households on eligible means tested benefits will receive additional Cost of Living Payments, totalling up to £900 in the 2023-24 financial year.

Government is providing an additional £1 billion of funding, including Barnett impact, to enable the extension of the Household Support Fund in England this financial year 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. In the instance of Coventry City Council £6,448,445 has been allocated for the period 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024 and £3,224,222.30 was allocated for the period 1 October 2022 to 31 March 2023.

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent estimate he has made of the effect of rising energy prices on the number of households in fuel poverty in (a) Coventry North East constituency and (b) Coventry; and what steps his Department is taking to reduce fuel poverty levels in those areas.

Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The estimated projections for fuel poverty in England in 2022, can be found on gov.uk. The latest subregional statistics are for 2020. Projections are not made on a sub-regional level.

The Government sees energy efficiency as the best way to tackle fuel poverty in the long term. In Coventry, 25,277 measures have been installed under the Energy Company Obligation to December 2021. 11,467 measures were installed in Coventry North East.

The Midlands Energy hub successfully bid for the Sustainable Warmth Competition, receiving funding through: Home Upgrade Grant (approx £28million) and the Local Authority Delivery Scheme Phase 3 (approx. £54million). Coventry was a consortium member under this bid.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate her Department has made of the numbers of people in employment that are living in poverty in (a) Coventry North East constituency and (b) Coventry; and what recent estimate her Department has made of the effect of ending the £20 uplift to universal credit on the levels of in-work poverty in those areas.

Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

National statistics on the number of people living in in-work absolute low income are set out in the annual "Households Below Average Income" publication. The numbers of people living in in-work absolute low income is not available at constituency or local authority level in this publication because the survey sample sizes are too small to support the production of robust estimates at this geography.

The latest poverty figures (2019/20) demonstrate that absolute poverty rates (both before and after housing costs) for working-age adults in working families have fallen since 2009/10. In 2019/20, 8% of working age adults in working families were in absolute poverty (before housing costs), compared to 9% in 2009/10.

No such assessment has been made of the effect of ending the £20 uplift to universal credit on the levels of in-work poverty in Coventry North East constituency and Coventry.

The Chancellor announced a temporary six-month extension to the £20 per week uplift at the Budget on 3 March to support households affected by the economic shock of Covid-19. Universal Credit has provided a vital safety net for six million people during the pandemic, and the temporary uplift was part of a COVID support package worth a total of £407billion in 2020-21 and 2021-22.

There have been significant positive developments in the public health situation since the uplift was first introduced with the success of the vaccine rollout. With record vacancies, our focus is on helping people back into work. This approach is based on clear evidence about the importance of employment, particularly where it is full-time, in substantially reducing the risks of poverty.

We have also announced a reduction in the taper rate in Universal Credit from 63% to 55% in the coming weeks, meaning Universal Credit claimants will be able to keep more of their earnings and announced that all work allowances will be increased by £500 per year, meaning many claimants will be able to earn over £550 each month before their benefits begin to be scaled down. These two measures mean 1.9m households will keep, on average, around an extra £1,000 a year.

We recognise that some people may require extra support over the winter as we enter the final stages of recovery, which is why vulnerable households across the country will now be able to access a new £500 million support fund to help them with essentials. The Household Support Fund will provide £421 million to help vulnerable people in England. The Barnett Formula will apply in the usual way, with the devolved administrations receiving almost £80 million (£41m for the Scottish Government, £25m for the Welsh Government and £14m for the NI Executive), for a total of £500 million.