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1505467

	registered interest
	date	06/09/2022
	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	Pensioners: Poverty
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate her Department 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; what recent assessment she has made of the effect of the rising cost of living on the levels of pensioner poverty in those areas; and what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the welfare system in helping to alleviate levels of pensioner poverty in those areas.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry North East
	tabling member printed	Colleen Fletcher
	uin	48379
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/09/2022 answer text <p>National Statistics on the number of pensioners in low income in West Midlands and England are published annually in the “Households Below Average Income” publication. Statistics, covering up until 2019/20, can be found here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/households-below-average-income-for-financial-years-ending-1995-to-2020" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/households-below-average-income-for-financial-years-ending-1995-to-2020</a>. Data for Coventry and the Coventry North East constituency is unavailable due to insufficient sample size.</p><p> </p><p>Given the impact of the pandemic on the size and quality of sample data additional breakdowns for regions in 2020/21 were not reliable enough to be published as part of the annual statistics.</p><p> </p><p>No such assessments have been made.</p><p> </p><p>The Government is committed to action that helps to alleviate levels of pensioner poverty.</p><p> </p><p>In 2020/21 there were 400,000 fewer pensioners in absolute poverty in the UK (both before and after housing costs) than in 2009/10.</p><p> </p><p>We are forecast to spend over £134 billion on benefits for pensioners in 2022/23. This amounts to 5.4% of GDP. This includes spending on the State Pension which is forecast to be over £110bn in 2022/23.</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 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 a £650 cost of living payment (paid in 2 lump sums of £326 and £324) which has been designed to target support at more than 8 million low-income households on means-tested benefits. The payment of £326 was paid between the 14 July and the 31 July for most people and the payment of £324 will be made in the Autumn. In addition, 6 million eligible disabled people will receive a one-off disability Cost of Living Payment of £150 from 20 September and pensioner households will receive a one-off payment of £300 through and as an addition to the Winter Fuel Payment from November.</p><p> </p><p>The government is providing an additional £500 million to help households with the cost of household 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. Devolved administrations will receive £79 million through the Barnett formula.</p><p> </p><p>The current Household Support Fund runs from 1 April to 30 September, with Coventry City Council allocated £3,224,222.30 for this period. During this period, a total of £49,520,715.25 has been allocated to West Midlands Local Authorities, which takes their total funding under both Household Support Funds to £99,041,430.50. Local Authorities have the discretion to design their own funds, within the parameters of the guidance and the grant determination.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Brentwood and Ongar answering member printed Alex Burghart question first answered 21/09/2022 16:49:48 answering member 4613 label Biography information for Alex Burghart
	tabling member	4378 label Biography information for Colleen Fletcher

1404010

	registered interest
	date	18/01/2022
	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: Medical Examinations
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, on how many occasions people have been declared fit for work and have then been successful in an appeal of that decision against her Department in (a) Coventry North East constituency, (b) Coventry, (c) the West Midlands and (d) England in each of the last three years.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry North East
	tabling member printed	Colleen Fletcher
	uin	106729
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/01/2022 answer text <p>National Statistics for Employment Support Allowance Work Capability Assessments (WCA) are published every three months here:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/employment-and-support-allowance-outcomes-of-work-capability-assessment" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/employment-and-support-allowance-outcomes-of-work-capability-assessment</a></p><p> </p><p>Detailed monthly statistics showing the outcomes of completed initial and repeat WCAs and the outcomes of Mandatory Reconsiderations and Appeals, by various geographical areas, are available on Stat-Xplore at:</p><p><a href="https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/" target="_blank">https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/</a></p><p> </p><p>Guidance for users is available at:</p><p><a href="https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started.html" target="_blank">https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started.html</a></p><p> </p><p>The information requested for Universal Credit WCAs is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.</p> answering member constituency Norwich North answering member printed Chloe Smith question first answered 27/01/2022 10:51:05 answering member 1609 label Biography information for Chloe Smith
	tabling member	4378 label Biography information for Colleen Fletcher

