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1506512

registered interest
date	20/09/2022
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Food Banks: Food Supply
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an estimate of the number of foodbanks which (a) do not have enough food to meet demand as on 12 September 2022 and (b) will run out of food in the next three months.
tabling member constituency	York Central
tabling member printed	Rachael Maskell
uin	51784
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/09/2022 answer text <p>The Government is concerned by the data limitations in this area, and thus from April 2021 we introduced a set of questions into the Family Resources Survey (FRS) to measure and track food bank usage. The first results of these questions are due to be published in March 2023 subject to usual quality assurance. These questions will not tell us how much food is in food banks but will allow us to gauge where people in food security are seeking help and over time will allow is to build a time series on the scale of food bank usage.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>Government understands the pressures people are facing with the cost of living. That is why we are introducing the new “Energy Price Guarantee.” This will mean a typical UK household will now pay up to an average £2,500 a year on their energy bill for the next two years from 1 October, saving the average household in Great Britain at least £1,000 a year based on current energy prices from October. This is in addition to over £37bn of Cost of living support announced earlier this year.</p><p> </p><p>Included within this £37bn is an additional £500 million to help households with the cost of essentials, on top of what we have already provided since October 2021, bringing total funding for this support to £1.5 billion. In England this will take the form of an extension to the Household Support Fund backed by £421m, running from 1 October 2022 to 31 March 2023. We will publish new guidance for Local Authorities for this latest extension shortly. The Devolved administrations will receive £79 million through the Barnett formula.</p> answering member constituency Banbury answering member printed Victoria Prentis question first answered 27/09/2022 10:46:17 answering member 4401 label Biography information for Victoria Prentis
tabling member	4471 label Biography information for Rachael Maskell

1506543

registered interest
date	20/09/2022
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Universal Credit
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if her Department will make an assessment of the adequacy of childcare support for families in receipt of Universal Credit.
tabling member constituency	Houghton and Sunderland South
tabling member printed	Bridget Phillipson
uin	51617
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/09/2022 answer text <p>No such assessment has been made.</p><p> </p><p>In Universal Credit, working families can claim up to 85%, increased from 70% in legacy benefits, of their eligible registered childcare costs each month regardless of the hours worked. This equates to a maximum support of £646.35 per month for one child and £1,108.04 per month for two or more children.</p><p> </p><p>The current childcare offer is comprehensive, broad ranging and reflects different family circumstances, covering children over a range of ages. We believe that helping parents with their childcare costs is one of the best ways to help people into work, support families with the cost of living, and ensure every child has the opportunity of a high-quality early education.</p><p> </p><p>The UC childcare policy aligns with the wider government childcare offer, which includes 15 hours per week free childcare for disadvantaged 2-year-olds and 3- &amp; 4-year-olds. This doubles to 30 hours per week free childcare for working parents of 3- &amp; 4-year-olds. The UC childcare element can be used to top up a claimant’s eligible free childcare hours if more hours are worked and childcare required. This offer means that for some claimants’ childcare costs should not present any barriers to entering work.</p><p> </p><p>Eligible claimants who need help to enter employment can apply for help from the Flexible Support Fund (locally managed by Jobcentres to remove challenges to entering employment) with initial up-front childcare costs. This is a non-repayable payment that will pay upfront childcare costs directly to the provider up to the first salary received.</p> answering member constituency Banbury answering member printed Victoria Prentis question first answered 28/09/2022 17:00:42 answering member 4401 label Biography information for Victoria Prentis
tabling member	4046 label Biography information for Bridget Phillipson

1506545

registered interest
date	20/09/2022
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Universal Credit
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many families are making a claim for childcare support under universal credit in (a) England and (b) the UK as on 8 September 2022; and what the average value of those claims is.
tabling member constituency	Houghton and Sunderland South
tabling member printed	Bridget Phillipson
uin	51619
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/09/2022 answer text <p>In May 2022 there were 111,100 households receiving the childcare element of Universal Credit in England, with an average childcare element value of £326. In the UK, in May 2022 there were 133,000 families with an average childcare element value of £323.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Notes:</strong></p><p>1. Figures rounded to the nearest 100 and £1</p><p>2. Average is calculated using the mean value of the amount of childcare element provided</p><p>3. Universal Credit figures are for GB only, as DWP do not administer Universal Credit in Northern Ireland</p><p>4. In line with published official stats data is only available to May 22</p> answering member constituency Banbury answering member printed Victoria Prentis question first answered 28/09/2022 17:07:12 answering member 4401 label Biography information for Victoria Prentis
tabling member	4046 label Biography information for Bridget Phillipson

