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755106

	registered interest
	date	20/07/2017
	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
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	Her Majesty's Government how they define, monitor and assess (1) poverty, and (2) the root causes of poverty, in the UK.
	tabling member printed	Lord Bird
	uin	HL1114
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/08/2017 answer text <p>This Government is committed to an approach that tackles the root causes of poverty and disadvantage. Through <em>Improving Lives: Helping Workless Families</em>, published on 4 April, it published its evidence and analysis on the root causes of disadvantage and the impact they can have on children’s lives. It also set out nine national indicators and underlying measures to track progress in tackling these disadvantages and to drive continued action on improving outcomes for disadvantaged children and families, now and in the future.</p><p>The most commonly used measure of poverty is ‘relative low-income’. Estimates on the number and proportion of people in low income are published annually in the ‘Households Below Average Income’ series. It measures how the incomes of one group compare to median incomes in the UK, with those incomes below 60 per cent of the median classified as being in relative low-income.</p><p>For more details on the definitions of low income please see the latest Households Below Average Income report attached.</p> answering member printed Baroness Buscombe question first answered 03/08/2017 15:42:37 answering member 3349 label Biography information for Baroness Buscombe attachment 1 file name HBAI Report.PDF title HBAI Report
	tabling member	4564 label Biography information for Lord Bird

802411

	registered interest
	date	06/12/2017
	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
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government how they intend to respond to the Joseph Rowntree Foundation's finding that 400,000 more children and 300,000 more pensioners have fallen into relative poverty since 2012–13; and what assessment they have made of (1) when, and (2) at what level, that trend will peak.
	tabling member printed	Lord Ouseley
	uin	HL3944
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/12/2017 answer text <p>The figures quoted in the Joseph Rowntree Foundation’s report are taken directly from the Department’s Households Below Average Income (HBAI) series, which was published in March 2017. This publication also shows on an after housing costs basis over the same period 2012/13 to 2015/16, the number of people in absolute low income (where the poverty line moves with inflation), fell by 1.1m individuals, including 200,000 children and 100,000 pensioners. This shows that real incomes are increasing at the lower end of the distribution.</p><p> </p><p>However we are not complacent. For children we are committed to action that tackles the root causes of child poverty and disadvantage, with policies that incentivise employment being the best route out of poverty and ultimately improving children’s long-term outcomes. <em>Improving Lives: Helping Workless Families</em>, includes nine national indicators to track progress in tackling the disadvantages that affect families and children. Four of these measures are set out in Primary legislation and place a duty on the Government to report annually to Parliament on the parental worklessness and educational attainment indicators. Data on the non-statutory indicators will also be published each year.</p><p> </p><p>For pensioners, we are committed to protecting up to the full amounts of the basic and new State Pensions through the Triple Lock and to supporting vulnerable pensioner households with pension credit. Pensioners are also supported with Winter Fuel Payments, free TV licences for those aged 75 and over and the free bus pass.</p><p> </p><p>The Department does not forecast estimates of low income, but the next HBAI publication for 2016/17 data has been pre-announced in line with National Statistics protocols and will be published by the end of March 2018. The government is committed to continue publishing this series on an annual basis.</p> answering member printed Baroness Buscombe question first answered 12/12/2017 15:47:17 answering member 3349 label Biography information for Baroness Buscombe
	tabling member	2170 label Biography information for Lord Ouseley

921809

	registered interest
	date	11/06/2018
	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
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government how they intend to respond to the report from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation Destitution in the UK 2018 published in June revealing that there are 1.5 million people living in destitution in the UK.
	tabling member printed	Lord Ouseley
	uin	HL8508
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/06/2018 answer text <p>The Joseph Rowntree Trust’s report refers to people who were destitute “at some point” during 2017 not to the number of people living in destitution.</p><p> </p><p>This Government will continue with its ambitious reforms to the welfare system so that it encourages people to move into and progress in work, and move towards financial independence. Compared with 2010, there are now around 880,000 fewer adults in workless households and 1 million fewer people in absolute poverty (on a before housing costing costs basis). Of those in the poorest fifth of the population in 2010/11, just over half had moved further up the income distribution 5 years later.</p><p> </p><p>The Government is also continuing to help those who face the greatest employment barriers and who are most at-risk of being in severe and long-term low income, for example, through individualised, tailored support from Jobcentre Work Coaches. For people with health conditions or a disability, this support can include early access to the new Work and Health Programme and Specialist Employability Support. As a safeguard for people in urgent need, a well-established system of hardship payments, benefit advances and budgeting loans is in place. <br></p><p>We are also considering how we can develop and make greater use of the existing suite of official measures of poverty so that they better identify and track progress on helping those who are most in need of additional support.</p> answering member printed Baroness Buscombe question first answered 25/06/2018 11:36:09 answering member 3349 label Biography information for Baroness Buscombe
	tabling member	2170 label Biography information for Lord Ouseley

