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1645680

registered interest
date	19/06/2023
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: 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, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of a review of the under-occupancy penalty.
tabling member constituency	Arfon
tabling member printed	Hywel Williams
uin	190042
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/06/2023 answer text <p>There are no plans to review the Removal of the Spare Room policy.</p><p> </p><p>The policy applies to claims for housing support where the claimant is living in the social rented sector in a property that is deemed too large for their needs. The policy aims to strengthen work incentives and seeks to encourage greater mobility within the social rented sector.</p><p> </p><p>There are easements to the policy which allow for the provision of an additional bedroom in certain circumstances, such as to support the needs of disabled people. Pensioners in receipt of Housing Benefit are exempt from the policy.</p><p> </p><p>Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) are available for those who face a shortfall in meeting their housing costs. Since 2011 we have provided nearly £1.6 billion in funding to local authorities for DHPs.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 22/06/2023 15:38:16 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	1397 label Biography information for Hywel Williams

1645681

registered interest
date	19/06/2023
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: 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, what assessment he has made of the impact of the removal of the spare bedroom subsidy on levels of spending on (a) housing benefit and (b) discretionary housing payments in Wales in each year since April 2013.
tabling member constituency	Arfon
tabling member printed	Hywel Williams
uin	190071
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/06/2023 answer text <p>The Department has not made an assessment of the full impact of the Removal of the Spare Room Subsidy on levels of spending on Housing Benefit (HB). We estimate that the Removal of the Spare Room Subsidy (RSRS) policy, between May 2013 and February 2023, has seen deductions from Housing Benefit (HB) expenditure in Wales of £190 million. This is broken down for each financial year below:</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Financial Year</strong></p></td><td><p><strong> Total RSRS deductions for HB in Wales </strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2013/14*</p></td><td><p>£21m</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014/15</p></td><td><p>£22m</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015/16</p></td><td><p>£22m</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2016/17</p></td><td><p>£22m</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2017/18</p></td><td><p>£22m</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2018/19</p></td><td><p>£21m</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2019/20</p></td><td><p>£18m</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2020/21</p></td><td><p>£16m</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2021/22</p></td><td><p>£14m</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2022/23*</p></td><td><p>£12m</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>*These years do not include the full 12 months. 2013/14 excludes April 2013 as there is no data for this month. 2022/23 excludes March 2023 as this data is not yet available.</p><p> </p><p>This estimate is based on those households with the RSRS deduction applied. For a full impact assessment, the behavioural impact of the policy would need to be considered, for example where households with a spare bedroom have moved to a right-sized property.</p><p> </p><p>As asked for the total RSRS deductions are for Housing Benefit only, and do not include deductions for those in receipt of the Universal Credit Housing Element (UCHE). Over the time period shown there has been migration of cases from HB to UCHE, and the majority of new claims for housing support for those of working age will be for UCHE since its introduction.</p><p> </p><p>The impact of the RSRS on Discretionary Housing Payment spending has not been fully assessed. DHP funding has historically been distributed using four funding streams based on DWPs best measures of housing need, these are Local expenditure on Housing Benefit (HB)/Universal Credit Housing Element (UCHE), Local Housing Allowance (LHA) shortfalls, RSRS deductions and Benefit Cap deductions. Although the funding is distributed using this broad methodology, local authorities spend according to their own criteria. As part of annual returns LAs include a breakdown of their expenditure by measure including RSRS, though DHP stats include this breakdown only at national level.</p><p>The overall RSRS expenditure reported to DWP by Welsh Local Authorities between April 2013 and March 2022 has been over £30 million. This is broken down for each financial year below:</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Financial Year</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>RSRS Expenditure in DHP by Local Authorities in Wales</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Percentage of LA’s information is available for</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2013-14</p></td><td><p>£3,116,498</p></td><td><p>73%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014-15</p></td><td><p>£4,427,275</p></td><td><p>86%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015-16</p></td><td><p>£3,045,024</p></td><td><p>77%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2016-17</p></td><td><p>£3,360,025</p></td><td><p>82%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2017-18</p></td><td><p>£3,062,745</p></td><td><p>77%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2018-19</p></td><td><p>£3,204,905</p></td><td><p>86%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2019-20</p></td><td><p>£2,821,180</p></td><td><p>82%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2020-21</p></td><td><p>£3,702,173</p></td><td><p>91%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2021-22</p></td><td><p>£4,247,069</p></td><td><p>100%</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>* Monitoring returns were not provided by all local authorities; for those that did, not all could provide the detailed breakdown</p><p>This table shows the expenditure of Welsh LAs on DHPS in respect to RSRS, not what DWP provide to Welsh LAs as a contribution of funding DHPs. DHP statistics are available online:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/discretionary-housing-payments-statistics" target="_blank">Discretionary Housing Payments statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)</a></p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 22/06/2023 15:42:17 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	1397 label Biography information for Hywel Williams

