Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans she has to provide additional support to older people who cannot meeet the cost of (a) energy bills, (b) food costs, and (c) other living costs.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
The government understands the pressures people are facing with the cost of living and has taken further decisive action to support people with their energy bills.
The £37bn of support includes up to £650 in Cost-of-Living Payments (paid in 2 lump sums of £326 and £324) which has been designed to target support at around 8 million low-income households on means-tested benefits, including people who are out of work and receiving Universal Credit and older people receiving Pension Credit. In addition, more than 8 million pensioner households will receive a one-off payment of £300 through the Winter Fuel Payment from November, and 6 million eligible disabled people will receive a one-off Disability Cost of Living Payment of £150 from 20 September.
Also included in the cost-of-living support is the current Household Support Fund in England, which is already providing £421m of support for the period April-September 2022. For the same period, the devolved administrations received £79 million through the Barnett formula. For the period October 2022-March 2023, we are providing an additional £421 million through the Household Support Fund to help households in England with the cost of essentials, and the devolved administrations will receive £79 million through the Barnett formula.
Ongoing financial support for help with the cost of living is provided to people over State Pension age through State Pensions, Pension Credit and Housing Benefit, and to people below State Pension age through Universal Credit, Jobseeker’s Allowance and Employment and Support Allowance. In some cases, and especially in the case of Pension Credit, these entitlements may also give access to other support such as help with Council Tax, NHS costs, discounts on energy bills, and free TV licences for those aged 75 or over.
People with a long-term health condition or disability may be entitled to one of the following non-means tested benefits to help them meet the additional costs that arise from disability: Attendance Allowance; Disability Living Allowance; or Personal Independence Payment. These benefits can be paid in addition to any other social security benefits and may qualify people for additional amounts or premiums as part of these benefits.
Asked by: Baroness Greengross (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they will take to ensure that (1) older people, and (2) people with disabilities, can live in suitable housing.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
This Government is committed to ensuring older and disabled people can access homes that best suits their needs.
We work closely with the Department of Health and Social Care to provide capital funding to incentivise supply. This includes investing £11.5 billion in the new Affordable Homes Programme, which includes delivery of new specialist or supported housing for older, disabled and other vulnerable people. We have also committed £573 million for the Disabled Facilities Grant each year from 2022-23 to 2024-25 to support eligible older and disabled people to adapt their homes to suit their needs.
As announced in the Levelling Up White Paper, we will shortly launch a new government taskforce to look at ways we can provide better choice, quality and security of housing for older people.
Asked by: Olivia Blake (Labour - Sheffield, Hallam)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent assessment he has made of the role of (a) maintenance and (b) continued supply of single-story homes in the ability of the housing market to meet national policy and guidance requirements on the provision of sufficient accessible housing suitable for the disabled and elderly; and what recent steps he has taken to help ensure that the housing needs of the disabled and elderly are taken into account in national planning decision-making.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
This Government believes that offering older people a better choice of accommodation to suit their changing needs can help them to live independently for longer and feel more connected to their communities.
In 2020, we consulted on options to raise or make accessibility standards of new homes mandatory, recognising the importance of suitable homes for older and disabled people. We are currently considering responses to our consultation and next steps will be set out in due course.
As set out in our National Planning Policy Framework, local authorities should already assess the types of homes needed for different groups within in their community and reflect this in their local planning policies.
We continue to drive up the supply of new homes, by diversifying the market; investing in affordable housing; and increasing land supply for new homes by investing in infrastructure.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help ensure that people with (a) autism, (b) a mental health diagnosis and (c) other diagnoses and who require supported accommodation can live near immediate family members in (i) Brighton and Hove and (ii) other areas; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
In the adult social care reform white paper, we committed to incentivise the supply of supported housing for older people, people with a physical disability, people with a learning disability, autistic people, and people with mental ill-health, through the Care and Support Specialised Housing Fund. £213 million will be available over the next three years through this Fund. This is alongside a new £300 million investment to connect housing with health and care, to boost the supply of supported housing, and to increase local expenditure on services for those in supported housing, in all local places.
Under Mental Health Act reforms, we propose creating a new duty on commissioners to ensure that there are sufficient community-based services for autistic people and people with a learning disability so they can live full lives in their community.
Asked by: Lord Sikka (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will provide a table showing (1) each of the benefits that individuals reaching the state pension age are entitled to claim, (2) the number of individuals who are entitled to claim such benefits, and (3) the number of individuals claiming them.
Answered by Baroness Stedman-Scott
Attendance Allowance |
Carer's Allowance |
Christmas Bonus |
Disability Living Allowance |
Housing benefits |
Industrial Injuries Disability benefits |
Pension Credit |
Personal Independence Payment |
State Pension |
Severe Disablement Allowance |
Winter Fuel Payments |
Benefit | Number of families entitled 2018/19 |
Pension Credit | 2,490,000 |
Housing Benefit (Pensioners) | 1,440,000 |
There are already around 1.4 million people claiming around £5 billion in Pension Credit. We want to make sure that all eligible pensioners claim the Pension Credit to which they are rightly entitled. The DWP conducted a media day in June with support from Age UK and the BBC and others, using national and local media to help reach older people reticent about claiming Pension Credit. There have also been press articles since then to encourage take-up.
