Asked by: Colleen Fletcher (Labour - Coventry North East)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent assessment she has made on the impact of rising energy prices on the number of households in (a) Coventry North East constituency and (b) Coventry; and what steps her Department is taking to reduce fuel poverty levels in those areas.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Energy prices have fallen significantly since the winter of 2022-23. The Quarter 2 2024 price cap of £1,690 has fallen by nearly 60% since the Quarter 1 2023 price cap peak. Despite this fall in prices, we have been supporting millions of vulnerable and low income households through the £900 cost-of-living payments, alongside established financial support including the £150 Warm Home Discount.
There are also multiple targeted energy efficiency schemes in place delivering measures to low income and fuel poor households.
We are currently reviewing the 2021 fuel poverty strategy for England ‘Sustainable Warmth’.
Sub-regional fuel poverty estimates for 2022 will be published on 25th April 2024.
Asked by: Colleen Fletcher (Labour - Coventry North East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the number of people living in destitution in (a) Coventry North East constituency, (b) Coventry, (c) the West Midlands and (d) England.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government is committed to reducing poverty and supporting low-income families. We expect to spend around £276bn through the welfare system in Great Britain in 2023/24 including around £124bn on people of working age and children.
From this April, working age benefits will increase by 6.7% and, we are also raising the Local Housing Allowance rates to the 30th percentile of local market rents, benefiting 1.6 million low-income households.
With over 900,000 vacancies across the UK, our focus remains firmly on supporting people to move into and progress in work, an approach which is based on clear evidence about the importance of employment - particularly where it is full-time - in substantially reducing the risk of poverty. In 2021/22 working age adults living in workless families were 7 times more likely to be in absolute poverty after housing costs than working age adults in families where all adults work.
Our core Jobcentre offer provides a range of options to help people into work, including face-to-face time with Work Coaches and targeted employment support. Through our in-work progression offer, which is now live across all Jobcentres in Great Britain, we estimate that around 1.2m low-paid claimants are eligible for Work Coach support to help them increase their earnings. We will also increase the National Living Wage by 9.8% to £11.44 for workers aged 21 years and over from this April - an annual increase in gross earnings of over £1800 for someone working full-time on the National Living Wage.
Asked by: Colleen Fletcher (Labour - Coventry North East)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent estimate her Department has made of the proportion of households in (a) Coventry North East constituency, (b) Coventry, (c) the West Midlands and (d) England that spent more than 10% of their income on energy costs in each of the last three years.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The latest official Fuel Poverty Statistics for England were published in February 2023 on gov.uk here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/fuel-poverty-statistics#2022-Statistics
In addition to reporting against the official fuel poverty metric for England, these statistics included an affordability measure of the number of households required to spend more than 10 per cent of their income on domestic energy. These can be found in Annex D: Affordability measures for England, of the annual report.
Affordability measure estimates are not held at sub-national level. Figures are available at sub-national level for fuel poverty under the Low-income Low energy efficiency (LILEE) metric, on gov.uk here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/sub-regional-fuel-poverty-data-2023-2021-data
Asked by: Colleen Fletcher (Labour - Coventry North East)
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.
Asked by: Colleen Fletcher (Labour - Coventry North East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the welfare system in helping to alleviate levels of (a) pensioner, (b) in-work, (c) food and (d) child poverty in (i) Coventry North East constituency, (ii) Coventry, (iii) the West Midlands and (iv) England.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
No such assessments have been made.
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.
This government takes the issue of food security very seriously and is committed to understanding and addressing food poverty. This is why we added food security questions to the Family Resources Survey in 2019/20, and also why we have published official estimates of foodbank use for the first time in March 2023. National statistics on food security and food bank use for 2021/22 are available here. We aim to publish statistics for 2022/23 in March 2024.
Furthermore, the Government is committed to action that helps to alleviate levels of pensioner, in-work, and child 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.
Asked by: Colleen Fletcher (Labour - Coventry North East)
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 numbers of people living in food poverty in (a) Coventry North East constituency, (b) Coventry, (c) the West Midlands and (d) England; what recent assessment he has made of the impact of increases in the cost of living on levels of food poverty in those areas; and what steps his Department is taking to reduce food poverty.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
This government takes the issue of food security very seriously and is committed to understanding and addressing food poverty. This is why we added food security questions to the Family Resources Survey in 2019/20, and also why we have published official estimates of foodbank use for the first time in March 2023.
National statistics on food security and food bank use for 2021/22 are available here. We aim to publish statistics for 2022/23 in March 2024.
These questions remain in the survey and will allow us to track food security and foodbank use over time. Alongside the broad suite of poverty data, these will help the Government to understand more about the characteristics of people most in need and help shape future policy considerations.
Statistics are not available at the constituency level.
This Government understands the pressures people are facing with the cost of living which 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.
Asked by: Colleen Fletcher (Labour - Coventry North East)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of trends in the level of fuel poverty in (a) Coventry North East constituency, (b) Coventry, (c) the West Midlands and (d) England; and what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the rising cost of living on levels of fuel poverty in each of those areas.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Government has not made a recent assessment of trends in fuel poverty in these areas. The latest official sub-regional statistics for 2021 (published 27th April 2023) show the number of households in fuel poverty in Coventry North East Constituency was 11,400 (23.3%) and Coventry local authority was 28,525 (20.8). The latest official statistics for 2022 (published 28th February 2023) show for the West Midlands administrative area 489,000 (19.2%) and England 3,257,000 households (13.4%).
Energy efficiency is the best way to tackle fuel poverty and the Government are delivering measures to fuel poor households and provided significant financial support last winter and further support is available for 2023-24.
Asked by: Colleen Fletcher (Labour - Coventry North East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment his Department has made of the impact of inflation on pensioners in (a) Coventry North East constituency and (b) Coventry.
Answered by Laura Trott - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Households Below Average Income sample size is too small to provide robust estimates of the rates of pensioner poverty in the areas identified. National and regional statistics on the number and percentage of pensioners in low income are published annually in the “Households Below Average Income” publication, and can be found here:
The Government understands the pressures people are facing with the cost of living which is why we are providing total support of over £94bn over 2022/23 and 2023/24 to help households and individuals with their rising bills.
From April 2023, benefits and the State Pension, including the Pension Credit Standard Minimum Guarantee, were increased by 10.1%, in line with prices in the year to September 2022.
Over 8 million UK households on eligible means tested benefits, including the 1.4 million pensioners currently in receipt of Pension Credit, will receive additional Cost of Living Payments totalling up to £900 in the 2023/24 financial year.
In addition, over 8 million pensioner households will receive a £300 pensioner Cost of Living Payment as a top up to their winter fuel payment increasing payments to £500 for those aged 66-79 and £600 for those aged 80 and over.
Specific statistics relating to the pensioner Cost of Living Payments are not available. However, the latest available winter fuel payment statistics (2021/22) show that 14,352 customers in Coventry North East and 46,614 customers in Coventry received a winter fuel payment. We expect a similar number of customers will receive the pensioner Cost of Living Payments in 2022/23 and 2023/24.
The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions is required by law to undertake an annual review of benefits and the State Pension. The outcome of that review will be announced later this year following the publication of the relevant indices by the Office for National Statistics, and the new rates will enter into force from April 2024.
Asked by: Colleen Fletcher (Labour - Coventry North East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent estimate he has made of the number of pensioners living in poverty in (a) Coventry North East constituency, (b) Coventry, (c) the West Midlands and (d) England.
Answered by Laura Trott - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
National and regional statistics on the number of pensioners in low income are published annually in the “Households Below Average Income” publication, and can be found at: Households below average income: for financial years ending 1995 to 2022 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Asked by: Colleen Fletcher (Labour - Coventry North East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent estimate he has made of the number of children living in poverty in (a) Coventry North East constituency, (b) Coventry, (c) the West Midlands and (d) England.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Latest statistics for the levels of children who are in low income in the Coventry North East constituency and Coventry are published in “Children in Low Income Families”, and can be found here.
National and regional statistics on the number and percentage of children in low income are published annually in the “Households Below Average Income” publication, and can be found here.
Due to methodological differences, the figures in these two publications are not comparable.