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1308523

	registered interest
	date	13/04/2021
	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	Television Licences: Older People
	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 the introduction of means-testing for the TV licence concession for people aged over 75 on levels of pension credit take-up.
	tabling member constituency	Glasgow South West
	tabling member printed	Chris Stephens
	uin	180552
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/04/2021 answer text <p>No assessment has been made. The latest estimates of Pension Credit take-up, published in October 2020, relate to the financial year 2018/19 and do not reflect any potential impacts of the BBC TV license.</p><p /><p /> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 19/04/2021 12:12:10 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
	tabling member	4463 label Biography information for Chris Stephens

1287042

	registered interest
	date	19/02/2021
	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	Winter Fuel Payment
	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 made an assessment of the potential merits of making the winter fuel payment available to all people in receipt of state pension for winter 2021-2022.
	tabling member constituency	Sheffield, Hallam
	tabling member printed	Olivia Blake
	uin	155482
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/02/2021 answer text <p>The Department has made no such assessment.</p><p /><p /> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 24/02/2021 14:08:26 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
	tabling member	4864 label Biography information for Olivia Blake

1300043

	registered interest
	date	08/03/2021
	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	Pensions: Fraud
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	What steps she has taken to strengthen protections for pension savers.
	tabling member constituency	Bury South
	tabling member printed	Christian Wakeford
	uin	913014
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/03/2021 answer text <p>The Government is committed to safeguarding pension savings. <br></p><p />The Pension Schemes Act 2021, notably Section 125, will strengthen rules around pension transfers and<br />introduce new criminal offences for unscrupulous employers who mismanage schemes. These measures will protect savers in Bury South and across the United Kingdom<p /><p /><p>Many pension scams are initiated and perpetuated online, and that is why I am meeting with Google on 10 March to explore what action is being taken against online pension fraud<br>and persuade them to stop fraudsters using their site.</p><p /><p /> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 08/03/2021 16:23:59 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
	tabling member	4871 label Biography information for Christian Wakeford

1330692

	registered interest
	date	08/06/2021
	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	Local Housing Allowance: Shared Housing
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Government's announcement during Budget 2020 to extend the exemptions from the Shared Accommodation Rate, if he will bring forward the planned exemption for survivors of domestic abuse and human trafficking; for what reasons that category of persons were not included in the recent decision to bring forward the exemption for rough sleepers aged 16-24 and care leavers up to age 25 to June 2021; and if he will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	Brighton, Pavilion
	tabling member printed	Caroline Lucas
	uin	12104
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/06/2021 answer text <p>The additional support to expand existing exemptions for care leavers and former residents of homeless hostels has been brought forward by over two years and made available from 31<br>May 2021. <br><br></p><p />However, the new exemptions from the shared accommodation rate for victims of domestic violence and modern slavery will require more significant amendments to legislation as well as local<br />authority and Universal Credit IT systems, which will take time to develop and implement. <p /><p /><p>For those who require additional housing support and whose circumstances may make it difficult for them to share accommodation, Discretionary Housing Payments are<br>available. Since 2011, the government has provided over £1 billion in Discretionary Housing Payments to local authorities to help support vulnerable people.</p><p /><p /> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 16/06/2021 17:02:20 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	3930 label Biography information for Caroline Lucas

1180099

	registered interest
	date	24/02/2020
	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	Thomas Cook: Insolvency
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many former Thomas Cook employees are facing deductions from payment of (a) universal credit and (b) legacy social security benefits as a result of being defined as being in a couple.
	tabling member constituency	East Renfrewshire
	tabling member printed	Kirsten Oswald
	uin	20043
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/02/2020 answer text <p>The data for this request is not held.</p><p> </p><p>The Department is offering a range of support to anyone affected by the closure of Thomas Cook, through our Rapid Response Service (RRS) and wider services. This is designed to give practical support and advice to employers and their employees when faced with redundancy.</p><p /><p /> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 27/02/2020 16:18:03 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4413 label Biography information for Kirsten Oswald

1205041

	registered interest
	date	17/06/2020
	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: Children
	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 call by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and Save the Children to increase the child component of Universal Credit and Child Tax Credits by £20 a week, following their research showing that 7 in 10 families with children in receipt of Universal Credit are cutting back on essentials as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
	tabling member printed	The Lord Bishop of Durham
	uin	HL5845
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/07/2020 answer text <p>This Government has introduced an unprecedented package of welfare support of over £6.5 billion to help families cope with the financial impact of COVID-19. This has included increases to<br>Universal Credit and Working Tax Credit worth up to £1,040 this financial year. In addition, we have increased Local Housing Allowance, lifting rates to the 30th percentile in the Private Rented Sector, putting an average of £600 into people’s pockets.</p><p /><p /> <p> </p><p /><p /> <p>Local Authorities in England will now be able to use the £500 million Hardship Fund announced at the Spring Budget, to help working people on Local Council Tax Support to provide additional help to vulnerable people locally through arrangements such as Local Welfare Schemes. On 10 June, it was announced that we are now providing £63 million in additional funding to local authorities in England to help people who find themselves in severe financial difficulties, through local welfare assistance programmes.</p><p /><p /> <p> </p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Stedman-Scott question first answered 06/07/2020 14:00:45 answering member 4174 label Biography information for Baroness Stedman-Scott
	tabling member	4312 label Biography information for The Lord Bishop of Durham