1416868

	registered interest
	date	26/01/2022
	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 Poverty: Disability
	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 reduce the number of disabled people living in food poverty in (a) Coventry North East constituency, (b) Coventry, (c) the West Midlands and (d) England.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry North East
	tabling member printed	Colleen Fletcher
	uin	112581
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 31/01/2022 answer text <p>In 2021/22, we are spending £59 billion supporting disabled people and people with long-term health conditions, the highest ever level. The latest statistics for 2019/20 show rates of absolute poverty, both before and after housing costs, for individuals living in disabled families are down since 2009/10.</p><p>We are working to make sure that money spent on supporting disabled people and people with health conditions has a positive impact on their lives and we want to go further to support and empower disabled people and people with health conditions. Following the publication of <em>Shaping Future Support: The Health and Disability Green Paper</em>, published last year, we are actively considering changes that we could introduce to improve support for disabled people and people with health conditions. We will bring forward our proposals in a White Paper later this year</p> answering member constituency Norwich North answering member printed Chloe Smith question first answered 31/01/2022 17:43:54 answering member 1609 label Biography information for Chloe Smith
	tabling member	4378 label Biography information for Colleen Fletcher

1452153

	registered interest
	date	17/03/2022
	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: Coventry
	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 support disabled people in (a) Coventry North East constituency and (b) Coventry meet the increased costs of living.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry North East
	tabling member printed	Colleen Fletcher
	uin	142003
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/03/2022 answer text <p>The Government is making sure that we continue to deliver the financial support that people need. In 2022/23 we estimate that we will spend over £63bn on benefits to support disabled people and people with health conditions in GB.</p><p> </p><p>The Government is also providing support worth over £22 billion this financial year and next to help families with the cost of living. We have cut the Universal Credit taper to make sure work pays. We are freezing alcohol and fuel duties to keep costs down and providing targeted support to help households with the cost of essentials.</p><p> </p><p>In addition to this, the Energy Bills Rebate will provide around 28 million households with an upfront discount on their bills worth £200.</p> answering member constituency Norwich North answering member printed Chloe Smith question first answered 24/03/2022 14:46:29 answering member 1609 label Biography information for Chloe Smith previous answer version 59541 answering member constituency Norwich North answering member printed Chloe Smith answering member 1609 label Biography information for Chloe Smith
	tabling member	4378 label Biography information for Colleen Fletcher

1452156

	registered interest
	date	17/03/2022
	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	Carer's Allowance
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of Carers Allowance payments to support unpaid carers meet the increased costs of living.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry North East
	tabling member printed	Colleen Fletcher
	uin	142004
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/03/2022 answer text <p>The Government recognises people are facing pressures with the cost of living which is why we are providing support worth over £22 billion across this financial year and next.</p><p> </p><p>On carers specifically, the Government continues to provide financial support to unpaid carers through Carer’s Allowance, the Carer Element in Universal Credit and through other benefits.</p><p> </p><p>Real terms expenditure on Carer’s Allowance is forecast to be £3.1bn in 2021/22 and between 2021/22 and 2026/27 is forecast to increase by two-fifths (around £1.3 billion). By 2026/27, the Government is forecast to spend just under £4.4 billion a year on Carer’s Allowance.</p><p> </p><p>The weekly rate of Carer’s Allowance will increase to £69.70 in April 2022. This means that since 2010 it will have increased from £53.90 to £69.70 a week, providing an additional £800 a year for carers through Carer’s Allowance.</p><p> </p><p>The Government has chosen to focus extra support on those carers who need it most. Around 360,000 carer households on Universal Credit can receive an additional £1,965 a year through the Carer Element. This amount will increase from April 2022.</p> answering member constituency Norwich North answering member printed Chloe Smith question first answered 24/03/2022 14:42:57 answering member 1609 label Biography information for Chloe Smith previous answer version 59542 answering member constituency Norwich North answering member printed Chloe Smith answering member 1609 label Biography information for Chloe Smith
	tabling member	4378 label Biography information for Colleen Fletcher

