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1488845

	registered interest
	date	13/07/2022
	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	Poverty: Children
	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 make an estimate of the number of children living in poverty in Manchester Gorton.
	tabling member constituency	Manchester, Gorton
	tabling member printed	Afzal Khan
	uin	36102
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/07/2022 answer text <p>The latest statistics on the number and proportion of children who are in low income families by local area, covering the seven years, 2014/15 to 2020/21, can be found in the annual publication: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/children-in-low-income-families-local-area-statistics-2014-to-2021" target="_blank">Children in low income families: local area statistics 2014 to 2021 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)</a>.</p><p> </p><p>This Government is committed to reducing child poverty and supporting low-income families, and believes work is the best route out of poverty.  With a record 1.3 million vacancies across the UK, our focus is firmly on supporting people to move into and progress in work. This approach is based on clear evidence about the importance of parental employment - particularly where it is full-time – in substantially reducing the risks of child poverty and in improving long-term outcomes for families and children.</p><p> </p><p>The latest available data on in-work poverty shows that in 2019/20, children in households where all adults were in work were around six times less likely to be in absolute poverty (before housing costs) than children in a household where nobody works. Compared with 2010, there are nearly 1 million fewer workless households and almost 540,000 fewer children living in workless households in the UK. In 2020/21, there were 200,000 fewer children in absolute poverty before housing costs than in 2009/10.</p><p> </p><p>To help parents into work, our Plan for Jobs is providing broad ranging support for all jobseekers with our Sector Based Work Academy Programmes (SWAP), Job Entry Targeted Support and Restart scheme. Our plan for jobs is providing results. As of 6 July, we estimate that at least 520,400 unemployed Universal Credit claimants and Job Seekers Allowance (JSA) claimants have moved into work during the Way to Work Campaign between 31 January and the end of 30 June 2022.</p><p> </p><p>We are also extending the support Jobcentres provide to people in work and on low incomes. Through a staged roll-out, which started in April 2022, around 2.1m low-paid benefit claimants will be eligible for support to progress into higher-paid work. This is on top of the support we have already provided by increasing the National Living Wage to £9.50 per hour and giving nearly 1.7 million families an extra £1,000 (on average) a year through our changes to the Universal Credit taper and work allowances.</p><p> </p><p>To further support parents to move into and progress in work, eligible UC claimants can claim back up to 85% of their registered childcare costs each month up to a maximum of £646.35 per month for one child and £1,108.04 per month for two or more children. This is on top of the free childcare offer in England which provides 15 hours a week of free childcare for all 3- and 4-year-olds and disadvantaged 2-year-olds, doubling for working parents of 3- and 4-year-olds to 30 hours a week.</p><p> </p><p>Around <ins class="ministerial">1.</ins>9 million of the most disadvantaged pupils are eligible for and claiming a free school meal, saving families around £450 per year. In addition, around 1.25 million more infants enjoy a free, healthy and nutritious meal at lunchtime as well as over 90,000 disadvantaged further education students. We are also investing £200 million a year to continue the Holiday Activities and Food Programme, which benefitted over 600,000 children last summer, and we have increased the value of the Healthy Start Vouchers by a third to £4.25 a week.</p><p> </p><p>On top of this, the government understands the pressures people are facing with the cost of living. These are global challenges, that is why the government is providing over £15bn in further support, targeted particularly on those with the greatest need. This package is in addition to the over £22bn announced previously, with government support for the cost of living now totalling over £37bn this year.</p><p> </p><p>This includes an additional £500 million to help households with the cost of essentials, on top of what we have already provided since October 2021, bringing the total funding for this support to £1.5 billion. In England, the current Household Support Fund is already providing £421m of support for the period 1 April – 30 September 2022, at least a third (£140m) will be spent on families with children. Manchester City Council has been allocated £6,453,163.20.</p> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley question first answered 18/07/2022 15:28:57 question first ministerially corrected 22/07/2022 10:06:53 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley previous answer version 13616 answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley
	tabling member	4671 label Biography information for Afzal Khan

