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1648105

registered interest
date	27/06/2023
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	Social Security Benefits: Uprating
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to (a) ensure regular and adequate uprating of benefits and (b) mitigate the risk of families falling into poverty.
tabling member constituency	Dundee West
tabling member printed	Chris Law
uin	191329
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/07/2023 answer text <p>The Government is committed to reducing poverty and supporting low-income families. We will spend around £276bn through the welfare system in Great Britain in 2023/24 including around £124bn on people of working age and children, and around £152 billion on pensioners. Of this, around £79 billion will be spent on benefits to support disabled people and people with health conditions.</p><p> </p><p>With respect to up-rating, the Social Security Administration Act 1992 places an obligation on the Secretary of State to review increases in prices and earnings each tax year, and to increase certain State pensions, additional-needs disability benefits and carers benefits at least in line with the relevant index. In the case of the new and basic State Pensions, the Government is committed to increasing these in line with the triple lock for the remainder of this Parliament. This is the highest of the increase in prices, the increase in earnings, or 2.5%.</p><p> </p><p>Once he has completed his review of the increase in prices, he must also decide whether to up-rate other benefit rates, and if so by how much. In the up-rating for the tax year 2023/24, all relevant State pension and benefit rates were increased by 10.1%, in line with the increase in the Consumer Prices Index in the year to September 2022.</p><p> </p><p>With 1.05 million job vacancies across the UK, our focus remains firmly on supporting individuals, including parents, to move into, and progress in work, an approach which is based on clear evidence about the importance of employment - particularly where it is full-time - in substantially reducing the risks of poverty. The latest statistics show that in 2021/22 working age adults living in workless families were 7 times more likely to be in absolute poverty after housing costs than working age adults in families where all adults work.</p><p> </p><p>To support those who are in work, from 1 April 2023, the National Living Wage (NLW) increased by 9.7% to £10.42 an hour for workers aged 23 and over - the largest ever cash increase for the NLW.</p><p> </p><p>At the Spring Budget, the Chancellor announced an ambitious package of measures designed to support people wherever they live in the UK to enter work, increase their working hours and extend their working lives.</p><p> </p><p>The Government recognises that high childcare costs can affect parents’ decisions to take up paid work or increase their working hours which is why, from 28 June, the changes to the Universal Credit (UC) childcare element announced in Spring Budget 2023 will provide generous additional financial support to parents moving into paid work and/or increasing their working hours.</p><p> </p><p>This government understands the pressures people are facing with the cost of living which is why we are providing total support of over £94bn over 2022-23 and 2023-24 to help households and individuals with the rising bills.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 04/07/2023 15:53:57 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	4403 label Biography information for Chris Law

1648233

registered interest
date	27/06/2023
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	Universal Credit: Private 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 his Department has made an assessment of his Department's recent policy change in paying Universal Credit's Housing Element directly to claimants rather than to landlords and housing providers on the timeliness of rent payments.
tabling member constituency	Weaver Vale
tabling member printed	Mike Amesbury
uin	191435
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/07/2023 answer text <p>No assessment has been made.</p><p> </p><p>Universal Credit is designed to mirror the world of work in order to ease the transition back into employment. The intention is that the same considerations and choices faced by people not in receipt of benefits should also face those claiming benefits. Expecting claimants to manage their own finances helps to achieve this.</p><p> </p><p>The Department understands that some claimants will require support to help them handle monthly payments and has put in place procedures to address this.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 04/07/2023 15:52:44 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	4667 label Biography information for Mike Amesbury

1648265

registered interest
date	27/06/2023
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	Children: Maintenance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the amount in child maintenance payments (a) not paid by paying parents and (b) not received by receiving parents when the paying parent's income has been misreported in each financial year since 2009-10.
tabling member constituency	Manchester, Gorton
tabling member printed	Afzal Khan
uin	191467
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/07/2023 answer text <p>The Child Maintenance Service does not hold the information to fully respond to the request.</p><p> </p><p>The Department publishes quarterly Child Maintenance Service (CMS) statistics, with the latest statistics available to the end of December 2022 <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/child-maintenance-service-statistics-data-to-december-2022-experimental" target="_blank">here</a>. Table 6 of the National Tables provides the total amount of uncollected child maintenance from March 2015 – December 2022.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 03/07/2023 15:15:36 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	4671 label Biography information for Afzal Khan