1380831

	registered interest
	date	22/11/2021
	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	Social Security Benefits: Older People
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will provide a table showing (1) each of the benefits that individuals reaching the state pension age are entitled to claim, (2) the number of individuals who are entitled to claim such benefits, and (3) the number of individuals claiming them.
	tabling member printed	Lord Sikka
	uin	HL4308
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/12/2021 answer text <ol><li>Individuals at or above State Pension age may be entitled to apply for financial support from amongst the following DWP benefits, depending upon their personal circumstances:</li></ol><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Attendance Allowance</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Carer's Allowance</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Christmas Bonus</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Disability Living Allowance</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Housing benefits</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Industrial Injuries Disability benefits</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Pension Credit</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Personal Independence Payment</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>State Pension</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Severe Disablement Allowance</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Winter Fuel Payments</p></td></tr></tbody></table><ol start="2"><li>We have data available for the number of families who are entitled to claim such benefits for Pension Credit and Housing Benefit. We do not hold this information for the other benefits in which pensioners may be entitled. These are from the Income-related benefits: estimates of take up: financial year 2018 to 2019.</li></ol><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Benefit</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Number of families entitled 2018/19</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Pension Credit</p></td><td><p>2,490,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Housing Benefit (Pensioners)</p></td><td><p>1,440,000</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>There are already around 1.4 million people claiming around £5 billion in Pension Credit. We want to make sure that all eligible pensioners claim the Pension Credit to which they are rightly entitled. The DWP conducted a media day in June with support from Age UK and the BBC and others, using national and local media to help reach older people reticent about claiming Pension Credit. There have also been press articles since then to encourage take-up.</p><p> </p><p>The working group which DWP has established includes a diverse range of organisations including pensioner charities as well as the BBC, British Telecom, Virgin Money and the Local Government Association. The group met most recently on 19 October and we hope that it will identify new practical initiatives to help address Pension Credit take up.</p><p> </p><p> </p><ol start="3"><li>The number of individuals claiming the following benefits can be found on Table 2c of the Benefit Expenditure and Caseload tables 2021 on Gov.uk.</li></ol><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Benefits directed at Pensioners</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Caseload 2020/21</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Attendance Allowance</p></td><td><p>1,388,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Carer’s Allowance</p></td><td><p>287,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Christmas Bonus</p></td><td><p>12,275,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Disability Living Allowance</p></td><td><p>523,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Housing Benefit</p></td><td><p>1,164,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Industrial Injuries benefits</p></td><td><p>150,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Pension Credit</p></td><td><p>1,480,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Personal Independence Payment</p></td><td><p>306,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>State Pension</p></td><td><p>12,379,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Severe Disablement Allowance</p></td><td><p>15,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Winter Fuel Payments</p></td><td><p>11,205,000</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Stedman-Scott question first answered 06/12/2021 16:57:16 answering member 4174 label Biography information for Baroness Stedman-Scott
	tabling member	4885 label Biography information for Lord Sikka

1565139

	registered interest
	date	09/01/2023
	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: Tokyo
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to his Department’s publication of ministerial transparency data for the period July to September 2021, what the cost to his Department was of the accommodation, meals and other expenses, excluding air travel, incurred by his predecessor when visiting Tokyo for the Paralympic Games from 23 to 26 August 2021.
	tabling member constituency	Islington South and Finsbury
	tabling member printed	Emily Thornberry
	uin	119039
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/01/2023 answer text <p /><p> </p><p /><p>The former Secretary of State included in her published hospitality returns that the British Paralympic Association paid for her tickets and hospitality as part of the official delegation (24 August to 26 August 2021). The Department was invoiced several months later £778.90 for her accommodation, after the initial transparency report had been submitted. This has now been updated.</p><p> </p><p>The other expenses incurred by the Department at the time of the event were £190.34 for airport transfers and £28.00 for Overseas Incidental Expenses.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 17/01/2023 17:57:56 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
	tabling member	1536 label Biography information for Emily Thornberry

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

1504927

	registered interest
	date	05/09/2022
	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: Housing Benefit
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to answer of 8 July 2022 to Question 26876 on Cost of Living Payments: Housing Benefit, what assessment he has been made of (a) how many people receiving housing benefit only are not receiving the £650 cost of living payment and (b) the sufficiency of the Household Support Fund to reach all those requiring additional support.
	tabling member constituency	Hornsey and Wood Green
	tabling member printed	Catherine West
	uin	47623
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/09/2022 answer text <p>(A) How many people receiving HB only are not receiving the £650 Cost Of Living payment</p><p> </p><p>Approximately 100 thousand working-age HB claimants were not in receipt of a qualifying benefit or Tax Credit and so would not receive a cost of living payment of £650 paid in two lump sums of £326 and £324.</p><p> </p><p>There are a further 370 thousand pensioner HB claimants who were also not in receipt of any qualifying benefit but will receive the £300 Cost of Living payment paid through an increase to the Winter Fuel Payment.</p><p> </p><p>(B) What assessment has been made of the sufficiency of the Household Support Fund to reach all those requiring additional support.</p><p> </p><p>£842m has already been allocated to Local Authorities in England through the Household Support Fund to support those in need for the period October 2021- September 2022. Almost 9 million awards were given to those in need between October 2021 and March 2022 alone. A further £421m is being provided to extend the Household Support Fund from October 2022 to March 2023, taking the total funding for this support to over £1.2bn.</p><p> </p><p>Local Authorities have the ties and local knowledge to best determine how this support should be provided to their local communities, and they have the discretion to design their own local schemes to best meet local need, within the parameters of the grant determination and guidance for the fund.</p><p> </p><p>The Household Support Fund is just one part of a wider package of government support for the cost of living now totalling over £37bn this year.</p><p> </p><p /> answering member constituency Banbury answering member printed Victoria Prentis question first answered 27/09/2022 10:04:00 answering member 4401 label Biography information for Victoria Prentis
	tabling member	4523 label Biography information for Catherine West