1567773

	registered interest
	date	17/01/2023
	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	Universal Credit: Cold Weather Payments
	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 allowing people in receipt of Universal Credit who work but have limited capacity to work to be eligible for the Cold Weather Payment.
	tabling member constituency	Manchester, Gorton
	tabling member printed	Afzal Khan
	uin	125487
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/01/2023 answer text <p>Cold Weather Payments make an important contribution towards the additional heating costs incurred during periods of exceptionally cold weather, between 1st of November and the 31st of March each year. <ins class="ministerial">There are no plans to change eligibility.</ins></p> answering member constituency Sevenoaks answering member printed Laura Trott question first answered 24/01/2023 17:45:51 question first ministerially corrected 26/01/2023 10:05:08 answering member 4780 label Biography information for Laura Trott previous answer version 49806 answering member constituency Sevenoaks answering member printed Laura Trott answering member 4780 label Biography information for Laura Trott
	tabling member	4671 label Biography information for Afzal Khan

1488846

	registered interest
	date	13/07/2022
	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	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 steps her Department has taken to help support families with children who are in poverty, in the context of the level of child poverty in Manchester Gorton constituency.
	tabling member constituency	Manchester, Gorton
	tabling member printed	Afzal Khan
	uin	36103
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/07/2022 answer text <p>The latest statistics on the number and proportion of children who are in low income families by local area, covering the seven years, 2014/15 to 2020/21, can be found in the annual publication: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/children-in-low-income-families-local-area-statistics-2014-to-2021" target="_blank">Children in low income families: local area statistics 2014 to 2021 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)</a>.</p><p> </p><p>This Government is committed to reducing child poverty and supporting low-income families, and believes work is the best route out of poverty.  With a record 1.3 million vacancies across the UK, our focus is firmly on supporting people to move into and progress in work. This approach is based on clear evidence about the importance of parental employment - particularly where it is full-time – in substantially reducing the risks of child poverty and in improving long-term outcomes for families and children.</p><p> </p><p>The latest available data on in-work poverty shows that in 2019/20, children in households where all adults were in work were around six times less likely to be in absolute poverty (before housing costs) than children in a household where nobody works. Compared with 2010, there are nearly 1 million fewer workless households and almost 540,000 fewer children living in workless households in the UK. In 2020/21, there were 200,000 fewer children in absolute poverty before housing costs than in 2009/10.</p><p> </p><p>To help parents into work, our Plan for Jobs is providing broad ranging support for all jobseekers with our Sector Based Work Academy Programmes (SWAP), Job Entry Targeted Support and Restart scheme. Our plan for jobs is providing results. As of 6 July, we estimate that at least 520,400 unemployed Universal Credit claimants and Job Seekers Allowance (JSA) claimants have moved into work during the Way to Work Campaign between 31 January and the end of 30 June 2022.</p><p> </p><p>We are also extending the support Jobcentres provide to people in work and on low incomes. Through a staged roll-out, which started in April 2022, around 2.1m low-paid benefit claimants will be eligible for support to progress into higher-paid work. This is on top of the support we have already provided by increasing the National Living Wage to £9.50 per hour and giving nearly 1.7 million families an extra £1,000 (on average) a year through our changes to the Universal Credit taper and work allowances.</p><p> </p><p>To further support parents to move into and progress in work, eligible UC claimants can claim back up to 85% of their registered childcare costs each month up to a maximum of £646.35 per month for one child and £1,108.04 per month for two or more children. This is on top of the free childcare offer in England which provides 15 hours a week of free childcare for all 3- and 4-year-olds and disadvantaged 2-year-olds, doubling for working parents of 3- and 4-year-olds to 30 hours a week.</p><p> </p><p>Around <ins class="ministerial">1.</ins>9 million of the most disadvantaged pupils are eligible for and claiming a free school meal, saving families around £450 per year. In addition, around 1.25 million more infants enjoy a free, healthy and nutritious meal at lunchtime as well as over 90,000 disadvantaged further education students. We are also investing £200 million a year to continue the Holiday Activities and Food Programme, which benefitted over 600,000 children last summer, and we have increased the value of the Healthy Start Vouchers by a third to £4.25 a week.</p><p> </p><p>On top of this, the government understands the pressures people are facing with the cost of living. These are global challenges, that is why the government is providing over £15bn in further support, targeted particularly on those with the greatest need. This package is in addition to the over £22bn announced previously, with government support for the cost of living now totalling over £37bn this year.</p><p> </p><p>This includes an additional £500 million to help households with the cost of essentials, on top of what we have already provided since October 2021, bringing the total funding for this support to £1.5 billion. In England, the current Household Support Fund is already providing £421m of support for the period 1 April – 30 September 2022, at least a third (£140m) will be spent on families with children. Manchester City Council has been allocated £6,453,163.20.</p> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley question first answered 18/07/2022 15:28:57 question first ministerially corrected 22/07/2022 10:07:02 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley previous answer version 13614 answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley
	tabling member	4671 label Biography information for Afzal Khan

