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1146327

	registered interest
	date	25/09/2019
	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: Disadvantaged
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to mitigate the impact of any rise in the cost of food staples as a result a no-deal Brexit on low income families.
	tabling member printed	The Earl of Listowel
	uin	HL17822
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/10/2019 answer text <p>The Government has been clear that leaving the EU with a deal is its preferred option.</p><p> </p><p>The Government has put in place contingency plans for a range of exit scenarios. These contingencies ensure that the Department can continue to provide our vital services and that individuals will continue to be able to access benefits and services on the same basis as they do now.</p><p> </p><p>The Government is committed to providing a strong safety-net through the welfare system. We continue to spend over £95 billion a year on benefits for people of working age. The Department continues to monitor the effects of EU exit on the economy. Rates of benefits continue to be reviewed in line with the relevant legislation for uprating.</p> answering member printed Baroness Stedman-Scott grouped question UIN HL17823 question first answered 07/10/2019 14:10:14 answering member 4174 label Biography information for Baroness Stedman-Scott
	tabling member	2054 label Biography information for The Earl of Listowel

1146328

	registered interest
	date	25/09/2019
	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: Disadvantaged
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what funds they have set aside for community projects supporting low income families with food staples, following a no-deal Brexit.
	tabling member printed	The Earl of Listowel
	uin	HL17823
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/10/2019 answer text <p>The Government has been clear that leaving the EU with a deal is its preferred option.</p><p> </p><p>The Government has put in place contingency plans for a range of exit scenarios. These contingencies ensure that the Department can continue to provide our vital services and that individuals will continue to be able to access benefits and services on the same basis as they do now.</p><p> </p><p>The Government is committed to providing a strong safety-net through the welfare system. We continue to spend over £95 billion a year on benefits for people of working age. The Department continues to monitor the effects of EU exit on the economy. Rates of benefits continue to be reviewed in line with the relevant legislation for uprating.</p> answering member printed Baroness Stedman-Scott grouped question UIN HL17822 question first answered 07/10/2019 14:10:14 answering member 4174 label Biography information for Baroness Stedman-Scott
	tabling member	2054 label Biography information for The Earl of Listowel

1147067

	registered interest
	date	30/09/2019
	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	Universal Credit
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of backdating universal credit payments to reduce the five week wait for a first payment.
	tabling member constituency	South Cambridgeshire
	tabling member printed	Heidi Allen
	uin	292316
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/10/2019 answer text <p>Universal Credit new claim advances provide access to a payment for those in financial need, which can be accessed urgently, until their first regular Universal Credit payment is due. Claimants can access up to 100% of the total expected monthly award, which they can pay back over a period of up to 12 months. We have announced that from October 2021, the repayment period for these advances will be extended further, to 16 months.</p><p> </p><p>The Department has delivered a number of improvements to support claimants during their first assessment period, such as removing waiting days and paying those claimants moving from Housing Benefit onto Universal Credit a two week ‘transitional housing payment’. We are also introducing a two-week run on for eligible claimants of Income Support, Jobseeker’s Allowance and Employment and Support Allowance from July 2020.</p><p> </p><p>Claims may be backdated, by up to one calendar month, in limited circumstances for vulnerable claimants who may be delayed in claiming Universal Credit through no fault of their own. Claims may also be backdated in specific circumstances when a couple separates to ensure that there is no gap in entitlement between the couple claim and the new claim made by a single claimant.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 07/10/2019 13:48:25 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4516 label Biography information for Heidi Allen

1147068

	registered interest
	date	30/09/2019
	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	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of establishing an independent commission to review the value of benefits to ensure they consistently match the cost of living.
	tabling member constituency	South Cambridgeshire
	tabling member printed	Heidi Allen
	uin	292317
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/10/2019 answer text <p>The Secretary of State has a statutory duty to complete an annual review of benefit and pension rates to determine whether they have retained their value in relation to either prices or earnings.</p><p> </p><p>If there has been an increase in prices or earnings she must increase certain benefits by at least the increase in prices or earnings, using ONS data. For other benefits she may take into account the prevailing economic conditions and other relevant factors.</p><p> </p><p>Whilst organisations external to Government are free to make representations to the Secretary of State, the Department has made no assessment around the introduction of an independent commission to review the value of benefits.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 07/10/2019 13:39:43 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4516 label Biography information for Heidi Allen

1147069

	registered interest
	date	30/09/2019
	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	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 and what proportion of universal credit payments were subject to a deduction for child maintenance arrears.
	tabling member constituency	South Cambridgeshire
	tabling member printed	Heidi Allen
	uin	292318
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/10/2019 answer text <p>For eligible Universal Credit claims with a payment due in May 2019 (the latest month of available data) 0.6% [11,000 claims] had a deduction for child maintenance arrears.</p><p> </p><p>Notes</p><p>- Number of claims rounded to nearest 1000.</p><p>- Percentage rounded to nearest 0.1%</p><p /> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 07/10/2019 13:55:09 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4516 label Biography information for Heidi Allen