1012145

	registered interest
	date	21/11/2018
	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
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the Statement on Visit to the United Kingdom, by Professor Philip Alston, United Nations Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, published on 16 November; whether they intend to make a formal response to the Statement; and if not, why not.
	tabling member printed	Lord Ouseley
	uin	HL11672
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/12/2018 answer text <p>The Government will carefully consider the findings set out in the Special Rapporteur’s interim report published on 16 November. Professor Alston’s final report will be presented to the June 2019 session of the of the Human Rights’ Council. Any formal comments made by the Government in response will be published alongside the final report on the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights’ website.</p> answering member printed Baroness Buscombe question first answered 03/12/2018 15:50:30 answering member 3349 label Biography information for Baroness Buscombe
	tabling member	2170 label Biography information for Lord Ouseley

1010100

	registered interest
	date	19/11/2018
	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
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the accuracy of the finding by the UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights that 1.5 million people in the UK are destitute.
	tabling member printed	Lord Bassam of Brighton
	uin	HL11547
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/11/2018 answer text <p>The Government will consider the Special Rapporteur’s findings carefully. Although it disagrees with the conclusion of this interim report, the Government has noted that the report welcomes the simplification of the benefits system brought in by Universal Credit and the recent Budget announcements to help tackle in-work poverty.</p><p>The 14 million people in poverty figure used by the Special Rapporteur was taken from the Social Metrics Commission report “A new measure of poverty for the UK”.</p><p> </p><p>We welcome the work that the Social Metrics Commission has done. Measuring poverty is complex, and this report offers further insight into that complexity. We are engaging with the Social Metrics Commission, who acknowledge that further work needs to be done (particularly around data availability and quality). We will carefully consider their recommendations and the detail behind the methodology they have employed when this has been made available.</p><p> </p><p>DWP publishes a range of measures that track various aspects of poverty. These include four measures for low income poverty:</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p> </p></td><td colspan="2"><p>Number of people in low income (millions)</p></td><td colspan="2"><p>Percentage of people in low income (%)</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Low Income Measure</p></td><td><p>2009/10</p></td><td><p>2016/17</p></td><td><p>2009/10</p></td><td><p>2016/17</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Relative Before Housing Costs</p></td><td><p>10.4</p></td><td><p>10.4</p></td><td><p>17</p></td><td><p>16</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Relative After Housing Cost</p></td><td><p>13.6</p></td><td><p>14.3</p></td><td><p>22</p></td><td><p>22</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Absolute Before Housing Costs</p></td><td><p>9.9</p></td><td><p>8.9</p></td><td><p>16</p></td><td><p>14</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Absolute After Housing Costs</p></td><td><p>13.1</p></td><td><p>12.4</p></td><td><p>21</p></td><td><p>19</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>The finding relating to the number of people in destitution is a misinterpretation of the key finding from a report published by the Joseph Rowntree Trust on 7 June, 2018: “Destitution in the UK, 2018”. This report found that 1.5 million people in the UK had been destitute at some point during 2017 and also noted that this was a reduction of 25 per cent compared with 2015.</p><p> </p><p>Under this Government, income inequality has fallen and remains lower than in 2010; the number of children in workless households is at a record low; and there are 1 million fewer people in absolute poverty (before housing costs) compared with 2010, including 300,000 children.</p> answering member printed Baroness Buscombe grouped question UIN HL11545 HL11546 question first answered 28/11/2018 11:45:12 answering member 3349 label Biography information for Baroness Buscombe
	tabling member	3504 label Biography information for Lord Bassam of Brighton