1488843

	registered interest
	date	13/07/2022
	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	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 steps she is taking to help reduce the numbers of children living in poverty in Manchester Gorton constituency.
	tabling member constituency	Manchester, Gorton
	tabling member printed	Afzal Khan
	uin	36101
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/07/2022 answer text <p>The latest statistics on the number and proportion of children who are in low income families by local area, covering the seven years, 2014/15 to 2020/21, can be found in the annual publication: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/children-in-low-income-families-local-area-statistics-2014-to-2021" target="_blank">Children in low income families: local area statistics 2014 to 2021 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)</a>.</p><p> </p><p>This Government is committed to reducing child poverty and supporting low-income families, and believes work is the best route out of poverty.  With a record 1.3 million vacancies across the UK, our focus is firmly on supporting people to move into and progress in work. This approach is based on clear evidence about the importance of parental employment - particularly where it is full-time – in substantially reducing the risks of child poverty and in improving long-term outcomes for families and children.</p><p> </p><p>The latest available data on in-work poverty shows that in 2019/20, children in households where all adults were in work were around six times less likely to be in absolute poverty (before housing costs) than children in a household where nobody works. Compared with 2010, there are nearly 1 million fewer workless households and almost 540,000 fewer children living in workless households in the UK. In 2020/21, there were 200,000 fewer children in absolute poverty before housing costs than in 2009/10.</p><p> </p><p>To help parents into work, our Plan for Jobs is providing broad ranging support for all jobseekers with our Sector Based Work Academy Programmes (SWAP), Job Entry Targeted Support and Restart scheme. Our plan for jobs is providing results. As of 6 July, we estimate that at least 520,400 unemployed Universal Credit claimants and Job Seekers Allowance (JSA) claimants have moved into work during the Way to Work Campaign between 31 January and the end of 30 June 2022.</p><p> </p><p>We are also extending the support Jobcentres provide to people in work and on low incomes. Through a staged roll-out, which started in April 2022, around 2.1m low-paid benefit claimants will be eligible for support to progress into higher-paid work. This is on top of the support we have already provided by increasing the National Living Wage to £9.50 per hour and giving nearly 1.7 million families an extra £1,000 (on average) a year through our changes to the Universal Credit taper and work allowances.</p><p> </p><p>To further support parents to move into and progress in work, eligible UC claimants can claim back up to 85% of their registered childcare costs each month up to a maximum of £646.35 per month for one child and £1,108.04 per month for two or more children. This is on top of the free childcare offer in England which provides 15 hours a week of free childcare for all 3- and 4-year-olds and disadvantaged 2-year-olds, doubling for working parents of 3- and 4-year-olds to 30 hours a week.</p><p> </p><p>Around <ins class="ministerial">1.</ins>9 million of the most disadvantaged pupils are eligible for and claiming a free school meal, saving families around £450 per year. In addition, around 1.25 million more infants enjoy a free, healthy and nutritious meal at lunchtime as well as over 90,000 disadvantaged further education students. We are also investing £200 million a year to continue the Holiday Activities and Food Programme, which benefitted over 600,000 children last summer, and we have increased the value of the Healthy Start Vouchers by a third to £4.25 a week.</p><p> </p><p>On top of this, the government understands the pressures people are facing with the cost of living. These are global challenges, that is why the government is providing over £15bn in further support, targeted particularly on those with the greatest need. This package is in addition to the over £22bn announced previously, with government support for the cost of living now totalling over £37bn this year.</p><p> </p><p>This includes an additional £500 million to help households with the cost of essentials, on top of what we have already provided since October 2021, bringing the total funding for this support to £1.5 billion. In England, the current Household Support Fund is already providing £421m of support for the period 1 April – 30 September 2022, at least a third (£140m) will be spent on families with children. Manchester City Council has been allocated £6,453,163.20.</p> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley question first answered 18/07/2022 15:28:57 question first ministerially corrected 22/07/2022 10:06:30 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley previous answer version 13615 answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley
	tabling member	4671 label Biography information for Afzal Khan