1355787

	registered interest
	date	15/09/2021
	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 recent estimate her Department has made of the proportion of children in relative poverty where at least one adult in that household is in employment in (a) Coventry North East constituency and (b) Coventry in each of the last five years.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry North East
	tabling member printed	Colleen Fletcher
	uin	50044
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/09/2021 answer text <p>We do not hold information on the composition of children who are in relative poverty by work status at the household level.</p><p> </p><p>However, the proportion of children in relative low income, before housing costs, where at least one adult in that <strong>family</strong> is in employment for Coventry North East constituency and Coventry for the five years to 2019/20 can be extracted using the Children in Low Income Families dataset on <a href="https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/" target="_blank">https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/</a></p><p> </p><p>Guidance on how to extract the information required can be found at:</p><p><a href="https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started.html" target="_blank">https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started.html</a></p> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley question first answered 24/09/2021 09:56:13 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley previous answer version 22455 answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley
	tabling member	4378 label Biography information for Colleen Fletcher

1356238

	registered interest
	date	16/09/2021
	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	Welfare State
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment she 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.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry North East
	tabling member printed	Colleen Fletcher
	uin	50676
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/09/2021 answer text <p>The government tracks rates of pensioner, in-work, and child poverty for the West Midlands and England as part of its Households Below Average Income (<a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/households-below-average-income-for-financial-years-ending-1995-to-2020" target="_blank">HBAI</a>) publication. The latest estimates are for the three year average between 2017/18 – 2019/20. Breakdowns by receipt of benefits can be found on <a href="https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/jsf/dataCatalogueExplorer.xhtml" target="_blank">Stat-Xplore</a>. Data for Coventry and the Coventry North East constituency is unavailable due to insufficient sample size.</p><p> </p><p>Rates of household food security in West Midlands and England can be found in the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/family-resources-survey-financial-year-2019-to-2020" target="_blank">Family Resources Survey</a>, including by benefit receipt. The latest figures are from 2019/20. As above, data for Coventry and the Coventry North East constituency is unavailable due to insufficient sample size.</p><p> </p><p>Rates and numbers of children in absolute and relative low income, before housing costs, are available for Coventry North East and Coventry as part of the government’s Children in Low Income Families (CILIF) publication. The latest figures are from 2019/20 and can be viewed on <a href="https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/jsf/dataCatalogueExplorer.xhtml" target="_blank">Stat-Xplore</a>. This is not available by receipt of benefits.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley question first answered 21/09/2021 17:07:09 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley
	tabling member	4378 label Biography information for Colleen Fletcher

