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1734166

registered interest
date	14/10/2024
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	Maternity Allowance and Maternity Pay: Scotland
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many women claimed statutory (a) maternity pay and (b) maternity allowance in Scotland in each of the last five years.
tabling member constituency	Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy
tabling member printed	Melanie Ward
uin	9112
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/10/2024 answer text <p>Statutory Maternity Pay is delivered through HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), rather than the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). Figures provided by HMRC on the number of new claims for Statutory Maternity Pay in Scotland in each financial year from 2019/20 to 2023/24 are shown in Table 1.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Table 1. The number of Statutory Maternity Pay spells starting in Scotland in financial year</strong></p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Year</p></td><td><p>Number of Statutory Maternity Pay spells in Scotland starting in each financial year</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>April 2019 - March 2020</p></td><td><p>27,600</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>April 2020 - March 2021</p></td><td><p>25,700</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>April 2021 - March 2022</p></td><td><p>27,500</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>April 2022 - March 2023</p></td><td><p>24,900</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>April 2023 - March 2024</p></td><td><p>24,900</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p><p>Statistics on the number of Maternity Allowance spells starting in each quarter in Scotland from February 2010 to November 2023 are published and can be found at <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/maternity-allowance-quarterly-statistics" target="_blank">Maternity Allowance: quarterly statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)</a>. The latest release covers September – November 2023 and data from March 2019 – November 2023 are shown in Table 2. These figures are based on a 5% sample of Maternity Allowance Claims and should be treated with caution. This is because a recent review determined that the available sample used to estimate the Maternity Allowance statistics at a regional level was too small to provide a sufficient level of confidence.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p><strong>Table 2. The number of Maternity Allowance spells starting in Scotland in each quarter</strong></p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Quarter</p></td><td><p>Number of Maternity Allowance spells in Scotland starting in each quarter</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>September - November 2023</p></td><td><p>840</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>June - August 2023</p></td><td><p>880</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>March - May 2023</p></td><td><p>920</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>December 2022- February 2023</p></td><td><p>1,020</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>September - November 2022</p></td><td><p>880</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>June - August 2022</p></td><td><p>740</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>March - May 2022</p></td><td><p>NA</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>December 2021- February 2022</p></td><td><p>700</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>September - November 2021</p></td><td><p>1,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>June - August 2021</p></td><td><p>600</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>March - May 2021</p></td><td><p>760</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>December 2020- February 2021</p></td><td><p>780</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>September - November 2020</p></td><td><p>660</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>June - August 2020</p></td><td><p>840</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>March - May 2020</p></td><td><p>1,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>December 2019- February 2020</p></td><td><p>1,140</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>September - November 2019</p></td><td><p>920</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>June - August 2019</p></td><td><p>880</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>March - May 2019</p></td><td><p>900</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Notes</p><ol><li>Figures for Statutory Maternity Pay are rounded to the nearest hundred and figures for Maternity Allowance are rounded to the nearest ten.</li><li>Figures for Statutory Maternity Allowance were collected using HMRC Real Time Information (RTI) and were extracted in August 2024. RTI is subject to revision or updates. The location of the claim is based on the taxpayers’ residential address as recorded on RTI.</li><li>It is not possible to identify when an employee has started a second claim for Statutory Maternity pay within twelve months from the data so these figures may exclude a small number of claims where someone has given birth twice within a twelve month period.</li><li>Figures for Maternity Allowance should be treated with caution because they are based on a sample of Maternity Allowance claims that has since been found to be too small to provide a sufficient level of confidence. They also exclude a small proportion of clerical cases.</li><li>Maternity Allowance statistics for March - May 2022 were not published as planned due to a data production error so no figures are provided for this time period.</li></ol><p> </p> answering member constituency Stretford and Urmston answering member printed Andrew Western question first answered 17/10/2024 15:11:59 answering member 4979 label Biography information for Andrew Western
tabling member	5240