1147070

	registered interest
	date	30/09/2019
	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	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 effect of the working age benefit freeze on the household incomes of people with (a) disabilities and (b) long term health conditions.
	tabling member constituency	South Cambridgeshire
	tabling member printed	Heidi Allen
	uin	292319
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/10/2019 answer text <p>An Impact Assessment of the benefit freeze was published in 2015, this is available in the link below.</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.parliament.uk/documents/impact-assessments/IA15-006C.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.parliament.uk/documents/impact-assessments/IA15-006C.pdf</a></p><p> </p><p>This benefit freeze excluded Disability Living Allowance, Personal Independence Payment, Attendance Allowance, the Support Group component of Employment and Support Allowance (for those not expected to look for work), disability premia in working-age benefits and the disabled elements of tax credits. This provides protection for those facing the additional cost of disability and long term health conditions.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 07/10/2019 11:34:07 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	4516 label Biography information for Heidi Allen

1147171

	registered interest
	date	30/09/2019
	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	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the effect of (a) sanctions and (b) conditionality on the (i) health and well-being of claimants and (ii) the ability of claimants to enter employment.
	tabling member constituency	Newport West
	tabling member printed	Ruth Jones
	uin	292336
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/10/2019 answer text <p>Evidence from international studies indicates that benefit systems supported by conditionality are effective at moving people into work and that sanctions are a key part of conditionality. Transitions into work typically increase following a sanction.</p><p> </p><p>The Department has committed to doing an evaluation of the effectiveness of Universal Credit sanctions at supporting claimants to search for work in response to the Work and Pensions Select Committee’s report on benefit sanctions. The Department will look to publish this by the end of 2019.</p><p> </p><p>With regards to health and well-being, the Department has not made such assessment. We engage at a personal and individual level with all claimants; Legislation already enables work coaches to tailor conditionality, apply easements, set ‘voluntary’ work-related requirements (therefore, there is no risk of a sanction) or even switch off work-related requirements altogether where it is more appropriate for the individual, in light of their circumstances, including health conditions or disability.</p> answering member constituency Eastleigh answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 07/10/2019 12:46:06 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
	tabling member	4716 label Biography information for Ruth Jones

1147173

	registered interest
	date	30/09/2019
	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	Universal Credit
	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 her Department has made of the effect of the roll-out of universal credit on trends in the level of referrals to food banks.
	tabling member constituency	Newport West
	tabling member printed	Ruth Jones
	uin	292337
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/10/2019 answer text <p>The Department does not keep official statistics on food bank use, so no such assessment has been completed. Some food aid providers produce statistics on the number of food parcels distributed, but the Government has no plans to require individual food banks to keep records as this would place a significant burden on charitable and voluntary organisations.</p><p> </p><p>We have listened to feedback on how we can improve Universal Credit to support our claimants and acted quickly, making improvements such as extending advances, removing waiting days, and introducing housing benefit run on. These changes are giving support to vulnerable people who need it most, whilst at the same time helping people get into work faster.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 07/10/2019 13:29:48 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4716 label Biography information for Ruth Jones

1147174

	registered interest
	date	30/09/2019
	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: 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 her Department has made of trends in the level of child poverty.
	tabling member constituency	Newport West
	tabling member printed	Ruth Jones
	uin	292338
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/10/2019 answer text <p>National statistics on the number of children in relative and absolute low income are set out in the annual &quot;Households Below Average Income&quot; publication available here: <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/789816/hbai-2017-2018-tables-ods-files.zip" target="_blank">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/789816/hbai-2017-2018-tables-ods-files.zip</a></p><p> </p><p>In the latest low income statistics, the number of children in low income increased in three of the four measures.</p><p> </p><p>Since 2009/2010 there has been a 1 percentage point reduction in child poverty on an absolute before housing cost (BHC) basis.</p><p> </p><p>The evidence shows that work is the best route out of poverty and there are 730,000 fewer children in workless households compared with 2010.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 07/10/2019 13:09:50 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4716 label Biography information for Ruth Jones

1147257

	registered interest
	date	30/09/2019
	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 Funds
	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 pension funds consider the impact of climate change when taking investment decisions.
	tabling member constituency	Crawley
	tabling member printed	Henry Smith
	uin	292199
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/10/2019 answer text <p>The Government recognises that climate change is a defining national and international emergency, and we have introduced three key measures to ensure that pension schemes understand their responsibilities in responding to it.</p><p> </p><p>Firstly, since January 2019 those running single employer occupational pension schemes have been required to establish an effective system of governance including consideration of environmental, social and governance factors related to investment assets in investment decisions.</p><p> </p><p>Secondly, also since January 2019 schemes with 100 or more members must carry out and document a risk assessment of their system of governance including risks relating to climate change, the use of resources and the environment and risks relating to the depreciation of assets as a result of regulatory change (known as transition risk).</p><p> </p><p>Thirdly, as of 1st October, trustees of occupational pension schemes must state their policy on how they take account of the financial risks of climate change when developing their investment strategies. Defined contribution pension schemes are also required to publish their policy online.</p><p> </p><p>As the Minister for Pensions and Financial Inclusion I have spoken extensively about the new requirements and made clear this Government’s expectations of pension schemes.</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 07/10/2019 11:42:36 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
	tabling member	3960 label Biography information for Henry Smith