1186852

	registered interest
	date	20/03/2020
	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: Coronavirus
	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 make universal credit payable in advance for all new claimants in response to the covid-19 outbreak; and if she will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	Kilmarnock and Loudoun
	tabling member printed	Alan Brown
	uin	32699
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/03/2020 answer text <p><del class="ministerial">As both the Prime Minister and Chancellor have made clear, the Government will do whatever it takes to support people affected by COVID 19 and we have been clear in our intention that no one should be penalised for doing the right thing. These are rapidly developing circumstances, we continue to keep the situation under review and will keep Parliament updated accordingly.</del> <ins class="ministerial">New Claims Advances are available to support those in immediate financial need until their first Universal Credit payment is made and the Department is committed to delivering advances as soon as possible to people who have requested them. It is for the claimant to choose to opt for an advance and it would not be appropriate for the department to require new claimants to have an advance.</ins></p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 25/03/2020 12:56:22 question first ministerially corrected 15/04/2020 15:02:32 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince previous answer version 14657 answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4470 label Biography information for Alan Brown

895376

	registered interest
	date	01/05/2018
	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	Offshore Industry: Air Pollution
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many hydrocarbon releases from oil and gas installations on the UK continental shelf were recorded by the Health and Safety Executive in each year from 2000 to 2017.
	tabling member constituency	Stockton North
	tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
	uin	140076
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/05/2018 answer text <p>The Health and Safety Executive has recorded the following hydrocarbon releases (HCRs) by year:</p><p> </p><p>2000 264</p><p>2001 251</p><p>2002 242</p><p>2003 242</p><p>2004 273</p><p>2005 224</p><p>2006 190</p><p>2007 185</p><p>2008 147</p><p>2009 179</p><p>2010 186</p><p>2011 142</p><p>2012 105</p><p>2013 118</p><p>2014 94</p><p>2015 93</p><p>2016 101(p)</p><p>2017 103(p)</p><p> </p><p>Final figures for 2016 will be confirmed and published with the provisional figures for 2017 as part of the Health and Safety Executive’s annual <em>Offshore Statistics &amp; Regulatory Activity Report, </em>due to be published in July.</p><p> </p><p>Releases are categorised as “major”, “significant” and “minor”, depending on the potential consequences of the event, which is usually directly linked to the total quantity or rate of release.Overall reported hydrocarbon releases have approximately halved since 2010. The reporting process presents an opportunity for both the regulator and the industry to investigate and identify underlying causes and learn lessons.</p><p> </p><p>Although the offshore industry has seen the overall downward trend as an indicator of improved performance, HSE remains concerned that every release represents a deficiency in an operator’s process safety management, and an increased risk of harm to workers. There have also been a small number of large releases every year which could have resulted in a major accident.</p><p> </p><p>Consequently, the Director of HSE’s Energy Division wrote recently to challenge the offshore industry to identify and address any weaknesses in its leadership and safety culture, as well as its arrangements for safety system audits, which have allowed such releases to occur (see attachment entitled Letter from the Director, HSE Energy Division to the Oil and Gas Industry on Hydrocarbon Releases).</p> answering member constituency Truro and Falmouth answering member printed Sarah Newton question first answered 10/05/2018 14:33:45 question first ministerially corrected 14/05/2018 16:39:39 answering member 4071 label Biography information for Sarah Newton attachment 1 file name Attachment to 140076 & 140715 - Letter from the Director, HSE Energy Division to the Oil and Gas Industry on Hydrocarbon Releases.doc title Letter from HSE Director previous answer version 57122 answering member constituency Truro and Falmouth answering member printed Sarah Newton answering member 4071 label Biography information for Sarah Newton
	tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