1733611

registered interest
date	11/10/2024
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	Food Poverty
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 tackle food insecurity; and if she will make an assessment with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care of the potential impact of these steps on (a) physical and (b) mental health.
tabling member constituency	York Central
tabling member printed	Rachael Maskell
uin	8651
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/10/2024 answer text <p>This government is committed to tackling poverty and reducing mass dependence on emergency food parcels.</p><p> </p><p>We know that good work can significantly reduce the chances of people falling into poverty so this will be the foundation of our approach. The Get Britain Working White Paper, to be set out in the Autumn, will develop measures to reduce inactivity and help people to find better paid and more secure jobs. Alongside this, we have committed to reviewing Universal Credit by listening to the full range of views on potential changes, so that our social security system is fit for purpose.</p><p> </p><p>Tackling child poverty is at the heart of this Government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity. The Child Poverty Taskforce, which includes the Department for Health and Social Care, has started urgent work to publish the Child Poverty Strategy in Spring 2025 and will explore all available levers to drive forward short and long-term actions across government to reduce child poverty.</p><p> </p><p>We will also take initial steps to tackle poverty by introducing free breakfast clubs in every primary school, so children don’t go hungry, protecting renters from arbitrary eviction and banning exploitative zero hours contracts.</p><p> </p><p>For those most in need, we have extended the Household Support Fund for a further 6 months, from 1 October 2024 until 31 March 2025. An additional £421 million will be provided to enable the extension of the Household Support Fund in England, plus funding for the Devolved Governments through the Barnett formula to be spent at their discretion, as usual. As has been done for previous schemes, the Fund is available to County Councils and Unitary Authorities in England to provide discretionary support to those most in need with the cost of essentials. The Fund can be used to provide support with food, energy, water and wider essentials.</p> answering member constituency Birkenhead answering member printed Alison McGovern question first answered 16/10/2024 16:03:35 answering member 4083 label Biography information for Alison McGovern
tabling member	4471 label Biography information for Rachael Maskell

1733620

registered interest
date	11/10/2024
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	State Retirement Pensions: British Nationals Abroad
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 review the Government's policy on uprating the State Pension for people living overseas.
tabling member constituency	Belfast South and Mid Down
tabling member printed	Claire Hanna
uin	8684
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/10/2024 answer text <p>There are no plans to review the policy on up-rating the UK State Pensions Overseas.</p><p> </p><p>UK State Pensions are payable worldwide, without regard to nationality, and are only uprated abroad where there is a legal requirement to do so, for example in countries with which we have a reciprocal agreement that provides for up-rating.</p><p> </p><p>The policy on the uprating of UK State Pensions paid overseas is a longstanding one.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Wycombe answering member printed Emma Reynolds question first answered 16/10/2024 11:25:06 answering member 4077 label Biography information for Emma Reynolds
tabling member	4827 label Biography information for Claire Hanna

1733235

registered interest
date	10/10/2024
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 Support
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 she has made of the effectiveness of the Universal Support programme; and what steps she is taking to ensure that funding is targeted towards the areas of highest deprivation.
tabling member constituency	Torbay
tabling member printed	Steve Darling
uin	8516
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/10/2024 answer text <p>The Universal Support funding has supported the expansion of Individual Placement and Support in Primary Care and additional support through Work and Health Programme Pioneer.</p><p> </p><p>For Work and Health Programme Pioneer, between September 2023 and May 2024, the Official Statistics publication <a href="https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gov.uk%2Fgovernment%2Fstatistics%2Fwork-and-health-programme-statistics-to-may-2024%2Fwork-and-health-programme-statistics-to-may-2024%23%3A~%3Atext%3Dbetween%2520September%25202023%2520and%2520May%2Chave%2520achieved%2520a%2520job%2520outcome&amp;data=05%7C02%7CMARCIA.KING%40DWP.GOV.UK%7C00d1862d309247f51f9f08dcec88acaa%7C96f1f6e910574117ac2880cdfe86f8c3%7C0%7C0%7C638645318963077820%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=yLRtXypG2glafhrjfLvITah4t%2BE27tgqfn0MeH72nGE%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">Work and Health Programme statistics to May 2024 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)</a> shows that 17,000 individuals were referred with 11,000 starting on the programme. By May 2024, so far 1,700 people had achieved first earnings from employment and 290 people had achieved a sustained work job outcome.</p><p> </p><p>Data on Individual Placement and Support in Primary Care will be published in due course.</p><p> </p><p>We will shortly announce further details about a new supported employment programme, which, using the funding originally intended for the main Universal Support programme, will be co-designed with local authorities. Once fully rolled out across England and Wales, the programme will support up to 100,000 disabled people, people with health conditions and those with complex barriers to employment to help them get into and on in work per year. As local areas understand local needs best, they will be able to make choices about which eligible groups to prioritise for support.</p> answering member constituency Birkenhead answering member printed Alison McGovern question first answered 15/10/2024 14:28:11 answering member 4083 label Biography information for Alison McGovern
tabling member	5066

