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Written Question
Food Banks: Families
Thursday 14th December 2023

Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the report entitled Emergency food parcel distribution in the UK: April– September 2023 published by the Trussell Trust on 8 November 2023 which noted that 46% of all food parcels provided by the Trust’s food banks are for families with three or more children.

Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Government is committed to reducing poverty, including child poverty, and supporting low-income families. We will spend around £276bn through the welfare system in Great Britain in 2023/24 including around £124bn on people of working age and children. From April 2023, we uprated benefit rates and State Pensions by 10.1% and, subject to Parliamentary approval, working-age benefits will rise by 6.7% from April 2024, in line with inflation.

With over 900 thousand job vacancies across the UK, our focus remains firmly on supporting parents to move into and progress in work. This approach which is based on clear evidence about the importance of employment - particularly where it is full-time - in substantially reducing the risks of poverty. In 2021/22 children living in workless households were 5 times more likely to be in absolute poverty, after housing costs, than those where all adults work.

To help people into work, our core Jobcentre offer provides a range of options, including face-to-face time with work coaches and interview assistance. In addition, there is specific support targeted towards young people, people aged 50 plus and job seekers with disabilities or health issues.

To further support parents into work, on 28th June 2023, the maximum monthly amounts that a parent can be reimbursed for their childcare increased by 47%, from £646.35 for one child and £1,108.04 for two or more children to £950.92 and £1,630.15 respectively. Importantly, we can now also provide even more help with upfront childcare costs when parents move into work or increase their hours. In addition, on 1 April 2024, the Government will increase the National Living Wage for workers aged 21 years and over by 9.8% to £11.44 representing an increase of over £1,800 to the gross annual earnings of a full-time worker on the National Living Wage.

This government understands the pressures people, including parents, are facing with the cost of living which is why we are providing total support of £104bn over 2022-25 to help households and individuals.

In the financial year 2023/24, this has included Cost of Living payments totalling up to £900 for households on eligible means-tested benefits, a further £150 Disability Cost of Living Payment for people on eligible ‘extra cost’ disability benefits; and, for pensioner households, an additional £300 Cost of Living payment paid as a top up to the winter fuel payment.

The Household Support Fund is running throughout the financial year 2023/24. This enables Local Authorities in England to continue to provide discretionary support to those most in need with the cost of essentials.

Further, from April 2024, to support low-income households with increasing rent costs, the government will raise Local Housing Allowance rates to the 30th percentile of local market rents for private renters. This will benefit 1.6m low-income households by on average £800 a year in 24/25.


Written Question
Food Banks: Greater London
Tuesday 23rd May 2023

Asked by: Feryal Clark (Labour - Enfield North)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department have made of trends in the distribution of food parcels in (a) Enfield North constituency, (b) the London Borough of Enfield and (c) London.

Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

Foodbanks are independent, charitable organisations and HM Government does not have any role in their operation. As such, data on trends in the distribution of food parcels in Enfield North constituency, the London Borough of Enfield and London is not available.

This government is committed to understanding and addressing poverty which is why we have published official estimates of foodbank use for the first time in March 2023.

National statistics on food bank use for 2021/22 are available here. We aim to publish statistics for 2022/23 in March 2024.

In 2021/22, 3% of individuals, or 2.1m people, were living in households where a food bank has been used in the 12 months prior to the interview.

In 2021/22, 2% of households in London used a foodbank in the 12 months prior to the interview.

Statistics are not available at the constituency level.

This Government is committed to a sustainable long-term approach to tackling poverty and supporting people on lower incomes. We will spend around £276bn through the welfare system in 2023/24, including around £124bn on people of working age and children and around £152 billion on pensioners. Of this, around £79 billion will be spent on benefits to support disabled people and people with health conditions. (GB, includes non-DWP spend, prices in 23-24 terms).

Over 8 million UK households on eligible means tested benefits will receive additional Cost of Living Payments totalling up to £900 this financial year. Over 99% of initially eligible households have now been sent their first payment of £301 and more than eight million pensioner households across the UK will receive an additional £300 Cost of Living Payment during winter 2023-24 and over 6 million people across the UK on eligible ’extra-costs’ disability benefits will receive a further £150 Disability Cost of Living Payment this summer 2023, to help with the additional costs they face.