1648268

registered interest
date	27/06/2023
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	Children: Maintenance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many paying parents had child maintenance arrears of more than (a) £1,000, (b) £5,000 and (c) £10,000 in each financial year since 2009-10.
tabling member constituency	Manchester, Gorton
tabling member printed	Afzal Khan
uin	191470
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/07/2023 answer text <p>The Child Maintenance Service does not currently hold the information requested. The number of paying parents with arrears as of the 31<sup>st</sup> of March each year between 2018 and 2023 has been provided.</p><p> </p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="6"><p><strong>Number of Paying Parents</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Arrears</strong></p></td><td><p>Mar-18</p></td><td><p>Mar-19</p></td><td><p>Mar-20</p></td><td><p>Mar-21</p></td><td><p>Mar-22</p></td><td><p>Mar-23</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>More than £1,000 but less than or equal to £5,000</p></td><td><p>45,800</p></td><td><p>56,800</p></td><td><p>65,200</p></td><td><p>68,600</p></td><td><p>76,800</p></td><td><p>85,200</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>More than £5,000 but less than or equal to £10,000</p></td><td><p>6,500</p></td><td><p>10,300</p></td><td><p>13,600</p></td><td><p>15,900</p></td><td><p>18,100</p></td><td><p>20,600</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>More than £10,000</p></td><td><p>1,300</p></td><td><p>2,600</p></td><td><p>4,300</p></td><td><p>6,000</p></td><td><p>7,500</p></td><td><p>9,200</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Source: Child Maintenance Service Administrative Data</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p><ol><li>All figures are rounded to the nearest 100. Totals may not sum due to rounding.</li><li>The figures supplied are derived from unpublished information and have not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standard. They should therefore be treated with caution.</li></ol><p> </p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 03/07/2023 15:08:59 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	4671 label Biography information for Afzal Khan

1647672

registered interest
date	26/06/2023
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	Local Housing Allowance: Private Rented Housing
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 he has made of the adequacy of the local housing allowance in areas with high private rental costs.
tabling member constituency	York Central
tabling member printed	Rachael Maskell
uin	191147
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/07/2023 answer text <p>The Local Housing Allowance (LHA) determines the maximum housing support for tenants in the private rented sector. LHA rates are not intended to cover all rents in all areas.</p><p>In 2020 we spent almost £1 billion increasing LHA rates to the 30th percentile. These rates were aligned to the 30th percentile of market rents in Broad Rental Market Areas (BRMA) across the country, therefore in those areas with higher rent costs this is reflected in higher LHA rates for that BRMA. This significant investment at that time has been maintained ensuring that everyone who benefited continues to do so.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>For those who face a shortfall in meeting their housing costs and need further support, Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) are available from local authorities. Since 2011 the Government has provided nearly £1.6 billion in DHP funding to local authorities.</p><p> </p><p>We recognise that rents are increasing. However, the challenging fiscal environment means that difficult decisions have been necessary to ensure support is targeted effectively. Overall, the Government is providing total support of over £94 billion over 2022/23 and 2023/24 to help households and individuals with the rising cost of living.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 04/07/2023 15:45:54 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	4471 label Biography information for Rachael Maskell

1647673

registered interest
date	26/06/2023
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	Housing Benefit: Private Rented Housing
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of requiring that housing benefit is paid directly to landlords.
tabling member constituency	North Norfolk
tabling member printed	Duncan Baker
uin	191148
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/06/2023 answer text <p>Housing Benefit regulations have powers which allow local authorities to make payments of Housing Benefit direct to the landlord if it appears to be in the interest of the claimant and their family. Serious rent arrears, for example arrears equivalent of six weeks’ rent, may indicate it is in the claimant’s best interests to arrange direct payment.</p><p> </p><p>When deciding whether to make direct payments local authorities must consider the individual circumstances of each case.</p><p> </p><p>There are currently no plans to review this policy.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 28/06/2023 16:22:12 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	4784 label Biography information for Duncan Baker

