Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that accessible housing for older and disabled people remains a Government priority in light of the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Luke Hall - Minister of State (Education)
I refer the Honourable Member to the answer given to Question UIN 54976 asked on 4 June 2020.
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to improve the availability of housing for older and disabled people.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
The Government is currently doing a full review of Part M of Building Regulations and we will consult shortly on various options to raise accessibility standards in new homes
Government’s planning guidance on housing for older and disabled people was published on 26 June 2019.
Our competition to deliver homes fit for the future was launched on 2 March 2020, intending to deliver new low carbon, age-friendly homes.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what progress has been made on improving access to housing for (a) older and (b) disabled people.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
The Government is currently doing a full review of Part M of Building Regulations
The Government’s planning guidance on housing for older and disabled people was published on 26 June 2019.
Our competition to deliver homes fit for the future was launched on 2 March 2020, intending to deliver new low carbon, age-friendly homes.
Asked by: Rushanara Ali (Labour - Bethnal Green and Bow)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans she has to review the effect on pensioner poverty of the requirement that pensioners make a claim for universal credit on retirement and not pension credit because their partner has not yet reached pension age.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
We spend around £100 billion on the State Pension in 2019/20, and as a result of the triple lock, from April 2020 (subject to Parliamentary approval), the full yearly amount of the basic State Pension will be around £700 higher than if it had just been up-rated by earnings since April 2010. There are 100,000 fewer pensioners in absolute poverty (before housing costs) than in 2009/10. Rates of material deprivation for pensioners are also at a record low: since 2009/10 material deprivation for pensioners has fallen from 10% to 7% in 2017/18. Entitlement to the State Pension, and eligibility to claim it, are unaffected by the changes made to support for people on low incomes through the system of income-related benefits.
This change does not apply to couples already claiming Pension Credit and/or Housing Benefit for pensioners on 14 May 2019 for as long as they remain entitled to either benefit.
In regard to encouraging people below State Pension age to remain in the labour market and continue saving for their own retirement, the Government believes this is important both for individuals and wider society. We do not therefore believe it is right that different labour-market conditions should apply to people below State Pension age based on the age of their partner.
This change in the way support is provided to couples where one partner is below State Pension age will ensure that the same incentives to work and save for retirement apply to the younger partner as apply to other people of the same age. Unlike Pension Credit, which in most cases allows a couple to retain only £10 a week of earned income, Universal Credit provides clear incentives for people to find and progress in work.
The younger partner in a mixed-age couple claiming Universal Credit will get the personalised support provided by Work Coaches to help them find and progress in work where appropriate. If the younger partner is unable to work because of disability or caring requirements, additional amounts may be payable and conditionality requirements adjusted. No work-related requirements will be applied to the older partner. The Government is committed to action that helps to alleviate levels of pensioner poverty.
Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what progress his Department has made on helping to ensure that new properties are built with good accessibility standards for (a) older and (b) disabled people.
Answered by Esther McVey - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
Planning guidance on housing for older and disabled people published last summer strengthened the link between plan making and optional technical standards in the Building Regulations. Government will consult shortly on options of how to raise standards of accessibility in new homes.
Asked by: Shabana Mahmood (Labour - Birmingham, Ladywood)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of the potential incentive for mixed-aged couples to live alone as a result of the changes to pension credit entitlement which came into force in May 2019.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Pension Credit is intended to provide long term support for people who have permanently retired from the labour market on grounds of age.
The Government does not believe it is right that different labour market conditions should apply to people below State Pension age based on the age of their partner. The younger partner in a mixed age couple should have the same incentives to work and save for their own retirement as other people of the same age. Unlike Pension Credit, which in most cases allows couples to retain only £10 a week of earned income, Universal Credit provides clear incentives for people to find and progress in work. The younger partner in a mixed age couple claiming Universal Credit will get the personalised support provided by Work Coaches to help them find and progress in work where appropriate. If the younger partner is unable to work because of disability or caring requirements, additional amounts may be payable and conditionality requirements adjusted.
No work-related requirements will be applied to the older partner and there is no effect on entitlement to, or ability to receive, a State Pension.
This change does not apply to couples already claiming Pension Credit and/or Housing Benefit for pensioners on 14 May 2019 for as long as they remain entitled to either benefit.
In means-tested benefits, couples in a household are treated and assessed as a single unit rather than on an individual basis. The rate for a couple is lower than the rates would be for two single people to take account of lower aggregate living expenses for a couple. There is no evidence from elsewhere in the tax-benefit system that this leads to couples separating. In developing the policy, it was judged that the strategic objective of maintaining contact with the labour market and incentives to save for retirement outweighed the risk of genuine separation, given this lack of evidence.
Asked by: Shabana Mahmood (Labour - Birmingham, Ladywood)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what additional financial support her Department provides to mixed-age couples as a result of the changes to pension credit entitlement which came into force in May 2019.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Pension Credit is intended to provide long term support for people who have permanently retired from the labour market on grounds of age.
The Government does not believe it is right that different labour market conditions should apply to people below State Pension age based on the age of their partner. The younger partner in a mixed age couple should have the same incentives to work and save for their own retirement as other people of the same age. Unlike Pension Credit, which in most cases allows couples to retain only £10 a week of earned income, Universal Credit provides clear incentives for people to find and progress in work. The younger partner in a mixed age couple claiming Universal Credit will get the personalised support provided by Work Coaches to help them find and progress in work where appropriate. If the younger partner is unable to work because of disability or caring requirements, additional amounts may be payable and conditionality requirements adjusted.
No work-related requirements will be applied to the older partner and there is no effect on entitlement to, or ability to receive, a State Pension.
This change does not apply to couples already claiming Pension Credit and/or Housing Benefit for pensioners on 14 May 2019 for as long as they remain entitled to either benefit.
In means-tested benefits, couples in a household are treated and assessed as a single unit rather than on an individual basis. The rate for a couple is lower than the rates would be for two single people to take account of lower aggregate living expenses for a couple. There is no evidence from elsewhere in the tax-benefit system that this leads to couples separating. In developing the policy, it was judged that the strategic objective of maintaining contact with the labour market and incentives to save for retirement outweighed the risk of genuine separation, given this lack of evidence.
Asked by: Shabana Mahmood (Labour - Birmingham, Ladywood)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she has put in place additional financial support for mixed-age pensioners as a result of the May 2019 changes to pension credit entitlement for mixed-aged couples; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Pension Credit is intended to provide long term support for people who have permanently retired from the labour market on grounds of age.
The Government does not believe it is right that different labour market conditions should apply to people below State Pension age based on the age of their partner. The younger partner in a mixed age couple should have the same incentives to work and save for their own retirement as other people of the same age. Unlike Pension Credit, which in most cases allows couples to retain only £10 a week of earned income, Universal Credit provides clear incentives for people to find and progress in work. The younger partner in a mixed age couple claiming Universal Credit will get the personalised support provided by Work Coaches to help them find and progress in work where appropriate. If the younger partner is unable to work because of disability or caring requirements, additional amounts may be payable and conditionality requirements adjusted.
No work-related requirements will be applied to the older partner and there is no effect on entitlement to, or ability to receive, a State Pension.
This change does not apply to couples already claiming Pension Credit and/or Housing Benefit for pensioners on 14 May 2019 for as long as they remain entitled to either benefit.
In means-tested benefits, couples in a household are treated and assessed as a single unit rather than on an individual basis. The rate for a couple is lower than the rates would be for two single people to take account of lower aggregate living expenses for a couple. There is no evidence from elsewhere in the tax-benefit system that this leads to couples separating. In developing the policy, it was judged that the strategic objective of maintaining contact with the labour market and incentives to save for retirement outweighed the risk of genuine separation, given this lack of evidence.
Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to address the finding of the report entitled Insight report: a forecast for accessible homes, published by Habinteg in June 2019, that one per cent of homes outside London will meet Building Regulations Approved document M Volume 1 M4(3) wheelchair accessible housing standard by 2030.
Answered by Esther McVey - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
On 25 June, the Prime Minister announced that government will consult on mandating higher accessibility standards for new housing, recognising that too many disabled people still live in unsuitable homes. We will bring forward the consultation on improving accessibility standards at the earliest opportunity, ensuring it happens as part of our full review of Part M of the Building Regulations. Habinteg’s report is important evidence which we will look at carefully as part of our review. New Planning guidance was published on 26 June to support councils to put clear policies in place for addressing the housing needs of older and disabled people.
Also announced on 25 June was a new cross-government disability team that will alongside the Government Equalities Office and Race Disparity Unit in a new Equalities Hub at the heart of government. This team will work closely with disabled people, disabled people’s organisations and charities to develop a new approach to disability, with their views and experiences at the forefront of any new policy.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to increase the uptake of pension credits in Easington constituency.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Potential customers can use the Pension Credit Calculator https://www.gov.uk/pension-credit-calculator to check if they are likely to be eligible and get an estimate of what they may receive. People wishing to claim Pension Credit can do so by calling the Freephone number 0800991234.
There are over 1.6 million people already claiming some £5.4 billion in Pension Credit, but the Government wants to ensure that all pensioners eligible can claim the Pension Credit to which they are rightly entitled. In Easington there are around 3,000 pensioners already claiming Pension Credit.
On a national basis, the DWP targets activity on engaging with people who may be eligible to benefits at pivotal stages, such as when they claim State Pension or report a change in their circumstances. The DWP uses a wide range of channels to communicate information about benefits to potential customers; including information on https://gov.uk/, in leaflets and by telephone. DWP staff in Pension Centres and Jobcentres including visiting officers are able to provide help and advice about entitlement to benefits, as are staff in Local Authorities who administer Housing Benefit.
We welcome and encourage initiatives to promote take up of Pension Credit by local organisations who may often be best placed to understand the local circumstances and needs in the community. To help facilitate this, we have developed the Pension Credit toolkit, as an on-line tool for agencies and welfare rights organisations to use in order to encourage Pension Credit take-up. It can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pension-credit-toolkit
The toolkit contains resources for anyone working with pensioners and includes guides to Pension Credit. It also contains publicity material and guidance designed to help older people understand how they could get Pension Credit and help organisations support someone applying for Pension Credit as well as ideas for encouraging take-up. The toolkit also provides links to information about disability and carers benefits.