1010099

	registered interest
	date	19/11/2018
	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
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the accuracy of the finding by the UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights that 14 million people live in poverty in the UK.
	tabling member printed	Lord Bassam of Brighton
	uin	HL11546
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/11/2018 answer text <p>The Government will consider the Special Rapporteur’s findings carefully. Although it disagrees with the conclusion of this interim report, the Government has noted that the report welcomes the simplification of the benefits system brought in by Universal Credit and the recent Budget announcements to help tackle in-work poverty.</p><p>The 14 million people in poverty figure used by the Special Rapporteur was taken from the Social Metrics Commission report “A new measure of poverty for the UK”.</p><p> </p><p>We welcome the work that the Social Metrics Commission has done. Measuring poverty is complex, and this report offers further insight into that complexity. We are engaging with the Social Metrics Commission, who acknowledge that further work needs to be done (particularly around data availability and quality). We will carefully consider their recommendations and the detail behind the methodology they have employed when this has been made available.</p><p> </p><p>DWP publishes a range of measures that track various aspects of poverty. These include four measures for low income poverty:</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p> </p></td><td colspan="2"><p>Number of people in low income (millions)</p></td><td colspan="2"><p>Percentage of people in low income (%)</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Low Income Measure</p></td><td><p>2009/10</p></td><td><p>2016/17</p></td><td><p>2009/10</p></td><td><p>2016/17</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Relative Before Housing Costs</p></td><td><p>10.4</p></td><td><p>10.4</p></td><td><p>17</p></td><td><p>16</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Relative After Housing Cost</p></td><td><p>13.6</p></td><td><p>14.3</p></td><td><p>22</p></td><td><p>22</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Absolute Before Housing Costs</p></td><td><p>9.9</p></td><td><p>8.9</p></td><td><p>16</p></td><td><p>14</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Absolute After Housing Costs</p></td><td><p>13.1</p></td><td><p>12.4</p></td><td><p>21</p></td><td><p>19</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>The finding relating to the number of people in destitution is a misinterpretation of the key finding from a report published by the Joseph Rowntree Trust on 7 June, 2018: “Destitution in the UK, 2018”. This report found that 1.5 million people in the UK had been destitute at some point during 2017 and also noted that this was a reduction of 25 per cent compared with 2015.</p><p> </p><p>Under this Government, income inequality has fallen and remains lower than in 2010; the number of children in workless households is at a record low; and there are 1 million fewer people in absolute poverty (before housing costs) compared with 2010, including 300,000 children.</p> answering member printed Baroness Buscombe grouped question UIN HL11545 HL11547 question first answered 28/11/2018 11:45:12 answering member 3349 label Biography information for Baroness Buscombe
	tabling member	3504 label Biography information for Lord Bassam of Brighton

906017

	registered interest
	date	16/05/2018
	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
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the concept of relative poverty.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Lister of Burtersett
	uin	HL7943
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/05/2018 answer text <p>Relative low income sets a threshold as a proportion of the UK average (median) income and moves each year as average income changes. It is used to measure the number and proportion of individuals who have income below this threshold (typically 50, 60 or 70 per cent of the median).</p><p> </p><p>The percentage of individuals in relative low income will decrease if average (median) income stays the same or rises, and individuals with lower incomes see their incomes rise more than the average. The percentage of individuals in relative low income will also decrease if average (median) incomes fall, and individuals with lower incomes fall by less than average incomes.</p><p> </p><p>This second scenario, where individuals can move out of low income despite a fall in their own income, is an example where relative low income measures taken on their own might be misleading. A further hypothetical scenario where relative measures have their limitations is if all incomes doubled overnight there would be no change in relative low income estimates.</p><p> </p><p>This is why the Department also publishes a range of absolute low income measures. Absolute low income takes the 60 per cent of median income threshold in 2010/11 and adjusts this to take account of inflation. This is designed to assess how incomes are faring with reference to inflation over time.</p><p> </p><p>The percentage of individuals in absolute low income will decrease if individuals with lower incomes see their incomes increase by more than inflation.</p><p> </p><p>The Department also publishes a measure of persistent low income as the amount of time an individual has low income has been shown to have an impact on their actual standard of living. Persistent low income is defined as having had low income in at least 3 out of the last 4 years. Also a measure of material deprivation is published which measures whether individuals have access to a range of goods and services so provides a broader measure of living standards which goes beyond assessing income only.</p><p> </p><p>No one measure of poverty is able to fully capture the concept of a low standard of living in all economic circumstances. Taken together all these measures are required to provide a comprehensive assessment of living standards.</p> answering member printed Baroness Buscombe question first answered 23/05/2018 12:30:39 answering member 3349 label Biography information for Baroness Buscombe
	tabling member	4234 label Biography information for Baroness Lister of Burtersett