1506547

registered interest
date	20/09/2022
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Universal Credit
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many families in England are claiming the maximum childcare support of (a) £646 for one child or (b) £1,108 for two or more children.
tabling member constituency	Houghton and Sunderland South
tabling member printed	Bridget Phillipson
uin	51621
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/09/2022 answer text <p>In May 2022 there were 7,200 families in England claiming the maximum childcare support for one child and 2,800 families in England claiming the maximum childcare support for two or more children.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Notes:</strong></p><p>1. Figures rounded to the nearest 100</p><p>2. In line with published official stats data is only available to May 22</p> answering member constituency Banbury answering member printed Victoria Prentis question first answered 28/09/2022 17:04:05 answering member 4401 label Biography information for Victoria Prentis
tabling member	4046 label Biography information for Bridget Phillipson

1506582

registered interest
date	20/09/2022
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Carers: Employment
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she has plans to provide further resources to carers to help (a) remain in or (b) return to work.
tabling member constituency	Ealing Central and Acton
tabling member printed	Dr Rupa Huq
uin	51859
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/09/2022 answer text <p>The Government recognises the important contribution of unpaid carers and the considerable challenges they can face in balancing work with their caring responsibilities.</p><p>Unpaid carers can access a range of support in Jobcentres to help them find employment.</p><p>The Government has consulted on proposals for a new entitlement to carer’s leave. The Government response to the consultation committed to introducing carer’s leave as a day 1 right. We are aware of Wendy Chamberlain MP’s Private Member’s Bill on Carer’s Leave and are looking closely at whether we can support this at Second Reading. That Bill would introduce carer’s leave for all employees who are providing care for a dependant with a long-term care need. Eligible employees will be entitled to one week of unpaid leave per year, which will be available to take including flexibly in individual or half days.</p><p> </p><p>The Adult Social Care Reform White Paper: <em>People at the Heart of Care</em>, sets out a new strategic approach to empower unpaid carers including identifying, recognising and involving unpaid carers; supporting the economic and social participation of unpaid carers and working with sector to kick start a change in the services provided to support unpaid carers.</p><p> </p><p>Local authorities are required to undertake a Carer’s Assessment for any carer who has a need for support. This is an opportunity to record the impact caring has on a carer, including whether they are willing or able to continue caring. If a carer is assessed as having needs that are eligible for support, then the local authority has a legal duty to meet these needs on request from the carer and to draw up a support plan with the carer setting out how these needs will be met.</p> answering member constituency Brentwood and Ongar answering member printed Alex Burghart question first answered 27/09/2022 15:05:01 answering member 4613 label Biography information for Alex Burghart
tabling member	4511 label Biography information for Dr Rupa Huq

1506637

registered interest
date	20/09/2022
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Cost of Living Payments: Social Security Benefits
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reason the £650 Cost of Living Payment is available to those on income-based benefits but not those on contribution-based benefits.
tabling member constituency	Newport East
tabling member printed	Jessica Morden
uin	51543
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/09/2022 answer text <p>Non-means tested benefits are not qualifying benefits for the Cost-of-Living Payment in their own right because people receiving these benefits may have other financial resources available to them. The Government is committed to managing the public finances in a responsible way by targeting the £650 Cost of Living Payment support at low income means tested households where it is most needed.</p><p> </p><p>The guidance with the full list of support can be found at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/cost-of-living" target="_blank">Cost of living support - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)</a></p><p> </p><p>In addition to the new support, people on low incomes but not means-tested benefits may also benefit from previously announced measures to help people tackle the cost of living, including frozen alcohol duty and fuel duty, raising the NICs threshold, council tax rebates and the further rise in the National Living Wage to £9.50 an hour from April 2022.</p><p> </p><p>From 1 October, a new ‘Energy Price Guarantee’ will mean a typical UK household will now pay up to an average £2,500 a year on their energy bill for the next two years. This is automatic and applies to all households. This will save the average household at least £1,000 a year based on current energy prices from October and is in addition to the £400 energy bills discount for all households. This applies to all households in Great Britain, with the same level of support made available to households in Northern Ireland.</p><p> </p><p>From October 2022, Government is also providing an additional £500 million to help households with the cost of essentials, bringing the total funding for this support to £1.5 billion</p> answering member constituency Banbury answering member printed Victoria Prentis question first answered 28/09/2022 17:03:37 answering member 4401 label Biography information for Victoria Prentis
tabling member	1548 label Biography information for Jessica Morden

1506741

registered interest
date	20/09/2022
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Department for Work and Pensions: Work Experience
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many young people aged eighteen or younger have undertaken work experience in her Department in the last 12 months; and what proportion of those young people were (a) girls and (b) boys from state schools.
tabling member constituency	Feltham and Heston
tabling member printed	Seema Malhotra
uin	51681
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/09/2022 answer text <p>We are unable to answer this question on the grounds of disproportionate cost. Offices around the country work with local schools to offer work experience whilst young people are still in education. Movement to work is offered across the country for young people who are no longer in education and are claiming DWP benefits.</p> answering member constituency Banbury answering member printed Victoria Prentis question first answered 29/09/2022 11:25:22 answering member 4401 label Biography information for Victoria Prentis
tabling member	4253 label Biography information for Seema Malhotra