For those who require extra support Government is also providing an additional £1 billion of funding, including Barnett impact, to enable a year-long extension of the Household Support Fund in England this financial year. This is on top of what we have already provided since October 2021, bringing total funding to £2.5 billion. It will be for the devolved administrations to decide how to allocate their additional Barnett funding. The London borough of Enfield been allocated £5,695,989 for the period 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024 to support those most in need with the cost of essentials, including those who may not be eligible for other Government support.


Written Question
Food Banks
Friday 19th May 2023

Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department have made of trends in the distribution of food parcels in (a) Newcastle upon Tyne Central (b) the North East and (c) the UK.

Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

Foodbanks are independent, charitable organisations and HM Government does not have any role in their operation. As such, data on trends in the distribution of food parcels in Newcastle upon Tyne Central, the North East, and the UK is not available.

This government is committed to understanding and addressing poverty which is why we have published official estimates of foodbank use for the first time in March 2023.

National statistics on food bank use for 2021/22 are available here. We aim to publish statistics for 2022/23 in March 2024.

In 2021/22, 3% of individuals, or 2.1m people, were living in households where a food bank has been used in the 12 months prior to the interview.

In 2021/22, 4% of households in the North East used a food bank in the 12 months prior to the interview.

Statistics are not available at the constituency level.

This Government is committed to a sustainable long-term approach to tackling poverty and supporting people on lower incomes and we will spend around £276bn through the welfare system in 2023/24 including around £124bn on people of working age and children and around £152 billion on pensioners. Of this, around £77 billion will be spent on benefits to support disabled people and people with health conditions. (GB, includes non-DWP spend, prices in 23-24 terms).

Over 8 million UK households on eligible means tested benefits will receive additional Cost of Living Payments totalling up to £900. More than eight million pensioner households across the UK will receive an additional £300 Cost of Living Payment during winter 2023-24 and over 6 million people across the UK on eligible ’extra-costs’ disability benefits will receive a further £150 Disability Cost of Living Payment during summer 2023-24, to help with the additional costs they face.

For those who require extra support, the Government is providing an additional £1 billion of funding, including Barnett impact, to enable a year-long extension of the Household Support Fund in England this financial year. This is on top of what we have already provided since October 2021, bringing total funding to £2.5 billion. It will be for the devolved administrations to decide how to allocate their additional Barnett funding. Newcastle upon Tyne has been allocated £5,796,808 for the period 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024 to support those most in need with the cost of essentials, including those who may not be eligible for other Government support.


Written Question
Nutrition
Wednesday 26th April 2023

Asked by: Baroness Jones of Whitchurch (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that all consumers have access to a balanced, healthy and affordable diet given the increases in the price of fruit and vegetables.

Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The Government Food Strategy sets out a plan to transform our food system to ensure it is fit for the future.

We want to see a sustainable food system, from farm to fork and catch to plate, seizing on the opportunities before us, levelling up every part of the country and ensuring that everyone has access to nutritious and healthier food.

A healthy diet is a key component of good health and the Government advises people to follow the Eatwell Guide. Encouraging more people to follow the Eatwell Guide will have a substantial benefit on health as well as the environment.

To protect the most vulnerable from the worst of cost-of-living pressures, the Chancellor recently announced a package of targeted support worth £26 billion, which includes continued support for rising energy bills.

For 2023/24, households on eligible means-tested benefits will get up to £900 in Cost of Living Payments. This will be split into three payments of around £300 each across the 2023/24 financial year. A separate £300 payment will be made to pensioner households on top of their Winter Fuel Payments and individuals in receipt of eligible disability benefits will receive a £150 payment.

The Government is committed to a sustainable, long-term approach to tackling poverty and supporting people on lower incomes. More than 8 million families on means-tested benefits received a payment of up to £650 in 2022, made in two lump sums. This includes all families entitled to a payment of: Universal Credit, Income-based Jobseekers Allowance, Income-related Employment and Support Allowance, Income Support, Working Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit and Pension Credit.


Written Question
Children: Nutrition
Wednesday 29th March 2023

Asked by: Lord Bishop of Durham (Bishops - Bishops)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the analysis by the Child Poverty Action Group, published in June 2022, which found that there are currently 800,000 children in poverty in England that are not eligible for free school meals, what steps they are taking to ensure that all children in poverty are eating a healthy and substantial lunch every day.

Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The Autumn Statement 2022 announced £26 billion in cost of living support for 2023/24. This includes Cost of Living Payments for the most vulnerable. In 2023/24, households on eligible means-tested benefits will get up to a further £900 in Cost-of-Living Payments. A £300 payment will be made to pensioner households and individuals in receipt of eligible disability benefits will receive a £150 payment. Also included is the amended Energy Price Guarantee which will save the average UK household £500 in 2023-24 and raising the benefit cap by 10.1% in line with inflation.

For those who require extra support, the government is providing an additional £1 billion of funding, including Barnett impact, to enable the extension of the Household Support Fund in England in the next financial year. This is on top of what we have already provided since October 2021, 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. It will be for the devolved administrations to decide how to allocate their additional Barnett funding.

In addition to this, we are investing over £200 million a year in our Holiday Activities and Food programme. All local authorities in England are delivering this programme and last year we reached more than 600,000 children over the summer.

The government is also continuing support for breakfast clubs and will support up to 2,500 schools in disadvantaged areas through our national school breakfasts programme. The programme, worth up to £24 million, means that thousands of children will be offered nutritious breakfasts to better support their attainment, wellbeing and readiness for education throughout 2021/23.

In setting a threshold for Free School Meals, the department believes that the current level, which enables the most disadvantaged children to benefit from FSM while remaining affordable and deliverable for schools, is the right one. The department will continue to keep free school meal (FSM) eligibility under review, ensuring that these meals are supporting those who most need them.


Written Question
Universal Credit
Thursday 23rd March 2023

Asked by: Lord Bishop of Durham (Bishops - Bishops)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and the Trussell Trust report An Essentials Guarantee: Reforming Universal Credit to ensure we can all afford the essentials in hard times, published on 27 February, what assessment they made of the recommendation contained in that report to "introduce an Essentials Guarantee" to ensure those on Universal Credit are not going without essential items.

Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Government is committed to a sustainable, long-term approach to tackling poverty and supporting people on lower incomes.  As seen in measures announced by the Chancellor in the Autumn Statement, the Government have committed to a series of measures to ensure support for UK citizens. Raising the Universal Credit award by 10.1% to bring rates in-line with national inflation and ensure claimants are supported.

The current rates of income-related benefits such as Universal Credit do not represent a minimum requirement, and are not described as such in legislation or Government literature. The Government specifies the rates which are applicable to different benefits, and these may vary according to claimants' circumstances.

There is no objective way of deciding what an adequate level of benefit should be as every person has different requirements. Income-related benefit rates are not made up of separate amounts for specific items of expenditure such as food or fuel charges, and beneficiaries are free to spend their benefit as they see fit, in the light of their individual commitments, needs and preferences.

The Government understands the pressures people are facing with the cost of living, which is why, in addition to the £37 billion of support we have provided for cost-of-living pressures in 2022/23, we are acting now to ensure support continues throughout 2023/24.

We will be delivering further cost of living payments, worth up to £900 for claimants on means-tested benefits, £300 for pensioner households and £150 for those on disability benefits.

For those who require extra support, the Government is providing an additional £1 billion of funding, including Barnett impact, to enable the extension of the Household Support Fund in England in the next financial year. This is on top of what we have already provided since October 2021, 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. It will be for the devolved administrations to decide how to allocate their additional Barnett funding.


Written Question
Food Banks: Government Assistance
Thursday 2nd February 2023

Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department is taking steps to support food banks, in the context of increases in demand for their resources.

Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

Foodbanks are independent, charitable organisations and the Department for Work and Pensions does not have any role in their operation.

There is no consistent and accurate measure of foodbank usage at a constituency or national level. We understand the data limitations in this area, and therefore from April 2021 we introduced a set of questions into the Family Resources Survey (FRS) to measure and track foodbank usage. The first results of these questions are due to be published in March 2023 subject to usual quality assurance. Our commitment to include questions in the Family Resources Survey shows how seriously we take this issue; the data is vital to ensure we understand the full picture.

This Government is committed to a sustainable, long-term approach to tackling poverty and supporting people on lower incomes and we will spend £245bn through the welfare system in 2022/23.