845381

	registered interest
	date	20/02/2018
	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
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of their preventative approach with regard to addressing the root causes of poverty in the long term.
	tabling member printed	Lord Bird
	uin	HL5581
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/03/2018 answer text <p>This Government is committed to action that tackles the root causes of poverty and disadvantage. We are undertaking the most ambitious reform to the welfare system in decades to ensure that it supports people to find and progress in work. This is because we have clear evidence that work offers families the best opportunity to get out of poverty and to become self-reliant. Adults in workless families are 4 times more likely to be in poverty than those in working families. We also know that children living in workless households are 5 times more likely to be in poverty than those where all adults work. We are making good progress. Nationally, there are now 954,000 fewer workless households, and 608,000 fewer children living in such households compared with 2010.</p><p> </p><p>In <em>Improving Lives: Helping Workless Families</em>, we set out a framework for a continued focus on improving children’s long-term outcomes. This includes nine national indicators to track progress across government in tackling the disadvantages that can affect families and their children. The Government has a statutory duty to report annually against two of these indicators - parental employment, and children’s educational attainment.</p> answering member printed Baroness Buscombe question first answered 06/03/2018 16:26:36 answering member 3349 label Biography information for Baroness Buscombe
	tabling member	4564 label Biography information for Lord Bird

1020304

	registered interest
	date	05/12/2018
	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
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the finding of the report by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, UK Poverty 2018, published on 4 December, that 22 per cent of the population are in poverty; and what action they intend to take to remedy the situation.
	tabling member printed	Lord Stoddart of Swindon
	uin	HL12087
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/12/2018 answer text <p>The figure quoted by the Joseph Rowntree Trust in this report is taken from official national statistics on the number and proportion of people in low income published by the Department for Work and Pensions in March 2018. These statistics show that there are one million fewer people living in absolute poverty since 2010, including 300,000 children.</p><p><br>This Government believes that the best way of tackling poverty is by building a strong economy and getting people into work. Adults in workless families are around 4 times more likely to be in poverty than those in working families. Children in workless households are around 5 times more likely to be in poverty after housing costs than those where all adults work. Nationally, there are now over 3.3 million more people in work, around 964,000 fewer workless households, and around 637,000 fewer children living in such households compared with 2010. This is why we will continue with our reforms to the welfare system so that it encourages work whilst supporting those who need help.</p> answering member printed Baroness Buscombe question first answered 12/12/2018 15:16:15 answering member 3349 label Biography information for Baroness Buscombe
	tabling member	950 label Biography information for Lord Stoddart of Swindon

1064609

	registered interest
	date	20/02/2019
	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
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the pilot Department for Work and Pensions and Oxfam Cymru livelihoods and poverty awareness training project carried out in 2016–17; and whether there are any plans to introduce such training elsewhere.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Lister of Burtersett
	uin	HL13928
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/02/2019 answer text <p>The department has not carried out any assessment of the Oxfam Cymru livelihoods and poverty awareness training project. Oxfam Cymru commissioned the University of Salford to carry out an independent evaluation the result of which can be found on their website.</p><p> </p><p>The Department is exploring how this approach could be included as part of our claimant offer and the associated training requirements for our staff.</p> answering member printed Baroness Buscombe question first answered 27/02/2019 12:01:27 answering member 3349 label Biography information for Baroness Buscombe
	tabling member	4234 label Biography information for Baroness Lister of Burtersett