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1138288

	registered interest
	date	10/07/2019
	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	Social Security Benefits: Uprating
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Buscombe on 8 July (HL16599), what would (1) the weekly rates of Child Benefit, and (2) the monthly rates of Universal Credit standard allowances and child elements have been, if they had been raised in line with the Consumer Price Index.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Lister of Burtersett
	uin	HL17085
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/07/2019 answer text <p>If the weekly rates of child benefit had been uprated with CPI the rates would have been:</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p>Amount in 2019/20 if they had been uprated with CPI</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>First Child Rate</p></td><td><p>22.05</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Subsequent Child Rate</p></td><td><p>14.60</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>If the monthly rates for the Universal Credit standard allowance and child element had been uprated with CPI from 2016/17 to 2019/20 the rates would have been:</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p>Amount in 2019/20 if they had been uprated with CPI</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Single under 25</p></td><td><p>268.21</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Single 25 and over</p></td><td><p>338.57</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Joint claimants both under 25</p></td><td><p>420.99</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Joint claimants one or both over 25</p></td><td><p>531.46</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Child amount (standard amount)</p></td><td><p>246.79</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>More information on benefit uprating can be found at: <a href="https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-8458/CBP-8458.pdf" target="_blank">https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-8458/CBP-8458.pdf</a></p> answering member printed Baroness Buscombe question first answered 23/07/2019 13:37:41 answering member 3349 label Biography information for Baroness Buscombe attachment 1 file name Briefing Paper -Benefits Uprating 2019.pdf title Briefing Paper -Benefits Uprating 2019
	tabling member	4234 label Biography information for Baroness Lister of Burtersett

1139062

	registered interest
	date	15/07/2019
	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	Pension Credit
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of (1) the number, and (2) percentage, of eligible state pensioners who claimed pension credit in (a) 2017–18, and (b) 2018–19; and how many pensioners are forecast to claim that benefit in 2019–20.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Greengross
	uin	HL17147
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/07/2019 answer text <p>In 2016-17, 1.81m (60 per cent) of eligible state pensioners claimed Pension Credit. Corresponding figures for 2017-18 and 2018-19 are not yet available.</p><p> </p><p>Official statistics on the take-up of income related benefits at Great Britain level, including Pension Credit, can be found in the ‘Income-related benefits: estimates of take-up in 2016 to 2017’ publication on gov.uk.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>Historic and forecast benefit expenditure and caseload data relating to DWP benefits at Great Britain level, including Pension Credit, can be found in the ‘Benefit expenditure and caseload tables 2019’ publication on gov.uk.</p> answering member printed Baroness Buscombe question first answered 23/07/2019 12:23:03 answering member 3349 label Biography information for Baroness Buscombe
	tabling member	2518 label Biography information for Baroness Greengross

1139583

	registered interest
	date	16/07/2019
	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	Welfare Assistance Schemes
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of local welfare assistance schemes.
	tabling member printed	Lord Storey
	uin	HL17230
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/07/2019 answer text <p>The reforms to the Social Fund in 2013 allowed local authorities in England and the devolved administrations in Scotland and Wales to deliver their own local provision for people who are in need of urgent help. The Department for Work and Pension's (DWP) 2014 review found that local authorities delivered support more effectively than the previous provision and that councils are best placed to decide how to target flexible help to support local welfare needs. The Government has no further plans to review provision.</p> answering member printed Baroness Buscombe question first answered 23/07/2019 13:36:13 answering member 3349 label Biography information for Baroness Buscombe
	tabling member	4238 label Biography information for Lord Storey

1140015

	registered interest
	date	17/07/2019
	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 plans they have (1) to review their policies to address poverty, and (2) to ensure sufficient services for and assistance to those at risk of destitution.
	tabling member printed	Lord Hylton
	uin	HL17250
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/07/2019 answer text <p>This Government is committed to a sustainable solution to poverty in all its forms, by building a strong economy and a benefit system that supports employment and higher pay. We have acted to increase the incomes of the poorest in society, for example, by increasing the National Living Wage and announcing a £4.5 billion cash boost to Universal Credit in the last Budget. We are also working with the Social Metrics Commission, and other experts in the field, to develop new experimental statistics which will help us to find new and better ways to analyse poverty in this country. These will be published in 2020 and, in the long-run, could help us target support more effectively.</p><p> </p><p>Through our Jobcentre network, we are taking wider action to support vulnerable claimants. Work coaches are upskilled to recognise and help claimants with a wide range of complex employment barriers and work with external partners to offer individualised, specialist support to help people to turn their lives around.</p> answering member printed Baroness Buscombe question first answered 23/07/2019 13:46:36 answering member 3349 label Biography information for Baroness Buscombe
	tabling member	2018 label Biography information for Lord Hylton