1605203

registered interest
date	17/03/2023
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	Cost of Living Payments
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when each cost of living payment will be made in the 2023-24 financial year.
tabling member constituency	Arfon
tabling member printed	Hywel Williams
uin	168025
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/03/2023 answer text <p>The Government understands the pressures people are facing with the cost of living and is taking action to help through the Cost of Living Payments and through a wider package of support.</p><p> </p><p>We will be delivering the means-tested cost of living payment of up to £900 in three separate payments. The first payment of £301 will be made from spring 2023, the second payment of £300 from autumn 2023 and the third payment of £299 from spring 2024. People on qualifying disability benefits will receive a Payment of £150 during Summer 2023 and pensioner households will receive a £300 Pension Cost of Living Payment alongside their winter fuel payment in winter 2023.</p><p> </p><p>Qualifying dates for the means-tested and disability Cost of Living Payments are being set out in secondary legislation and payment dates for the vast majority of people will be announced on our dedicated page on gov.uk once the relevant regulations have been made. We have an extensive communications plan in place, including a media and digital campaign, that sets out everything customers need to know about Cost of Living Payments.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 22/03/2023 16:16:58 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	1397 label Biography information for Hywel Williams

1602046

registered interest
date	07/03/2023
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
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in (a) Wales, (b) Scotland and (c) England who are only eligible for the Shared Accommodation Local Housing Allowance rate reside in one-bedroom homes.
tabling member constituency	Arfon
tabling member printed	Hywel Williams
uin	160216
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/03/2023 answer text <p>The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate costs.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 13/03/2023 17:58:24 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	1397 label Biography information for Hywel Williams

1602048

registered interest
date	07/03/2023
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: Wales
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 estimate of the average difference between the rent being paid by individuals in receipt of Local Housing Allowance (LHA) and the LHA rate in each local authority in Wales in the most recent period for which data is available.
tabling member constituency	Arfon
tabling member printed	Hywel Williams
uin	160217
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/03/2023 answer text <p>As of August 2022, the average monthly difference between the contractual rent for individuals in receipt of Local Housing Allowance (LHA) and the LHA rate in each Welsh local authority is as below, figures are rounded to the nearest £1:</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Local Authority</p></td><td><p>Average Difference between rent and LHA rate</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Blaenau Gwent</p></td><td><p>£87</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Bridgend</p></td><td><p>£61</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Caerphilly</p></td><td><p>£82</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Cardiff</p></td><td><p>£9</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Carmarthenshire</p></td><td><p>£67</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Ceredigion</p></td><td><p>£54</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Conwy</p></td><td><p>£78</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Denbighshire</p></td><td><p>£70</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Flintshire</p></td><td><p>£55</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Gwynedd</p></td><td><p>£72</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Isle of Anglesey</p></td><td><p>£54</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Merthyr Tydfil</p></td><td><p>£66</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Monmouthshire</p></td><td><p>£98</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Neath Port Talbot</p></td><td><p>£74</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Newport</p></td><td><p>£61</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Pembrokeshire</p></td><td><p>£77</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Powys</p></td><td><p>£86</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Rhondda Cynon Taf</p></td><td><p>£68</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Swansea</p></td><td><p>£30</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Torfaen</p></td><td><p>£62</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Vale of Glamorgan</p></td><td><p>£84</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Wrexham</p></td><td><p>£48</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p><p>Shared Accommodation Rate (SAR) cases have been excluded due to data quality issues. Average difference figures include both households where the rent paid by individuals is lower than the LHA and households where the rent paid by individuals is higher than the LHA. Positive values relate to where monthly rent is higher than the monthly LHA rate on average in a local authority.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 13/03/2023 17:56:40 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	1397 label Biography information for Hywel Williams

