Apr. 23 2024
Source Page: 2020 Valuation - NHS Pension Scheme (England and Wales)Found: excluded records 131k Actives excluded 8.1% of total records (<1k exclusions are not allowed for in uprating
Apr. 23 2024
Source Page: I. Universal Credit guidance April 2024 [update of previous guidance, deposited Oct 2023, DEP2023-0791]. 204 docs. II. Letter dated 15/04/2023 from Jo Churchill MP to to the Deposited Papers Clerk regarding documents for deposit in the House libraries. Incl. file list at Annex 1. 9p.Found: Legacy benefit run -on payment Other benefits Other benefits that impact Universal Credit Annual uprating
Apr. 22 2024
Source Page: The Universal Credit (Administrative Earnings Threshold) (Amendment) Regulations 2024 (SI 2024/****)Found: the Social Security Administration Act 1992 and statement by the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
Apr. 22 2024
Source Page: The Universal Credit (Administrative Earnings Threshold) (Amendment) Regulations 2024 (SI 2024/****)Found: the Social Security Administration Act 1992 and statement by the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
Apr. 22 2024
Source Page: I. List of ministerial responsibilities. 88p. II. List of non-ministerial departments and executive agencies. 22p. III. Letter dated 19/04/2024 from Alex Burghart MP to the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee regarding documents for deposit, and copying them for deposit in the House libraries. 1p.Found: for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs - The Rt Hon Steve Barclay MP Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
Mentions:
1: Chris Stephens (SNP - Glasgow South West) to home, the Minister may be aware that food bank usage among staff at the Department for Work and Pensions - Speech Link
2: Jo Churchill (Con - Bury St Edmunds) This includes uprating working-age benefits by 6.7%, well ahead of the current inflation rate, and uplifting - Speech Link
3: Chris Stephens (SNP - Glasgow South West) One concern that has been reported to us is that the Department for Work and Pensions is no longer helping - Speech Link
Mentions:
1: Christina Rees (LAB - Neath) In addition, the threshold needs to be raised and tied to the periodic uprating of any minimum or living - Speech Link
2: Stephen Timms (Lab - East Ham) Our report called on the Government to commit to uprating the earnings threshold for carer’s allowance - Speech Link
3: Beth Winter (Lab - Cynon Valley) I have also said that the uprating of the carer’s allowance needs to be synchronised with the real living - Speech Link
4: Mims Davies (Con - Mid Sussex) communications to remind them of the importance of telling us about any earnings, including through the annual uprating - Speech Link
5: Mims Davies (Con - Mid Sussex) They also get an annual uprating letter reminding them of any changes, and we use a text reminder. - Speech Link
Mentions:
1: Baroness Sherlock (Lab - Life peer) unknowingly breached the threshold by an average of £4.40 a week—£58 in total—caused by the automatic uprating - Speech Link
2: None allow uprating and those that do not. - Speech Link
3: Viscount Younger of Leckie (Con - Excepted Hereditary) abroad but, for whatever reason, have not told us that they have done so and continue to receive the uprating - Speech Link
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to ensure carers are made aware when they have exceeded the threshold for claiming carer's allowance.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
DWP remains focussed and passionate about ensuring that the experience for our DWP customers is at the forefront of the decisions that we make, the processes we deliver, and the improvements that we design.
We have made it easier for customers to contact DWP via the channel that makes the most sense for them. DWP customers can report change of circumstances by telephone, letter, and online via GOV.UK which outlines the routeway of how a customer should notify DWP for each benefit where changes occur. This includes the use of Universal Credit Journal to report changes directly to the appropriate benefit affected where earnings increase or decrease accordingly.
For customers seeking advice on Carer’s Allowance (CA) entitlement, GOV.UK provides detail on eligibility. The CA threshold for earnings is £151 a week from April 2024, after tax, National Insurance, and expenses.
Following a successful claim to CA customers are issued with an ‘award letter’ which includes a reminder that ‘You must tell us if your earnings or expenses change.” This helps to ensure that their CA claim runs smoothly, and the earnings threshold for claiming Carer's Allowance is not exceeded.
As benefit and pension rates are uprated, CA customers are further issued with new benefit rate ‘uprating letters’ which also include reminders to report changes in circumstances.
For irregular earners, CA work closely with our customers to ensure CA is only paid for the periods when the customer’s earnings fluctuate and are below the earnings limit. In this way, this should ensure that CA is not overpaid, as information is obtained from the customer for set periods of time to ensure CA is paid correctly for that period.
As our customers rightly expect, DWP is committed to continuous improvement, and we have many mechanisms in place to measure, and analyse the experience of our customers, providing DWP with a rich source of feedback that helps us to review and improve our services.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)
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 merits of increasing the Carer’s Allowance to £93 per week.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
This Government continues to protect the value of benefits paid to carers whilst also spending record amounts in real terms.
The level of Carer’s Allowance is protected by uprating it each April in line with inflation as measured by the CPI for the previous September. The purpose of benefit uprating is to ensure that the value of benefits stays in line with the general level of prices. From April 2024, the Carer’s Allowance payment was increased to £81.90. Since 2010, the rate of Carer’s Allowance has increased from £53.90 to £81.90 a week, providing an additional £1,500 a year for carers.
Real terms expenditure on Carer’s Allowance in 2024/25 is forecast to be £4.1 billion. Between 2024/25 and 2028/29 real terms expenditure on Carer’s Allowance is forecast to rise by 12% - around £500 million. By 2028/29, the Government is forecast to spend just over £4.5 billion a year on Carer’s Allowance.
As well as Carer’s Allowance, carers have access to the full range of social security benefits. For example, carers on Universal Credit can receive around an additional £2,400 a year through the Carer Element.