175823

	registered interest
	date	26/01/2015
	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	Offshore Industry: Safety
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many improvement notices were issued to oil and gas companies operating in the North Sea by the Health and Safety Executive in the period from 1 January 2014 to date; and in how many such cases the company has yet to comply with the improvement notice.
	tabling member constituency	Stockton North
	tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
	uin	221934
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/01/2015 answer text <p>Since January 2014<ins class="ministerial">, in relation to oil and gas extraction operations in the North Sea,</ins> <del class="ministerial">HSE has served 64</del><ins class="ministerial">36</ins> Improvement Notices <ins class="ministerial">have been served.</ins><del class="ministerial">relating to oil and gas extraction on the UK Continental Shelf.</del></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p><ins class="ministerial">Of these, </ins><del class="ministerial">The period for compliance has expired for 40</del><ins class="ministerial">21</ins><del class="ministerial"> of these</del> notices <del class="ministerial">and all</del> have been complied with. <ins class="ministerial">10 have not yet expired, and five</ins><del class="ministerial">Four</del> notices are subject to appeal and so are suspended until the appeal process is complete.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Forest of Dean answering member printed Mr Mark Harper question first answered 29/01/2015 14:32:34 question first ministerially corrected 25/03/2015 17:43:45 answering member 1520 label Biography information for Mr Mark Harper previous answer version 41785 answering member constituency Forest of Dean answering member printed Mr Mark Harper answering member 1520 label Biography information for Mr Mark Harper
	tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

1388612

	registered interest
	date	16/12/2021
	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	Offshore Industry: Continental Shelf
	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 Answer of 29 November 2021 to Question 80980 on Offshore Industry: Continental Shelf, if she will publish the types of enforcement action the HSE took where backlogs were not being manged safely; and if she will provide to which installations those actions applied.
	tabling member constituency	Stockton North
	tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
	uin	94356
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/01/2022 answer text <p>HSE does not record its enforcement actions specifically in relation to “maintenance backlogs”. A search of HSE’s database has revealed that since the start of the initial pandemic lockdown in March 2020, there have been 112 interventions that have looked at maintenance management, including backlog, and have resulted in enforcement action in the form of letters and notices. A table showing the actions in relation to installations and their duty holders is attached.</p> answering member constituency Norwich North answering member printed Chloe Smith question first answered 12/01/2022 11:14:32 question first ministerially corrected 12/01/2022 16:57:58 answering member 1609 label Biography information for Chloe Smith attachment 1 file name 94356 attachment.pdf title Attachment for 94356 previous answer version 42538 answering member constituency Norwich North answering member printed Chloe Smith answering member 1609 label Biography information for Chloe Smith
	tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