1547573

registered interest
date	02/12/2022
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	Local Housing Allowance: Uprating
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 impact of the decision not to uprate Local Housing Allowance in line with September 2022 CPI inflation on the proportion of homes available to rent in Wales in respect of which the requested rent would be fully covered by LHA rates in the next twelve months.
tabling member constituency	Arfon
tabling member printed	Hywel Williams
uin	101703
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/12/2022 answer text <p>No recent assessment has been made.</p><p> </p><p>Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates determine the maximum housing support available to claimants in the private rented sector. They are not intended to cover all rents in all areas.</p><p> </p><p>We recognise that rents are increasing but the challenging fiscal environment means that difficult decisions were necessary to ensure support is targeted effectively. The Chancellor announced at Autumn Statement a package of targeted support worth £26 billion.</p><p> </p><p>To protect the most vulnerable, working age and disability benefits will be increased in line with inflation for 2023-24, increasing expenditure by £11 billion in 23/24. In addition, to ensure that households will see an increase in their benefits following uprating – the benefit cap will also be increased in line with CPI (10.1%) in April 2023.</p><p> </p><p>For those who require extra support, the government is extending the Household Support Fund providing an additional £1 billion of funding, including Barnett impact, to enable the extension of the Household Support Fund in England in the next financial year. In England this will be through an extension to the Household Support Fund backed by £842 million, running from 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024. It will be for the devolved administrations to decide how to allocate their additional Barnett funding (£158m).</p><p>For those who require additional support with housing costs, Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) are available. Since 2011 we have provided nearly £1.5 billion in funding for DHPs.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 07/12/2022 11:37:24 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	1397 label Biography information for Hywel Williams

1360261

registered interest
date	15/10/2021
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	New Enterprise Allowance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many (a) people have been supported and (b) businesses established through the New Enterprise Allowance in I(i) Wales, (ii) Scotland, (iii) Northern Ireland and (iv) England since 2014.
tabling member constituency	Arfon
tabling member printed	Hywel Williams
uin	56815
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/10/2021 answer text <p>New Enterprise Allowance (NEA) is available across Great Britain only. NEA data for England, Scotland and Wales is published on Gov.uk (link attached) <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/new-enterprise-allowance-april-2011-to-december-2020" target="_blank">New Enterprise Allowance: April 2011 to December 2020 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)</a> .</p><p>The Data tables: New Enterprise Allowance official statistics: April 2011 to December 2020 give the total number of participants broken down by month and also the individuals and businesses started on NEA broken down by regions.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 20/10/2021 17:15:05 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies previous answer version 25558 answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	1397 label Biography information for Hywel Williams

1356450

registered interest
date	17/09/2021
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: Mental Health
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 impact that the re-introduction of conditionality requirements has had on the mental health of benefit claimants.
tabling member constituency	Arfon
tabling member printed	Hywel Williams
uin	50950
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/09/2021 answer text <p>The Departmental guidance is continually reviewed and updated to ensure it reflects the changes to public health guidelines and easements due to Covid-19.</p><p> </p><p>We believe it is important to ensure claimants have the support they need to move closer to and into employment if and when they are able. As such, for claimants who are expected to look for work, any work-related requirements are set in discussion with them and will always be tailored to their individual capability and circumstances, making them realistic and achievable.</p><p> </p><p>We ensure that our more vulnerable claimants are further protected by exempting those with more serious medical conditions including mental health conditions and disabilities from any form of conditionality.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 22/09/2021 14:43:24 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	1397 label Biography information for Hywel Williams

1249704

registered interest
date	09/11/2020
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: Self-employed
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will retain the minimum income floor for self-employed universal credit claimants while covid-19 related public health measures are in place in Wales.
tabling member constituency	Arfon
tabling member printed	Hywel Williams
uin	113003
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/11/2020 answer text <p>The suspension of the Minimum Income Floor for Universal Credit that was due to expire on the 12<sup>th</sup> November 2020 will be extended to the end of April 2021.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies grouped question UIN 113004 question first answered 12/11/2020 13:22:30 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	1397 label Biography information for Hywel Williams

1249705

registered interest
date	09/11/2020
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: Self-employed
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 effectiveness of the temporary suspension of the minimum income floor for self-employed universal credit claimants; and if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of permanently removing that floor.
tabling member constituency	Arfon
tabling member printed	Hywel Williams
uin	113004
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/11/2020 answer text <p>The suspension of the Minimum Income Floor for Universal Credit that was due to expire on the 12<sup>th</sup> November 2020 will be extended to the end of April 2021.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies grouped question UIN 113003 question first answered 12/11/2020 13:22:30 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	1397 label Biography information for Hywel Williams