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1172919

	registered interest
	date	23/01/2020
	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	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 assessment she has made of the effect of the two-child limit on child poverty in (a) each Welsh local authority and (b) each Welsh parliamentary constituency.
	tabling member constituency	Arfon
	tabling member printed	Hywel Williams
	uin	7120
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/01/2020 answer text <p>National Statistics on the percentage of children in low income households are published annually in the “Households Below Average Income” publication and the latest year for which information is available is 2017/18. As the two-child limit policy was introduced in April 2017 there is insufficient data to assess any impacts of the policy on low income. Also estimates for the percentage of children in low income households are not available at local authority or parliamentary constituency level in this publication because the survey sample sizes are too small to support the production of robust estimates at this geography. For these two reasons it is not possible to evaluate the impacts of specific policies on poverty for these areas.</p><p> </p><p>Data relating to the operation of the policy in Wales can be found in the latest annual statistics release which was published on 31 July 2019 and covers the period up to 2 April 2019. This data can be found here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/child-tax-credit-and-universal-credit-claimants-statistics-related-to-the-policy-to-provide-support-for-a-maximum-of-2-children-april-2019" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/child-tax-credit-and-universal-credit-claimants-statistics-related-to-the-policy-to-provide-support-for-a-maximum-of-2-children-april-2019</a></p><p> </p><p>We have committed to further annual releases.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 28/01/2020 17:37:15 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	1397 label Biography information for Hywel Williams

1172920

	registered interest
	date	23/01/2020
	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
	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 two-child limit on BAME communities.
	tabling member constituency	Arfon
	tabling member printed	Hywel Williams
	uin	7121
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/01/2020 answer text <p>The Government’s view is that providing support for a maximum of two children or qualifying young persons in Universal Credit and Child Tax Credits, ensures fairness between claimants on the one hand and, on the other, those taxpayers who support themselves solely through work.</p><p> </p><p>We recognise that some claimants are not able to make the same choices about the number of children in their family, which is why exceptions have been put in place to protect certain groups. On migration to Universal Credit, families’ existing entitlement will be protected.</p><p> </p><p>The Department has published an Impact Assessment which noted ethnic minority households may be more affected by the policy. This is because on average, they are more likely to have larger families and be in receipt of Child Tax Credits and Universal Credit. However, the Department does not collect sufficiently robust data on our claimants’ ethnic or religious backgrounds to facilitate a more detailed assessment of the policy’s impact on specific ethnic or religious groups.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>The Government has assessed the impact of the policy from an equality and human rights perspective, meeting our obligations under the Public Sector Equality Duty, and ensuring compliance with the Human Rights Act 1998, the Equality Act 2010 and the UN Convention on the rights of children.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince grouped question UIN 7122 question first answered 28/01/2020 17:37:37 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	1397 label Biography information for Hywel Williams

1172921

	registered interest
	date	23/01/2020
	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: Wales
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans she has to undertake an impact assessment of the two-child limit on faith groups in Wales.
	tabling member constituency	Arfon
	tabling member printed	Hywel Williams
	uin	7122
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/01/2020 answer text <p>The Government’s view is that providing support for a maximum of two children or qualifying young persons in Universal Credit and Child Tax Credits, ensures fairness between claimants on the one hand and, on the other, those taxpayers who support themselves solely through work.</p><p> </p><p>We recognise that some claimants are not able to make the same choices about the number of children in their family, which is why exceptions have been put in place to protect certain groups. On migration to Universal Credit, families’ existing entitlement will be protected.</p><p> </p><p>The Department has published an Impact Assessment which noted ethnic minority households may be more affected by the policy. This is because on average, they are more likely to have larger families and be in receipt of Child Tax Credits and Universal Credit. However, the Department does not collect sufficiently robust data on our claimants’ ethnic or religious backgrounds to facilitate a more detailed assessment of the policy’s impact on specific ethnic or religious groups.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>The Government has assessed the impact of the policy from an equality and human rights perspective, meeting our obligations under the Public Sector Equality Duty, and ensuring compliance with the Human Rights Act 1998, the Equality Act 2010 and the UN Convention on the rights of children.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince grouped question UIN 7121 question first answered 28/01/2020 17:37:37 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	1397 label Biography information for Hywel Williams

1174907

	registered interest
	date	30/01/2020
	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	Universal Credit and Welfare Tax Credits
	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 has taken to make prospective parents aware of the two child limit on tax credits and universal credit in the last 12 months.
	tabling member constituency	Arfon
	tabling member printed	Hywel Williams
	uin	10318
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/02/2020 answer text <p>Information about this policy is available on GOV.UK and Jobcentre staff are able to advise on how the policy operates. The Government continues to look to identify effective ways of making prospective parents aware of the policy.</p><p> </p><p>Claimants were alerted to this policy when it was announced by the Government as part of the Summer Budget 2015. HMRC, who currently have the majority of claims from those with more than two children, also provide information about this change in leaflets which are sent to all claimants renewing their Child Tax Credit claim.</p><p> </p><p>DWP and HMRC also produce annual joint reports with statistics relating to the implementation of the policy. The most recent of these was published 31 July 2019 and can be found online at:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/child-tax-credit-and-universal-credit-claimants-statistics-related-to-the-policy-to-provide-support-for-a-maximum-of-2-children-april-2019" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/child-tax-credit-and-universal-credit-claimants-statistics-related-to-the-policy-to-provide-support-for-a-maximum-of-2-children-april-2019 </a></p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 04/02/2020 17:30:29 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	1397 label Biography information for Hywel Williams