1140019

	registered interest
	date	17/07/2019
	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	Food Poverty
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to reduce the number of people who need to use food banks.
	tabling member printed	Lord Hylton
	uin	HL17254
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/07/2019 answer text <p>This Government is committed to a sustainable solution to poverty in all its forms, by building a strong economy and a benefit system that supports employment and higher pay. Households where all adults are in work are around 6 times less likely to be in relative poverty than adults in a household where nobody works. Compared to 2010, there are 3.7 million more people in work and around 1 million fewer workless households.</p><p> </p><p>We have worked with food insecurity experts, the Office for National Statistics and the Scottish Government to introduce a new set of food security questions in the Family Resources Survey starting from April 2019. This means that we will, in future, be able to monitor the prevalence and severity of household food insecurity across the UK and for specific groups, to better understand the drivers of food insecurity and identify which groups are most at risk.</p> answering member printed Baroness Buscombe question first answered 23/07/2019 13:37:04 answering member 3349 label Biography information for Baroness Buscombe
	tabling member	2018 label Biography information for Lord Hylton

1137366

	registered interest
	date	08/07/2019
	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	Disadvantaged: Children and Young People
	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 report by Barnardo’s Overcoming Poverty of Hope, published on 8 July; and what steps they intend to take to improve how they (1) listen to, and (2) act upon, the concerns of younger generations.
	tabling member printed	Lord Bird
	uin	HL16973
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/07/2019 answer text <p>We welcome the Overcoming Poverty of Hope report which provides valuable insight into young people’s views and concerns about their own future.</p><p> </p><p>We are committed to providing support for young people so that everyone, no matter what their start is in life, is given the best chance of getting into work. The department has a variety of support for young people such as the Youth Obligation Support Programme which provides support tailored to the needs and ambitions of individual 18 to 21 year olds. We have been working with Barnardo’s to develop a pilot specifically for care leavers. The pilot offers enhanced work experience and a personal mentor to support the care leaver throughout the placement, building the skills and confidence needed to start a career.</p> answering member printed Baroness Buscombe question first answered 22/07/2019 12:41:10 answering member 3349 label Biography information for Baroness Buscombe
	tabling member	4564 label Biography information for Lord Bird

1137372

	registered interest
	date	08/07/2019
	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	Pension Credit
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government how much funding they provided to charities that work with older people to support the take-up of Pension Credit in (1) 2015–16, (2) 2016–17, and (3) 2017–18.
	tabling member printed	Lord Foulkes of Cumnock
	uin	HL16979
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/07/2019 answer text <p>The Government is committed to ensuring that older people receive the support they are entitled to. We work with a wide range of stakeholders, including charities to ensure that accurate information about benefits including Pension Credit is available in the places where people are most likely to go to seek information.</p><p> </p><p>The DWP knows that one of the best ways to reach eligible claimants is through trusted stakeholder organisations working in the community and that is why we have developed and resourced the Pension Credit toolkit, as an on-line tool for agencies and welfare rights organisations to use in order to encourage Pension Credit take-up.</p><p> </p><p>The toolkit contains resources for anyone working with pensioners and includes guides to Pension Credit. It also contains publicity material and guidance designed to help older people understand how they could get Pension Credit and help organisations support someone applying for Pension Credit as well as ideas for encouraging take-up. The toolkit also provides links to information about disability and carers benefits.</p><p> </p><p>Stakeholders and potential claimants alike can use the Pension Credit calculator at gov.uk to check if they are likely to be eligible and get an estimate of what they may receive.</p><p> </p><p>Most recently we have provided to relevant stakeholders a fact sheet about Pension Credit and the changes introduced on 15 May for mixed age couples to ensure they are able to communicate the most up-to-date information to potential claimants.</p><p> </p><p>DWP staff in Pension Centres and Jobcentres including visiting officers are able to provide help and advice about entitlement to benefits, as are staff in Local Authorities who administer Housing Benefit.</p> answering member printed Baroness Buscombe question first answered 22/07/2019 12:57:17 answering member 3349 label Biography information for Baroness Buscombe
	tabling member	579 label Biography information for Lord Foulkes of Cumnock