1506758

registered interest
date	20/09/2022
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Social Security Benefits: Nutrition
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make it her policy to implement the National Food Strategy recommendation that the true cost of eating healthily should be calculated into benefits payments; and if she will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Brighton, Pavilion
tabling member printed	Caroline Lucas
uin	51596
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/09/2022 answer text <p>The current rates of income-related benefits such as Universal Credit do not represent a minimum requirement and are not described as such in legislation. The Government specifies the rates which are applicable to different benefits, and these may vary according to claimants' circumstances.</p><p> </p><p>Income-related benefit rates are not made up of separate amounts for specific items of expenditure such as food or fuel charges, and beneficiaries are free to spend their benefit as they see fit, in the light of their individual commitments, needs and preferences.</p><p> </p><p>The Government has expanded free school meals to more children than any other, including rolling out universal infant free school meals to all children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2, ensuring a further 1.25 million pupils receive a free nutritious meal each day, in addition to the 1.9m children that receive benefits related free school meals.</p><p> </p><p>The Holiday Activities and Food programme has been expanded to operate across all England Local Authorities, providing over £600m for the next 3 years. Last summer reaching over 600,000 children.</p><p> </p><p>We are investing up to £24 million into the National School Breakfast Programme, benefitting up to 2,500 schools in disadvantaged areas, building on the previous programme.</p><p> </p><p>The Government also increased the value of Healthy Start Food Vouchers from £3.10 to £4.25, (children aged under one receive £8.50 in total, every week), helping eligible low-income households to buy fresh, frozen and tinned fruit and vegetables, fresh, milk and infant formula. Recipients are also eligible for free Healthy Start vitamins.</p> answering member constituency Banbury answering member printed Victoria Prentis question first answered 28/09/2022 17:01:36 answering member 4401 label Biography information for Victoria Prentis
tabling member	3930 label Biography information for Caroline Lucas

1506775

registered interest
date	20/09/2022
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Poverty: Children
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to help ensure that all children have access to adequate food and warmth at weekends.
tabling member constituency	York Central
tabling member printed	Rachael Maskell
uin	51822
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/09/2022 answer text <p>This Government is committed to supporting low-income families, and will spend over £242bn through the welfare system in 2022/23 of which £108bn on people of working age, mainly families with children.</p><p> </p><p>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 new “Energy Price Guarantee” will mean a typical UK household will now pay up to an average £2,500 a year on their energy bill for the next two years from 1 October, saving the average household in Great Britain at least £1,000 a year based on current energy prices from October. 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.</p><p> </p><p>This includes the current Household Support Fund, in England, which is already providing £421m of support for the period April – September 2022; at least a third of this (£140m) will be spent on families with children. For the same period, devolved administrations have received £79 million through the Barnett formula. For the period October 2022- March 2023, we are also providing an additional £500 million to help households with the cost of essentials. This brings the total funding for this support, since October 2021, to £1.5 billion.</p><p> </p><p>It remains our firm belief that work is the best route out of poverty and with 1.27 million vacancies across the UK we want to support parents to move into and to progress in work wherever possible. 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.</p><p> </p><p>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 2020/21, there were 200,000 fewer children in absolute poverty before housing costs than in 2009/10.</p><p /><p>To help parents into work, our Plan for Jobs continues to provide broad ranging support for all jobseekers. This is on top of the support already provided by increasing the National Living Wage to £9.50 per hour, 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; and the Universal Credit childcare offer which allows working parents to claim back up to 85% of their registered childcare costs each month (up to a maximum cap).</p> answering member constituency Banbury answering member printed Victoria Prentis question first answered 28/09/2022 17:09:46 answering member 4401 label Biography information for Victoria Prentis
tabling member	4471 label Biography information for Rachael Maskell

1506795

registered interest
date	20/09/2022
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Personal Independence Payment: Medical Examinations
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that accessibility requirements are fully taken into account when making a decision on the most appropriate Personal Independence Payment assessment method.
tabling member constituency	Southport
tabling member printed	Damien Moore
uin	51951
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/09/2022 answer text <p>It is important that all our claimants can access our services and that they do not face obstacles in applying and communicating with the department and its providers. The feasibility of a paper-based assessment will always be considered in the first instance for all cases. Where this is not possible the claimant will be invited to a telephone, video or face-to-face assessment. Before an invite to assessment is sent, consideration will be given to claimants who need a specific assessment channel due to their health condition or circumstances. In addition, before attending a face-to-face or telephone consultation, claimants are given the opportunity to alert their assessment provider of any additional requirements they may have, and the providers will meet any such reasonable requests.</p><p> </p><p>Claimants identified as being vulnerable (e.g. having mental health or learning disabilities) can access additional support at any point in the claim or assessment process.</p><p> </p><p>An audit criteria was introduced from 1 July 22 for Personal Independence Payment (PIP), which will ensure claimants are allocated to the most appropriate assessment channel for their needs and circumstances.</p> answering member constituency Banbury answering member printed Victoria Prentis question first answered 27/09/2022 10:18:02 answering member 4401 label Biography information for Victoria Prentis
tabling member	4669 label Biography information for Damien Moore