1362536

	registered interest
	date	22/10/2021
	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: Coventry
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate her Department has made of the numbers of people in employment that are living in poverty in (a) Coventry North East constituency and (b) Coventry; and what recent estimate her Department has made of the effect of ending the £20 uplift to universal credit on the levels of in-work poverty in those areas.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry North East
	tabling member printed	Colleen Fletcher
	uin	61154
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/10/2021 answer text <p>National statistics on the number of people living in in-work absolute low income are set out in the annual &quot;Households Below Average Income&quot; publication. The numbers of people living in in-work absolute low income is not available at constituency or local authority level in this publication because the survey sample sizes are too small to support the production of robust estimates at this geography.</p><p>The latest poverty figures (2019/20) demonstrate that absolute poverty rates (both before and after housing costs) for working-age adults in working families have fallen since 2009/10. In 2019/20, 8% of working age adults in working families were in absolute poverty (before housing costs), compared to 9% in 2009/10.</p><p>No such assessment has been made of the effect of ending the £20 uplift to universal credit on the levels of in-work poverty in Coventry North East constituency and Coventry.</p><p>The Chancellor announced a temporary six-month extension to the £20 per week uplift at the Budget on 3 March to support households affected by the economic shock of Covid-19. Universal Credit has provided a vital safety net for six million people during the pandemic, and the temporary uplift was part of a COVID support package worth a total of £407billion in 2020-21 and 2021-22.</p><p>There have been significant positive developments in the public health situation since the uplift was first introduced with the success of the vaccine rollout. With record vacancies, our focus is on helping people back into 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.</p><p>We have also announced a reduction in the taper rate in Universal Credit from 63% to 55% in the coming weeks, meaning Universal Credit claimants will be able to keep more of their earnings and announced that all work allowances will be increased by £500 per year, meaning many claimants will be able to earn over £550 each month before their benefits begin to be scaled down. These two measures mean 1.9m households will keep, on average, around an extra £1,000 a year.</p><p> </p><p>We recognise that some people may require extra support over the winter as we enter the final stages of recovery, which is why vulnerable households across the country will now be able to access a new £500 million support fund to help them with essentials. The Household Support Fund will provide £421 million to help vulnerable people in England. The Barnett Formula will apply in the usual way, with the devolved administrations receiving almost £80 million (£41m for the Scottish Government, £25m for the Welsh Government and £14m for the NI Executive), for a total of £500 million.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley question first answered 29/10/2021 14:03:08 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley previous answer version 28246 answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley
	tabling member	4378 label Biography information for Colleen Fletcher

1365428

	registered interest
	date	02/11/2021
	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 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 recent assessment he has made of trends in the level of food insecurity amongst (a) primary and (b) secondary school children in (i) Coventry North East constituency, (ii) Coventry, (iii) the West Midlands and (iv) England (A) in each of the last five years and (B) during the covid-19 outbreak.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry North East
	tabling member printed	Colleen Fletcher
	uin	68299
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/11/2021 answer text <p>We have not made an assessment of this kind. Issues of food insecurity amongst school children fall within the remit of the Department for Education so assessments such as this would be their responsibility.</p><p>We take the issue of food security seriously, which is why we added internationally used food security questions to the Family Resources Survey in 19/20 and published the data in March this year. These questions remain in the survey and will allow us to track food security over time. Statistics on Household Food Security from the Family Resources Survey for financial year 20/21 have a provisional release date of March 2022, subject to the usual quality assurance.</p><p>National and regional statistics on the number of food insecure households are published annually in the “Family Resources Survey” publication. Statistics on levels of food insecure households in the UK , covering 2019/20, can be found at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/family-resources-survey-financial-year-2019-to-2020" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/family-resources-survey-financial-year-2019-to-2020</a></p> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley question first answered 08/11/2021 17:59:17 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley
	tabling member	4378 label Biography information for Colleen Fletcher

1377913

	registered interest
	date	12/11/2021
	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: Coronavirus
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the impact of the covid-19 outbreak on foodbank use in (a) Coventry North East constituency, (b) Coventry, (c) the West Midlands and (d) England.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry North East
	tabling member printed	Colleen Fletcher
	uin	73863
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/11/2021 answer text <p>No assessment has been made. Foodbanks are independent, charitable organisations and the Department for Work and Pensions does not have any role in their operation. There is no consistent and accurate measure of food bank usage at a constituency or national level. We understand 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 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> </p><p>We recognise that some people may require extra support over the winter as we enter the final stages of recovery, which is why vulnerable households across the country will now be able to access a new £500 million support fund to help them with essentials. The Household Support Fund will provide £421 million to help vulnerable people in England with the cost of food, utilities and wider essentials. The Barnett Formula will apply in the usual way, with the devolved administrations receiving almost £80 million (£41m for the Scottish Government, £25m for the Welsh Government and £14m for the NI Executive), for a total of £500 million.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley question first answered 22/11/2021 13:52:50 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley
	tabling member	4378 label Biography information for Colleen Fletcher