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1420644

registered interest
date	07/02/2022
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	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, whether virtual assessments will remain in-place for universal credit applicants who are classified as clinically extremely vulnerable.
tabling member constituency	York Outer
tabling member printed	Julian Sturdy
uin	119542
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/02/2022 answer text <p>We are currently delivering health assessments through a variety of channels including face-to-face, and telephone and video assessments introduced in response to the pandemic. Whenever possible we will conduct a paper-based assessment. Any future decisions about assessment methods will be evidence-based and to ensure this we will draw on existing evidence as well as research and analysis.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Norwich North answering member printed Chloe Smith question first answered 09/02/2022 14:56:42 answering member 1609 label Biography information for Chloe Smith
tabling member	4079 label Biography information for Julian Sturdy

1419809

registered interest
date	04/02/2022
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 the Government has made of the implications for its policies of the findings of Action for Children’s Coronavirus during Childhood report, published in October 2020.
tabling member constituency	Kilmarnock and Loudoun
tabling member printed	Alan Brown
uin	118561
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/02/2022 answer text <p>We have not made any specific assessment of the implications of the findings of Action for Children’s report on the Department’s policies.</p><p> </p><p>This Government is committed to a sustainable, long-term approach to tackling child poverty and the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions continues to lead cross-Government action to ensure a co-ordinated approach to supporting low-income households. DWP’s published Outcome Delivery Plan, places addressing poverty through enabling progression in the workforce and increasing financial resilience at the heart of its mission.</p> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley grouped question UIN 118563 118564 118568 question first answered 09/02/2022 16:56:58 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley
tabling member	4470 label Biography information for Alan Brown

1419810

registered interest
date	04/02/2022
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Cost of Living and Inflation: Low Incomes
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment the Government has made of the impact of rising inflation and cost of living on low-income families with children.
tabling member constituency	Kilmarnock and Loudoun
tabling member printed	Alan Brown
uin	118562
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/02/2022 answer text <p>The Government is providing £12 billion of support to ease cost of living pressures, with help targeted at working families, low-income households and the most vulnerable. A further £9 billion has been announced to protect against the impact of rising global energy prices.</p> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley question first answered 09/02/2022 16:41:18 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley
tabling member	4470 label Biography information for Alan Brown

1419811

registered interest
date	04/02/2022
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, whether the Government has a strategy for tackling child poverty.
tabling member constituency	Kilmarnock and Loudoun
tabling member printed	Alan Brown
uin	118563
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/02/2022 answer text <p>We have not made any specific assessment of the implications of the findings of Action for Children’s report on the Department’s policies.</p><p> </p><p>This Government is committed to a sustainable, long-term approach to tackling child poverty and the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions continues to lead cross-Government action to ensure a co-ordinated approach to supporting low-income households. DWP’s published Outcome Delivery Plan, places addressing poverty through enabling progression in the workforce and increasing financial resilience at the heart of its mission.</p> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley grouped question UIN 118561 118564 118568 question first answered 09/02/2022 16:56:58 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley
tabling member	4470 label Biography information for Alan Brown

1419812

registered interest
date	04/02/2022
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, whether the Government has a cross-departmental strategy to reduce child poverty.
tabling member constituency	Kilmarnock and Loudoun
tabling member printed	Alan Brown
uin	118564
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/02/2022 answer text <p>We have not made any specific assessment of the implications of the findings of Action for Children’s report on the Department’s policies.</p><p> </p><p>This Government is committed to a sustainable, long-term approach to tackling child poverty and the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions continues to lead cross-Government action to ensure a co-ordinated approach to supporting low-income households. DWP’s published Outcome Delivery Plan, places addressing poverty through enabling progression in the workforce and increasing financial resilience at the heart of its mission.</p> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley grouped question UIN 118561 118563 118568 question first answered 09/02/2022 16:56:58 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley
tabling member	4470 label Biography information for Alan Brown

1419813

registered interest
date	04/02/2022
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	Child Poverty Unit
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the Government has made an assessment of the potential merits of reinstating the cross-departmental Child Poverty Unit, that was jointly sponsored by her Department, HM Treasury and the Department for Education, and was abolished in 2017.
tabling member constituency	Kilmarnock and Loudoun
tabling member printed	Alan Brown
uin	118565
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/02/2022 answer text <p>A key function of the previous Child Poverty Unit was to support the delivery of the child poverty targets that we abolished in 2016, which we have no plans to reintroduce. We believe that an approach to tackling child poverty focused primarily on meeting income-based targets can drive action that focuses primarily on moving the incomes for those ‘just in poverty’ just above a ‘poverty line’ whilst doing nothing to help those on the very lowest incomes or to improve children’s future prospects.</p><p> </p><p>Ministers and officials engage extensively across Government to ensure a coordinated approach to tackling poverty and we will we continue to do so in the future.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley question first answered 09/02/2022 16:36:26 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley
tabling member	4470 label Biography information for Alan Brown