The working group which DWP has established includes a diverse range of organisations including pensioner charities as well as the BBC, British Telecom, Virgin Money and the Local Government Association. The group met most recently on 19 October and we hope that it will identify new practical initiatives to help address Pension Credit take up.
Benefits directed at Pensioners | Caseload 2020/21 |
Attendance Allowance | 1,388,000 |
Carer’s Allowance | 287,000 |
Christmas Bonus | 12,275,000 |
Disability Living Allowance | 523,000 |
Housing Benefit | 1,164,000 |
Industrial Injuries benefits | 150,000 |
Pension Credit | 1,480,000 |
Personal Independence Payment | 306,000 |
State Pension | 12,379,000 |
Severe Disablement Allowance | 15,000 |
Winter Fuel Payments | 11,205,000 |
Asked by: Clive Betts (Labour - Sheffield South East)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of a C2R planning classification for housing-with-care, recommended by the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee in its report The future of the planning system in England, published on 10 June 2021.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
National planning policy is clear that plan making authorities are expected to have clear policies for addressing the housing needs of older and disabled people
The Town and Country Planning (Use Classes) Order 1987 (as amended) puts uses of land and buildings into various categories known as 'Use Classes'. In planning terms, homes for older people or those with a disability etc, may be C2 residential institutions or C3(b) dwellinghouse for up to six people living together as a single household, including cases where there is an element of care, or they may not be in a use class.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help ensure that disabled people are able to live independently as part of their local communities.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In England, the Disabled Facilities Grant supports older and disabled people on low incomes, to adapt their homes to make suitable for their needs. We also provide funding to build specialised housing through the Care and Support Specialised Housing Fund for older people and adults with learning and physical disabilities and mental ill-health.
In addition, we are working closely with the Cabinet Office’s Disability Unit on a national strategy for disabled people, aimed at improving the lives of disabled people, removing barriers and extending opportunities. The strategy is expected to be published shortly.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how they plan to meet the housing needs of (1) older, and (2) disabled, people.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
We place great importance on the provision of suitable homes for older and disabled people. Our planning rules already mean councils must consider the needs of older and disabled people when planning for new homes. In 2019 we published Planning Practice Guidance in order to help councils implement the National Planning Policy Framework policies.
In August 2020 we published our planning white paper, which set out the high-level details of our proposed planning reforms and we continue to engage with a range of stakeholders in order to help shape our proposals.
In September 2020 we consulted on how to raise accessible housing standards and we have also committed to a full review of Part M of the Building Regulations which includes a research programme to help us to consider what changes can be made.
In January 2021 we published the draft National Model Design Code, which guides local authorities on how to provide a variety of choice of homes to suit all needs and ages, including those of older people and disabled people.
We are committed to protecting and boosting the supply of supported housing and our aim is that 10% of delivery under the new Affordable Homes Programme will be for much needed specialist and supported housing for older and disabled people.
Lastly, by 2021-22 we will have invested over £4 billion into the Disabled Facilities Grant (2010-11 to 2021-22) which has provided an estimated 400,000 adaptations in disabled people’s homes.
Asked by: Liz Twist (Labour - Blaydon)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
What steps he is taking to help ensure the provision of accessible homes for older and disabled people.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
By April 2022, the Government will have invested over £4 billion through the Disabled Facilities Grant, which will have funded adaptations to almost 400,000 homes since 2010.
In addition, 10 per cent of units delivered under the new Affordable Homes Programme will be used to increase the supply of specialist or supported housing.
Our current planning rules mean councils must consider the needs of older people and those with disabilities when planning new homes, and the Government recently consulted on options that include introducing higher mandatory accessibility standards for all new homes.
Asked by: Ian Mearns (Labour - Gateshead)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department plans to increase the state pension allowance to account for the increased utility costs of people spending an increased amount of time in their homes during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government is committed to ensuring that older people are able to live with the dignity and respect they deserve, and the State Pension is the foundation of state support for older people. In response to the Covid 19 pandemic, the Government has introduced an Uprating Bill to ensure we can increase State Pension and Pension Credit rates for 2021/22.
In April 2020, full amounts of the basic and new State Pensions increased by 3.9%, in line with average earnings growth. The full yearly rate of the basic State Pension is now worth over £1,900 more than it was in 2010.
The Government has committed to keeping the Winter Fuel Payment. The payment gives reassurance, particularly to poorer pensioners that they can keep warm during the colder months. We will continue to pay £200 for households with somebody who has reached State Pension age and is under age 80 or £300 for households with somebody aged 80 and over. This is a significant contribution towards a household’s winter fuel bill.
Pensioners whose financial circumstances have been affected by the pandemic may be eligible for Pension Credit. Pension Credit tops up a person’s other income to a standard minimum weekly amount – £173.75 for single people or £265.20 for a couple. Extra amounts are also payable in respect of disability, caring (including for children) and certain housing costs. An award of Pension Credit can also provide access to a range of other benefits such as help with housing costs, council tax, heating bills or health costs.
Pension Credit customers who are in receipt of the Pension Credit Guarantee Credit element, are also entitled to the warm home discount providing their energy supplier is part of the scheme. Further details can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/the-warm-home-discount-scheme