1733249

registered interest
date	10/10/2024
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	Unemployment: Scotland
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 trends in the level of long-term youth unemployment in (a) Paisley and Renfrewshire North constituency and (b) Scotland; and what steps she is taking to help tackle long-term youth unemployment in those areas.
tabling member constituency	Paisley and Renfrewshire North
tabling member printed	Alison Taylor
uin	8522
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/10/2024 answer text <p>It is not possible to obtain estimates of trends in the levels of long-term youth unemployment in Paisley and Renfrewshire North constituency and Scotland because the sample sizes from survey data are too small to provide robust findings for these geographical areas.</p><p> </p><p>Currently we have a national Youth Offer which is available in Jobcentres across Scotland. Through the Youth Offer we provide labour market support to young people aged 16-24 claiming Universal Credit through a range of tailored interventions to help reduce the barriers young people may face, bringing them closer to work or education.</p><p></p><p>Jobcentre Plus School Advisers target support to young people that schools have identified as being at greatest risk of not being in work or education, or who may be disadvantaged in the labour market.</p><p> </p><p>We understand Scotland have a Youth Guarantee that supports young people access employment, training and education opportunities. Under our plan to get Britain Working, we are in the process of introducing a similar concept through a new Youth Guarantee in England that will ensure all young people aged 18-21 can access quality training opportunities, an apprenticeship or employment support.</p><p> </p><p>Such ambitious plans require input and expertise from a wide range of stakeholders, and we are working closely with the Devolved Governments to share insights into what is currently working across Britain. We will set out further detail in the upcoming ‘Get Britain Working’ White Paper.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Birkenhead answering member printed Alison McGovern question first answered 15/10/2024 14:42:40 answering member 4083 label Biography information for Alison McGovern
tabling member	5093

1733250

registered interest
date	10/10/2024
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 of trends in the level of child poverty in North Ayrshire and Arran constituency; and what steps she is taking to help reduce child poverty in that constituency.
tabling member constituency	North Ayrshire and Arran
tabling member printed	Irene Campbell
uin	8555
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/10/2024 answer text <p>Statistics on the number of Children living in absolute and relative poverty per constituency are published annually in the “Children in low income families: local area statistics” publication and can be found in tabs “5_Relative_ParlC” and “6_Absolute_ParlC”. These are only produced on a before housing cost basis. A link to these statistics can be found here: Children in low-income families: local area statistics 2014 to 2023 - GOV.UK (<a href="http://www.gov.uk" target="_blank">www.gov.uk</a>).</p><p> </p><p>Tackling child poverty is at the heart of this Government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and improve the life chances of every child.</p><p> </p><p>The Child Poverty Taskforce has started work and will explore all available levers to drive forward short and long-term actions across government to reduce child poverty. The Child Poverty Strategy will be published in the Spring and is UK-wide.</p><p> </p><p>In September, the Taskforce heard from local leaders about the challenges faced in their communities, and how it can best work with Mayors, local authorities and other bodies to develop innovative solutions to tackle child poverty. This marked the first of a series of thematic sessions with key organisations, charities and experts on specific topics that will help to shape the strategy.</p><p> </p><p>The vital work of the Taskforce comes alongside our commitments to roll out free breakfast clubs at all primary schools, create 3,000 additional nurseries, as well as deliver our plan to make work pay to turn the minimum wage into a real living wage.</p> answering member constituency Birkenhead answering member printed Alison McGovern question first answered 15/10/2024 14:32:58 answering member 4083 label Biography information for Alison McGovern
tabling member	5145