1419814

registered interest
date	04/02/2022
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 the Government has made of the impact of increasing the child element of universal credit on reducing child poverty.
tabling member constituency	Kilmarnock and Loudoun
tabling member printed	Alan Brown
uin	118566
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/02/2022 answer text <p>It is not possible to produce a robust estimate of the impact of increasing the child element of universal credit on child poverty. Projecting the impacts of policies on poverty involves projecting forward the impact of the pandemic on every household’s income which is not possible to do with confidence, not least because the latest comprehensive data on net incomes for households is from 2019-20, before the pandemic began.</p> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley question first answered 09/02/2022 16:44:13 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley
tabling member	4470 label Biography information for Alan Brown

1419815

registered interest
date	04/02/2022
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 the Government has made of the effect of increasing benefits in line with living costs on levels of child poverty.
tabling member constituency	Kilmarnock and Loudoun
tabling member printed	Alan Brown
uin	118567
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/02/2022 answer text <p>The Secretary of State undertakes an annual review of benefits and pensions based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which measures inflation in the year to September, as has been the case since April 1987.</p><p> </p><p>This Government is committed to reducing poverty and supporting low-income families, and believes work is the best route out of poverty. Our 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. 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 were almost 1 million fewer workless households and almost 580,000 fewer children living in workless households in the UK in September 2021.</p><p> </p><p>We are giving the lowest earners a pay rise by increasing the National Living Wage by 6.6% to £9.50 from April 2022, and making permanent changes to Universal Credit, worth £1000 a year on average, to two million in-work claimants.</p><p> </p><p>With Our multi-billion-pound Plan for Jobs, which has been expanded by £500 million and the new 'Way to Work’ campaign is a national drive to get half a million people who are out of work into jobs in the next five months.</p><p> </p><p>We recognise that some people require extra support over the winter, which is why vulnerable households across the country are now able to access a £500 million support fund to help them with essentials. The Household Support Fund provides £421 million to help vulnerable people in England with the cost of food, utilities and wider essentials. The Barnett Formula applies in the usual way, with the devolved administrations receiving almost £80 million. The Barnett Formula will apply in the usual way, with the devolved administrations receiving almost £80 million (£41m for the Scottish Government, £25m for the Welsh Government and £14m for the NI Executive), for a total of £500 million.</p><p> </p><p>To support low income families further, we have increased the value of Healthy Start Food Vouchers to £4.25, helping eligible low income households buy basic foods like milk, fruit and vitamins. We are also investing over £200m a year from 2022, to continue our Holiday Activities and Food programme which is already providing enriching activities and healthy meals to children in all English Local Authorities.</p><p /><p> </p> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley question first answered 09/02/2022 16:14:54 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley
tabling member	4470 label Biography information for Alan Brown

1419816

registered interest
date	04/02/2022
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 discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues about the potential merits of creating a dedicated Minister for tackling child poverty.
tabling member constituency	Kilmarnock and Loudoun
tabling member printed	Alan Brown
uin	118568
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/02/2022 answer text <p>We have not made any specific assessment of the implications of the findings of Action for Children’s report on the Department’s policies.</p><p> </p><p>This Government is committed to a sustainable, long-term approach to tackling child poverty and the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions continues to lead cross-Government action to ensure a co-ordinated approach to supporting low-income households. DWP’s published Outcome Delivery Plan, places addressing poverty through enabling progression in the workforce and increasing financial resilience at the heart of its mission.</p> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley grouped question UIN 118561 118563 118564 question first answered 09/02/2022 16:56:58 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley
tabling member	4470 label Biography information for Alan Brown

1419486

registered interest
date	03/02/2022
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	Social Security Benefits: Disqualification
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 2 February 2022 to Question 113818 on Social Security Benefits: Disqualification, on what date the decision was made to withhold publication of the research; who was involved in making that decision; and if she will place copies of relevant minutes of Departmental meetings where that decision was discussed in the Library.
tabling member constituency	Glasgow East
tabling member printed	David Linden
uin	117878
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/02/2022 answer text <p>The decision not to publish the sanctions evaluation report was made on 15 October 2020 as part of routine departmental business, which is not required to be minuted.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>The 2019 sanctions evaluation used UC administrative data to look at the impact a sanction has on an individual’s likelihood of entering work and on their earnings once they are in work. It was not an assessment of poverty levels. Currently we have no plans to undertake further research on this aspect of sanctions.</p><p> </p><p>Way to Work is a drive to support 500,000 people into work swiftly. As part of this campaign we are changing the period in which a claimant can limit their job search to their usual occupation to promote wider employment opportunities, supporting people into work more quickly. We know the longer a person is out of work, the harder it is for them to get back into work.</p><p> </p><p>Claimants on work-related benefits are generally expected to undertake certain activities which help them to prepare for, look for and move into work. We have strong UK-specific evidence through Randomised Control Trials and from a broad body of international studies that benefit systems supported by conditionality are effective at moving people into work. Sanction on UC remain low at 0.78%.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley grouped question UIN 117879 117880 117881 question first answered 08/02/2022 17:49:39 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley
tabling member	4640 label Biography information for David Linden