Asked by: David Linden (Scottish National Party - Glasgow East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what equality impact assessment she has made of the (a) eligibility criteria for and (b) length of the benefit cap grace period during the covid-19 pandemic.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Ministers continue to fulfil the requirements of the Public Sector Equality Duty and to monitor the current situation as it develops.
Asked by: David Linden (Scottish National Party - Glasgow East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the economic effect of the benefit cap on people supported by the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Universal Credit households are exempt from the benefit cap if they have monthly earnings of at least £604, which can include earnings from the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. In addition, claimants with a sustained work record may be entitled to a nine-month grace period where their benefits are not capped.
Asked by: Virginia Crosbie (Conservative - Ynys Môn)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what financial support he plans to make available to people who are carers for a disabled partner and who have been denied access to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme by their employers.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Government recognises and values the vital contribution made by carers in supporting some of the most vulnerable in society.
Carers who are not put on furlough by their employer could be eligible for a number of benefits. Unpaid carers may be able to apply for Carer’s Allowance if they meet the qualifying conditions, such as providing 35 hours of care a week. In order to ensure that carers already in receipt of Carer’s Allowance do not inadvertently stop receiving it because of changes to patterns of care during COVID-19, the Government has allowed emotional support to count towards the 35 hours of care being provided by the carer. The Government has also relaxed the rules on breaks in care. These measures recognise that carers need extra flexibility in the way they provide care during the current emergency.
The Government continues to protect the value of benefits paid to carers while also spending record amounts in real terms. Since 2010, the rate of Carer’s Allowance has increased from £53.90 to £67.25 a week, meaning about an additional £700 a year for carers. Between 2020/21 and 2025/26, real terms expenditure on Carer’s Allowance is forecast to increase by nearly a third (about £1 billion). By 2025/26, the Government is forecast to spend just over £4 billion a year on Carer’s Allowance.
Furthermore, Carer’s Allowance is not the only benefit available to carers. Carers have access to the full range of social security benefits depending on their individual circumstances. Many of these benefits have additional elements to recognise the additional contribution and responsibilities associated with caring. For example, Universal Credit includes a carer element at the rate of £162.92 per monthly assessment period.
Carers will also benefit from the Government’s wider changes to the welfare system to support individuals during the pandemic, worth £7.4bn in 2020/21 according to Office for Budget Responsibility estimates. This includes carers on Universal Credit who will benefit from the temporary increase to the standard allowance by £20 per week.
Asked by: Chris Stephens (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to ensure workers eligible for furlough who have been denied payments are eligible for social security support; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Will Quince
It would not be for the Department for Work and Pensions to comment on why workers eligible for furlough have been denied payments.
Those who are out of work or who are on a low income can claim Universal Credit and/or New Style JSA or ESA, if they are entitled.
Help to Claim is available online, over the phone and face to face through local Citizens Advice offices.
Asked by: Julian Sturdy (Conservative - York Outer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of extending the one calendar month deadline to request a mandatory reconsideration to allow claimants sufficient time to compile necessary information in the context of delays caused by the covid-19 (a) outbreak and (b) lockdown announced in January 2021.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The law provides that if an application is made outside the one month time limit but within 13 months of the decision being disputed, the application will be admitted as in time where the claimant can show there were special circumstances for the late application.
Claimants do not have to submit all of the supporting information within one month. When they apply for a Mandatory Reconsideration, they can inform the Decision Maker they intend to provide further information. In these cases, more time will be allowed for this to be provided and no decision will be made until it is received.
Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 19 January 2021 to Question 136526 on Social Security Benefits: Coronavirus, on what date she reviewed the adequacy of the benefit cap grace period; and who she consulted as part of that review.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
There are currently no plans to extend the grace period. Getting our claimants back into work remains my primary concern and, of course, returning to employment will significantly increase the likelihood of a household not being affected by the cap.Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford and Eccles)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to Treasury's Answer on 18 December 2020 to Question 127577 on Social Security Benefits: Coronavirus, with reference to the recommendations on uplift of legacy benefits in the report published by Scope in May 2020, entitled Disabled People and the Coronavirus, and with reference to the scheduled cessation of the universal credit £20 uplift in April 2021, if she will (a) commission and (b) review research on the potential merits of extending the covid-19 universal credit uplift to recipients of legacy benefits; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Will Quince
There are no plans to extend the temporary £20 uplift to legacy benefits. Claimants on legacy benefits can make a claim for Universal Credit (UC) if they think they will be better off and should check carefully their eligibility and entitlements under UC before applying, as legacy benefits will end when claimants submit their UC claim and they will not be able to return to them in the future. For this reason, prospective claimants are signposted to independent benefits calculators on GOV.UK. Neither DWP nor HMRC can advise individual claimants whether they would be better off moving to UC or remaining on legacy benefits. There are special arrangements for those in receipt of the Severe Disability Premium, who will be able to make a new claim to Universal Credit from 27 January 2021.
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford and Eccles)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 25 November 2020 to Question 118536 on Social Security Benefits: Coronavirus, with reference to the report published by Scope in May 2020, entitled Disabled People and the Coronavirus, what comparative assessment she has made of the effect of the covid-19 outbreak on people receiving (a) legacy benefits and (b) universal credit; and for what reasons people receiving legacy benefits are not entitled to a £20 uplift during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Will Quince
The £20 per week uplift to Universal Credit and Working Tax Credit was announced by the Chancellor as a temporary measure in March 2020 to support those facing the most financial disruption as a result of the public health emergency. This measure remains in place until March 2021. As the Government has done throughout this crisis, it will continue to assess how best to support low-income families, which is why we will look at the economic and health context before making any decisions.
There are no plans to extend the uplift to legacy benefits. Claimants on legacy benefits can make a claim for Universal Credit if they believe that they will be better off. There are special arrangements for those in receipt of the Severe Disability Premium, who will be able to make a new claim to Universal Credit from 27 January 2021. Claimants should check carefully their eligibility and entitlements under Universal Credit before applying as legacy benefits will end when claimants submit their claim and they will not be able to return to them in the future.
Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what equality impact assessment she has made of the effect of the benefit cap during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Secretary of State has reviewed the adequacy of the benefit cap grace period and has no current plans to alter it. Helping claimants back into work, including through delivery of our Plan for Jobs, remains a primary focus, as returning to employment will significantly increase the likelihood of a household not being affected by the cap.
Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of the length of the benefit cap grace period.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Ministers continue to fulfil the requirements of the Public Sector Equality Duty and to monitor the current situation as it develops. The published benefit cap statistics are currently available to August 2020. Statistics for the number of households capped in Universal Credit and Housing Benefit in November 2020 will be published on the 30 March 2021: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/benefit-cap-statistics.