1647829

registered interest
date	26/06/2023
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	Support for Mortgage Interest
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the Support for Mortgage Interest scheme, in the context of the increase in the bank rate in June 2023.
tabling member constituency	North Down
tabling member printed	Stephen Farry
uin	191193
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/06/2023 answer text <p>No assessment has been made of the adequacy of Support for Mortgage interest (SMI) since interest rates have risen, although the Department continues to monitor the impact of our policies on an on-going basis.</p><p> </p><p>SMI is intended to provide reasonable support by making a contribution towards mortgage interest to protect claimants against the threat of repossession. The rate of SMI we pay is based on the Bank of England average and recently increased from 2.09% to 2.65% in May 2023. Any further changes will occur when the average differs by 0.5 percentage points or more.</p><p> </p><p>To support low-income mortgage borrowers with rising interest rates, from April 2023, we extended the support SMI provides by allowing those on Universal Credit to apply for a loan after three months, instead of nine. We also abolished the rule which prevented Universal Credit claimants from receiving support if they were in work.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 28/06/2023 16:17:52 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	4856 label Biography information for Stephen Farry

1647830

registered interest
date	26/06/2023
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	Support for Mortgage Interest
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what support DWP is providing to social security benefit claimants using the Support for Mortgage Interest scheme who are coming to the end of a mortgage fixed rate term.
tabling member constituency	North Down
tabling member printed	Stephen Farry
uin	191194
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/07/2023 answer text <p>The purpose of Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI) is to enable people to stay in their homes without fear of repossession and, as such, it makes a contribution towards the interest on their mortgages.</p><p> </p><p>The rate of SMI we pay is based on the Bank of England published average rate and recently increased from 2.09% to 2.65% on May 2023. Any further changes to the interest rate will occur when the Bank of England average mortgage rate differs by 0.5 percentage points or more from the rate in payment.</p><p> </p><p>As we use an average figure, some people will receive more than the amount of interest charged on their mortgage and other less. We have broad agreement with the lending industry that the amount we pay in SMI will be sufficient to avert any threat of repossession, even where that is less than the borrowers contracted liability.</p><p> </p><p>To support benefit claimants with rising interest rates, on 3 April 2023, we extended the support SMI provides by offering UC claimants loans after three months, instead of nine. We have also extended SMI to in- work UC claimants so they can now receive support while working. The SMI reforms will extend support to an additional approximate 200,000 low income homeowners, providing an additional approximate £50m in support.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 04/07/2023 15:41:16 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	4856 label Biography information for Stephen Farry

1647899

registered interest
date	26/06/2023
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	Employment Schemes: Young People
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much his Department spent on the Youth Employment Programme in each financial year since it was launched; and how much his Department is forecast to spend on the Youth Employment Programme in (a) 2023-24 and (b) 2024-25.
tabling member constituency	Leicester South
tabling member printed	Jonathan Ashworth
uin	191120
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/06/2023 answer text <p>The information requested is not collated centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 29/06/2023 08:48:21 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	4244 label Biography information for Jonathan Ashworth

1647938

registered interest
date	26/06/2023
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	Bus Services: Working Conditions
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has held recent discussions with (a) Unite the Union and (b) other trade representative bodies on the welfare of bus drivers working on buses without air conditioning.
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Edgbaston
tabling member printed	Preet Kaur Gill
uin	191209
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/06/2023 answer text <p>We have not had any recent discussions with representatives from Unite the Union or other trade representative bodies on the welfare of bus drivers working on buses without air conditioning.</p><p> </p><p>The Health and Safety Executive has advised that employers (including bus companies) have a legal obligation under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 to make a suitable assessment of the risks to the health and safety of workers and act where necessary to minimise those risks as far as reasonably practicable. This would include the risks from extreme weather events such as heatwaves. If workers have concerns about their working conditions, in the first instance, they should raise any issues with their employer or via worker representatives such as Trade Union Representatives.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 28/06/2023 16:17:21 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	4603 label Biography information for Preet Kaur Gill