The Government's Energy Price Guarantee will save a typical British household around £900 this winter, based on what energy prices would have been under the current price cap - reducing bills by roughly a third.

All benefit rates and State Pensions will increase in line with the Consumer Prices Index for the year to September 2022. This will mean that, subject to parliamentary approval, they will increase by 10.1% in April. In order to increase the number of households who can benefit from these uprating decisions the benefit cap will also be increased by 10.1% subject to parliamentary approval.

In addition, for 2023/24, households on eligible means-tested benefits will get up to £900 in Cost of Living Payments. This will be split into three payments of around £300 each across the 2023/24 financial year. A separate £300 payment will be made to over eight million pensioner households on top of their Winter Fuel Payments and individuals in receipt of eligible disability benefits will receive a £150 payment. Further to this, the amended Energy Price Guarantee will save the average UK household £500 in 2023/24.

To further support those who are in work, from 1 April 2023 subject to parliamentary approval, the National Living Wage (NLW) will increase by 9.7% to £10.42 an hour for workers aged 23 and over - the largest ever cash increase for the NLW.

For those who require additional support the current Household Support Fund, running in England from 1 October 2022 to 31 March 2023, is providing £421 million of funding. The devolved administrations have been allocated £79 million through the Barnett formula. The Household Support Fund will continue until March 2024. This year long extension allows Local Authorities in England to continue to provide discretionary support to those most in need to help with global inflationary challenges and the significantly rising cost of living. The Devolved Administrations will receive consequential funding as usual to spend at their discretion.


Written Question
Food Banks
Thursday 2nd February 2023

Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an estimate of the number of households that received a food bank parcel in (a) 2021 and (b) 2022.

Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

Foodbanks are independent, charitable organisations and the Department for Work and Pensions does not have any role in their operation.

There is no consistent and accurate measure of foodbank usage at a constituency or national level. We understand the data limitations in this area, and therefore from April 2021 we introduced a set of questions into the Family Resources Survey (FRS) to measure and track foodbank usage. The first results of these questions are due to be published in March 2023 subject to usual quality assurance. Our commitment to include questions in the Family Resources Survey shows how seriously we take this issue; the data is vital to ensure we understand the full picture.

This Government is committed to a sustainable, long-term approach to tackling poverty and supporting people on lower incomes and we will spend £245bn through the welfare system in 2022/23.

The Government's Energy Price Guarantee will save a typical British household around £900 this winter, based on what energy prices would have been under the current price cap - reducing bills by roughly a third.

All benefit rates and State Pensions will increase in line with the Consumer Prices Index for the year to September 2022. This will mean that, subject to parliamentary approval, they will increase by 10.1% in April. In order to increase the number of households who can benefit from these uprating decisions the benefit cap will also be increased by 10.1% subject to parliamentary approval.

In addition, for 2023/24, households on eligible means-tested benefits will get up to £900 in Cost of Living Payments. This will be split into three payments of around £300 each across the 2023/24 financial year. A separate £300 payment will be made to over eight million pensioner households on top of their Winter Fuel Payments and individuals in receipt of eligible disability benefits will receive a £150 payment. Further to this, the amended Energy Price Guarantee will save the average UK household £500 in 2023/24.

To further support those who are in work, from 1 April 2023 subject to parliamentary approval, the National Living Wage (NLW) will increase by 9.7% to £10.42 an hour for workers aged 23 and over - the largest ever cash increase for the NLW.

For those who require additional support the current Household Support Fund, running in England from 1 October 2022 to 31 March 2023, is providing £421 million of funding. The devolved administrations have been allocated £79 million through the Barnett formula. The Household Support Fund will continue until March 2024. This year long extension allows Local Authorities in England to continue to provide discretionary support to those most in need to help with global inflationary challenges and the significantly rising cost of living. The Devolved Administrations will receive consequential funding as usual to spend at their discretion.


Written Question
Food Banks: Utilities
Thursday 2nd February 2023

Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department is taking steps to support food banks with increases in the cost of utilities.

Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

Foodbanks are independent, charitable organisations and the Department for Work and Pensions does not have any role in their operation.