1489009

	registered interest
	date	13/07/2022
	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	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 her department has made on the level of child poverty in Stockton North constituency.
	tabling member constituency	Stockton North
	tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
	uin	35934
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/07/2022 answer text <p>The latest statistics on the number and proportion of children who are in low income families by local area, covering the seven years, 2014/15 to 2020/21, can be found in the annual publication: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/children-in-low-income-families-local-area-statistics-2014-to-2021" target="_blank">Children in low income families: local area statistics 2014 to 2021 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)</a>.</p><p> </p><p>This Government is committed to reducing child poverty and supporting low-income families, and believes work is the best route out of poverty.  With a record 1.3 million vacancies across the UK, our focus is firmly on supporting people to move into and progress in work. This approach is based on clear evidence about the importance of parental employment - particularly where it is full-time – in substantially reducing the risks of child poverty and in improving long-term outcomes for families and children.</p><p> </p><p>The latest available data on in-work poverty shows that in 2019/20, children in households where all adults were in work were around six times less likely to be in absolute poverty (before housing costs) than children in a household where nobody works.  Compared with 2010, there are nearly 1 million fewer workless households and almost 540,000 fewer children living in workless households in the UK. In 2020/21, there were 200,000 fewer children in absolute poverty before housing costs than in 2009/10.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>To help parents into work, our Plan for Jobs is providing broad ranging support for all jobseekers with our Sector Based Work Academy Programmes (SWAP), Job Entry Targeted Support and Restart scheme. Our plan for jobs is providing results. As of 6 July, we estimate that at least 520,400 unemployed Universal Credit claimants and Job Seekers Allowance (JSA) claimants have moved into work during the Way to Work Campaign between 31 January and the end of 30 June 2022.</p><p> </p><p>We are also extending the support Jobcentres provide to people in work and on low incomes. Through a staged roll-out, which started in April 2022, around 2.1m low-paid benefit claimants will be eligible for support to progress into higher-paid work. This is on top of the support we have already provided by increasing the National Living Wage to £9.50 per hour and giving nearly 1.7 million families an extra £1,000 (on average) a year through our changes to the Universal Credit taper and work allowances.</p><p> </p><p>To further support parents to move into and progress in work, eligible UC claimants can claim back up to 85% of their registered childcare costs each month up to a maximum of £646.35 per month for one child and £1,108.04 per month for two or more children. This is on top of the free childcare offer in England which provides 15 hours a week of free childcare for all 3- and 4-year-olds and disadvantaged 2-year-olds, doubling for working parents of 3- and 4-year-olds to 30 hours a week.</p><p> </p><p>Around <ins class="ministerial">1.</ins>9 million of the most disadvantaged pupils are eligible for and claiming a free school meal, saving families around £450 per year. In addition, around 1.25 million more infants enjoy a free, healthy and nutritious meal at lunchtime as well as over 90,000 disadvantaged further education students. We are also investing £200 million a year to continue the Holiday Activities and Food Programme, which benefitted over 600,000 children last summer, and we have increased the value of the Healthy Start Vouchers by a third to £4.25 a week.</p><p> </p><p>On top of this, the government understands the pressures people are facing with the cost of living. These are global challenges, that is why the government is providing over £15bn in further support, targeted particularly on those with the greatest need. This package is in addition to the over £22bn announced previously, with government support for the cost of living now totalling over £37bn this year.</p><p> </p><p>This includes an additional £500 million to help households with the cost of essentials, on top of what we have already provided since October 2021, bringing the total funding for this support to £1.5 billion. In England, the current Household Support Fund is already providing £421m of support for the period 1 April – 30 September 2022, at least a third (£140m) will be spent on families with children.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley question first answered 18/07/2022 15:34:00 question first ministerially corrected 22/07/2022 10:06:21 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley previous answer version 13624 answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley
	tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