1136764

	registered interest
	date	03/07/2019
	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	Social Security Benefits
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Baroness Buscombe on 25 June (HL Deb, col 1004), what sources they used to inform their statements that the UK (1) delivers the fourth most generous level of welfare support in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), (2) spends more on family benefits than any other country in the G7, and (3) spends the second highest amount on family benefits as a share of GDP, in the OECD.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Lister of Burtersett
	uin	HL16914
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/07/2019 answer text <p>(1) This statement was due to official error. We are the fourth most generous country according to the UN 2019 World Happiness Report. The UK spends £220bn on welfare each year, providing vital financial support for the most vulnerable in society.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>(2) and (3) These two statements come from OECD 2015 data (<a href="https://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?datasetcode=SOCX_AGG" target="_blank">https://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?datasetcode=SOCX_AGG</a>). 2015 data is used as it is the most recent full data set. Please note that OECD definitions do not always match UK definitions, but insure data is comparable across OECD countries.</p> answering member printed Baroness Buscombe question first answered 17/07/2019 14:09:48 answering member 3349 label Biography information for Baroness Buscombe
	tabling member	4234 label Biography information for Baroness Lister of Burtersett

1137378

	registered interest
	date	08/07/2019
	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	Welfare State
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to create a new "safety net" to prevent people from becoming destitute; and what consideration they have given to re-establishing a national assistance board to assist in this endeavour.
	tabling member printed	Lord Hylton
	uin	HL16985
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/07/2019 answer text <p>This Government is committed to providing a strong safety-net for those who need it. We continue to spend over £95 billion a year on working age welfare benefits. We have a well-established system of hardship payments, benefit advances and budgeting loans for those who need extra support, and Jobcentre managers work closely with external partners to help vulnerable claimants. Our local government finance settlement means that over this year and next, councils will get over £10 billion in direct grants from central government to continue to offer a range of vital services to their local communities. We have no plans to re-establish a national assistance board.</p> answering member printed Baroness Buscombe question first answered 17/07/2019 15:04:19 answering member 3349 label Biography information for Baroness Buscombe
	tabling member	2018 label Biography information for Lord Hylton

1135705

	registered interest
	date	01/07/2019
	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	Pension Credit
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that those who are entitled to claim (1) pension credit, and (2) a TV licence from June 2020, but currently do not, take up those benefits.
	tabling member printed	Lord Foulkes of Cumnock
	uin	HL16798
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/07/2019 answer text <p>In the 2015 funding settlement, the Government agreed with the BBC that responsibility for the concession would transfer to the BBC. The implementation of the licence fee and the concession from June 2020 is a matter for the BBC and TV Licensing, which are independent of Government.</p><p> </p><p>However, we expect the BBC to put in place robust plans to support those who might be affected. The BBC has said it will write to all over 75 TV licence holders advising them of how the new policy will work and when they need to act.</p><p> </p><p>Irrespective of this, the Government is committed to ensuring that older people receive the support they are entitled to and the DWP targets activity on engaging with people who may be eligible to benefits at pivotal stages, such as when they claim State Pension or report a change in their circumstances. The DWP uses a wide range of channels to communicate information about benefits to potential claimants; including information on gov.uk, in leaflets and by telephone. DWP staff in Pension Centres and Jobcentres including visiting officers are able to provide help and advice about entitlement to benefits, as are staff in Local Authorities who administer Housing Benefit.</p><p> </p><p>Potential claimants can use the Pension Credit calculator to check if they are likely to be eligible and get an estimate of what they may receive. People wishing to claim Pension Credit can do so by calling 0800 99 1234.</p><p> </p><p>One of the best ways to reach eligible claimants is through trusted stakeholder working in the community and we have developed the Pension Credit toolkit, as an on-line tool for agencies and welfare rights organisations to use in order to encourage Pension Credit take-up.</p><p> </p><p>The toolkit contains resources for anyone working with pensioners and includes guides to Pension Credit. It also contains publicity material and guidance designed to help older people understand how they could get Pension Credit and help organisations support someone applying for Pension Credit as well as ideas for encouraging take-up. The toolkit also provides links to information about disability and carers benefits.</p><p> </p><p>Most recently we have provided to relevant stakeholders a fact sheet about Pension Credit and the changes introduced on 15 May for mixed age couples to ensure that accurate information is available in the places where people are most likely to seek information.</p> answering member printed Baroness Buscombe question first answered 15/07/2019 16:38:11 answering member 3349 label Biography information for Baroness Buscombe
	tabling member	579 label Biography information for Lord Foulkes of Cumnock