There is no consistent and accurate measure of foodbank usage at a constituency or national level. We understand the data limitations in this area, and therefore from April 2021 we introduced a set of questions into the Family Resources Survey (FRS) to measure and track foodbank usage. The first results of these questions are due to be published in March 2023 subject to usual quality assurance. Our commitment to include questions in the Family Resources Survey shows how seriously we take this issue; the data is vital to ensure we understand the full picture.

This Government is committed to a sustainable, long-term approach to tackling poverty and supporting people on lower incomes and we will spend £245bn through the welfare system in 2022/23.

The Government's Energy Price Guarantee will save a typical British household around £900 this winter, based on what energy prices would have been under the current price cap - reducing bills by roughly a third.

All benefit rates and State Pensions will increase in line with the Consumer Prices Index for the year to September 2022. This will mean that, subject to parliamentary approval, they will increase by 10.1% in April. In order to increase the number of households who can benefit from these uprating decisions the benefit cap will also be increased by 10.1% subject to parliamentary approval.

In addition, for 2023/24, households on eligible means-tested benefits will get up to £900 in Cost of Living Payments. This will be split into three payments of around £300 each across the 2023/24 financial year. A separate £300 payment will be made to over eight million pensioner households on top of their Winter Fuel Payments and individuals in receipt of eligible disability benefits will receive a £150 payment. Further to this, the amended Energy Price Guarantee will save the average UK household £500 in 2023/24.

To further support those who are in work, from 1 April 2023 subject to parliamentary approval, the National Living Wage (NLW) will increase by 9.7% to £10.42 an hour for workers aged 23 and over - the largest ever cash increase for the NLW.

For those who require additional support the current Household Support Fund, running in England from 1 October 2022 to 31 March 2023, is providing £421 million of funding. The devolved administrations have been allocated £79 million through the Barnett formula. The Household Support Fund will continue until March 2024. This year long extension allows Local Authorities in England to continue to provide discretionary support to those most in need to help with global inflationary challenges and the significantly rising cost of living. The Devolved Administrations will receive consequential funding as usual to spend at their discretion.


Written Question
Food Security
Monday 9th January 2023

Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has made a recent estimate of the probability of ailing to achieve food security.

Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The United Kingdom has a highly resilient food supply chain. It is well equipped to deal with situations with the potential to cause disruption. Our high degree of food security is built on supply from diverse sources, strong domestic production as well as imports through stable trade routes. Defra has a collaborative relationship with industry which allows us to effectively respond to disruption, should it occur.

Recognising the importance of food security, in the Agriculture Act 2020, the Government made a commitment to produce an assessment of our food security at least once every three years. The first UK Food Security Report was published in December 2021. This report will serve as an evidence base for future policy work.

The report recognises the contribution made by British farmers to our resilience, and the importance of strong domestic production to our food security. It considers the UK's food supply sources overall, noting that domestic production and diversity of supply are both important to our food security.

We continue to monitor food prices using the ONS inflation figures.

International commodity prices are heavily influenced by factors such as energy costs and exchange rates. Given sustained pressures, we anticipate food prices continuing to trend upwards until early 2023 and then begin to fall gradually.

Defra is taking action to maintain an efficient food supply chain by mitigating against any potential burdens or friction which could otherwise drive-up consumer food prices.

Through regular engagement, Defra will continue to work with food retailers and producers to explore the range of measures they can take to ensure the availability of affordable food. For example, by maintaining value ranges, price matching and price freezing measures.

Food prices are set individually by businesses. It is not for HM Government to set retail food prices nor to comment on day-to-day commercial decisions by companies. Rising food prices are dependent on a combination of factors including agri-food import prices, domestic agricultural prices, exchange rates, domestic labour and manufacturing costs.

The Government is committed to a sustainable, long-term approach to tackling poverty and supporting people on lower incomes.

We understand that people are worried about the cost-of-living challenges ahead which is why the Government has announced decisive action to support households.

To protect the most vulnerable, the Chancellor recently announced a package of targeted support worth £26 billion, which includes continued support for rising energy bills.

More than eight million households on means-tested benefits will receive a cost-of-living payment of £900 in instalments, with £300 to pensioners and £150 for people on disability benefits.

This is in addition to the existing £1.5 billion to help households with the cost of essentials, including food.