1733291

registered interest
date	10/10/2024
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	Pension Credit: Park Homes
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the number of Park Home Residents who are unable to take up Pension Credit due to pitch fees not being treated equivalently to ground rent in the application process.
tabling member constituency	Runnymede and Weybridge
tabling member printed	Dr Ben Spencer
uin	8479
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/10/2024 answer text <p>An award of Pension Credit can include certain housing costs where the dwelling occupied as the home is not owned by the claimant and if these costs cannot be covered by Housing Benefit. Examples of housing costs covered by Pension Credit include:</p><p> </p><ul><li>rents or ground rents on long tenancies</li><li>service charges</li><li>rent charges</li><li>co-ownership schemes</li><li>tenancies or licences of Crown tenants</li><li>tents and their sites</li></ul><p> </p><p>It is not possible to provide an accurate estimate of the number of Park Homes residents whose Pension Credit applications were unsuccessful due to pitch fees not being included in the assessment.</p> answering member constituency Wycombe answering member printed Emma Reynolds question first answered 16/10/2024 11:24:22 answering member 4077 label Biography information for Emma Reynolds
tabling member	4785 label Biography information for Dr Ben Spencer

1733302

registered interest
date	10/10/2024
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	Household Support Fund: Government Assistance
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 it her policy to deliver a long-term (a) funding settlement and (b) strategy for local crisis support when the Household Support Fund ends in March 2025.
tabling member constituency	Hazel Grove
tabling member printed	Lisa Smart
uin	8521
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/10/2024 answer text <p>The Government announced funding to extend the Household Support Fund (HSF) for a further 6 months, from 1 October 2024 until 31 March 2025.</p><p> </p><p>As set out by the Chancellor in July, the Government has inherited a number of significant pressures within public spending and took immediate action to reduce spending in-year and set out a clear process to a Budget this autumn and a full Spending Review to follow. The Government will set out its overall fiscal and spending plans then.</p> answering member constituency Birkenhead answering member printed Alison McGovern question first answered 18/10/2024 11:44:35 answering member 4083 label Biography information for Alison McGovern
tabling member	5070

1733385

registered interest
date	10/10/2024
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	Food Supply
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 her Department has made of the level of food insecurity in (a) England and (b) the South East.
tabling member constituency	Slough
tabling member printed	Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi
uin	8463
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/10/2024 answer text <p>This government is committed to tackling poverty and reducing mass dependence on emergency food parcels.</p><p> </p><p>Statistics on the proportion of people living in food insecure households at regional level are published annually in the Households Below Average Income statistics <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/households-below-average-income-hbai--2" target="_blank">Households below average income (HBAI) statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)(opens in a new tab)</a>.</p><p><strong> </strong></p> answering member constituency Birkenhead answering member printed Alison McGovern question first answered 15/10/2024 12:35:00 answering member 4083 label Biography information for Alison McGovern
tabling member	4638 label Biography information for Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi

1733411

registered interest
date	10/10/2024
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: Disability
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to support people with (a) learning and (b) other disabilities who are seeking paid employment in Beckenham and Penge constituency.
tabling member constituency	Beckenham and Penge
tabling member printed	Liam Conlon
uin	8545
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/10/2024 answer text <p>In the Beckenham and Penge constituency, we have a dedicated Disability Employment Adviser (DEA) who supports learning disabled and neurodiverse customers alongside partner organisations that we work closely with.</p><p> </p><p>We have a range of specialist initiatives to support people with learning disabilities and other disabled people into work. Measures include support from Work Coaches and Disability Employment Advisers in Jobcentres, Access to Work grants, and joining up health and employment support around the individual through Employment Advisors in NHS Talking Therapies.</p><p> </p><p>As part of the Get Britain Working plan, we will be devolving more power to local areas so they can shape a joined-up work, health, and skills offer that suits the needs of the people they serve.</p><p>Employers play a key role in increasing employment opportunities and supporting disabled people and people with health conditions, to thrive as part of the workforce. Our support to employers includes promoting <a href="https://www.support-with-employee-health-and-disability.dwp.gov.uk/support-with-employee-health-and-disability" target="_blank">a digital information service for employers</a> to help them support disability at work and the Disability Confident scheme.</p> answering member constituency East Ham answering member printed Sir Stephen Timms question first answered 17/10/2024 12:59:12 answering member 163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms
tabling member	5132