1489011

	registered interest
	date	13/07/2022
	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	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 estimate her Department has made of the level of child poverty in (a) Stockton South, (b) Redcar (c) Middlesbrough South and (d) East Cleveland and Hartlepool constituency in the latest period for which data is available.
	tabling member constituency	Stockton North
	tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
	uin	35936
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/07/2022 answer text <p>The latest statistics on the number and proportion of children who are in low income families by local area, covering the seven years, 2014/15 to 2020/21, can be found in the annual publication: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/children-in-low-income-families-local-area-statistics-2014-to-2021" target="_blank">Children in low income families: local area statistics 2014 to 2021 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)</a>.</p><p> </p><p>This Government is committed to reducing child poverty and supporting low-income families, and believes work is the best route out of poverty.  With a record 1.3 million vacancies across the UK, our focus is firmly on supporting people to move into and progress in work. This approach is based on clear evidence about the importance of parental employment - particularly where it is full-time – in substantially reducing the risks of child poverty and in improving long-term outcomes for families and children.</p><p> </p><p>The latest available data on in-work poverty shows that in 2019/20, children in households where all adults were in work were around six times less likely to be in absolute poverty (before housing costs) than children in a household where nobody works.  Compared with 2010, there are nearly 1 million fewer workless households and almost 540,000 fewer children living in workless households in the UK. In 2020/21, there were 200,000 fewer children in absolute poverty before housing costs than in 2009/10.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>To help parents into work, our Plan for Jobs is providing broad ranging support for all jobseekers with our Sector Based Work Academy Programmes (SWAP), Job Entry Targeted Support and Restart scheme. Our plan for jobs is providing results. As of 6 July, we estimate that at least 520,400 unemployed Universal Credit claimants and Job Seekers Allowance (JSA) claimants have moved into work during the Way to Work Campaign between 31 January and the end of 30 June 2022.</p><p> </p><p>We are also extending the support Jobcentres provide to people in work and on low incomes. Through a staged roll-out, which started in April 2022, around 2.1m low-paid benefit claimants will be eligible for support to progress into higher-paid work. This is on top of the support we have already provided by increasing the National Living Wage to £9.50 per hour and giving nearly 1.7 million families an extra £1,000 (on average) a year through our changes to the Universal Credit taper and work allowances.</p><p> </p><p>To further support parents to move into and progress in work, eligible UC claimants can claim back up to 85% of their registered childcare costs each month up to a maximum of £646.35 per month for one child and £1,108.04 per month for two or more children. This is on top of the free childcare offer in England which provides 15 hours a week of free childcare for all 3- and 4-year-olds and disadvantaged 2-year-olds, doubling for working parents of 3- and 4-year-olds to 30 hours a week.</p><p> </p><p>Around <ins class="ministerial">1.</ins>9 million of the most disadvantaged pupils are eligible for and claiming a free school meal, saving families around £450 per year. In addition, around 1.25 million more infants enjoy a free, healthy and nutritious meal at lunchtime as well as over 90,000 disadvantaged further education students. We are also investing £200 million a year to continue the Holiday Activities and Food Programme, which benefitted over 600,000 children last summer, and we have increased the value of the Healthy Start Vouchers by a third to £4.25 a week.</p><p> </p><p>On top of this, the government understands the pressures people are facing with the cost of living. These are global challenges, that is why the government is providing over £15bn in further support, targeted particularly on those with the greatest need. This package is in addition to the over £22bn announced previously, with government support for the cost of living now totalling over £37bn this year.</p><p> </p><p>This includes an additional £500 million to help households with the cost of essentials, on top of what we have already provided since October 2021, bringing the total funding for this support to £1.5 billion. In England, the current Household Support Fund is already providing £421m of support for the period 1 April – 30 September 2022, at least a third (£140m) will be spent on families with children.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley question first answered 18/07/2022 15:34:00 question first ministerially corrected 22/07/2022 10:06:39 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley previous answer version 13626 answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley
	tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham