Asked by: Jonathan Ashworth (Labour (Co-op) - Leicester South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much of the budget allocated to the Restart programme has been spent to date.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The total amount spent to date on the Restart programme is £596.5m of which £343.8m was spent in 2021/22 and £252.7m year to date expenditure in 22/23.
Asked by: Alison McGovern (Labour - Wirral South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what job outcomes have been achieved each month since the Restart programme started.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The department is continuing to develop its plan to publish official statistics on the Restart Scheme.
Asked by: Alison McGovern (Labour - Wirral South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many starts there have been since the Restart programme started, by month.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The department is continuing to develop its plan to publish official statistics on the Restart Scheme.
Asked by: Alison McGovern (Labour - Wirral South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department plans to publish regular performance data on the Restart programme, including the number of people (a) starting on the programme and (b) securing a job outcome.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The department is continuing to develop its plan to publish official statistics on the Restart Scheme.
Asked by: Emma Lewell-Buck (Labour - South Shields)
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 increase in absolute child poverty in (a) the North East and (b) Yorkshire and the Humber.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
No assessment has been made of child poverty in the North East, Yorkshire and the Humber for 2020/21. Given the impact of the pandemic on the size and quality of sample data, DWP statisticians concluded that for several of the breakdowns it would be difficult to make meaningful assessments of trends and changes in 2020/21 compared with the pre-Covid position. The Chief Statistician has therefore taken the decision not to publish additional breakdowns for regional child poverty in 2020/21.
The Government is committed to reducing poverty and supporting low-income families. In 2022/23 we will spend over £242 billion through the welfare system in Great Britain including £108 billion on people of working age.
With 1.25 million job vacancies across the UK, our focus is firmly on supporting parents to move into, and progress in work, an approach which is based on clear evidence about the importance of parental employment - particularly where it is full-time - in substantially reducing the risks of child poverty. The latest available data on in-work poverty shows that in 2019/20, children in households where all adults were in work were around six times less likely to be in absolute poverty (before housing costs) than children in a household where nobody works.
In 2021, compared to 2010, there were nearly 1 million fewer workless households and almost 590,000 fewer children in workless households in the UK. In 2020/21, there were 200,000 fewer children in absolute poverty (before housing costs) than in 2009/10.
To help people into work, including parents, our Plan for Jobs is providing broad ranging support for all Jobseekers with our Sector Based Work Academy Programmes (SWAP), Job Entry Targeted Support and Restart scheme. We are also extending the support Jobcentres provide to people in work and on low incomes. Through a staged roll-out, which started in April 2022, around 2.1 million low-paid benefit claimants will be eligible for support to progress into higher-paid work.
Around 1.9 million of the most disadvantaged pupils are eligible for and claiming a free school meal, saving families around £400 per year. In addition, around 1.25 million more infants enjoy a free, healthy and nutritious meal at lunchtime following the introduction of universal infant free school meals. The National School Breakfast Provision programme (NSBP) is providing funding of up to £24 million in a two-year contract to continue our support for school breakfast provision until July 2023 supporting pupils in up to 2,500 schools that meet our criteria for levels of disadvantage.
The Government is also investing £200 million a year to continue the Holiday Activities and Food Programme, which benefitted over 600,000 children last summer, and we have increased the value of the Healthy Start Scheme by a third to £4.25 a week.
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 government’s Energy Price Guarantee will save a typical British household around £700 this winter, based on what energy price would’ve been under the current price cap – reducing bills by roughly a third. This support will be in place from 1 October 2022 until 31 March 2023. A review will be launched to consider more targeted measures to support households with their energy bills after this period. This is in addition to the over £37bn of cost of living support announced earlier this year which includes the £400 non-repayable discount to eligible households provided through the Energy Bills Support Scheme.
The £37bn also includes up to £650 in cost of living Payments (paid in 2 lump sums of £326 and £324) which have targeted support at around 8 million low-income households on means-tested benefits. In addition, 6 million eligible disabled people have received a one-off disability Cost of Living Payment of £150 and pensioner households will receive a one-off payment of £300 alongside the Winter Fuel Payment from this month.
In collaboration with Local Authorities we have a well-established system of hardship payments, including the Discretionary Housing Payments, available as a safeguard for if claimants demonstrate they cannot meet their immediate and most essential needs due to the rise in the cost of living. For those who require additional support, we extended the Household Support Fund in England, which will be providing up to £421m of support for those most in need for the period October 2022 - March 2023 and is being delivered by Upper Tier and Unitary Councils. In the case of South Tyneside, the local authority has been allocated £1,484,854.01 for this period. The devolved administrations have been allocated £79 million through the Barnett formula as usual.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what additional financial support they will provide to parents facing poverty, given the increased cost of living.
Answered by Baroness Stedman-Scott
The Government is committed to reducing poverty and supporting low-income families. In 2022/23 we will spend over £242 billion through the welfare system in Great Britain including £108 billion on people of working age.
With 1.25 million job vacancies across the UK, our focus is firmly on supporting parents to move into, and progress in work, an approach which is based on clear evidence about the importance of parental employment - particularly where it is full-time - in substantially reducing the risks of child poverty.
To help parents into work, our Plan for Jobs is providing broad ranging support for all Jobseekers with our Sector Based Work Academy Programmes (SWAP), Job Entry Targeted Support and Restart scheme. We are also extending the support Jobcentres provide to people in work and on low incomes. Through a staged roll-out, which started in April 2022, around 2.1 million low-paid benefit claimants will be eligible for support to progress into higher-paid work.
To further support parents to move into and progress in work, the government provides a range of childcare offers. For more information on what childcare support may be available, we encourage parents to use the Childcare Choices website.
Around 1.9 million of the most disadvantaged pupils are eligible for and claiming a free, healthy and nutritious school meal, saving families around £400 per year. In addition, around 1.25 million more infants enjoy a free meal at lunchtime following the introduction of universal infant free school meals. The National School Breakfast Provision programme (NSBP) is providing funding of up to £24 million in a two-year contract to continue our support for school breakfast provision until July 2023 supporting pupils in up to 2,500 schools that meet our criteria for levels of disadvantage.
The Government is also investing £200 million a year to continue the Holiday Activities and Food Programme, which benefitted over 600,000 children last summer, and we have increased the value of the Healthy Start Scheme by a third to £4.25 a week.
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 Energy Price Guarantee is supporting millions of households with rising energy costs, and the Chancellor made clear it will continue to do so from now until April next year. This is in addition to the over £37bn of cost of living support announced earlier this year which includes the £400 non-repayable discount to eligible households provided through the Energy Bills Support Scheme.
The £37bn also includes up to £650 in cost of living Payments (paid in 2 lump sums of £326 and £324) which have targeted support at around 8 million low-income households on means-tested benefits. In addition, 6 million eligible disabled people have received a one-off disability Cost of Living Payment of £150 and pensioner households will receive a one-off payment of £300 alongside the Winter Fuel Payment from November.
For those who require additional support we have provided an extension to the Household Support Fund backed by £421m, running from 1 October 2022 to 31 March 2023. The devolved administrations will receive £79 million through the Barnett formula as usual.
Asked by: Alison McGovern (Labour - Wirral South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 10 May 2022 to Question 234 on Restart Scheme, when the National Audit Office plans to release its findings of their review of the Restart Scheme.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The National Audit Office have advised us that the report on the Restart Scheme is due for publication on 2 December 2022.
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 steps she is taking to ensure people do not fall into food poverty.
Answered by Claire Coutinho - Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
The Government is committed to reducing poverty and supporting low-income families. In 2022/23 we will spend over £242 billion through the welfare system in Great Britain including £108 billion on people of working age.
With 1.25 million job vacancies across the UK, our focus is firmly on supporting people to move into, and progress in work. This approach is based on clear evidence about the importance of employment - particularly where it is full-time - in substantially reducing the risks of poverty.
To help people into work across Great Britain, our Plan for Jobs is providing broad ranging support for all Jobseekers with our Sector Based Work Academy Programmes (SWAP), Job Entry Targeted Support and Restart scheme. We are also extending the support Jobcentres provide to people in work and on low incomes. Through a staged roll-out, which started in April 2022, around 2.1 million low-paid benefit claimants will be eligible for support to progress into higher-paid work.
This is on top of the support we have already provided by increasing the National Living Wage to £9.50 per hour and giving nearly 1.7 million families an extra £1,000 a year, on average, through our changes to the Universal Credit taper and work allowances.
The government understands the pressures people are facing with the cost of living and has provided over £37bn of support including up to £650 in cost-of-living Payments (paid in 2 lump sums of £326 and £324) which have targeted support at around 8 million low-income households on means-tested benefits. In addition, 6 million eligible disabled people have received a one-off disability Cost of Living Payment of £150 and pensioner households will receive a one-off payment of £300 through and as an addition to the Winter Fuel Payment from November.
For those who require additional support the current Household Support Fund in England, which will be providing up to £421m of support to those most in need for the period October 2022 - March 2023 and is being delivered by Upper Tier and Unitary Councils. The devolved administrations will receive £79 million through the Barnett formula as usual.
The Government are also investing £200 million a year to continue the Holiday Activities and Food Programme, which benefitted over 600,000 children last summer, and we have increased the value of the Healthy Start Scheme by a third to £4.25 a week.
Asked by: Jonathan Ashworth (Labour (Co-op) - Leicester South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the expected annual (a) resource and (b) capital expenditure will be on the Major Projects Portfolio projects entitled (i) Universal Credit Programme, (ii) Workplace Transformation, (iii) Pensions Dashboard Programme, (iv) Building Safety Regulator, (v) Restart Programme and (vi) Health Transformation Programme in each financial year of those projects; and if he will place that information in the House of Commons Library.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
Available financial information will be set out in the Department’s Annual Report and Accounts.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool, West Derby)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the Government plans to take steps in response to the End Child Poverty coalition statistics on local child poverty rates.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
This Government is committed to reducing child poverty and supporting low-income families, and believes work is the best route out of poverty. With a record 1.27 million vacancies across the UK, our focus is firmly on supporting people to move into and progress in work. This approach is based on clear evidence about the importance of parental employment - particularly where it is full-time – in substantially reducing the risks of child poverty and in improving long-term outcomes for families and children.
The latest available data on in-work poverty shows that in 2019/20, children in households where all adults were in work were around six times less likely to be in absolute poverty (before housing costs) than children in a household where nobody works. In October to December 2021 there were nearly 1 million fewer workless households and almost 540,000 fewer children living in workless households in the UK compared to 2010. In 2020/21, there were 200,000 fewer children in absolute poverty before housing costs than in 2009/10.
To help parents into work, our Plan for Jobs is providing broad ranging support for all Jobseekers with our Sector Based Work Academy Programmes (SWAP), Job Entry Targeted Support and Restart scheme. Our plan for jobs is providing results, over 539,000 unemployed Universal Credit claimants and Job Seekers Allowance (JSA) claimants have moved into work during the Way to Work Campaign.
We are also extending the support Jobcentres provide to people in work and on low incomes. Through a staged roll-out, which started in April 2022, around 2.1m low-paid benefit claimants will be eligible for support to progress into higher-paid work. This is on top of the support we have already provided by increasing the National Living Wage to £9.50 per hour and giving nearly 1.7 million families an extra £1,000 a year, on average, through our changes to the Universal Credit taper and work allowances.
To further support parents to move into and progress in work, eligible UC claimants can claim back up to 85% of their registered childcare costs each month up to a maximum of £646.35 per month for one child and £1,108.04 per month for two or more children. This is on top of the free childcare offer in England which provides 15 hours a week of free childcare for all 3- and 4-year-olds and disadvantaged 2-year-olds, doubling for working parents of 3- and 4-year-olds to 30 hours a week.
Around 1.9 million of the most disadvantaged pupils are eligible for and claiming a free school meal, saving families around £450 per year. In addition, around 1.25 million more infants enjoy a free, healthy and nutritious meal at lunchtime as well as over 90,000 disadvantaged further education students. We are also investing £200 million a year to continue the Holiday Activities and Food Programme, which benefitted over 600,000 children last summer, and we have increased the value of the Healthy Start Vouchers by a third to £4.25 a week.
The government understands the pressures people are facing with the cost of living. These are global challenges and that is why the government is providing over £15bn in further support, targeted particularly on those with the greatest need. This package is in addition to the over £22bn announced previously, with government support for the cost of living now totalling over £37bn this year.
This includes an additional £500 million to help households with the cost of essentials, on top of what we have already provided since October 2021, bringing the total funding for this support to £1.5 billion. In England, the current Household Support Fund is already providing £421m of support for the period 1 April – 30 September 2022, at least a third (£140m) will be spent on families with children. Liverpool City Council has been allocated £6,054,020.20.