1174909

	registered interest
	date	30/01/2020
	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
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answers of 18 January to Questions 7121 and 7122, what steps the Government is taking to tackle the gaps in the data relating to the two-child limit policy.
	tabling member constituency	Arfon
	tabling member printed	Hywel Williams
	uin	10319
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/02/2020 answer text <p>The Department has published an Impact Assessment of the two-child policy based on survey data which was of suitable quality to assess the impact of the policy from an equality and human rights perspective, meeting our obligations under the Public Sector Equality Duty, and ensuring compliance with the Human Rights Act 1998, the Equality Act 2010 and the UN Convention on the rights of children.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 04/02/2020 17:15:37 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	1397 label Biography information for Hywel Williams

1182804

	registered interest
	date	04/03/2020
	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	Universal Credit: Children
	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 has taken to ensure that new universal credit claimants with children are made aware of the two child limit.
	tabling member constituency	Arfon
	tabling member printed	Hywel Williams
	uin	25029
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/03/2020 answer text <p>The Department publishes information for claimants on Universal Credit’s support for a maximum of two children on GOV.UK and this can be viewed at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/guidance/universal-credit-and-families-with-more-than-2-children-information-for-claimants" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/guidance/universal-credit-and-families-with-more-than-2-children-information-for-claimants</a></p><p>Further advice can be provided to claimants through the freephone Universal Credit helpline and Jobcentres.</p><p>Providing support for a maximum of two children, or qualifying young persons in Universal Credit and Child Tax Credit, ensures fairness between claimants and those taxpayers who support themselves solely through work.</p><p>We recognise that some claimants are not able to make the same choices about the number of children in their family, which is why exceptions have been put in place to protect certain groups. On migration to Universal Credit, families’ existing entitlement will be protected.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 09/03/2020 17:10:40 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	1397 label Biography information for Hywel Williams

1198838

	registered interest
	date	01/06/2020
	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	Means-tested Benefits
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many claimants for (a) universal credit, (b) pension credit, (c) income-based jobseeker's allowance, (d) income-related employment and support allowance, (e) housing benefit and (f) income support have had their payments reduced due to reaching the savings threshold since March 2020.
	tabling member constituency	Arfon
	tabling member printed	Hywel Williams
	uin	51622
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/06/2020 answer text <p>The information requested is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.    <strong> </strong></p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 04/06/2020 15:36:22 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	1397 label Biography information for Hywel Williams

1216968

	registered interest
	date	23/06/2020
	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	Housing Benefit: Social Rented Housing
	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 reviewing her Department's spare room subsidy policy as part of the Government's response to the covid-19 outbreak.
	tabling member constituency	Arfon
	tabling member printed	Hywel Williams
	uin	63233
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/06/2020 answer text <p>There are no current plans to amend the removal of the spare room subsidy policy in response to covid-19. The policy already allows for the provision of an additional bedroom in certain circumstances, such as to support the needs of disabled people as well as exempting households in receipt of pension age Housing Benefit.</p><p> </p><p>If a claimant’s ability to mitigate any shortfall between their housing support and rent has changed, Discretionary Housing Payments can be considered by their local authority. We announced last year an additional £40 million for Discretionary Housing Payments for 2020/21 in England and Wales.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 29/06/2020 16:16:39 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	1397 label Biography information for Hywel Williams

1247951

	registered interest
	date	02/11/2020
	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	Universal Credit: Coronavirus
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reason she did not extend the £20 uplift in universal credit to legacy benefits; and whether she plans to extend that uplift to those legacy benefits.
	tabling member constituency	Arfon
	tabling member printed	Hywel Williams
	uin	110064
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/11/2020 answer text <p>The Government introduced measures earlier this year that could be quickly and effectively put in place to benefit those facing the most financial disruption during the pandemic, including the £20 weekly increase to the Universal Credit Standard Allowance rates as a temporary measure for the 20/21 tax year. There are no plans to extend this to legacy benefits.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 05/11/2020 14:25:56 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	1397 label Biography information for Hywel Williams

1284319

	registered interest
	date	05/02/2021
	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	social security benefits: Coronavirus
	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 APPG on Poverty's £20 uplift report published on 1 February 2021, what recent assessment she has made of the (a) removal of the £20 uplift to universal credit and working tax credit; (b) decision not to extend the £20 uplift to legacy and related benefits and (c) suspension of the benefit cap.
	tabling member constituency	Arfon
	tabling member printed	Hywel Williams
	uin	149727
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/02/2021 answer text <p>No assessment has been made.</p><p> </p><p>The £20 per week uplift to Universal Credit and Working Tax Credit was announced by the Chancellor as a temporary measure in March 2020 to support those facing the most financial disruption as a result of the public health emergency. This measure remains in place until March 2021. As the Government has done throughout this crisis, it will continue to assess how best to support low-income families, which is why we will look at the economic and health context before making any decisions.</p><p> </p><p>There are no plans to extend the temporary £20 uplift to legacy benefits. Claimants on legacy benefits can make a claim for Universal Credit (UC) if they think they will be better off and should check carefully their eligibility and entitlements under UC before applying, as legacy benefits will end when claimants submit their UC claim and they will not be able to return to them in the future. For this reason, prospective claimants are signposted to independent benefits calculators on GOV.UK. Neither DWP nor HMRC can advise individual claimants whether they would be better off moving to UC or remaining on legacy benefits.</p><p> </p><p>No assessment has been made with regards to suspending the benefit cap. There are currently no plans to change the Benefit Cap.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 10/02/2021 17:31:26 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	1397 label Biography information for Hywel Williams